Slog
News & ArtsFriday, July 6, 2012
Politics Jay Inslee Is Not Trying to Inspire the Progressive Urban Vote
Posted by Dominic Holden on Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 8:01 AM
Jay Inslee doesn't support an income tax. "I think it’s wrong for the state of Washington," says the Democrat running for governor. In fact, even though the state is facing a cascade of future budget shortfalls and education is being gutted, Inslee doesn't support any new tax. "I do not believe that raising taxes in the state of Washington is the right solution to the economy we have," he tells the SECB. And he doesn't support passing Initiative 502, which would make pot legal and taxed, thereby raising about a half-billion-dollars a year in new taxes.
"I just have to tell you, as a father and grandfather, I am not comfortable voting for this initiative," Jay Inslee explains. Of Democrats, however, 71 percent of them support the initiative and 60 percent of residents in the Seattle area support it, according to a recent SurveyUSA poll. But not Inslee. "It sends a message to our kids." Asked to elaborate on that dusty talking point, Inslee continues, "I am not comfortable sending a message to those who I care about that I am accepting of legalizing marijuana."
Meanwhile, Inslee hews to party-line support for same-sex marriage and the Affordable Care Act—both issues that liberals like—but those issues are largely settled now. So he's standing on safe ground.
Inslee's approach won't necessarily inspire progressives, but it is a logical strategy. Inslee is inoculating against conservative attacks that he'd be a tax-and-spend, drug-lovin' liberal. And he's going to use his measured platform to reach for moderate voters. Instead of reaching for progressive urban voters, he seems to be pushing them away. A February Survey USA poll found McKenna beating Inslee in the Seattle metropolitan area by 46 to 38 percent. A May poll shows Inlsee slightly ahead, but far from majority support. If he keeps up this tack, Inslee will need—and is actively pursuing—an entirely different strategy to win the state. After all, Gregoire won in King County in 2004 with 58 percent of the vote—and she barely won the state. She won with a less narrow margin four years later with 64 percent of the vote. It appears that Inslee has nowhere near that support around here, and he's given up on Gregoire's electoral math. He's begging for moderate voters and praying that liberals simply hate Republican Rob McKenna. Let's see if it works. Let's see if Inslee can win without any genuine excitement from the Democrats' progressive base.
3
Liberals and progressives are not going to vote Obama, Cantwell and McKenna. If Obama runs strong in Washington, Inslee will be our next governor.
4
It's not too late for Jay to spend "more time with his family." Too many Dems running in the 1st. Run DelBene for gov. Even Seattle Schools, institutional fuck ups that they are, know how to move the pieces around the board.
5
Was the progressive base happy or excited about Gregoire in 2004 or 2008? I too wish Inslee were a progressive standard bearer. He won't be, but we do know McKenna will be a right-wing standard bearer and will destroy Washington's values and what remains of our middle class. He hates mass transit and teachers, opposes health care and doesn't support marriage equality.
The governor's race this year is about stopping the right from taking power in a state where, one could plausibly argue, they have never held it. It's about giving progressives the chance to fight another day. If we have to spend the next four years playing Wisconsin-style defense, then that means pushing forward a progressive agenda on the income tax, on marijuana, on transit, and on social justice will not be possible because we'll be fighting just to get back to where we were in 2012.
Washington progressives don't need and can't afford a lost decade. So what if Inslee isn't our champion? He's also not our sworn enemy, and that should make all the difference in this election.
The governor's race this year is about stopping the right from taking power in a state where, one could plausibly argue, they have never held it. It's about giving progressives the chance to fight another day. If we have to spend the next four years playing Wisconsin-style defense, then that means pushing forward a progressive agenda on the income tax, on marijuana, on transit, and on social justice will not be possible because we'll be fighting just to get back to where we were in 2012.
Washington progressives don't need and can't afford a lost decade. So what if Inslee isn't our champion? He's also not our sworn enemy, and that should make all the difference in this election.
6
""I do not believe that raising taxes in the state of Washington is the right solution to the economy we have,"
because having the most regressive tax scheme in the nation is clearly working for Washington! WTF is wrong with Democrats who can't see the people on their political left waiting for competent leadership?
because having the most regressive tax scheme in the nation is clearly working for Washington! WTF is wrong with Democrats who can't see the people on their political left waiting for competent leadership?
7
It would be smart for Inslee to get off his "green jobs" kick and instead focus simply on "jobs."
The "green" think only appeals to people who are already inclined to vote for him anyway, and turns off middle-ground voters who think he's pandering to elitist environmentalists while ignoring the pain of working-class people.
People without a job, stuck in a job (or two, or three...) that doesn't pay enough, or afraid of losing their job don't care what adjective you put in front of a 'job.' They just want to know that jobs are being created that enable them to pay their bills.
