Banning the sale of gas-powered cars and trucks by 2030 was among the crazy ideas passed by the Democrats in the Washington State Legislature during the 2021 session.  Yet it was not crazy enough for Governor Jay Inslee and his wealthy environmental special interest buddies, so he vetoed the legislation.  While knowing that the state’s power grid cannot handle charging the large influx of electric vehicles Inslee desires (which are too expensive for nearly all working families), liberals want to reduce our options and force us into their inefficient government-run mass transit systems. (Click to read full Shift Article)

In a very strongly worded statement, the President of the National Congress of American Indians called Governor Jay Inslee “a snake” and claimed he was delusional.  Tribal leader Fawn Sharp made these comments in responding to the governor’s line-item veto within the Cap-and-Trade bill (SB 5126) which the tribes believe “provide(d) historic guarantees of Tribal consultation and protections for Tribal sacred sites and burial grounds.”  Sharp stated that the inclusion of these tribal protections within the legislation was a determinant factor for some key legislators to support the entire bill.  In a media release on Friday, Sharp went full throttle by stating, “Jay Inslee committed the most egregious and shameless betrayal of a deal I have ever witnessed from a politician of any party, at any level.”  While the wording is harsh, it sets up the highly likely possibility that Governor Inslee will do something in the near future to patch up their mutually profitable relationship.  Remember that in return for millions of dollars tribes have poured into Inslee’s and other Democrats’ campaigns, the liberal lawmakers gave the tribes an exclusive monopoly when they created a very profitable sports betting business.  And last Spring, when small business were closed due to Governor Inslee’s lockdown orders, he responded to news of tribal casinos reopening their doors to gamblers by stating, “I hope that they are very, very successful.”

It is worth noting that, when the “grand bargain” to pass both the Cap-and Trade and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (HB 1091) was announced earlier during the 2021 legislative session, some smart observers (including Washington Policy Center’s Todd Myers) predicted that the governor would use a line-item veto to eliminate portions of the bills that could hamper the immediate implementation of his expensive and ineffective climate legislation.  As Myers points out, the governor has done this before, and given the opportunity, he will do it again. This time it’s the tribes that are learning just how untrustworthy Jay Inslee is. (Snoqualmie Tribe media release, Everett Herald, Washington Legislature Bill Summary, Seattle Times, and Todd Myers Twitter)

Senate Democrat Leader Andy Billig provided a weak excuse for why Governor Inslee failed to inform legislators that he was opposed to linking the implementation of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard and the Cap-and-Trade bills to the passage of a future transportation funding bill.  This linkage was necessary to obtain the votes to pass the climate bills, yet Governor Inslee vetoed this very language when he signed the bills last Monday.  House Speaker Laurie Jinkins immediately said the legislature would sue the governor for improper use of a line-item veto.  Senator Billig tried to be conciliatory towards the governor when  asked why the governor hadn’t informed legislators of his displeasure in the linkage.  The Spokane Senator replied, “Um, you know, the governor, um, never indicated that he supported linkage to transportation, in fact, I think he was probably pretty clear that he didn’t support it.  Now he didn’t say he was going to veto it. But, um, that may have been helpful. But he also may not have known.”

Apparently Sen. Billig’s defense for the governor’s illegal actions is that the governor did not know what every Washington resident who read the newspaper knew.  Just like during the riots in Seattle last summer, the governor’s defense for his actions (or lack of action), is that he simply is unaware. (Q13’s The Divide and Rebecca Perry Twitter)

Not only did Governor Inslee create potential lawsuits by vetoing portions of legislation, but he is also causing legal problems in how he signs legislation.  By signing two conflicting bills at the same time (in secret, apparently one with his left hand and the other with his right) on new rules for broadband access for public utility districts, Governor Inslee has created another legal mess the taxpayers will have to pay to resolve.  The Democrat-controlled legislature passed HB 1336 and SB 5383, which both allow public utility districts to provide broadband access to remote areas, yet the House version provides broader authority for the utilities than the Senate version.  Thus, the bill signed last by the governor would take precedent.  Usually the governor signs all bills in public (so he can take credit for work done by others), but his staff had him sign these two bills off-camera and said they were signed at the exact same time.  This will only create more confusion, and has caused Secretary of State Kim Wyman to take the governor to court to seek clarification, for her office is responsible for logging in the bills and they need to know which order the bills were signed. (Secretary of State media release, Crosscut, and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

