I Repeat: Inslee Is NOT a "Single Issue" Candidate.

[ancianita]

Last edited Sun Jun 9, 2019, 02:35 PM - Edit history (1)

Let's take Governor Jay Inslee, who many hide behind the "single issue" label in order to hide their opposition to -- not even support -- which is what we should be doing with all our candidates.

Climate change as a policy priority of a Democratic candidate is the issue that supports all the issues that the Democratic Party claims to support.

Making Climate Change the top priority of an Inslee presidency that will impact ALL THE ISSUES of this election

-- foreign policy and state department work with our NATO allies and southern neighbors in this hemisphere
-- immigration policy that deals with reform of restrictive asylum and immigration laws
-- economic policy that reflects the infrastructure projects of the Green New Deal, protects job training transition projects and grows the overall economy, saving patchwork spending on disasters that are no longer "natural
-- social policy which improves the voting rights of all citizens no matter race, sex or religion
-- education policy which increases support for science based policy

I could go on.

Inslee's transition plan will be a scale up of Washington's transition plan that protects workers by training them, subsidizing business creation that includes building solar plants, among other projects.

It's health care, national security with climate refugees at our border, an economic issue of preventing cascading climate disasters.

Jerry Carcetti, Jerry Brown, the Pentagon, Greenpeace, NARAL and immigration organizations agree that without climate change as a top priority of the next president -- diminished and denigrated here as a MERE single issue strategy of an unnamed Democratic candidate -- other issues will also take a back seat, and problems of this country will not get solved, except by piecemeal effort.

Do not keep beating this drum. It amounts to the zero sum politics of blowing out any candidate's candle, as if the others' candles will shine brighter. They won't. Keep it up and DU gets darker.

The Democratic goal of beating Trump in 2020 is not by promoting just a frontrunner's "electability," but to make the party's plan for promoting a cleaner, greener future for a country awash in Big Oil's pollution because of its lobby and campaign money onslaught.

Support Inslee by a) giving him a chance, or b) saying nothing if you can't stay positive.

I've argued hard and long on behalf of our women candidates, Biden and others. There's no reason for me or anyone to dedicate a label of "single issue" to any candidate, anywhere in DU. It's wrong.

"Single issue" is what Republicans campaign on. Not Democrats. And not this Democratic governor.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. I like Inslee. I realize he is not a single-issue candidate, though his emphasis on climate change

sometimes makes it seem that way. I think where some of this is coming from is his request for a debate on climate change, which the DNC turned down. And I think the reason for that is probably a sensible one: that other candidates would be asking for debates on other issues as well, and if those requests were granted there could be debates on gun control, health care, LGBT rights, tax policy, abortion, immigration, racism in policing, impeachment, election security and who knows what else? It would be unmanageable. They couldn't very well grant a request for a debate on one issue and then turn down all others - especially with 24 candidates.

[ancianita]

4. Thank for your understanding me. I like "Undecided," too, btw.

[GemDigger]

2. If I am not mistaken, this whole bullshit started with him wanting something

that no one else is getting from the DNC. No one is special. Regardless of the issue. If we let him have his way then we have to let the other 23 candidates also have their special issue. We do not have time for this.

His issue are what town halls are for.

I like him. He is a good man. He has great ideas. But he is not special nor should he get treatment that is different from all the others.

[ancianita]

5. This is not about "special," at all. And no, it didn't get started around the debate. Most people

like me are for town halls, too.

This isn't about him "having his way."

This is about the party recognizing that all candidates' issues can contribute to the climate change issue and vice versa.

Whether you realize it or not, 90% of congressional Democrats take Big Oil & Gas money, and so that has some influence on their energy control and wealth being confronted.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Triloon]

11. What bullshit?

Climate change is the only issue which effects and includes ALL other issues. The debates of 2016 included zero questions on climate. That approach helped no one and we are in worse shape than ever. Any candidate who has only boilerplate answers to this issue is assuring us that nothing will be done once again. Now THAT is bullshit.

