Heading to a Government Shut-Down Without Getting McCleary Done
From a good article at Crosscut:
Gov. Jay Inslee’s administration has again started to study shutdown procedures.
When he began the current 30-day special session last month — the second of the year — Inslee was loath to even talk about calling a third special session if the budget agreement is not made by June 22, the end of the second special session.
“There is no excuse not to get it done in the next 30 days,” Inslee said.
Sure, there are.
Democrats want to begin the overall budget talks, but Republicans want to delay serious overall talks until the Democrats lock themselves into some politically-damaging tax-hike votes first. Both sides are guilty of other gratuitous gamesmanship matters.
GOP: the House should vote on their bill, which the GOP calls a "wishlist"
DEMs: It's the GOP, we're scared (despite a deeply flawed GOP Senate plan)
What about the Governor?
Inslee hated that whole 2015 scenario. “I don’t know what I’d do,” he said when asked how he would respond if the Legislature wanted to go beyond June 30 this year.
Inslee called for the House Democrats to punt on the capital gains tax because it will never pass the Senate. And he called for the Senate Republicans to remove most, if not all, of their property tax overhaul proposal because it will never pass a House Democratic caucus filled with Puget Sound representatives.
First, Inslee, for all his gumption against Trump, seems unwilling to take on the Senate GOP. Word is that he took capital gains off the table. Look what it got him.
Second, he should just back off and go do something else and let the third branch of the government - the Supreme Court - take care of this.
I'm sure the Supremes don't want to do this. The Senate GOP has been utterly scathing (and, to my mind, disrespectful to a group of people the GOP knows can't publicly fight back). However, it's got to be somebody's job to get this done.
Where are the functioning adults in elected state offices in Washington State?
Gov. Jay Inslee’s administration has again started to study shutdown procedures.
When he began the current 30-day special session last month — the second of the year — Inslee was loath to even talk about calling a third special session if the budget agreement is not made by June 22, the end of the second special session.
“There is no excuse not to get it done in the next 30 days,” Inslee said.
Sure, there are.
Democrats want to begin the overall budget talks, but Republicans want to delay serious overall talks until the Democrats lock themselves into some politically-damaging tax-hike votes first. Both sides are guilty of other gratuitous gamesmanship matters.
GOP: the House should vote on their bill, which the GOP calls a "wishlist"
DEMs: It's the GOP, we're scared (despite a deeply flawed GOP Senate plan)
What about the Governor?
Inslee hated that whole 2015 scenario. “I don’t know what I’d do,” he said when asked how he would respond if the Legislature wanted to go beyond June 30 this year.
Inslee called for the House Democrats to punt on the capital gains tax because it will never pass the Senate. And he called for the Senate Republicans to remove most, if not all, of their property tax overhaul proposal because it will never pass a House Democratic caucus filled with Puget Sound representatives.
First, Inslee, for all his gumption against Trump, seems unwilling to take on the Senate GOP. Word is that he took capital gains off the table. Look what it got him.
Second, he should just back off and go do something else and let the third branch of the government - the Supreme Court - take care of this.
I'm sure the Supremes don't want to do this. The Senate GOP has been utterly scathing (and, to my mind, disrespectful to a group of people the GOP knows can't publicly fight back). However, it's got to be somebody's job to get this done.
Where are the functioning adults in elected state offices in Washington State?
Comments