Jay Inslee gave the public a new look into his leadership style during a press conference in which he could only be described as unhinged. Our “green” governor reverted to the attack-dog ways he honed in his 15-year congressional career, launching into a hyper-partisan diatribe against state Senate Republicans.
What upset Inslee so was that last Friday the Senate removed a particularly ineffective department head. In the press conference, Inslee went as far as to say that Senators should be ashamed of doing their job and dismissing Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Secretary Lynn Peterson — a move that saved taxpayer dollars from further waste at the hands of a proven, thoroughly incompetent bureaucrat.
Inslee went on to call out GOP state Senator Andy Hill (using very malicious terms) for not opening a “dialogue” with Peterson to, presumably, discuss her incompetency. He stated, “Sen. Hill, when I talk to my grandkids, I say ‘use your words.’”
The hypocrisy of it all is stunning. Where was Inslee when Democrat State Representative Judy Clibborn, chair of the House Transportation Committee, refused last month to give the bi-partisan bill aimed at fixing I-405 a hearing? We don’t recall Inslee telling Clibborn to allow others to “use your words” or to have “open communication” and debate the popular bill.
Inslee went on to say, “[Senate Republicans] chose to sandbag her on the floor, in a Friday afternoon political ambush.” And, that Republicans “significantly damaged our ability to get the job done in transportation for the people of this state.”
Earth to Inslee: No Washingtonian (outside of extreme lefty Seattleites) has embraced your vision or “solutions” on transportation. No one wants the liberal plan to convert as many roads as possible in our region into toll lanes. No one wants to pay thousands of dollars more per year for the privilege of driving on roads that they already paid for via one of the nation’s highest gas taxes. No one wants unqualified people like Peterson continuing to make it more difficult for cars and trucks to move on Washington’s roads.
People have had enough of the Democrats’ so-called “solutions.”
Republicans understood what needed to be done to move forward and begin to change the culture of incompetency that has defined WSDOT under Democrat governors for far too long. So, they did it.
At one point during the press conference Inslee asked, “Is this about I-405?” He then went onto defend the tolling scheme, claiming Peterson supported certain reforms (which, as Shift pointed out, did not go anywhere near far enough to satisfy commuters).
Ironically, Inslee’s question and attempted defense makes the Republicans’ point for them. WSDOT’s problems go far beyond I-405—that debacle was merely the straw that broke the camel’s back. It’s about decades of utter incompetency—incompetency that Peterson did nothing to reform and, indeed, added to.
It’s revealing of Inslee’s out-of-touch leadership that he can’t seem to grasp why people are upset. It’s not enough to reform the I-405 tolling scheme; the reform must begin with WSDOT… and the Democrat leadership that has run Olympia for far too long.