[marylandblue]

16. "affects" and "includes" are two different things and Inslee is blurring the distinction

I like Inslee a lot and totally agree that climate change affects everything. But it doesn't "include" everything. For example, climate change will affect health care. But if I have heart disease today and don't have health insurance, that has nothing to do with climate change. And my current lack of health insurance may be a much bigger issue to me today than what the climate will be doing 10 years from now.

[Triloon]

20. "Inslee signs nation's first public-option insurance bill."

Your example of how a heart patient may be more concerned with immediate healthcare coverage than climate change is a good one. But Inslee is not blurring this issue ( although I might have, sorry ).

From March, 2019 -
"Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), a 2020 presidential candidate, signed off Monday on a first-in-the-nation public-option insurance plan.
The state will offer public health care plans that cover standard services to all residents, regardless of income, by 2021" [link:https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/443489-washington-gov-and-2020-candidate-signs-nations-first-public-option|

So, while climate change solutions may not address your immediate healthcare needs Insley is not blurring it, and he's not just talking about it. He signed the Bill.
There's a lot more to this guy than people have paid attention to, as the OP has said.

[marylandblue]

24. I've heard Inslee blurring the distinction himself. It gets confusing,

even for me, and I'm very concerned about climate.

[Andy823]

21. Here is just one article

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/inslee-signs-bill-creating-a-public-option-for-washingtons-health-insurance-exchange/

OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday signed into law a bill that creates a public option for Washington’s health benefit exchange, a move intended to lower costs and boost insurance coverage across the state.

Sponsored by Democratic lawmakers and requested by Inslee, Senate Bill 5526 creates “Cascade Care,” a program to offer standardized plans for individual health coverage, to be offered by private insurers on the benefit exchange.

The plans won’t be available until January 2021, and it’s too early to know what exact coverage they will offer or how much they’ll drive down health-insurance costs.

But in remarks Monday, Inslee called it the first state public-option plan in America and a counterweight to attempts by Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration to roll back health-care coverage.

[BlueWI]

41. Now that you're done splitting hairs

welcome back to the warming planet, where one party denies climate change entirely, and we Democrats are debating whether or not we should have a presidential debate on the gravest immediate environmental threat we face.

With advocacy like this for climate change action, who needs opposition?

[marylandblue]

43. Right. So you come on here and attack a fellow Democrat

who, believe it or not, is more of a climate alarmist than he is. I've been working on environmental issues for decades. The time for drastic action was 30 years ago. We're screwed. The best we can do is make ourselves less screwed by totally transforming our economy and replacing the Paris Accords with something much more ambitious and make it enforceable.

But more people on DU talk about Trump's daily tweet than climate change.

So tell us about. Got any ideas for Inslee other than pissing off the DNC?

[BlueWI]

44. Thanks for your service on environmental issues!

This was important work that collectively as a nation, we didn't and haven't held up our end of the bargain.

I did not recognize your passion for the issue from your post, and I do think it's very important to challenge the DNC on having the climate change debate. The silence and lack of urgency on the climate issue is deafening and frustrating, and I think we should all wear our pro-environmental flags proudly and prominently. So seriously, thank you for your work! I feel that I owe a lot to activists and scientists for the progress that has been made, and I am proud to live in a state where Gaylord Nelson once helped usher in environmental stewardship as a principle.

I am super frustrated with the lack of a national conversation gaining steam. Lately I have been volunteering in a statewide environmental group, we went to the state capitol to lobby our electeds, I have been striving to stop consuming dairy products, and I have moved within walking distance of work. None of this, obviously, changes the grave nature of the threat, but the least we can do is try and to be honest with ourselves about the likely consequences. So that's why it bothers me when we sound like the DNC can't be challenged. It's our party, they are pledged to represent us and to lead on the crucial issues. So why the push back against the idea of a climate debate? That's the best way to get media and public attention on this issue.

