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Congressman Jay Inslee Speaks to
Clallam County Democrats (Photo by Chris Tucker)
Jay Inslee: A Proven Progressive Leader
By Matthew Randazzo
Chairman of the Clallam County Democratic Party
Listen to My Interview with Jay Inslee
Nowadays, politicians disappoint and disillusion
their progressive supporters at a rate bested only by first loves
and diet programs. In American liberal circles, to express faith in
a modern politician is to invite instant suspicion of your
gullibility and sanity, like a stranger at a bar loudly proclaiming
his belief in the unsurpassed combat prowess of pro wrestlers.
Rare is a candidate with a record that displays consistent good
judgment and courage, but such a candidate is running to become
Governor of Washington in 2012. His name is Jay Inslee, and he is
the Democratic Representative for Washington’s 1st Congressional
District.
If past performance is the best indicator of future accomplishment,
then Inslee is the strongest candidate for governor of Washington in
years. Ever since Jay was first elected to Congress in 1992, he has
been right when it counts with the uncanny regularity of a student
with a cheat sheet.
The only way to be consistently right on the issues in modern
American politics is to be immune to the peer pressure of D.C.
conventional wisdom, the bribery of Big Business lobbyists, and the
intimidation of the Republican Party and the vast reactionary power
apparatus that funds it. This massive chorus in favor of
trickle-down economics, foreign policy adventurism, and restricting
civil liberties has led countless Democrats astray from their
values, but Jay Inslee has proven about as easy to bully and
intimidate as a Clint Eastwood character in a Spaghetti Western.
Regardless of the pressure applied, Jay Inslee has voted his
conscience. And, regardless of how you classify yourself
politically, Jay Inslee’s judgment has proven wise. Progressive or
conservative, Ron Paul libertarian or Bernie Sanders socialist, a
huge majority of Americans agree in hindsight with the positions Jay
Inslee has taken on the most important issues in recent American
history.
Good judgment, ultimately, is not a blue/red, left/right,
Democrat/Republican proposition. Wise policy decisions can be
reached for absolutely opposite ideological reasons, and many
Democrat have voted for catastrophic bills with the best of
intentions.
That's why Jay Inslee record is so important. We already know his
heart is in the right place, but his record proves that so is his
judgment. He has earned the trust that he is asking the voters of
Washington to place in him next year when they choose a governor.
Here are some reasons why:
In 1999, The Financial Services Modernization Act was crammed
through Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. This
lobbyist-concocted swindle repealed much of the New Deal Glass-Steagall
Act, neutering the government’s ability to regulate deals between
commercial banks, investment banks, securities firms, and insurance
companies.
Jay Inslee voted “Nay.” And he was right.
The financial three-card-Monte that followed that bill’s passage
contributed heavily to the mortgage apocalypse of 2008 and our
current recession.
Jay Inslee
voted to regulate the corrupt sub-prime mortgage industry a full
year before it sparked the nation’s economic meltdown.
In October of 2008, the Wall Street bookies returned to D.C. and
demanded a blank check from the taxpayers to cover their losses and
stake their future bets — TARP, or the Troubled Assets Relief
Program.
Jay Inslee
voted “Nay.” And he was right.
When George W. Bush demanded Congressional authorization of the Iraq
War based on false claims about weapons of mass destruction, polls
found that upwards of 70% of Americans supported what would become
the costliest mistake our foreign policy history.
Jay Inslee voted “Nay.” And he was right.
Jay has been reliably ahead of the curve of public opinion for
twenty years. Long before they were winning positions, Jay was an
advocate of
green energy,
stem cell
research,
stopping the militarization of border patrol,
creating
oversight of War on Terror interrogations
and
wiretapping programs,
investigating FEMA’s handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,
and preventing
the expansion and deregulation of offshore oil drilling prior to the
BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
This trend continues: unlike all previous major gubernatorial
candidates, Jay’s support of same-sex marriage
is unequivocal.
Compare Jay’s record with his likely opponent in next year’s
gubernatorial election, Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna, a
Tea Party extremist who used Washington citizens’ tax dollars to
sue the federal government to prevent healthcare reform and twice
supported George W. Bush for president.
And I don’t expect Olympia to change Jay. "I'm not running for
governor to all of a sudden turn into a piece of sugar candy,”
Inslee
told me in an interview two months ago. “Having lived through
the Bush years and come out standing, I've always been willing to
stand up for progressive values and the middle class.”
Visit JayInslee.com to learn more
about a progressive leader with proven judgment and courage.
MATTHEW RANDAZZO
Matthew@MatthewRandazzo.com
Chairman of the Clallam County Democratic Central Committee
24th Legislative District State Committeeman |
