Liberals attempt to erode constitutional rights of those who are critical of their many failed policies, while media “watchdogs” remain asleep in the corner. There were two stories this week which highlighted the efforts of liberals/Democrats to use their one-party control of the state to discriminate against those who don’t toe the line of their liberal doctrines.

University of Washington Atmospheric Science Professor Cliff Mass detailed several instances where liberal administrators, professors, and students have attempted to squelch the free speech of those who hold moderate or conservative viewpoints on campus.  Brandi Kruse used internal communications to reveal that local and state liberal politicians are developing strategies to deny access to information to journalists who actually pose tough questions about their many failed policies.

Mainstream reporters and editors, who claim to hold “those in power accountable”, remain relatively silent over these affronts to freedom of the press and freedom of speech.  It is difficult to imagine the local press would be this quiet if moderates or conservatives ran the UW and were squelching the free speech rights of liberals, and if it were Republican politicians who refused to provide equal access to liberal journalists. (Click to read full Shift Article)

Representative Roger Goodman (D – Kirkland) admitted that he “got it wrong” in 2021 when then-Representative Jesse Johnson (D – Federal Way) and he crafted the disastrous restrictions on police pursuits as part of their anti-police package to please their supporters who violently rioted in Seattle.  Representative Goodman, as Chair of the House Community Safety, Justice, and Reentry Committee, was one of the major architects of the 2021 soft-on-crime package.  Nearly all law enforcement agencies and dozens of local officials are currently calling for the legislature to repeal the Democrats’ restrictions on police pursuits, stating that the law is the leading cause for why crime rates remain high in the state.

Despite the overwhelming demand to repeal the terrible law, Representative Goodman is attempting to delay its repeal by suggesting a totally useless commission to investigate whether or not to repeal it.   He stated, “I think in the heat of a politically charged session we might get it wrong again.  We don’t want that mistake.” (So, since the legislature constantly works in a “politically charged” environment, does the representative believe that there is ever a good time to pass any legislation?)

So how many more Washington State residents will become crime victims as Rep. Goodman’s commission (likely packed by Governor Inslee and the Democrats with liberal activists who either participated in or supported the violent riots in Seattle in 2020) wastes everybody’s time deliberating on one of the worst policies ever passed by the Washington State Legislature. Since Representative Goodman admits the 2021 pursuit restriction law was a failure, why not repeal the bad law now and then have the commission deliberate on possible next steps?  This way lawmakers can prevent thousands more Washington residents from becoming victims of crimes.

It is interesting to note that Senator Manka Dhingra (D – Kirkland) is now supporting the commission proposal after she received strong criticism for her efforts to remove the restrictions – both in 2022 and this year. But, we haven’t heard her admit that she – like Representative Goodman – was wrong, yet. (Everett Herald/Cornfield Report,  Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office/YouTube,  The Center Square, and Q13 Fox News)

Senator Sam Hunt (D – Olympia) is well known in the state capitol for following orders from his party bosses, and he has now admitted that he is just following orders with his ridiculous legislation to impose mandatory voting on all eligible voters in the state. The legislation (SB 5209) would require all eligible voters to register and then all voters will be legally required to mail in their ballots.

This constitutionally questionable legislation is made even odder by not imposing any penalty for not following the law.  Senator Jeff Wilson (R – Longview) opposes the bill and warns that just because the law currently does not have a penalty, this might change in the future. “There’s no consequence now, but what would keep it from having a consequence later? That’s something to be very concerned about.”

Senator Hunt, who is the Chair of the Senate State Government and Elections Committee, said he is simply following orders from Democrat Senate Leader Andy Billig (D – Spokane).  Senator Hunt said the majority leader told him to read a book on mandatory voting and then had the bill drafted up. “Once the majority leader sends you something, it sort of gets your attention,” Hunt admitted. (OPB and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

The Seattle Times continues to perform its role as the Democrat Party’s Communications Department by posting yet another story about the lies told by a New York Republican politician while remaining suspiciously quiet about the lies told by a Democrat legislator in the newspaper’s distribution area.  The Times has now posted nearly 40 daily stories about GOP U.S. Representative George Santos, who represents residents on NY’s Long Island (where the Times might have a very small handful of online subscribers).

Yet the newspaper has posted only one story (a week after Shift did) on the lies told by Democrat Representative Clyde Shavers to help his campaign and now he serves thousands of Times’ subscribers in a legislative district which covers portions of Snohomish and Skagit counties, and all of Island County. The Times has also not said a word about Democrat leadership insulting the state’s 500,000 military veterans by appointing Representative Shavers to the House Veterans Committee despite him repeatedly lying about his military service.

