Rantz: Gov. Bob Ferguson cowers after ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ debate challenge

Washington State Congressman Michael Baumgartner threw down the gauntlet, publicly challenging Governor Bob Ferguson to debate the recently passed Big Beautiful Bill. Baumgartner’s invitation couldn’t have been clearer — or fairer — after Ferguson’s lazy, bad-faith criticism.

“Congress just passed one of the worst bills of my lifetime. A grotesque betrayal of the American people. Appalling,” Ferguson posted on X.

The bill codifies President Donald Trump’s tax cuts on all Americans, ends taxes on tips, and implements work requirements for Medicaid, while removing illegal immigrants from the entitlement, among many other things.

Ironically, Ferguson himself signed into law the largest tax increase in Washington state history. Concurrently, he gutted funding for important programs, like the Pediatric Interim Care Center (PICC) in Kent. It was a facility that treated more than 3,500 babies born with drug dependencies because of their addict mothers who were enabled by Washington Democrats’ decision to decriminalize drugs. That, apparently, wasn’t a “grotesque betrayal” of Washingtonians.

Baumgartner, a Republican congressman from Spokane, called Ferguson out.

“Bob, I disagree,” Baumgartner wrote directly to Ferguson on social media. “How about you and I do a TV debate in Seattle? You can defend your largest tax increase in WA history, and I’ll defend the largest tax reduction in American history. We can each do our part to inform the citizenry in a good old-timey civil debate about who has a better future vision for governance — Republicans or Democrats? Consider this a debate challenge between our state’s most prominent Republican and Democrat politicians, respectively. I’ll even let you choose the TV journalists to moderate. Sound good?”

Ferguson, predictably, ducked.

Bob Ferguson ducks debate, sticks with scripted left-wing talking point

Instead of accepting the challenge, Ferguson was silent. He was content to stick to the script handed down from Democratic party headquarters, dramatically denouncing the bill as a “grotesque betrayal of the American people.” Notice something? That language — “betrayal” — wasn’t an original Ferguson flourish. It’s identical to talking points circulating nationally among Democrats.

You know who else called the bill a “betrayal” in statements? Every other Democrat lawmaker nationwide. In Washington, it was the go-to descriptor for Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Suzan DelBene, along with Sen. Patty Murray. California Governor and wannabe-president Gavin Newson called the Big Beautiful Bill a betrayal, too, as did New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

Why the coordinated talking points? Because Democrats understand they have no substantive argument against the Big Beautiful Bill. Rather than debate the actual content, they’re fearmongering about a phantom crisis: Medicaid cuts.

Republicans just passed the Big Beautiful Bill and now I’ve lost my health coverage, my grandmother was booted from a senior center, I was deported back to Los Angeles, and I even lost my right to vote!

Democrats warned me! I should have listened.

— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) July 3, 2025

Democrats doing what they do best: lying about a Trump accomplishment

According to left-wing talking points, millions will supposedly be “kicked off” Medicaid because of this legislation. But let’s do something Ferguson won’t: stick to facts.

What Democrats, including Ferguson, conveniently omit is that the bill doesn’t remove the needy or vulnerable from Medicaid. Instead, it corrects abuses that threaten Medicaid’s solvency, ending eligibility for illegal immigrants and able-bodied adults who simply choose not to work. Medicaid was never designed as a permanent entitlement for healthy adults opting out of employment. It was intended as a safety net, not a hammock. These sensible reforms ensure Medicaid remains viable for those who genuinely need it — children, seniors, and disabled Americans.

That distinction, however, is politically inconvenient for Ferguson, whose political brand is built on scripted outrage and manufactured victimhood narratives. This is precisely why he won’t debate Baumgartner face-to-face. Ferguson knows his understanding doesn’t extend beyond his party’s talking points memo. Baumgartner, in contrast, offered transparency and even conceded moderation to Ferguson’s choice of journalists—about as fair a proposition as imaginable.

But Ferguson isn’t interested in fairness. He’s committed only to the optics of perpetual grievance. It’s easy to lob scripted grenades from behind a keyboard (especially when the line is scripted from a talking points memo). Facing genuine debate, confronting factual rebuttal requires courage Ferguson lacks. It’s embarrassing.

Bob Ferguson, like many Democrats, refuses to argue in good faith

Baumgartner’s invitation stands as a litmus test. If Ferguson genuinely believes the bill is “appalling,” surely he can defend that claim before Washingtonians with Ferguson today as the moderator. But he won’t because he can’t.

The Democrats’ coordinated melodrama isn’t aimed at informing; it’s aimed at scaring voters into political submission. This is all they have. It’s all they ever have.

Washingtonians deserve better than Ferguson’s cowardly dodge. Baumgartner’s offer represents what politics could — and should — be: clear, factual, and transparent debate. The triumph of the Big Beautiful Bill is exactly that — a triumph, restoring fiscal sanity and accountability to programs intended to support the truly needy, not subsidize inactivity or illegal immigration.

Governor Ferguson had his chance to make his case. He ignored it. Perhaps he’s more comfortable parroting party scripts than engaging in the intellectual rigor required by actual leadership. Baumgartner, meanwhile, demonstrated what responsible leadership looks like — offering a reasoned discussion.

Maybe that’s why Ferguson is hiding. He knows, deep down, he doesn’t have a leg to stand on.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on X, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.

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