If the coming election hands control of the U.S. House of Representatives to Democrats, as many expect, Jay Inslee will be ready.
The Democrat has served in the minority since being elected from the 1st Congressional District in 1998, which has kept his boldest plans, including a comprehensive one on energy, out of serious consideration. The Republican majority has rejected bipartisanship and compromise – Speaker Dennis Hastert won’t even bring a bill to the floor unless it’s supported by a majority of the GOP caucus, effectively shutting Democrats out of any serious role.
If a change is imminent, so is Inslee’s time to shine. We recommend voters in the 1st District, which includes south Snohomish County from Mukilteo to the King County line and stretches east to include part of Monroe, send Inslee back to Congress for another two years.
The most significant issue for Inslee is creating a new national energy vision. He has been a prime sponsor of the New Apollo Energy Project, which would combine business and consumer tax credits, low-interest loans and grants to help break our dependence on oil, fight global warming and bolster economic growth by creating new clean-energy jobs. It’s an idea that will finally get the fair and thorough hearing it deserves if Democrats control the House. It’s a debate that sorely needs to take place.
Inslee has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration’s policy in Iraq since before the invasion. Time and the administration’s many missteps have vindicated him.
Months before U.S. and coalition forces invaded, Inslee argued strongly against such action, predicting much of what has actually happened: that our presence would create more terrorists than it would eliminate, sectarian violence would rage, and that forming an effective central government would be all but impossible.
He favors sending a signal of urgency to the Shiite leadership in Iraq to take control of its own security by setting a deadline for U.S. withdrawal. Only with a deadline, Inslee argues, will the ruling Shiites make the tough decisions necessary for long-term success, like cracking down on militias and making a deal with Sunnis and Kurds to share oil revenue.
Inslee is challenged by Republican Larry Ishmael, an international businessman and former president of the Issaquah School Board. Ishmael has traveled widely in his varied business career, and touts that international experience as his primary qualification.
In an interview, he was able to clearly define the problems facing the United States, but his ideas for solutions were vague. Ishmael comes across and energetic, intelligent and affable, but he doesn’t make a compelling case for replacing Inslee.
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