Governor Jay Inslee believes his life-and-death decisions are above being questioned, or as he calls it, “second guessed.”  Just like New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, our own Governor Inslee gets a little uptight when he is pressed on why he has made some really poor choices in the last year.  In light of the nursing home scandal that has engulfed Governor Cuomo, reporter Brandi Kruse asked the governor a serious question regarding his decision to  provide financial incentives for nursing homes to accept hospital transfers into their facilities in the early days of the pandemic, where half of the state’s COVID deaths have occurred. The governor gave his typical curt and dismissive response and said, “I don’t see a reason to second guess that decision.”  So typical. Not only has Governor Inslee refused to work with the legislature on pandemic issues, and has ignored the suggestions and concerns of local officials, but he also believes his actions should never be questioned.  Not exactly a model of leadership (unless you are a medieval monarch). (Click to read full Shift Article)

LAST DAY!!! Thousands of Shift readers have participated in the first two rounds of our Madness in Olympia tournament, and we are down to the championship match-up to determine what has been the Democrat’s 2021 Worst Legislative Idea.  Play today and help decide whether a State Income Tax on Capital Gains (SB 5096) or Eliminating Police Resources (HB 1054) is to earn this dubious crown from Shift readers. Share with your friends.  We will officially crown the winner tomorrow. (Click to participate in Shift’s Madness in Olympia tournament)

Six-term Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler had a bad idea, and was unable to convince legislators to pass his bill that will raise most people’s insurance rates, so he took a page from Governor Inslee’s playbook and simply issued an “emergency order.”  Kreidler, who started out in the 1990’s as a far-left legislator and was kicked out of Congress after one term by the voters, has long sought to remove credit scores as a factor when insurance companies set their rates. Not because using those scores is good for people who buy insurance, but because Kriedler needs to pander to his far-left base that does not want anyone held accountable for their own decisions. So, the 77 tear-old Insurance Commissioner in his last term is using a year-old pandemic as an excuse to impose price increases on most people who buy insurance.  House Republican Leader JT Wilcox expressed concerns about Kreidler’s power-grab. “I think responsible members of the Legislature and the public should be deeply concerned about the way emergency rules by various elected officials have become normalized. That’s not the way people in Washington expect their government be conducted.” Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy Center satirically tweeted, “We could save so much time and money if we abolished the Washington Legislature and run the state on emergency orders.” (Seattle Times and Twitter)

It appears the appeals process has finally ended for Democrat former Washington State Auditor Troy Kelley. The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Kelley’s petition on his 2017 conviction for tax fraud, possession of stolen property, and making false statements.  Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman said “It is past time for Mr. Kelley to begin his prison sentence. Justice requires accountability and it is time for Troy Kelley to be held accountable.”  Kelley is to serve one year in federal prison for his crimes. (KNKX)

A Washington Policy Center report points out that a liberal proposal to shut down all timber harvest in Western Washington goes against scientific research and would cause severe damage to the state’s economy.  The idea being floated by two former hyper-partisan Democrat Washington State Land Commissioners was featured in the Seattle Times over the weekend, with unscientific claims it will reduce atmospheric CO2.  Yet scientific research conducted by the University of Washington, U.S. Forestry Service, and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change all state that sustainable forestry (harvesting and replanting new trees) reduces more CO2 than not cutting the trees once they mature. But science doesn’t matter when partisan Democrats want to play to their base. (Washington Policy Center and Seattle Times)

Western states, including Washington, have not experienced the housing construction boom that has occurred in the rest of the country.  Despite more people migrating to the West, local and state building restrictions have severely limited home construction, which caused home prices to soar, and contributed to the region’s homeless crisis.  During the 2010s, housing construction in Western states was approximately 60% of what took place during the decades of 1990s and the 2000s.  In Washington State, only the Tri-Cities area issued more home construction permits during 2020 than in 2019. (Puget Sound Indexer)

Due to poor facilities management by King County Executive Dow Constantine, taxpayers will spend $65 million to finally (maybe) fix the West Point Treatment Plant that has been the source of many damaging sewage spills into Puget Sound during the past 20 years.  Despite the multiple preventable sewage spills which have occurred at the facility (which have caused neighboring counties to close their beaches to avoid the poop), this has not been a funding priority during Executive Constantine’s three terms in office (yet payment for hiring strippers for homeless conferences is approved and paid by the county).  There have been 15 spills in the last 20 years, and eight in the past five. (MyNorthwest and Seattle Times)

Representative Mary Dye (R – Pomeroy) has sponsored legislation that would require urban areas to be more pro-active in how they combat the effects of “urban heat islands.” During the summer months, the temperatures around urban areas (like Seattle) can be 17 degrees warmer than surrounding areas, and are a contributing factor to climate change.  Dye’s bill (HB 1114) would require utilities to help consumers make energy efficient choices (like installing “cool roofs”) to reduce the amount of energy spent on air conditioning.  (Columbia Basin Herald and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

A “supertanker” housed at the Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake could be an effective tool in combatting forest fires in the future.  A Boeing 747 is fitted with large water tanks that can be used to extinguish large fires. Yesterday, Global Supertankers performed a demonstration at the airport by dumping nearly 20,000 gallons of water in front of a crowd of state and national officials, including Congressman Dan Newhouse (R – Sunnyside) and Washington State Land Commissioner Hilary Franz.  A bill (HB 1168) to fund the plane has been passed by the Washington State House and is now before the Senate Agriculture Committee. (iFIBER One, Washington Legislature Bill Summary, and Newhouse Facebook)

We have to admit, sometimes Washington liberals make our job incredibly easy with some of their actions.  A recent email “survey” from the Washington State Democrat Party is a perfect example.  In an email titled, “Our turn to listen,” the party pretends to care about its donors’ opinions by asking, “Do you support the American Rescue Plan?”  Yet, immediately following the question they write, “Thank you for supporting the American Rescue Plan,” as if everyone is marching lockstep with the party’s beliefs.  And, no matter how a person responds to the survey, they are sent to the same landing page that states “Your responses will help us fight back against their (Republicans) smear campaigns.”  The Democrats appear to have a convoluted concept of listening, when they demonstrate that they really do not care how people respond to their questions. (Washington State Democrat Party email and Response landing page)

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