Democrat legislators used a title-only bill at the end of the 2019 legislative session that hastily imposed a large tax on out-of-state banks.  This pending court case is further proof that passing reckless legislation which ends up in costly lawsuits is standard operating procedure for Governor Jay Inslee and Democrat legislators.  As could be expected, banks filed a lawsuit against the legislation, stating that the bill violated the U.S. Constitution by giving in-state banks an advantage and that it violated the Washington State constitution due to use of the “title-only” bill.  Arguments will be made 9:00 AM Tuesday morning before the Washington State Supreme Court. (Crosscut and TVW)

The arrested Nigerian suspect, who allegedly took advantage of irresponsible management decisions at Governor Inslee’s Employment Security Department (ESD), was released on $300,000 bail pending an appeal by the Western Washington federal attorney.  A federal judge in New York City reversed a previous decision to not release Abidemi Rufai and has instead allowed the suspect to be confined under house arrest, despite his having a history of forging government documents and being arrested at the airport trying to escape the U.S..  Rufai is accused of taking part in the theft of approximately $650 million from the Washington State’s ESD, which took place after Governor Inslee’s appointees decided to relax security measures, allowing the crimes to be committed. (MyNorthwest)

Some University of Washington students are wondering why the Spring Football game was allowed to take place at Husky Stadium, but a graduation ceremony cannot.   The annual Spring football scrimmage took place on May 1^st, in front of 9,000 socially distanced fans at the 70,000-seat stadium.  School administration said the primary concern is not in the stands, but on the field, where thousands of UW students would be seated next to each other during the ceremony.  It seams to many that a possible solution could be to break the graduation into smaller events and require those who want to participate in the ceremony to wear a face mask.  (KING5 News)

Coles Coffee Shop in Spokane Valley has received one of the highest fines for a Washington State retail business for not obeying state regulations during the pandemic.  Thus far the coffee shop has been fined $126,000 by the state’s Department of Labor and Industries, for 14 serious COVID-19 violations.  Most of the fines occurred in February, when the shop permitted customers to sit in the store while Governor Inslee’s orders prohibited indoor service.  (Spokesman-Review)

This week’s Newsmaker Interview is with emerging legislative leader Senator Ron Muzzall (R – Oak Harbor).  The fourth-generation Whidbey Island native and farmer was appointed, in October 2019, to fill the position vacated by the retirement of Senator Barbara Bailey.  In the 2020 election, Senator Muzzall was able to retain the 10^th Legislative District seat despite a well-financed attack campaign waged by the Democrats and their wealthy special interest allies. Senator Muzzall, though relatively junior in seniority, has already earned powerful assignments on the tax-writing Ways & Means Committee and the influential Rules Committee.  In his Shift interview, Senator Muzzall is open about his criticism of Governor Jay Inslee (“I have some concerns about his integrity”), argues the legislature needs to reassert its oversight of the governor’s mismanaged state agencies (like the Employment Security Department), and criticizes Seattle liberals who “micromanage farming when they have no clue.” (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

While Governor Jay Inslee has never received any accolades for being a trustworthy politician, it does appear that during the past year he has stepped up to make sure everyone feels betrayed by his dishonest actions.   Here at Shift, we thought we would ask our readers for their opinion on what has been Governor Inslee’s most “Untrustworthy behavior.”  Was it in 2012 when he said he would veto any tax increase that reached his desk or was it his non-stop use of emergency powers?  Those are two of the options we have included in our survey.  (Respond to the survey today by clicking on this link)

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