Olympia’s Reality Check: The Podcast Democrats Don’t Want You to Hear

Get the Real Story on the 2025 Legislative Session, Not the Media Spin

Washington’s legislative session is underway, and Republicans are fighting back against the usual tax hikes, budget disasters, and soft-on-crime policies. In our recent must-listen podcast interviews, House GOP Leader Drew Stokesbary breaks down how the state landed in a budget deficit despite record tax revenues (hint: reckless spending), while Senate Minority Leader John Braun lays out plans to fix affordability, restore public safety, and block more Democrat tax grabs. Both leaders share strategies for pushing back against bad policy—even in the minority. Get the real story at Shift WA.

Democrats’ New Plan: Let Felons Out Early and Hope for the Best

House Bill 1125 is the latest Democratic scheme to prioritize criminals over victims, giving activist judges the power to shorten sentences based on vague, feel-good criteria like “diminished physical condition.” As KTTH’s Jason Rantz points out, the bill effectively opens the floodgates for violent felons to be released early, all in the name of “equity” because apparently, too many criminals in prison is now a social injustice. Supporters claim it will reduce recidivism, but their so-called “research” is laughable, cherry-picking cases that don’t actually apply to serious offenders. Meanwhile, victims and their families will be forced to relive their trauma in resentencing hearings, only to watch their attackers walk free. Even some Democrats are uneasy about handing more power to judges with a history of reckless decisions—like the one who freed an armed robber who later disemboweled a 14-year-old boy. If passed, this bill will make Washington’s crime problem even worse, proving once again that Democrats never met a soft-on-crime policy they didn’t love. Read more at KTTH.

Washington’s $45 Million EV Giveaway: A Costly Flop

Washington Democrats blew $45 million on an EV rebate program that barely moved the needle on emissions and mostly benefited the same upper-income buyers who were already purchasing electric cars. The program promised 8,700 new EV sales but delivered barely half that, while emissions reductions were an embarrassingly minuscule 0.03%. Despite claims of making EVs affordable for lower-income drivers, the average buyer’s income only dropped from $122,000 to $118,000—hardly a working-class revolution. Meanwhile, buyers raked in up to $16,500 in state and federal subsidies, with the Tesla Model 3 being the most popular choice. Now, Democrats want to throw another $82 million at the same failed idea, proving once again they never learn from their own policy disasters. Read more at Center Square.

Washington Democrats Want Government-Run Healthcare—Because Their Other Programs Work So Well

Washington Democrats are pushing yet another government-run healthcare scheme, despite failing to even provide coverage for their own legislative staff. House Bill 1445 and Senate Bill 5233 would create a statewide, taxpayer-funded system promising universal coverage, but without any real plan for cost control beyond vague “bulk pricing” and “administrative efficiency” claims. The proposal has gained record support from Senate Democrats, but critics point out that the same people who botched the WA Cares long-term care tax now want to handle all of Washington’s healthcare. Instead of addressing rising costs and insurance access in a practical way, Democrats are charging full speed ahead into another expensive, bureaucratic disaster—one that taxpayers will inevitably foot the bill for. Read more at the Columbian-Basin Herald.

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