The Aug. 12 story, “Inslee dismisses talk of trouble in his 1st term,” reported: “With the end of his first term in sight, Inslee wouldn’t identify his major accomplishments or disappointments.” When you’ve accomplished nothing, there’s nothing to truly discuss. It’s why, in an editorial two years ago, The Columbian appropriately labeled Inslee’s influence “clandestine” for his leadership failure in the 2013 legislative session. They compared Inslee’s lack of constructive engagement with that of former Gov. Chris Gregoire. She rolled up her sleeves, working hard to forge compromise agreements.
Inslee “saw the defeat of his two most ambitious proposals since becoming governor: a cap-and-trade system to lower carbon emissions and a capital gains tax.” Inslee couldn’t get the Democrat-controlled House to take an up or down vote on his top priority — the cap-and-trade proposal. When your own party refuses to support your No. 1 initiative, that’s a pretty big hint you’re out of touch with voters.
Insiders in the budget process described Inslee as an obstacle in bringing both sides together. Once they ignored him late in the game, the Democrat-controlled House began legitimately moving towards the bipartisan Senate positions and forging agreements.
“I hope that my biggest accomplishments are to come,” Inslee said. When you’ve accomplished nothing, the only thing you can do is talk about the future.
