With candidate filings completed and just 168 days until the 2022 general election, it is time for both candidates and their supporters to get to work.  History shows that for Republican candidates to win in Washington State they must organize strong grassroots campaigns to overcome the large financial advantage Democrat candidates thanks to contributions from wealthy urban environmentalists and government employee union bosses.  Polls show that voters strongly disapprove of the Democrats’ legislative actions which have made our state less safe for its law-abiding residents while also making it far more expensive place to live and work due to higher taxes and more expensive regulations.  Polls also indicate that generic GOP candidates are currently receiving a 4% – 10% bump in suburban swing districts. Yet this lead could be wiped out by negative television ads and hate-filled direct mail efforts as desperate Democrat candidates and their special interest groups seek to cling to power in Olympia.  It is time for those who want to reverse the disastrous course Governor Jay Inslee and his friends are taking our state to let their local candidates know that they are ready to get to work! (Click to read full Shift article)

Governor Jay Inslee continues to peddle his false narratives regarding his, and his fellow Democrats’, refusal to provide gas tax relief to help low- and middle- income workers who are financially struggling due to the Democrats’ expensive energy policies.  When questioned by KIRO Radio Host Dave Ross (at the 23:50 mark) about providing Washington residents with a temporary gas tax reduction, the governor peddled the same false statements he has made for the past couple of months. And once again, the members of the local media failed to ask the very obvious follow-up questions which challenge the governor’s comments.

Governor Inslee said the reasons why he does not support helping Washington residents with gas tax relief are 1) “the gas companies (will) just raise their process to the point they had it before. (A gas tax break) does not reduce what you are paying at the pump.” And 2) “If you stop the stream of (gas tax) revenue, you stop (transportation construction) projects.” Both of these excuses ignore reality. If the oil companies simply raised their prices if the tax was removed, then why do states with a lower gas tax rate currently have lower gas prices?  And surplus state revenues are more than enough to offset the loss of funding of transportation projects. The legislature simply needs to appropriate the money to transportation construction.

Democrats are obviously receiving pressure for their disregard for lower-income households  struggling for Inslee felt it necessary to also make up an additional false claim that, “we passed a low-income tax credit to help low-income people.” First of all, this was nothing Governor Inslee or Democrat state legislators did, it was passed by Congress. Secondly as even the governor admitted, “it kicks in next year,” And is thus of no help today. Third, it does not increase the amount of money low-income households have, it simply reduces the amount of tax taken from their paychecks and then reduces the amount they receive later from a tax refund.

And of course, Dave Ross (who ran for Congress as a Democrat in 2004 against Dave Reichert) failed to ask the governor any follow-up questions about his statements.  As long as the media refuses to challenge the obviously false statements made by Governor Inslee, he will continue to make them. (Dave Ross KIRO podcast 5/20/22, AAA average gas price by state, and Centralia Chronicle)

A new chart from the Tax Foundation found that Washington State has the second highest “sales tax” in the country once all taxes that are imposed on businesses (such as B&O taxes) are applied.  All business taxes are included since they impact the final price paid by the consumers.  Only Alabama ranks behind Washington State. Once again, Republicans pushed to use the record-breaking state revenue surplus to reduce both the state’s sales tax and B&O tax to help lower- and middle- income households by reducing the cost of goods in Washington, but the Democrats ignored this concern and decided to use the extra funds to permanently increase the size and cost of state government.  (Tax Foundation)

The News Tribune published a series of graphs which reveal the sharp increase in the price of basic food staples during the current inflationary period caused by liberal economic policies.  These price increases impact those who are on a fixed- or lower- income budgets the hardest.  The graphs show the national average prices from April 2019 to April 2022, with all of the food items showing a steep increase during the past six months. Boneless chicken breasts have jumped 36.2%, eggs 72.6%, butter 24.6%, coffee 32.6%, sugar 25.4%, and white bread 24.8%. Despite this tremendous burden on household budgets, Governor Inslee and the Democrats in the legislature did not go along with a national trend (even in other Democrat states) to help families by providing any type of tax break. The Democrats refused to even hold public hearings on Republican proposals to reduce the state’s sales tax, property tax, gas tax, B&O tax and even a tax on diapers.  Instead using the state’s record-breaking $15 billion in surplus tax revenues to help families, the Democrats chose to use the funds to permanently increase the size and cost of government. (News Tribune and Centralia Chronicle)

In 2020 the Democrat-controlled legislature was quickly wrapping up its business as the COVID pandemic was beginning, it passed a law giving tribal governments exclusive rights to the newly legalized and lucrative sports gambling business.  This caused several non-tribal gambling establishments to lose money. Not only do they lose out on being able to accept bets on professional and college sports, but they also lost many customers who previously gambled on the gaming activities they offered.  Eric Perrson of Maverick Gaming said what the Washington legislature did was discriminatory for it denied the right to participate in a legal activity solely based on race. Perrson has filed a lawsuit against the state in federal court. (KNKX Radio)

Doordash and other “gig work” companies are fighting back against a labor-driven proposal before the Seattle City Council which will increase the cost of food delivery.  The liberal extremists on the council evidently believe it is their job to determine the wages which private companies pay their employees and/or contractors.  After spending the last few years passing radical policies which have led to a mass exodus of police officers, skyrocketing crime rates, homeless encampments in neighborhood parks and sidewalks, mass reductions in available rental units, increased housing costs, an epidemic drug addiction crisis, the departure of several major employers, and a downtown retail core which is full of empty store fronts, the council is now seeking to increase the cost of food delivery.

Doordash began running banner ads in the Seattle Times and other websites to encourage people to contact city councilmembers to ask them to actually “study the impact of this proposal on Seattle customers, Dashers, businesses and underserved communities,” before passing the proposal (written by the Democrats’ favorite union donors).  Doordash contends the proposal will significantly reduce demand (due to even higher delivery charges), reduce opportunities for workers, and cost Seattle businesses $74 million. (Doordash ad landing page and Doordash banner ad)

A large homeless encampment fire burned under I-5 in downtown Seattle on Sunday, adding to the record-breaking number of fires the city is experiencing again this year.  The fire underneath the Denny Avenue exit was so devastating on Sunday, that fire investigators were unable to determine what caused it.  The Seattle Fire Department has responded to 654 fires so far this year, which is 200 more than last year (44% increase) at this time.  (KOMO News).

Yakima County economic officials say that inflation and the high price of fuel is hitting their region especially hard.  The price of fuel impacts not only the farmers who use it for planting and harvesting crops and for transporting commodities to market, but it also hurts local businesses since money that is often spent in their establishments is now being spent to purchase fuel.  Local economic analyst Yani Cisneros said, “Whenever our agriculture community is suffering, then those dollars are no longer staying in our community, and hence, we can’t get that new injection of funds into our small businesses.” (YakTriNews)

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