This Washington
Inslee Sticks to Partisan Sound Bites at UW
After Republican Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna's speech at the University of Washington last week, we pointed out that his budget rap wasn't tracking
. So it's only fair that we point out where Democratic U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee's UW talk this week fell short.
McKenna and Inslee are widely seen as rivals for governor in 2012. The UW College Republicans and Young Democrats, respectively, brought both politicians to campus to speak on two successive Wednesday nights.
Inslee was certainly up on his anti-GOP sound bites (a weird choice for a bipartisan appearance). For example, he told the college students, "The first thing they did when they took over this session is zero out Americorps and cut Pell Grants."
[pullquote]Inslee's anti-GOP sound bites were no substitute for actually addressing the issues the students were asking about.[/pullquote]
But Inslee was too stuck on anti-GOP scripting (which read very D.C.) And his sound bites were no substitute for actually addressing the issues the students were asking about. For example, asked what he thought about giving UW, instead of the state, the authority to set tuition, he said that as a U.S. Rep, he wasn't versed in the state issue, made a stock statement about not "letting the UW become a private college ... that's the way it's going" and concluded: "That's why I'm so angry about Pell Grants."
It was the next question, though, another one where Inslee didn't seem versed on state issues, where his pre-fab script flopped.
Asked what he thought about the legislature's habit of raiding dedicated funds to backfill the general fund, Inslee's answer went like this:
1. "If I had a magic wand, college education would be free."
2. He said we are stuck in the 1930s mentality that public education stops after high school.
3. "I've lost my train of thought."
4. "Oh, the backfill question."
5. "Politicians will tell you they support building the bridge in your community or funding health care, but when it comes to actually raising the money to do that, they don't stand up for it."
6. "Republicans say they're for education, but you've got to be for a way to pay for it too."
7. He said he ran for the state legislature because his kids' public school wasn't getting funded.
8. He said he helped pass a bond to fund his kids' schools.
9. "The Democrats are the party that says put money into education."
10. "The Republicans are the party that says give a tax break for Donald Trump's yacht."
McKenna and Inslee are widely seen as rivals for governor in 2012. The UW College Republicans and Young Democrats, respectively, brought both politicians to campus to speak on two successive Wednesday nights.
Inslee was certainly up on his anti-GOP sound bites (a weird choice for a bipartisan appearance). For example, he told the college students, "The first thing they did when they took over this session is zero out Americorps and cut Pell Grants."
[pullquote]Inslee's anti-GOP sound bites were no substitute for actually addressing the issues the students were asking about.[/pullquote]
But Inslee was too stuck on anti-GOP scripting (which read very D.C.) And his sound bites were no substitute for actually addressing the issues the students were asking about. For example, asked what he thought about giving UW, instead of the state, the authority to set tuition, he said that as a U.S. Rep, he wasn't versed in the state issue, made a stock statement about not "letting the UW become a private college ... that's the way it's going" and concluded: "That's why I'm so angry about Pell Grants."
It was the next question, though, another one where Inslee didn't seem versed on state issues, where his pre-fab script flopped.
Asked what he thought about the legislature's habit of raiding dedicated funds to backfill the general fund, Inslee's answer went like this:
1. "If I had a magic wand, college education would be free."
2. He said we are stuck in the 1930s mentality that public education stops after high school.
3. "I've lost my train of thought."
4. "Oh, the backfill question."
5. "Politicians will tell you they support building the bridge in your community or funding health care, but when it comes to actually raising the money to do that, they don't stand up for it."
6. "Republicans say they're for education, but you've got to be for a way to pay for it too."
7. He said he ran for the state legislature because his kids' public school wasn't getting funded.
8. He said he helped pass a bond to fund his kids' schools.
9. "The Democrats are the party that says put money into education."
10. "The Republicans are the party that says give a tax break for Donald Trump's yacht."
