The similarities between Jay Inslee and disgraced former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber are extensive. In fact, as Shift has reported, it is rather difficult to tell the difference between the two. Here are five awful similarities between Inslee and Kitzhaber:
- Both governors had advisors paid-for by California billionaire and “green” hypocrite Tom Steyer to influence their green agendas.
A Steyer-funded organization, the Energy Foundation, is one of the extreme environmental groups behind the Kitzhaber scandal. The group helped foot the bill for Kitzhaber’s fiancé Cylvia Hayes’ $118,000 fellowship and hired her for “communications work” on a contract worth $50,000, all while she served in an official capacity as his environmental advisor.
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, one of the organization involved in the Oregon scandal, paid for work done by Jay Manning, an advisor of Inslee, to develop a fuel mandate for Washington State. Manning had a $150,000 contract. The Energy Foundation underwrote the Skamania conferences where Inslee administration officials, green special interest groups and rich donors got together to put together Inslee’s job-killing plans.
- Cylvia Hayes advised both governors on extreme environmental policy issues.
Kitzhaber isn’t the only governor to receive green policy advice from Hayes while she was on contract from extreme environmental organizations to give said advice. Hayes attended four events with Inslee’s team where she advocated for the use of a Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), “an alternative to gross domestic product that also takes into account a state’s social and environmental health.” One of those meetings occurred in Inslee’s office. Hayes had a contract to advocate for the GPI during that time. Inslee’s administration now uses both GPI and GDP as measurements of the state’s health.
- Both governors attempted to hide gas-tax schemes from the public.
As Kitzhaber moved forward with his plans to implement a fuel mandate scheme, he attempted to hide a “dirty little secret” from the public. That secret was that his fuel mandate would implement a “new hidden gasoline tax designed to increase the cost of fuel and decrease the bank accounts of everyday motorists and businesses that rely on transportation.” Kitzhaber’s hidden gas-tax scheme was exposed by the Oregonian.
Shift first exposed Inslee’s hidden gas-tax scheme after a public investigation led us to a report issued by his consultants. The report found that his fuel mandate plan would cost over $1 per gallon of gas. Inslee did everything he could think of to debunk our finding, even having his consultants re-do their analysis to suit his agenda. When experts confirmed that his fuel mandate would indeed cost over $1 per gallon of gas, Inslee resorted to denying he had any fuel mandate plan. Of course, that wasn’t true either.
- Both governors signed the Pacific Coast Collaborative climate agreement and subsequently pursued fully implementing fuel mandates by 2015.
As Shift has reported, perhaps the most significant connections between Kitzhaber and Inslee are the two governor’s extreme environmental goals, particularly as established by the Pacific Coast Collaborative (PCC) climate agreement. Kitzhaber and Inslee sought to align their green agendas by pursuing fuel mandates for Oregon and Washington. Both Kitzhaber and Inslee began pursuing fuel mandates this year as they promised they would do in 2013.
- Both governors have records of pandering to extreme environmental organizations.
Last year, the Oregonian called out Kitzhaber for his incessant pandering to environmental special interest groups. Specially, Kitzhaber sought to block a company from building a facility at the Port of Morrow that would transfer coal from train cars to barges. The coal was destined for international markets, not to be burned in Oregon. And, the barges would be designed to prevent the release of coal dust. Kitzhaber’s desired end—the killing of the project—would “help neither the environment nor the many Oregonians who could use the employment the project would spur.” But, it would help Kitzhaber satisfy extreme environmental organizations.
Inslee has a similar dislike for job-creating companies that ship coal to international markets from Washing State ports. Inslee claims, “Coal exports from Washington would have an “unparalleled” impact on Puget Sound and Washington waters.” The Washington Policy Center points out that the “maximum amount the coal from Washington would impact Puget Sound would be to lower pH (i.e. increase acidity) by 0.000836.” And, the “change in pH over the next 100 years due to the carbon from coal exported from Washington is 0.083 percent of what can occur daily, naturally, in Willapa Bay.” You can read more here, but the point is our green governor has attempted to disguise his clear pandering to extreme environmental organizations with ridiculous explanations for his opposition.
