Anyone near Seattle this week knows that Chinese President Xi Jinping was in town. Jay Inslee and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, rather hypocritically, welcomed him with open arms and shut down much of downtown Seattle during his visit to make sure he was not inconvenienced.
Suffice it to say, traffic was bad. But, Inslee got his time with the Chinese president, so who in government is really counting? We hope Inslee, at the very least, used his time wisely. However, knowing Inslee, it’s hard to imagine that is the case. Here’s five things we wouldn’t be surprised to have heard Inslee said to Xi Jinping.
- “I cannot tell you how pleased I was to hear China now has market-based climate program. I am hoping Washington State will be just like China one day.”
You can check out the story behind the statement here.
- “Did you know the oysters in Washington State are all dying? All of them. How are they doing in China?”
You can check out the story behind the statement here.
- “You know Tom Steyer right? He is the guy who got real rich off of pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into companies that operate coal mines and coal-fired power plants from Indonesia to China in the last 20 years. He’s great. I love having lunch with him.”
You can check out the story behind the statement here and here.
- “I take money from a billionaire that got rich off coal. I have no problem with that. But, I will not allow Washington State to benefit economically from coal exports to China. I’ll admit, I don’t know how or why exporting coal is bad for the Puget Sound. But, I do know it would be bad for my whole “greenest governor” thing I have going. So, it’s not gonna happen.”
You can check out the story behind the statement here.
- “Speaking of coal and killing jobs, is there any way you would let me study the effects of burning Washington exported coal in China? I’ve wanted to do a study on the end use of coal being shipped for a while now. I’m hoping that will get all these people who care so much about creating jobs off my back.”
You can check out the story behind the statement here.
