Sometimes a word or a phrase rockets into the lexicon. One week you’ve never heard of it, the next you can’t miss it.
That’s true of “nothing-burger,” which is popping up all over lately. When something has little substance or point, it’s “a real nothing-burger.” Same if an answer is intentionally evasive. It’s not a new term, really, but it’s all over the political world this year. No wonder – politicians have turned nothing-burger answers into an art form.
By that measure, the Democrats’ 45th District state Senate candidate Manka Dhingra must be a real politician. She was asked (among a friendly audience, a 45th District Democrats meeting) if she supports “the progressive policy” – a state income tax.
Dhingra’s answer is the very definition of a nothing-burger. She strains to keep the progressive crowd with her, but without actually admitting she supports an income tax. A state income tax won’t be very popular with voters in the 45th, and Dhingra was probably worried someone was recording her promises (they were). Let’s examine her answer in chunks (of nothing).
“This is great, I didn’t realize we were going to be getting into a policy discussion today.”
You didn’t? At a partisan political meeting where you’re pitching your candidacy for the state legislature? Policy discussions must catch Dhingra off-guard a lot.
“What I will say is…”
That’s a great way to start off when you have no intention of actually answering the question. Duck, dodge, evade.
“…the math has to add up.”
Bold!
“We have to fully and completely fund education.”
Bold again! We’ve got a real Bulworth here!
“And you cannot just grab dollars from the air.”
Not unless D.B. Cooper is around, no, that’s true. One cannot simply grab dollars from the air, as much as we’d all like to. Dhingra is coming in hot with more of that straight talk.
[Attempt at sustained applause]
That’s all it takes to earn a round of applause at a 45th District Democrats meeting? Dhingra has spoken nothing but meaningless platitudes so far. These people would give a standing O for Roseanne Barr’s rendition of the national anthem.
“OK? When we’re talking about education, it really does.”
What? That’s a nothing-burger of a non-sequitur.
“And I – you know, I actually coached my kids’ math teams for three years. Only when they were in elementary school, I couldn’t coach them anymore [after that].”
Sounds like a future budget leader in the making. Let’s get these math skills working for us in Olympia.
“But you know, when you multiple something with zero, you get zero.”
If you multiplied this answer with infinity, you’d get zero. Does Dhingra support a state income tax? She has yet to say anything of substance.
“When you add zero to something, it’s the same number. Not just play math.”
Alrighty…surely she’s just warming up to it. She’ll close this answer out by clearly saying whether or not she supports a state income tax.
“Thank you!”
That was, in fact, the totality of Dhingra’s answer. You can hear the cringe worthy answer for yourself here.
Does she support a state income tax? I think we all know the answer, but Dhingra doesn’t want the truth out there.
It must have been tough on Dhingra, hiding her true, state-income-tax-supporting beliefs when she probably just wanted to give the audience anything they want. But when she’s straining this hard to not answer a direct question about a state income tax (from a friendly audience no less), Dhingra can be sure of one thing: She’s going to get a lot more direct questions about a state income tax, from voters, debate moderators, and editorial boards.
Her opponent isn’t scared to share her position on a state income tax. Why is Dhingra?
They (Politicians) have a hard time saying anything substantive because they don’t know anything substantive and they haven’t been properly coached yet.
I think you mean she hasn’t been properly indoctrinated into the democrat club, which means she doesn’t have all the liberal/socialist/progressive vocabulary yet. Wait until she gets the full financial backing of the liberals, then she really start sounding like the cookie-cutter liberal.
Don’t forget a lot of Republicans support a Income Tax.
Really? Can you name any elected Republican officials in the state that have supported an income tax? (links to them saying it please). Or do you even know any Republicans?
Yes – Dan Evans & John Spellman r just 2 names. and I could list about
25 more … but all let you get some research done. They r ones that
did a lot of homework on the Issue. All previous Republican SOS –
and I believe Slade Gorton.
And we still vote it down. And still will. At least I hope so…. not too sure in this day and age.
I worked on the VOTE NO Income Tax the last time it was on the
ballot …. I wouldn’t be surprsed if the next time around it passes
statewide. That’s why some people r up in arms about it.
It’s not an issue that puts Republicans on one side and Democrats
on the other side.
Contg Joel Pritchard, Cong John Miller and Cong Rod Chandler did
also. I know of a couple former state Republican Chairman that
supported an income tax in our State. and Many County Chairs
also.
I do not believe many sane Republicans support a state income tax.
Many State Republican Party Elected Supported an Income tax and they
were re-elected more than once. They did the home work. Many Republicans
supported and Income Tax in Oregon also. More than I have figures to count.
Yes, there were some R’s that would support an income tax but it was a much different animal. The income tax talked about years ago would have replaced all other taxes on the books, not simply been another tax. Please make sure you make that distinction when rolling everyone into the same boat. And, the same deal in Oregon. The extension of the income tax in Oregon came about with the roll back of property taxes-quite a different matter all together than what is being discussed in Washington state.
Most of those same Republicans I am still in contact with and
they still support an income tax.
The income tax has been put up for a vote how many times? Just recently in a liberal strong hold of Thurston County and lost at the ballot box. I’m not saying that R’s don’t support it, but the entire state doesn’t support it at the ballot box, including the liberals! Besides, it is against the state constitution. In order for any vote to have a chance of being enacted, the state constitution would have to be changed.
Yea I worked on NO Campaign both time’s. So –
Maybe you should all move to Oregon.
Cong Joel Pritchard , Cong John Miller and Cong Rod Chandler did.
I hate to say it, but we are getting the same burgers from the Republican. Neither will stake out a personal platform. Englund really needs to dump her team and get an A” game going.
It’s to bad she can’t control independent expenditures like the Madison
Group.
When you’re talking about a massive power grab, which is really all an income tax is, then Democrats and Republicans think alike..”Yes! Yes!..But if only we can sneak it by those darn pesky voters”. People of Washington, it is time to march on Olympia and let the legislators know how we feel before it’s too late. There’s an old Chinese saying, “It takes but a puff of wind to blow a piece of paper into the courtyard, but a team of oxen to drag it back out”. We have to defeat any notion of an income tax now or we’ll never get rid of it once it passes.
Rhinos
I don’t see that this is as a partisan issue per say. Even in Liberal Olympia voted down a city income tax! When are those tax hungry politicians gonna learn that it doesn’t how they package it, it’s gonna be an F U. on passage.
If you have to explain and explain and explain why somebody is wrong, it means they’re not wrong, and it usually means that you’re dishonest.