The Governor of Washington refuses to give up the COVID-19 emergency powers he’s clung to for two years despite several appeals by Republicans and, lately, Democrats. And the reason he refuses to relinquish that extraordinary power is that Donald Trump is living rent-free in his mind.
Republicans and others have demanded he give up his emergency powers and resume regular order with old-fashioned checks and balances. Even though Democrats dominate both houses, Inslee has refused.
Why Washington State Needs Emergency Powers Reform (video) – No matter how much you might agree with a governor, our system is not meant to be the arbitrary rule of one. https://t.co/Khx0vfYHVK #waleg @WAPolicyCenter
— Olympia Watch (@OlympiaWatch) September 18, 2021
During a news conference on Monday, Inslee was asked by a reporter, “Why not end [the emergency] today?” After bluffing about his willingness to meet with Republicans to “go over the numbers,” Inslee admitted the real reason why he won’t give up his dictatorship.
Republicans have pushed for an end to emergency powers, Inslee’s thinking goes, not because of the need for checks and balances. It’s not because the Democrat majority won’t hold him to account, and it’s not about freedom. No, Washingtonians can’t get this guy out from behind his Vladimir Putin Commemorative Dictator Desk because … Donald Trump.
“If they want to sit down with me and look over the numbers … I’m very willing to talk with them,” he testily harrumphed. “They just want to — they’ve always wanted to follow Donald Trump! That’s the central problem here. Who first said it was going to be over by Easter, then he told us you could take horse de-worming products, and has always diminished our ability, and has refused to help the state of Washington when I asked him to help?” No one knew what Inslee was talking about, but he huffed on, “and the Republicans in this state have followed him and continue to follow him.” They, stated Inslee, “refuse to stand up to [Trump’s] coup attempt.”
It seems he’s saying that Republicans must disavow Donald Trump to his satisfaction to get their freedom back, just like the authoritarian that he is.
COME AGAIN? Asked about Republicans who want him to give up emergency powers after more than two years, @GovInslee says Republicans don't care about "working people" and adds that they refused to stand up to Trump's "coup attempt." What in the fresh hell? pic.twitter.com/EH6I5Oicxn
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) February 28, 2022
Inslee gamely tried to explain the other bizarre reasons why he won’t give up his emergency powers.
“We need it to protect hospitals so that people don’t get sick … by requiring masks in hospitals,” Inslee said, as if emergency powers were the only way to accomplish this.
“We need it to protect employees,” he continued. “Apparently, Republicans don’t care about employees who want to wear their masks,” he asserted without explaining how only emergency powers provide a way for individuals to put on a mask. Indeed, no Republican has advocated for a mandate requiring people to take their masks off, only for the choice not to wear one.
Inslee then claimed that only emergency powers would allow the governor to stand with the little guy. “I am standing up for working people who want to wear a mask. I am sorry [Republicans] don’t share that view,” he laughably added.
Still another reason Inslee gave for his hold on emergency powers was to make sure Washington remains eligible for federal funds, as if he couldn’t declare another emergency should one arise in the future.
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Ironically, the science-y political science has changed, and Inslee has announced he will move up the end of his mask mandates that no one was following to coincide with California and Oregon. The end date has been changed from March 21 to March 12.
When the West Coast, Messed Coast™ governors formed a special COVID consortium at the beginning of the pandemic to coordinate their response, Washingtonians, Californians, and Oregonians had no idea that governors and health factotums of other states, for whom they never voted, would be dictating their lives. Such agreements essentially deprive citizens of their representation and the ability to petition their government. Voters should demand such agreements be outlawed in the future or at least require them to be approved by their representatives.
For a man of such limited political talent, Jay Inslee sure has an outsized ego. And one thing is clear: former President Donald Trump lives rent-free in his head, and Washington voters are being punished for Inslee’s irrational Trump Derangement mental issues.
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