Jay Inslee has a history of confusing actions – not the least of which was getting elected governor after 15 very undistinguished (and rarely noticeable) years in Congress. But, in May, Inslee went to a new level of confusion when he sent out an email praising the victory of “eight courageous kids (who) went to court to compel us adults to take action on climate change.”
For those not paying attention to Inslee’s public statements – which means a whole lot of Washingtonians – our green governor was referring to eight Seattle children who sued him and his Department of Ecology , arguing that the state wasn’t doing enough to safeguard their futures by fighting climate change.
Inslee’s fundraising email said, “Eight courageous kids went to court to compel us adults to take action on climate change. I’m happy to say that they won.”
Our green governor even used the children’s victory as a means to trumpet his job-killing carbon rule scheme. The same email stated, “Now, we need to stand together, along with those eight kids, and continue our commitment to taking action. Will you add your name right now in support of a strong Clean Air Rule for our state?”
What a joke.
The Seattle judge’s order had two requirements. The first requirement stated — essentially — that the “state should do what it is already doing – engage in a rulemaking process on carbon emissions. The second requirement was that Ecology provide the state Legislature with a recommendation on greenhouse gas limits.
The irony of Inslee’s initial celebratory attitude was that he was praising the defeat of his own administration’s policies. You see, the case the “eight kids” won was against Washington State, specifically Inslee’s own Department of Ecology. Ironically, by praising the outcome of the lawsuit, he was criticizing his own actions.
Last month, Inslee appeared to have finally realized that the ruling was — in fact — an indictment of him. So, he directed his Department of Ecology to appeal the judge’s decision.
Inslee excused his decision to appeal by stating, “It appears the court is essentially reaffirming the need to do what we’ve already committed to doing, which is putting a policy in place by the end of the year that reduces carbon pollution in Washington state.”
In other words, his Clean Air Rule is all that is needed to satisfy both his own extreme “green” agenda and the judge’s order. For its part, the Department of Ecology explained the appeal by saying it needed enough time to develop the carbon cap rule — a court-ordered deadline would make the process all the more difficult.
Inslee decision to appeal the court case caused uproar among extreme greenies.
Julia Olson, executive director and chief legal counsel for Our Children’s Trust (the organization hiding behind the kids to file the lawsuit), stated:
The public needs to understand that what the governor and the Department of Ecology are doing is greenwashing. First, Inslee’s proposed rule would lock in unacceptable levels of pollution and catastrophic harm to the young people of Washington. And now, after using the youth’s court victory as a campaign platform, Inslee’s administration is trying to get the court ruling overturned… Get on board governor, or get out of the way.”
So, for the extreme greenies hiding behind children for political purposes, Inslee’s carbon rule does not go far enough in hurting the economy of Washington. And, his decision to appeal the court decision is a sign of his betrayal.
At one point Inslee and Our Children’s Trust stood together on the ploy to use children for their agenda. Then, Inslee decided he preferred his own extreme green approach over the extreme green agenda of Our Children’s Trust. So, he diverged and — in doing so — invoked the wrath of Our Children’s Trust.
It’s all rather confusing, but that about sums up the Inslee administration.
Ultimately, the whole debacle is just another example of Inslee’s failed leadership. As one article recently put it:
So why can’t Gov. Inslee acknowledge that, unlike the pie-in-the-sky activists he seeks to appease, he has a responsibility to govern — for the people who need energy, jobs, infrastructure and the products these goods produce?
His little trick with the eight student activists was a nice stunt. But it’s not stunts we need; it’s leadership that recognizes this is an adult problem that requires adult solutions.
Inslee cannot — and will not — acknowledge that he has a responsibility to govern, because he does not feel the responsibility to govern. Like his tenure in Congress, he approaches this position with the attitude that he won the election – wasn’t that enough.
The truth is that Inslee does not know how to lead — that’s something he proved time and time again — even on his own extreme “green” agenda.
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