DANGEROUS RHETORIC - Testing Ground?

Have you ever noticed that many really bad ideas in governance seem to come to Washington State first? Ideas like state wide vote by mail, COVID patients in nursing homes, and vaccine passports?

Why would that be? Is it because we're reliably Democrat-leaning, but also a long way from the east coast centers of power. What better place to experiment with legal changes that might further a political agenda than in the "other Washington?" Are we the national testing ground for bad governance?

Consider state wide vote-by-mail, which we have had for about 20 years. It was billed as a way for counties to save money on running elections and solve the problem of not enough election volunteers. Vote-by-mail seemed like a good solution to these pressing problems.

But when you observe the complex ballot processing procedures, and see the complicated equipment and software required, then you begin to understand how easy it could be to manipulate the results. Yes, we saved money, but we also became the testing ground for people who were looking for ways to cheat in elections.

Little by little, bureaucrats, election experts, and business operatives figured out many subtle ways to subvert election integrity. Laws were passed; regulations were made. First in our state, but then in other carefully chosen target states. They rolled out their fraud nation-wide over many years. The 2020 general election was just the first time the fraud became blindingly obvious.

What's another bad idea that came to Washington State first? How about state mandated segregation using vaccine passports? Just this past week, Governor Inslee published "guidance" to sports venues, universities, and religious institutions that "allows" them to segregate the people into groups of vaccinated and non-vaccinated. Using the power of the state, the governor is not only encouraging segregation, he's mandating separate entrances and seating areas. The party of "voter ID is racist" is suddenly also the party of "show your papers!"

Before the ink was even dry on this segregationist announcement, Gov. Cuomo, of New York, announced that baseball fans who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will soon be able to enjoy seating arrangements without social distancing at Yankee Stadium and other venues. To be fair, the New York governor has been pushing the vaccine passport idea since March, but our Ggovernor went from shutdowns to "show your papers" in the twinkling of an eye!

Where do all these bad ideas come from? Who's testing these carrot-and-stick approaches in our state and why? That's not clear. However, it's obvious that the end goal is to threaten and/or bribe you to give up your personal autonomy to the state. "You will do as you're told, or else. Don't be selfish. Do it to show how you care for others." These emotional pleas hide the end game of tyranny.

Bad ideas are like a virus - they're easily transmitted. The best antidote for bad ideas is good ideas. Educate yourself about the ideas our founders used to create our constitution, describe our rights, and limit our government.

Start with a civics class. Learn about your inalienable rights. Get involved in a local board or committee. Get to know your local elected officials personally. Make friends with people who care about the rule of law. Discover the power of personal responsibility.

You don't have to do it all. But do something. Every little right action taken will help swing the pendulum of ideas back towards freedom and individual liberty. We need you to fight for America – with ideas and with actions.

-Nancy Churchill is the state committeewoman for the Ferry County Republican Party. She may be reached at [email protected]. The opinions expressed in Dangerous Rhetoric are her own.