The latest story the Times posted out of New York is an 1,800-word puff piece on Representative George Santos’ 2022 Democrat opponent. It is full of (NY) locals providing accolades to Democrat candidate Robert Zimmerman (who lost by more than 20,000 votes or 7.5%) and how he is greeted warmly by nearly everyone he encounters.  The Times could also write a similar story about Republican Greg Gilday, who barely lost to Shavers by just 211 votes (or 0.3%). From those we know who live in the district, they are not pleased with the many lies Representative Shavers told to win the position.  Is this silence from the Times due to extreme liberal bias or has the newspaper’s news coverage been severely compromised by the large corporate tax break the paper is currently seeking from the Democrat-controlled legislature?  (Seattle Times, Shift,  New York Times, and Secretary of State Election results)

We just received word that Representative Shavers will be coming out of hiding on Saturday to hold two Town Meetings this Saturday, February 4th.  The first is at 1PM at Bayview Community Hall – 5642 Bayview Rd, Langley.  The second one is at 5PM at the Civic Garden Club – 622 2nd St, La Conner. Wonder if there will be any veterans in attendance who will question Shavers on lying about his military service. (Representative Shavers media release)

Another Seattle City Councilmember is planning to escape the scene of their numerous failed policies. Unfortunately, instead of leaving elected office like four other failed Seattle councilmembers plan to do this year, Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda is hoping that her past failures won’t follow her as she seeks to replace retiring Councilmember Joe McDermott on the King County Council.  While district-based Seattle Councilmembers Lisa Herbold, Debora Juarez, Alex Pedersen, and Kshama Sawant are not running for re-election this year, Councilmember Mosqueda is one of two “at-large” members and is not up for re-election until 2025. So she will be getting her six-figure government paycheck either way next year, and Seattle taxpayers will help underwrite her campaign this year while she is supposed to be working at her current job. (MyNorthwest)

A resolution before the Pierce County Council seeks to prevent a new airport from being built in the rural areas of the county.  Last year the state’s Commercial Aviation Coordination Commission recommended three rural locations (two in Pierce County and one in Thurston County) to review as possible locations for a new regional airport intended to relieve congestion at Sea-Tac airport. The commission also recommended considering expanding Paine Field in Everett, which already has a limited number of commercial flights.

Residents in Eastern and Central Pierce County immediately organized groups to oppose building an airport in their communities. The proposal before the council supports Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier’s opposition to the airport.  The resolution, which is scheduled for a vote next Tuesday, calls for the two Pierce County locations to be removed from further consideration.  The Commercial Aviation Coordination Commission is expected to make its final recommendations in June. (KING5 News)

The Washington Policy Center’s Pam Lewison states that the current plan to increase buffer zones around streams to protect fish habitat is “superior to the ‘buffer bills’ from the last legislative session and the beginning of the current session.”  Lewison states in a new report that the previous failed plans were developed in secret by Governor Inslee and his wealthy urban environmental campaign contributors, while the latest legislation (HB 1720) was developed through a more public process which included tribes, environmentalists, farmers, and other stakeholders.

Lewison also stated that since the current plan is voluntary, the key to its success is to have it funded by the legislators so there is money available for grants. Thus far no fiscal note has been attached to the bill to determine how much the voluntary plan will cost taxpayers. (Washington Policy Center, Tri-City Herald, and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

Our Newsmaker Interview was with second-term Republican Representative Cyndy Jacobsen who serves the 25^th Legislative District (East Pierce County).  She is a former Puyallup City Councilmember, schoolteacher, home school parent, and small business owner. She is the mother of seven children.

The representative discussed her bill to allow the state to rehire the workers who were unfairly fired when Governor Inslee abused his emergency powers by terminating the employment of state employees who were unvaccinated for COVID.  Representative Jacobsen also discussed her bill to improve safety in our schools and the proposal to provide more educational options to families by having the state fund the student and not the schools. She called the Democrats’ 2021 restrictions on police pursuit a “disastrous policy” and she is strongly supporting legislative efforts to repeal the law. She stated that Governor Inslee’s $4 billion bond measure for the state to purchase affordable housing is unwise fiscal policy and believes the housing crisis could be addressed better through lifting many of the bureaucratic restrictions Democrats have placed on development. (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

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