 |
When parents ask for a seat at the table, Democrats hand them a gag order and a bill for the damage.
|
|
Democrats vs. Parents: Round Two
|
|
|
In a stunning display of “we know better than you,” Washington Senate Democrats rammed through HB 1296 on a party-line vote, gutting key parts of last year’s voter-backed Initiative 2081 — the one that actually gave parents a say in their kids’ education. Democrats claim it’s about student safety and belonging; Republicans see it for what it is: a bureaucratic power grab that lets the state bully schools into compliance or lose up to 20% of their funding.
Republican senators tried to soften the bill’s sharp edges — like removing the funding threats or the emergency clause that blocks a public referendum — but Democrats rejected every amendment. Republican Sen. Keith Wagoner rightly called out the hypocrisy of overriding a citizen initiative while stripping away the people’s right to challenge the law. Meanwhile, Democrat Sen. Liz Lovelett gave a sermon on kids who “don’t feel like they are a boy or girl,” while sidestepping the fact that this bill greenlights schools to exclude parents from gender-related conversations entirely.
Republican Minority Leader John Braun nailed it: this isn’t about education — it’s about ideology. And once again, Republicans stood up for parents and common sense while Democrats sided with top-down control and activist agendas. Thankfully, Let’s Go Washington is fighting back with new initiatives that could restore sanity if voters get their say this November. Read more at Center Square.
|
|
|
|
Another Day, Another Democrat Tax Grab
|
|
|
As Shift WA has reported, Democrats in Olympia are still pushing a 3% property tax hike and a publicly funded strike slush fund. Apparently, crushing working families under higher costs is their idea of “equity.” Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, isn’t having it, calling out the left’s plan to turn Washington into a playground for the rich while the rest of us get taxed out of our homes. Even radio host John Curley called it what it is—a slippery slope into a never-ending tax spiral. Walsh and fellow Republicans are fighting back with a 0.5% cap initiative, offering sanity in the face of this zombie tax proposal that refuses to die. While Democrats fantasize about bigger government and bloated budgets, Republicans are actually trying to keep people in their homes.
Read more at MyNorthwest.com.
|
|
|
|
Strike Pay? More Like Strike Out
|
|
|
In their latest bid to win the “Worst Fiscal Judgment” award, Washington House Democrats passed a bill to hand out unemployment checks to striking workers — because apparently working is optional if you yell loud enough. Originally pitched as a 12-week taxpayer-funded freebie, SB 5041 was trimmed to 4 weeks thanks to a rare moment of clarity from six Democrats and every single Republican. Even Democrat Rep. Kristine Reeves admitted the full version was a budget buster — which is saying something when your party already racked up a $16 billion deficit.
Republicans rightly torched the bill for giving unions a taxpayer-funded weapon at the bargaining table, especially since many of those strikers are public employees. Rep. Jim Walsh nailed it: this isn’t about helping workers, it’s about forcing innocent bystanders — aka you — to pay for other people’s labor disputes. Democrats framed it as a battle between greedy corporations and paycheck-to-paycheck families, but conveniently ignored that we’re the ones footing the bill.
Thankfully, Republicans put up a fight and chipped away at the worst parts, but the bill now heads back to the Senate — where Democrats will either double down on bad ideas or settle for slightly less bad ones. Either way, the message is clear: in Democrat-run Washington, if you don’t work, you might still get paid… just make sure you’re holding a picket sign. Read more at Center Square.
|
|
|
|
Dead Babies, No Questions Asked — Welcome to Progressive "Compassion"
|
|
|
Democrats in Washington just passed SSB 5093, a horrifying bill that effectively decriminalizes the concealment of infant deaths and strips coroners of the power to investigate unless a crime is blatantly obvious. As KTTH’s Jason Rantz reports, Democrats claim it’s about “dignity in pregnancy loss,” but what it really does is give traffickers, abusers, and negligent adults a free pass to let a baby die and walk away without scrutiny. Republicans like Rep. Jim Walsh and former sheriff Rep. Brian Burnett tried to inject basic decency into the bill—proposing amendments to ensure coroners could still investigate suspicious infant deaths—but Democrats said no. Under this bill, a viable infant can be born alive and left to die, and no one is even allowed to ask what happened. If Governor Bob Ferguson signs this monstrosity, he won’t just be rubber-stamping radical abortion politics—he’ll be signing away the
right of society to demand justice for its most helpless victims. Read more at KTTH.
|
|
|
|
Taxed to Death but Still Crawling Forward
|
|
|
Washington state managed to claw its way up three whole spots in ALEC’s 2024 “Rich States, Poor States” economic outlook rankings—now sitting at a proud #34. The Evergreen State’s reward for punishing workers and businesses with high sales taxes, an absurd estate tax, the nation’s highest minimum wage, and zero right-to-work protections? A pat on the back for not having an income tax. Democrats are quick to tout “economic performance,” but it’s built on the backs of businesses squeezed by the state’s tax-and-spend addiction. Republicans keep warning that labor costs and anti-business policies are pushing us in the wrong direction, but hey—at least we beat out 16 other states. Progress? Only if you squint hard and ignore the bill.
Read more at Center Square.
|
|
|
|
Subscribe to Our Podcast Today!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Please consider making a contribution to ensure Shift continues to provide daily updates on the shenanigans of the liberal establishment. If you’d rather mail a check, you can send it to: Shift WA | PO Box 956 | Cle Elum, WA 98922
Forward this to a friend. It helps us grow our community and serve you better.
You can also follow SHIFTWA on social media by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.
If you feel we missed something that should be covered, email us at [email protected].
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shift Washington | PO Box 956 | Cle Elum, WA 98922 |
|
|
|
|
|
