Dori: State recovery clearly more about public control than public health

It has become clear with the way Governor Jay Inslee and all local politicians are handling this shutdown that this has almost nothing to do with public health and everything to do with a frightening expansion of government control over our lives.

We have a glimpse of how Inslee attempted to use the “health crisis” to personally enrich his cousin. In a great Seattle Times Watchdog report, it details how Inslee suspended competitive bidding for state contracts so they could get medical supplies.

Inslee quickly got an e-mail from his cousin — Mark Inslee — both of them communicating on their private e-mail accounts. Mark Inslee wanted the company he works with, Greater China Industries, to get millions in state contracts. Inslee forwarded cousin Mark’s e-mail to the head of state emergency management, saying “this is my cousin.”

Well, Mark Inslee got fast tracked to everyone in the buying chain. They ended up not making a deal because of price and fears from others of an appearance of impropriety.

But it is clear that after suspending competitive bidding, Jay Inslee used his power to get his cousin to the front of the line.

That is only one example of local politicians using the “health crisis” as a power grab.

Brown Bear Car Wash reopened Friday morning. The opening came days and weeks after many of their competitors had been open — some of which never shut down. Inslee said car washes were part of the phase one reopening, but when Brown Bear tried to open earlier this week, the government shut them down once again. They needed more agencies to review their COVID-19 plan.

Brown Bear Car Wash frustrated with reopening phases

It was all about power and control. You’re not at risk sitting in your car rolling through a tunnel car wash with touchless payments. But it seems Inslee didn’t like the owner speaking out about reopening business. And my sources say personal politics played a huge role in Inslee vindictively going after Brown Bear.

It’s not just Jay Inslee. The war-on-cars leftists in Seattle are using COVID-19 to further their long-sought agenda. They said 20-miles of streets would be temporarily closed to car traffic so people could “social distance.” Obviously, that was a lie. You can easily stay 6 feet apart from people on a sidewalk. But this, too, was never about public health. This week, the city of Seattle announced the 20 miles of street closures would become permanent.

They lied about the need to close streets when the reason all along was to push the far-left agenda that cars and the people who drive them are evil.

At the Blue Fox Drive In Theater in Oak Harbor, they were all set to open this weekend with the show of a faith-based movie. But at 5 p.m. the night before their opening, they got another ever-changing directive from the state saying people couldn’t leave their cars for any reason — even to go to the bathroom. Blue Fox had to close for a weekend that would’ve given a huge boost to this struggling business.

Hey, Blue Fox, a bit of advice. You should’ve announced you were showing a Michael Moore movie instead of a Christian film, then the state would have left you alone.

And then there’s Governor Inslee’s Economic Recovery Panel: It’s a joke.

It’s headed by Lisa Brown, a far-left career politician who has been part of the swamp in Olympia for nearly 30 years, and has supported the biggest tax hikes in state history.

There’s far-left anti-car zealot Jessyn Farrell. She’s with an organization headed by Nick Hanauer — who regularly supports tax-hike and gun-grab initiatives. Farrell retweeted this from Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib: “reopening now is the worst of both worlds: people die as a result and it won’t have the intended economic effect because consumers like staying alive.”

David Giuliani is also part of the panel. He’s with a group called PLAN for Washington, an organization that wants public investments to be decided by racial, ethnic, and diversity considerations.

The panel is also filled with several members of labor unions, with no representatives from the most affected industries: restaurants and small retail.

Dori: The other virus infecting all our kids

Please understand this is not about public health. This is about Jay Inslee and his party seeing an opportunity to take Washington state even further to the left. If that is the case, we will never recover.

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