Seattle: Read this before you vote

I woke up this morning to see what, if I look hard enough, I always see: some angry Facebook post or tweet about how awful I am as a human being because I don’t parrot the views of the individual criticizing me.

I usually brush it off, but this one was particularly interesting in that it said I’m the worst thing to happen to Seattle politics (and it was on my Facebook page, so I didn’t have to search for it).

On Friday of last week, like many of you, I received my Seattle voter’s pamphlet and ballot and, while thinking about how I would vote, I realized I had no choices when it came to candidates. They’re all practically the same. They’re all different shades of blue. They’re always different shades of blue; they’re always Progressives.

Bernie Sanders, in his 14-word speech to Seattle before the Black Lives Matter protesters stormed the stage, said Seattle is “one of the most Progressive cities in the United States of America.” Mayor Ed Murray likes to tout the city’s Progressive nature. Progressive activists are in near-full control of the city. It’s been like this for quite a long time (you certainly don’t become one of the most Progressive cities overnight).

What has all that progressiveness got us as it relates to quality of life?

We have crippling and worsening traffic. We have skyrocketing housing costs, that seem to get worse every month. The homelessness situation continues to decline. Schools are too crowded, taxes continue to rise, and Black lives, apparently, don’t matter in this city.

Related: Don’t celebrate Seattle’s ‘most liberal city’ ranking

Who has been in charge while this has happened?

Republicans? Conservatives? No. Progressives have been in charge. From moderate Democrats to Socialists to everything in between. But no one on the right. And when someone dare even wonder if a Progressive reaction to a city-wide problem might not be the wisest, they’re immediately attacked by the small, but loud, self-righteous Progressive “thought police” who aim to shame anyone who thinks differently than them. They meet up online and actually talk about running people out of town who disagree with them.

For a city with so many problems – the problems activists and politicians remind us of every single day – it seems rather odd that these problems have happened all under their watch and leadership. No opposition party is in the way of the Seattle City Council or the Progressive activists. There’s not even a debate or conversation presented from non-Progressives. So where are these problems coming from?

Rather than look at their own policy, these politicians and activists create bad guys they can blame. Ed Murray blames the unnamed, nefarious “media.” Kshama Sawant blames corporations. Bruce Harrell blames cops. Mike O’Brien blames technology and innovation. Everyone seems to blame developers. But everything and everyone they blame all work within the rule book created and controlled by these politicians and activists.

And, apparently, an evening talk show host is the worst thing to happen to Seattle politics. Because I’m informed by a different ideological viewpoint? Oh no: sound the alarms (ideological diversity is not celebrated here).

It would appear that Progressive politicians who go completely unchallenged is the worst thing to happen to Seattle politics. It would appear that Progressive activists who tell each other online or at forums how great and smart they all are, while completely insulating themselves from opinions other than their own, is the worst thing to happen to Seattle politics. It would appear that a passive aggressive (or just flat out rude) tweet about someone they disagree with, instead of a willingness to have a conversation with someone they disagree with, is the worst thing to happen to Seattle politics.

Related: Anti-police hate is about to get more intense in Seattle

So as you vote for whomever you choose to vote for, understand you’re just going to get the same results because they all believe different versions of the same thing.

But you can change that.

You can start saying no to the policies you do have control of (the Move Seattle transportation levy is a monster of a bad idea, for example).

You can start being what they view as the “worst thing to happen to Seattle politics.”

No, don’t try to take my job as a talk show host, but start speaking up. Start raising questions. Start proposing ideas. Start having more civil conversations with people who disagree with you.

To those of us who are honest, this concept is infectious. I like being challenged and I like challenging people.

Soon enough more people will feel comfortable challenging the Progressives in power and soon they’ll start running for office. They might not win – they ought not to win just for holding a different position than a Progressive one – but at least it’s a step in the direction away from the current system we have where one party is in power while the city deteriorates.