DEMOCRATS SAY ONE THING, DO ANOTHER
REDMOND, WA – Washingtonians have been experiencing whiplash this legislative session and unfortunately, it’s not the 2014 Miles Teller classic.
Democrats have made it increasingly clear that when the will of the electorate conflicts with their policy goals, the electorate is the element they’re willing to ignore. Instead of pursuing meaningful policy solutions, lawmakers have spent much of this session contradicting their own statements, dismissing public input, and advancing proposals voters have rejected again and again.
Let’s Go Washington (LGW) has outlined some of the most obvious examples of legislative flip-flopping this session on the income tax alone.
Passing an income tax ban while working on an income tax
Almost 450,000 Washingtonians signed I-2111 (among the top 10 most signed initiatives in state history) in 2024 and a bipartisan legislature overwhelmingly adopted the measure to affirm that Washington State should remain income tax-free.
Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen has been signaling his reluctance to honor the state’s commitment to an income tax ban for years. In an interview with KUOW, he dismissed his own vote on I-2111 as “nothing more than a pie crust promise, easily made, easily broken.”
His vote turned out to be just as flaky as he is.
Governor Ferguson: “We can’t tax our way out of this”
Not only has Governor Ferguson repeatedly stated that he wouldn’t raise taxes in the state, he even said that he and his colleagues couldn’t rely on a tax to dig them out of the $4.3 billion deficit hole they created for themselves.
It was obvious Governor Bob didn’t mean what he said when he signed the largest tax increase in state history, but maybe his comms team should do a better job prepping the guy so he doesn’t continue to gaslight voters for the next two years.
State Senator Manka Dhingra supports a tax she has said is unconstitutional
Senator Dhingra’s own website clearly acknowledges the unconstitutionality of an income tax in Washington State, yet she has been one of SB 6346’s most vocal supporters.
When Washingtonians signed on to oppose the measure in record numbers, she was quick to dismiss the public disapproval. She even went so far as to laugh at people who signed in on the income tax, and says legislators should take the record breaking number with “a grain of salt.”
When the public disagrees, the public has to be wrong
Many, if not all, of the legislators in Olympia claim to be guided by the voice of the electorate. They wax poetic about the importance of upholding the will and ideals of the people; that they are mere vessels to convey the opinions of their constituents. Some of them even get drunk on the job and talk about how magical it is that people voice their ideas to them.
Until, of course, those opinions don’t line up with their niche views. Washingtonians have rejected the income tax 10 times at the ballot box. HD Fowler has stepped down as chairman of his company after using his union talking points to drive off his own customers. Record numbers of people signed in opposition to the income tax.
If lawmakers are so confident they know what’s best for the people of this state, why not let them vote on the income tax? What are they so afraid of?
A promise Washington built its reputation on
Small businesses and successful entrepreneurs are now seeing this lie for what it is: nothing more than lip service. Business and residents have been leaving the state in droves and while Jamie Pedersen and his colleagues were quick to dismiss capital flight, they have now decided to scale back some of the highest taxes in the state. Coincidence?
If lawmakers are willing to reverse themselves on something as significant as an income tax, what other promises to voters are only temporary? Washington residents deserve leaders that listen to the people, honor their commitments, and respect the decisions voters have made again and again. Instead, what we’re getting is political whiplash.