[marylandblue]

45. I've been frustrated with the lack of attention to climate change too.

I think Inslee has done a valuable service just be being in the race and raising the issue. His presence guarantees it won't be ignored. Even if there is no climate debate, there will at least be many questions.

[GemDigger]

19. The bullshit I am talking about is the bullshit he is getting from wanting something specific to his

wants. I am not talking about what he stands for. He stands for a lot.

BUT he is wanting something the others cannot get. What makes him special above the others. Climate change WILL be discussed. But it is not the only important thing. Russia, China, Wikileaks, anti corruption, gun control, voter suppression, women's rights, international politics, etc etc etc. To me, every single issue is necessary and needs immediate attention.

Without the other issues being addressed, climate change won't make a difference. We will be choking on air, drinking polluted water and praising Putin or Trump for his 5th term.

[Andy823]

22. Every person in this country should wake up

Climate change is the #1 issue for the majority of voters. If we don't fix things, nothing else is going to matter.

As for Inslee he has addressed those other issues you listed, and he is doing something about them. Here in Washington state he has been pushing laws for gun control, health care for all. He will take care all of the issues, but he things saving our plant should be the priority, what do you think?

[GemDigger]

25. I am specifically talking about his want for something no one else has.

That's it.

[mobeau69]

27. It never hurts to ask.

[pnwmom]

17. About a dozen candidates have called for a debate devoted to climate change,

if that's what you're talking about.


https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/06/jay-inslee-says-he-may-defy-the-dnc-on-a-climate-change-debate/

The progressive campaign to pressure the DNC to hold its first-ever sanctioned climate change debate first took shape in April. I originally reported that a number of groups, including Friends of the Earth, Credo Action, Greenpeace, Sunrise Movement, and 350.org, planned to ramp up the pressure on the DNC to finally devote the primetime opportunity to an issue that got short-shrift in the last cycle. Since then, about a dozen candidates, including Inslee, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Beto O’Rourke have joined the call.

SNIP

The reaction to this announcement was swift and critical. On Twitter, Al Gore called it a “mistake to refuse to hold a #ClimateDebate.” Elizabeth Warren chimed in with her disappointment: “Gov. Inslee is exactly right. Climate change is the biggest challenge we face. Every candidate running for president should have a serious set of policies to address it, and should be eager to defend those proposals in a debate.”

Inslee and the climate activists angling for more debates will argue that climate change isn’t as singular a topic as the DNC claims. It is intrinsically linked to the economy and national security—both themes of past DNC-sanctioned debates. Despite that, climate continues to be treated more as a niche issue by major TV networks and party officials.

“The DNC has said they won’t hold a climate debate because climate change is just a single issue,” Prakash says. “Try telling that the families who can’t afford to rebuild after the Camp Fire in California, the farmers in Iowa whose crops have been destroyed by floods, or the black and brown babies in Detroit who can’t breathe. Climate change is not just a ‘single issue’—it’s an existential threat that impacts every aspect of our lives.”

[shanny]

28. Don't have time to address in depth

an existential threat that would require transforming our society and economy?

Sure, no special treatment required.

[GemDigger]

33. The bottom line is that the rules are the rules.

I have multiple things that are in the #1 spot. All of them equal. I want special treatment for them all. Without national security (real national security) it won't make a damn bit of difference if the air is clean or filthy, if food has become toxic from chemical poisoning, if we have is kept legal.

[BlueWI]

38. It's not about Inslee.

It's about the gravest environmental crisis we face.

What is so excessive about dedicating a debate to the topic? We as Democrats call ourselves leaders on this issue. Wouldn't the leading political party on environmental issues want to discuss climate action prominently?

[left-of-center2012]

3. okie dokie smokie n/t

[LibFarmer]

6. He made himself one by asking for a sepcial debate. nt

[ancianita]

9. The party knew that wasn't true. And no, he didn't. Your misinterpretation of the multiple issues

of climate change did, and you slapped a label on him that we slapped on Republicans in 2017.

