It was rather ironic when Shift received the message above from the chair of the Washington State Democrats yesterday, with the enticing subject line of “No love for the constitution”, which is something the team at Shift has long noticed in state Democrats. Of course, the Democrat email was attacking Republicans for not following the constitution, when the irony is today we learn from the (Tacoma) News Tribune that legislative Democrats will thumb their nose at the state constitution and that “two initiatives that will not get hearings” this legislative session.

Democrat Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig expressed his disdain for the constitution demanding initiative action by saying “I think we can definitively say we’re not going to have hearings on these two initiatives that roll back progress” because Sen. Billig defines laws that he supports as “progress.” Read on to see how “Democrats are still discussing what to do on the other initiatives” and consider any change to the laws they have passed as “devastating” according to the House speaker… Shift, (Tacoma) News Tribune.

Washington voters will have their say on Governor Jay Inslee’s carbon tax this fall, when I-2117 to repeal the tax is on the ballot, but in the meantime Olympia Democrats are trying to put some lipstick on their legislative pig by claiming that following California’s lead will be our salvation. That’s the news from KNKX radio, which reports that “(L)egislation is moving forward that would allow Washington to link its market for carbon pollution with those in Québec and California”, a desperate policy move which will not lower the carbon tax and is even drawing fire from the left side of the political spectrum.

Consider that “the environmental justice group Front and Centered” is lining up against Inslee and the Democrats, with a staffer saying “We haven’t really seen a compelling argument for how linkage would actually lead to the reduction of emissions.” Read on to see how corruption may be the motivating factor, as “groups are worried that they could lose some of the dedicated funding they fought hard to get in the current program” here… Let’s Go Washington, KNKX.

The Seattle Times has been in rare form lately, actually taking issue with most things the Democrat-dominated state legislature is doing this session. The latest error (in the Times’ eye) being advanced is HB 1932 by Democrat “lawmakers who support moving the elections of mayors, city council members and other local leaders to even-numbered years (and) say the goal is to increase voter turnout in those races. But the move is an administrative nightmare for election offices and actually a disservice to voters.”

Shift has noted that this is the latest in a long line of anti-democracy efforts by Democrats to create advantages for Democrats. Read on to see how “(I)f the bill passes, the effect on local elections will be to drown them out in a sea of candidates during even-numbered years” here… Seattle Times, Shift.

The latest revenue forecast has come in, and Washington taxpayers continue to be in a giving mood. That’s the story from the Washington State Standard, as the state’s “economy is projected to generate $67 billion for the two-year budget cycle that began (last) July 1, up $122 million from the last forecast in November. Overall, collections are now up $1.3 billion since lawmakers adopted the budget in the 2023 session.”

That’s right, the Democrats have more than $1.3 billion to play with since they adopted the budget last year, and yet any effort to reduce taxes and provide relief to the people is attacked as “devastating.” Read on to see how one GOP senator challenged the Democrats to do some advance planning, and “urged them to show how priorities will be paid for if initiatives to repeal the capital gains tax and the Climate Commitment Act are passed by voters in November.”… Washington State Standard.

Shift will leave with little comment the (Tacoma) News Tribune story that thanks to Democrat pro-criminal policies the “city of Lakewood saw more calls for service, more motor vehicle thefts and more arrests in 2023 than the previous year”. We do have to note that “since the state legislature limited the criteria for police pursuits in 2021 the Lakewood Police Department has seen ‘a significant problem’ with criminals eluding police and refusing to stop their vehicle after being informed to stop.

In 2021, the department recorded 96 eluding incidents, compared to 320 incidents in 2022 and 337 incidents in 2023.”… (Tacoma) News Tribune.

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