Thursday, March 05, 2015

shift right





Team—

The mainstream media has a tendency—more apparent in some outlets than in others—to cast a shadow of suspicion on those who dare oppose the agenda of extreme “green” organizations. Republican lawmakers are attacked, even demonized, for accepting campaign donations from the oil industry. Accusatory tones of climate change denying are palpable as organizations formed to offer an alternative point-of-view to “green energy” policies are cast as dark money groups that advocate irresponsible stewardship of the environment.

It’s the media pandering to the far-left, and it’s unacceptable.

Unfortunately, such was the case in a recent article published by the Seattle Times. The article gives a list of the top recipients of oil companies’ campaign donations in the state Legislature—most of whom are Republicans. It suggests that their adamant opposition to Jay Inslee’s cap-and-tax scheme is due to these donations.

It fails to mention that Inslee’s scheme would not make it out of the state Legislature because not even enough Democrats support it. The reason why has everything to do with the heavy cost-burden Inslee’s cap-and-tax scheme would place on Washington’s hardworking families with little to no benefit to carbon emission reduction.

Republicans oppose Inslee’s cap-and-tax scheme because it is a terrible policy. Plain and simple.

While the article readily hands the verdict of selfish intent to Republicans, it glosses over the influence of California billionaire Tom Steyer on Inslee and Democrats. It fails to mention Steyer’s unusually close relationship with our green governor or the millions he pumped into 2014 mid-term races in an attempt to hand the state Senate back to Democrats, making it easier for Inslee to achieve his extreme green agenda (a cap-and-tax scheme and fuel mandate).

At a time when Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber was forced to step down in disgrace amid serious ethics violations involving extreme green organizations, at a time when the media should be awakening to the reality that claiming good intentions is not an excuse for corruption, the Seattle Times’ article is a true travesty of journalism. It delivers a blow to hopes of more balanced reporting.

Currently, Shift WA is the only organization working to keep Jay Inslee, extreme green organizations and media outlets accountable in our state. It’s a tall order, an important task that must be done. But, we can’t do it without your support.

Consider helping us today. With your donation, we can continue our work shinning the light on Inslee’s extreme green agenda and pushing for greater government accountability by media outlets.


– Matthew, Josh and the rest of the SHIFT WA Team


Shift Washington | PO Box 406 | Woodinville, WA 98072 | info@shiftwa.org

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