When talking to mainstream audiences, I pretend to distance myself from extreme right-wing Republicans who have gained national notoriety for attacking working families.
But I’m just paying you lip service. When it comes to the issues that really matter to working Washingtonians, I’m not who I say I am.
I change my stance on organizing rights based on what my audience wants to hear. Despite claiming to defend the rights of workers, I voted against collective bargaining agreements while on the King County Council1, called the unionization of public employees “dangerous,” and said that we’ve made “too many commitments to our employees.”2
Although I try to walk a fine line on issues pertaining to working families to the press, I have no problem blaming working families for Washington’s budget problems in fundraising letters to the extreme right-wing of my base.3
As Attorney General, I have gone so far as to issue a formal opinion denying working families the minimum wage increase guaranteed by state law.4 My campaign contributors then used my opinion to sue the state to prevent wage increases.5
And finally, I failed working families by joining a politically-motivated lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act. My lawsuit would return us to the days where insurance companies could refuse coverage for pre-existing conditions and deny thousands of Washington families access to affordable, quality care.6
CITATIONS
1 King County Council Vote No. 14501, Oct. 14, 2002; King County Council Vote No. 14357, May 6, 2002; King County Council Vote No. 11415, April 29, 2002; King County Council Vote No. 14340, April 15, 2002.
2 David Goldstein, The Stranger, March 25, 2011.
3 David Goldstein, The Stranger, Aug. 16, 2011.
4 Tsedeye Gebreselassie, The News Tribune, Nov. 12, 2010.
5 Brad Shannon, The Olympian, Nov. 15, 2010; Sunlight Foundation, accessed July 23, 2011.
6 Complaint, McCollum et. al. v. Sebelius, Geithner and Solis, March 23, 2011.