He asked. He got told no.

The issue with me is not at all about a single debate.

The issue is that we support Democrats and not use labels for our own that we labeled Republicans for.

[left-of-center2012]

26. Look at all the attention he's getting

I suspect it will do him no good.

I think of kids who aren't making the cut for a softball team,
but want the game played according to rules they make up.

[Andy823]

7. I live in Washington state

Inslee has done a lot of good here, and it's not just his view on climate change, which he takes very serious, as we all should. He also has helped push our economy ahead, helped with jobs, raising wages, etc., He can do it all. Anyone trying to paint him as a "one" issue candidate hasn't really checked him out.

I know people get their mind set that only "their" candidate is the only one that can win, we all do it, but there is more than ONE candidate that can beat trump and take on the mess he will leave us. Inslee and Harris are tied for me, and I love how Warren has taken on many issues, and actually has plans on how to make things work. I think we have a great bunch of women running this time around, and they are just as qualified as any of the men running, of which we also have some great candidates.

I think we also have some here who are just tying to stir things up and cause problems. They know that "negative" things will get a lot of views, and they use that to stir things up. Most of them are pretty obvious, so we need to be careful and not play their game.

No matter who actually wins the nomination, we have to vote for them so we can get rid of trump, and I don't care who they are, they will get my vote, period.

[ancianita]

10. Thank you. It's informative about his executive range in passing laws that helped that state be #1.

I'm totally with you on our #1 goal of beating Trump, and will vote blue no matter who.

[MineralMan]

8. OK, but he is the only one asking for an entire debate on

a single issue, which is one he makes his top priority in his campaigning.

Right now, Inslee is polling at just 0.5%. He needs something that will break him out of that low result. He might think that a climate change debate would help him do that. He's not getting any traction, really in the overall campaign.

Now, if he could get half of the candidates to request a climate change debate, that might make it happen. But, as a candidate who is not raking in the support, his single-topic debate is unlikely to happen.

Frankly, I'm not paying a lot of attention to any of the candidates who have 5% polling or less. There are just too many for me to dig into if I look at them all with the same level of attention. That is Inslee's problem, not the lack of a single topic debate on his priority topic. People are looking at the candidates who are doing well in the polls, frankly.

If Inslee's numbers rise, due to the currently scheduled debates and his performance in them, then he'll attract more attention and supporters. Otherwise, he will not.

The field of candidates in this primary race is going to get trimmed down sharply in the next three or four months. There's little time to waste in making one's mark, especially if you're starting at the bottom of the group right now. Insisting that a separate debate be held on the topic you know the most about isn't going to make that happen.

Inslee needs to attract more people to his campaign. If he doesn't succeed at that, he'll be out of the running very soon.

[ancianita]

12. Stop using a label we slapped on Republicans. Did you read a single word of the OP and why

climate change is a multiple-issue issue? No.

You say, "Okay BUT."

I'm not buying it.

I don't know the most about climate change, any more than I know the most about women's issues, race issues or any other Democratic issue that leads to good policy governance. So you can knock that characterization off.

Act like you know "the numbers" this far out if you want to. Numbers don't inform voters of anything. They're a tool of hype or diminishment. Obama had low numbers, too, at this point in the primaries, so your formula is misguided. I don't care how you predict "trimming." I just care that you respect and support ANY candidate without slapping the "one issue" label on them.

Think you can do that?

[MineralMan]

15. Poll number are just one thing. They reflect the public interest

in a candidate. Problem is that there are 24 candidates, so that's too many for most people to consider. So, they don't. They look at the smaller group who are polling much higher and focus on those.

Polls simply tell us what people are thinking about and what their opinion is. They do an OK, but limited job of that. However, they have great influence on media coverage and other factors, which perpetuates the existing numbers.

