Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with Representative Skyler Rude (R – Walla Walla), a second-term legislator after serving four years as the legislative assistant for the highly respected Senator Maureen Walsh.  Representative Rude is a lifelong resident of Walla Walla and he serves on the powerful Appropriations Committee as well the House committees on Education and Health Care & Wellness.  Shift asks about Representative Rude about the Democrats’ failing to provide taxpayers with any tax break despite a $15 billion surplus. Because of his previous service as a senate staff member, Representative Rude provides a unique perspective on 100 legislative staff members walking out after legislation giving them collective bargaining rights failed. We also obtain the representative’s views on education choice, emergency powers reform, and the governor’s plan (HB 1838) which would have eliminated hundreds of thousands of acres of Washington State farmlands. (Click to read Newsmaker Interview)

First Senator Marko Liias (D – Edmonds) upsets Washington State’s neighbors by seeking to impose a tax on their gas to pay for his pet projects. Then he doubles-down by making personal attacks on Oregon’s Democrat Governor Kate Brown because she dared criticized having the “Liias tax” imposed on her constituents.  Washington’s neighbors in Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon have all been critical of the 6-cents-a-gallon tax that Washington State Democrat legislators want to place on fuel that Washington exports to their state. Lawmakers in those states have said they will retaliate by imposing a similar tax on items their state exports to Washington. In an interview with KVI’s John Carlson, Senator Liias was asked about the critical comments made by Oregon Governor Brown, and he responded with a personal attack on his fellow Democrat saying, “The fact that she dare say a word is a joke.”  We wonder if this is why Governor Inslee canceled his press conference on Thursday? (Click to read full Shift Article)

Lawmakers in Washington’s neighboring states continue to develop retaliatory taxes to be placed on our state’s consumers if Senator Marko Liias is successful in imposing his tax on their constituents.  The “Liias tax” would impose a 6-cent-a-gallon tax on fuel that Washington State exports to neighboring states.  The tax is expected to raise $2 billion of the $16.8 billion dollar transportation package which was developed solely by Democrat legislators, without any Republican or public input. This is an unprecedented tax, which many legal experts – including former Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna predict will be shot down by federal courts due to it conflicting with the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Lawmakers in neighboring states will not likely wait for the courts to decide that constitutionality, as they are already developing their own taxes in retaliation. In Alaska, legislators are tired of Washington Democrats treating their state as their “colony” and have proposed a 6-cent tax on every salmon caught by a Washington State fishing boat in their waters and another to assess a per-foot charge on Washington state boats which tie up to Alaskan docks. (Q13 Fox News and KIRO News)

Senator Marko Liias (D – Edmonds) took to the floor of the Senate this morning to apologize for his previous personal attacks on Oregon Governor Kate Brown.  (click for Shift article) Just before senators broke for lunch this morning, Senator Liias was recognized for a point of personal privilege to make his apology.  In part the senator said, “Yesterday I participated in a radio interview (with John Carlson on KVI) where I made unkind and disrespectful and inappropriate comments about the governor of Oregon, and I deeply regret making those comments.  As the Chair of the Transportation Committee I have the obligation to represent all of us well, and I failed in that task yesterday.”  The senator then stated he has personally apologized to the Governor Kate Brown for his comments. Why doesn’t the senator really do the right thing, and remove his “Liias tax” from the transportation bill which he has put in danger. (TVW – 57:40 mark and Shift Article)

Washington State will be the very last state on the mainland to lift its indoor mask mandate, since earlier this week, Oregon Governor Kate Brown said that her state would lift its indoor mask mandate on March 19^th.  Washington Governor Inslee has stated that he plans to remove the mask restrictions which he solely put in place on March 21^st.  Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy Center points out that Washington lags far behind some of the other members of the Democrat-only Western States Pact which Governor Inslee had originally stated he was going to coordinate with when it came to reopening the Washington’s economy. Here is when each of the six states with Democrat governors removed their mask mandates: Colorado – May 14, 2021, Nevada – February 10, California – February 15, New Mexico – February 17, Oregon – March 19, and, finally Inslee/Washington – March 21. (Vancouver Columbian, Seattle Times,  and Governor Inslee media release)

The reason why Seattle Police Department’s data shows a drop in the number of shoplifting cases involving downtown retailers is because the stores know it is useless to report the crimes and the merchants have told their employees to not step in when they see a crime being committed.  Downtown Seattle merchants fully understand that Seattle City Council actions have left the police department without the resources to follow up on reported crimes.  The owner/operator of a Belltown convenience store said, “Five or six years ago, the police response was right away — sometimes within three minutes, sometimes one minute.  These days, you call them, there’s no response whatsoever, that’s why people are not reporting.” (Q13 Fox News)

The Kettle Falls School District shut down classes for a day to evaluate conflicting messages it received from Governor Inslee and his Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) over the district lifting its ban on students wearing face masks.  The school board of this 1800-person community in Northeast Washington unanimously voted on February 14th to lift the state’s mandatory mask mandate due to overwhelming demand from parents.  At the time, L&I officials approved the measure for students so long as teachers and staff kept on their face masks.  Then Governor Inslee’s office stepped in and overrode the decision made by his own L&I officials, and demanded that his serfs/students must wear masks until March 21^st or the district would face fines.

At a special meeting yesterday, the school board voted 3-2 to require students to wear their masks once again at school.  All the members of the public who spoke at the meeting opposed the mask mandate.

The three Republican legislators who represent Kettle Falls (Senator Shelly Short, Representative Joel Kretz, and Representative Jacquelin Maycumber) sent a letter to the governor to explain the hardship many of the students have gone through which led to the school board’s decision to lift the mandate, and requested the governor stand by the original decision of L&I to allow students to go to school without wearing masks.  The neighboring Colville School District is holding a special meeting this afternoon to explore its options on whether to also comply with the governor’s mandate.  (Statesman Examiner, Spokesman-Review,  Legislators letter to Governor Inslee, and Colville School District Meeting notice)

Spokane Police Chief Craig Meidl spoke in favor of fixing the Democrats’ very flawed “police reform” package which has prevented law enforcement officers from pursuing criminals.  Chief Meidl said he supports SB 5919 to repair language in the Democrats’ hastily written 2021 reform bills, which were rushed through the legislature by Democrat leadership without consulting law enforcement officials or Republicans.  The chief said the reform legislation which the Democrats passed (in order to reward liberal activists who conducted massive political violence in Seattle) was one of the most restrictive in the nation and it “created an environment where everyone knows I don’t need to stop, and I can flee, and they absolutely are.” SB 5919 would allow law enforcement to pursue those who have a “reasonable suspicion” of committing a crime as opposed to needing a more restrictive “probable cause.” SB 5919 has passed the Senate and is now in the House Rules Committee. (KXLY and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

BABYLON BEE FRIDAY!

A little satire to start your weekend

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