The "green" think only appeals to people who are already inclined to vote for him anyway, and turns off middle-ground voters who think he's pandering to elitist environmentalists while ignoring the pain of working-class people.
People without a job, stuck in a job (or two, or three...) that doesn't pay enough, or afraid of losing their job don't care what adjective you put in front of a 'job.' They just want to know that jobs are being created that enable them to pay their bills.
8
"I am not comfortable sending a message to those who I care about that I am accepting of legalizing marijuana."
Maybe he can "care about" those whose lives are legally ruined (educational, job, housing opportunities lost), often young, by the racist and classist policies of the illegalization. Was his last policy update Reefer Madness? Maybe "for the children" that arent' his own he could accept the sustainable "green jobs" created, the significant revenue source, and the savings in enforcement. Still, umm, Vote Inslee!
Maybe he can "care about" those whose lives are legally ruined (educational, job, housing opportunities lost), often young, by the racist and classist policies of the illegalization. Was his last policy update Reefer Madness? Maybe "for the children" that arent' his own he could accept the sustainable "green jobs" created, the significant revenue source, and the savings in enforcement. Still, umm, Vote Inslee!
9
another milque-toast dem that hilariously believes that he's "inoculating against conservative attacks that he'd be a tax-and-spend, drug-lovin' liberal". fucking magic thinking. he's already given up on the election.
11
The message Mr. Inslee wants to send to his children and grandchildren is that should they engage in relatively normal and benign behavior, they risk being fucked for life.
Oh, who am I kidding? HIs children and grandchildren face very little possibility of such things.
Your children and grandchildren, on the other hand...
Oh, who am I kidding? HIs children and grandchildren face very little possibility of such things.
Your children and grandchildren, on the other hand...
12
If Inslee is going to be a mealy mouthed dem on issues of the income tax and marijuana, fine. But he should at least attack Mckenna for the closet reactionary that he is on those issues of mass transportation, health care and public education and his unwillingness to really show his cards to the public.
13
Both state party apparatuses in Washington are feckless, which is why we're governed by initiative. Nevertheless, McKenna is the best shot the GOP has had in decades, and this not the time to get leftier-than-thou.
14
Don't like Inslee? Here are your choices:
Rob Hill (D), l, said he would run on the single issue of gradually increasing Washington’s
tobacco tax by $10 per cigarette pack.
Shahram Hadian (R) - Christian Pastor, Ex-Muslim & '10 State Rep. Candidate
Javier Lopez (R) - Minister, Security Company Owner & '08 Candidate
Rob McKenna (R) - Attorney General & Ex-King County Councilor
Max Sampson (R)
Mary Martin (Socialist Workers/Write-In) - State Party Chair & Communist Political Organizer
Christian Joubert (Independent), the "holistic candidate"
Dale Sorgen (Independent) - Computer Programmer & Baptist Minister and lifelong Republican
James White (Independent) - Factory Airplane Inspector & Ex-Correctional Officer, barred by Court from visiting son with former girlfriend.
Pick your poison.
Rob Hill (D), l, said he would run on the single issue of gradually increasing Washington’s
tobacco tax by $10 per cigarette pack.
Shahram Hadian (R) - Christian Pastor, Ex-Muslim & '10 State Rep. Candidate
Javier Lopez (R) - Minister, Security Company Owner & '08 Candidate
Rob McKenna (R) - Attorney General & Ex-King County Councilor
Max Sampson (R)
Mary Martin (Socialist Workers/Write-In) - State Party Chair & Communist Political Organizer
Christian Joubert (Independent), the "holistic candidate"
Dale Sorgen (Independent) - Computer Programmer & Baptist Minister and lifelong Republican
James White (Independent) - Factory Airplane Inspector & Ex-Correctional Officer, barred by Court from visiting son with former girlfriend.
Pick your poison.
15
Ah, thanks for reminding me why no one is excited about this guy. Washington has enough voters who don't vote straight party lines (see what almost happened in the 2004 race) to make me think McKenna stands a very good chance of winning.
16
"A February Survey USA poll found McKenna beating Inslee in the Seattle metropolitan area by 46 to 38 percent."
You can't sincerely be suggesting that if Inslee were to come out in support of a state income tax and mary jane he'd win over McKenna supporters, can you?
You can't sincerely be suggesting that if Inslee were to come out in support of a state income tax and mary jane he'd win over McKenna supporters, can you?
17
They're going to call him a tax and spend liberal whether he is or not, regardless of how much "inoculation" happens. Has Inslee's campaign noticed that Republicans lie? If you're going to be called a tax and spend liberal no matter what, you might as well rally the base by actually being one.
