WA Democrats tout absurd claim in attempt to raise money

Democrats are scrambling to raise money as the end of the month approaches. Jay Inslee has been peddling his paint-by-numbers drawings for cash and Democrat Rep. Suzan DelBene has been “advocating” for every issue under the sun (including a “save the elephants campaign”) in attempt to draw support.

But, perhaps no fundraising attempt is more absurd—based on the pure dishonestly of it all—than a recent email sent by the Washington State Democrat Party.

Washington Democrats’ fundraising email claims that supporters must donate money because “national Republicans have identified their next target” and it is “the Washington House of Representatives.” Supposedly, the Republican National Committee (RNC) is “going after the House with a vengeance, attacking Democrats like Representative Carol Gregory, who has a key seat in our razor-thin majority and faces a competitive special election in November.”

If Republicans succeed, warns state Democrats, “we could see our entire agenda derailed and our proud progressive tradition in Washington State would suffer a huge blow.” The email goes on to inform recipients that the party must raise a whopping $10,000 by the end of the month to ensure Democrats retain the state House—a mere two days before the end of August.

The state Democrats don’t have a great track record of telling the truth. Earlier this month, the party attempted to trick its supporters into donating by claiming their contribution would help Democrats win back the state Senate this year.

The fundraising email in question accused Republican lawmakers in the Senate for causing a “marathon legislative session” and gridlock in the state Legislature. For that reason, they beseeched their supporters for money to defeat GOP candidates.

There were two problems with that claim. First, Democrats—due to their refusal to give up on their tax-raising agenda—forced the legislative session to drag into July. We now have confirmation that Democrat House Speaker Frank Chopp and his fellow Democrat House leaders could not get 50 votes on the tax-raising budget they desperately wanted. In other words, they could not convince enough members of their own party to go on record voting for historic tax hikes.

Second, and most importantly (unless you are the state Democrat Party), there is no state Senate race on the ballot this year. So the party fundraisers do not have an honest claim to take back the Senate.

Much can be said of the Democrats’ latest email. To claim that Democrat Rep. Carol Gregory is in danger because the RNC is targeting her state seat is just the party’s attempt to create a national-scale boogeyman in hopes of frightening supporters into handing over their money.

The truth is that Gregory lost the August primary to Republican challenger Terri Hickel because Democrats like Gregory have stopped listening to their constituents. Instead, they propose imposing new tax after new tax on working Washington families—taxes meant to benefit special interests.