What will I do? Whatever it suits me to do. You will do the same, I imagine.

I respect all of the Democratic candidates. I'm only interested in a few of them, though.

[ancianita]

18. No, you don't, because slapping a label on even one shows a disrespect for a fair use of language

for your perceived competitors.

Unfair labeling is obviously what suits you.

Support for all the candidates is what suits me.

I put Inslee out there because no one else here would.

It's turning out that he is more than worthy of this country's attention than it knew, and he's getting media traction.

I'm want Trump beaten and behind bars.

This far out is too soon to privilege interest in a few candidates over the interests of the whole country. That's what our primary rules address.

The winning goal comes after the nomination.

[MineralMan]

31. Well, clearly you know me better than I do.

[ancianita]

35. Not at all. Your latest OP lectures taught me something, though.

[Andy823]

23. I am only interested in a few also

Inslee is one. You need to check out what he has done.

https://www.jayinslee.com/washington-story

[aikoaiko]

13. I agree. I think single-issue is at best a short-hand for someone with an emphasis.

At worst it is a pejorative designed to make someone's preferred "multi-positional" candidate look better.

And I welcome candidates who press hard on one or two issues because they help change the party.

[ancianita]

14. It's a pejorative. Exactly. The one we used on Republicans. It's toxic and adds nothing to discourse

[shanny]

30. Well said.

[left-of-center2012]

29. If Inslee gets in the debates ...

If Inslee gets in the debates,
he can work climate change into each of them.

[BlueWI]

39. I would hope the other candidates work it in also!

Unless you are a Republican, working climate change into the discussion at a presidential debate is as low a bar as you can get. Vague promises that sound good and get buried in legislative agendas is a waste of time humanity doesn't have.

Is either not working it into the conversation or leaving it to Inslee an ethical option for the one major party where climate change is even a stated priority??

I have to say I don't get the tin ears on this issue on a Democratic site. We're the only party that gives a who-ha about the issue at all, and complacency seems to be the preference for some even here. Sad.

[left-of-center2012]

40. "the tin ears on this issue"

I think it's that a candidate at 1% in the polls is making demands of the DNC.
The DNC said he can discuss it in any debates he gets into.
Any.

[BlueWI]

42. Inslee is unlikely to win.

Forget Inslee. What about the issue?? Where will the leadership come from to get meaningful action on a 12 year calendar and counting? If we can't even agree with having a debate, how will we even get to a proposal stage?

How dare a highly successful Democratic governor and former Congressman challenge the infallible judgement of the DNC on the climate issue! The nerve, the horror of wanting this issue to have a higher profile!!

Wow - is this still DU? Big tent party, no doubt.

[shanny]

32. I think it is laughable to think

that Inslee asked for a climate change debate to boost his own candidacy.

He asked for it because it is THE most important issue we face, confronting it will require a massive nationwide (and worldwide) effort and we have been kicking the can down the road for decades. We are out of "road" and out of time.

It's not about the horse race.

[sprinkleeninow]

34. I feel the same that Gov. Inslee is simply passionate regarding

climate change/crisis and that his questioning the DNC is not an attempt in order to 'boost his % standing'.

What if that's the case? Doesn't warrant contention.

[Kurt V.]

36. Climate change isn't a single issue. in a sane world it would be the basis of nearly every

policy decision. from healthcare to migration to racism to the global economy.

[The Blue Flower]

37. Global climate change affects everything

Inslee has stated clearly how it's all connected.

[JI7]

46. Inslee has one of the best cases to make in that he is up there with Biden in experience and ready

to be President . He has legislative and executive experience.

he has a lot going for him that could help him get more support and he could use that to spread his message on climate change .

he isn't thinking strategically in how to win a campaign and thinking more about winning an academic debate.

[B Stieg]

47. Inslee is quite Smart...

and his candidacy and platform are essential for this moment.
Someday, EVERY candidate will be judged on her/his climate change platform!