18
Well-stated by junipero @5. It's not the role of gubernatorial candidates to run as champions of issues or causes that don't already have a groundswell of support behind them and rally voters to those issues and causes. It's the role of gubernatorial candidates to latch on to the current public mood and steer it, like a bullrider on a bull, in the direction you want it to go.
McKenna represents a radical rightward shift, and he can get away with it because sadly the public is susceptible to that. Inslee knows that, if he were to propose a leftward shift only half as radical, he'd fall flat on his face.
And FWIW, Inslee strikes me as someone kinda like Obama or Cantwell. He's a true progressive, but he realizes that he's constrained by political realities. Aside from perhaps education issues, I've never felt that way about Chris Gregoire. Certainly not when it comes to transportation.
McKenna represents a radical rightward shift, and he can get away with it because sadly the public is susceptible to that. Inslee knows that, if he were to propose a leftward shift only half as radical, he'd fall flat on his face.
And FWIW, Inslee strikes me as someone kinda like Obama or Cantwell. He's a true progressive, but he realizes that he's constrained by political realities. Aside from perhaps education issues, I've never felt that way about Chris Gregoire. Certainly not when it comes to transportation.
19
If he imagines that trying to inspire voters outside of the Seattle metropolitan area is a winning strategy then let's just save some money and hand the governorship to McKenna right now. I generally have little patience for 'there's no difference between the two mainstream parties' idiots, but in this case the difference appears to be negligible at best.
20
we all constantly wipe rich peoples asses for them. vote for whichever king ass wiper you want. we lose till we all throw down the TP and give the rich a little sniff of real life.
21
There actually are people who vote for the candidate, not the party. Inslee will get none of those votes with his colorless, limp campaign.
22
#18, McKenna succeeds not so much because people embrace Hard Right Ideology, but because he, like many republicans, lies and head fakes to the center to draw in the uninformed centrists; and then when he assumes power, goes hard right.
And dems like Inslee are content to adopt centrist republican frames instead of drawing sharp contrasts between the values and positions of the dems vs. the republicans.
And dems like Inslee are content to adopt centrist republican frames instead of drawing sharp contrasts between the values and positions of the dems vs. the republicans.
23
"It sends a message to our kids."
oooo. think of all the other great effin' messages we send. like suck it at school. righteous s.o.b...
oooo. think of all the other great effin' messages we send. like suck it at school. righteous s.o.b...
24
The Democratic farm team in Washington State is in pitiful condition if a fuckin' goober like Inslee is the best we can muster for the governor's race.
I'll vote for him, put up a yard sign and maybe even give his campaign $50, but I'll feel ridiculous doing so. If the only reason to support someone is that they're not as bad as the opponent, we're doing something really wrong.
I'll vote for him, put up a yard sign and maybe even give his campaign $50, but I'll feel ridiculous doing so. If the only reason to support someone is that they're not as bad as the opponent, we're doing something really wrong.
25
24
true.
the farm system sucks.
but the top of the ticket, the US Senators, are even more pathetic.
true.
the farm system sucks.
but the top of the ticket, the US Senators, are even more pathetic.
27
I don't have a party affiliation. I literally never vote for republicans (the party of big business, anti-union/worker, anti-21st century), though, and I only vote for democrats if they are worth voting for. Inslee isn't. What a weak candidate, triangulating to get to the center, which keeps drifting right in this country. Big deal he's for gay marriage and Obamacare; they've been decided. We'll pass gay marriage regardless of his stand, and even McKenna won't go teabagger and refuse to implement Obamacare here. Regarding I-502, he's positively old school drug warrior ('what about the children?' Pathetic, and clueless to the point of embarrassment). Hey, don't rock the boat, Inlsee. I'll sit this one out in November. I'll probably write-in the communist in the primary. If McKenna gets in, the democrats will have themselves to blame for promoting such a wimpy candidate.
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Portland Voters Are Stoopid by Goldy
-
An I-5 Bridge Over the Skagit River Has Collapsed by Paul Constant
-
Rightwing Anti-Gay French Activist Commits Suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral by Dan Savage
-
Why They Break Windows by Unpaid Intern
-
Spoiled Rotten: Star Trek Into Darkness by Paul Constant
-
Usually When I'm Sent a Photoshopped Image of a Gun Pointed At Me... by Dan Savage
-
There Are No Atheists In Foxholes by Dan Savage
-
Tornado Truthers by Dan Savage
-
SL Letter of the Day: Did You Think I Was Going To Tell You Not To Come Out? (PLUS: Help Free Kate!) by Dan Savage
-
SL Letter of the Day: Have You Ever Heard of...? by Dan Savage
Stranger Personals
The Stranger
RSSSeattle Art & Performance Quarterly
A complete guide to Seattle's current art, film, dance, and theater season.
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (27) RSS