GOP lawmakers on what’s at stake in Washington state

What are the stakes in our country and in Washington state?

KTTH’s Todd Herman posed that question to Republican state lawmakers with the hopes of better understanding the direction of the party. Listen to each interview with local lawmakers for insights on Washington’s recent legislative session, COVID lockdowns, violence in America, and the future of education.

Senator Doug Ericksen in the 42nd Legislative District

“We are definitely at a time for choosing, as the great Ronald Reagan said, in America today,” Ericksen said.

“When Rob McKenna ran for governor, he got about 48% of the vote. And after that election, I said, as we go and search for the next 3% to get to a majority, we cannot forget the 48% that just voted for us. So we have to stay true to our conservative roots as we go out there and expand our base. But again, there is a message that we can tell the people. … Going back to Ronald Reagan (my two favorite people are Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump), but when Reagan said you have to paint in bold colors, no pale pastels — we have to let people know that they have a real choice and give them a reason to show up and vote.”

Representative Jesse Young in the 26th Legislative District

“In very stark terms, the Democrat party has decided to take, whether it was politically prudent or not, or politically comfortable or not, has decided to take a much more vocal and in-your-face left turn to show what they’re about,” Young said. “In that regard, it’s waking up a lot of people. So it is becoming much more existential with regard to what this country and what the future is going to be for us, for our kids, how we’re going to live our life. Never before in my lifetime have we seen so much government control over the way that we live our lives, and the decisions that we make.”

Senator John Braun in the 20th Legislative District

“I’d characterize it two somewhat different ways. There are certainly a lot of folks on the far right — maybe not even on the far right but just outlying on the Republican side — that are pulling us apart. And there are the same folks on the left that are really pulling the left in a direction that I think is bad for the country. And they’re very noisy, to put it plainly,” Braun said. “But I still have a lot of faith in the core, regardless of party, who are focused on their families, their communities, their jobs. They have a political position, but it’s not the thing that defines them. I think that group still exists in the U.S.”

“Frankly, we have to do a better job of reaching them,” he continued. “We have to do a better job of showing them that we’re looking out for the things that will make their lives better. That’s really our mission on the Republican side, and not to get caught up in these wild theories, regardless of their merit, that distract us from our real job.”

Representative J.T. Wilcox in the 2nd Legislative District

“(The stakes) are very, very high. But I’m also someone who studies history a little bit,” Wilcox responded. “I was a history major at Cal college and I know that we’ve been through these things before, too. America has come through. We have periods in our history that are very, very difficult. We don’t want to repeat the Civil War, but I also have a lot of confidence that we’re going to navigate this.”

“If there is anything that history has proven over the last 40 years, it’s that in the long run, the Left can’t win,” he added. “They can do a hell of a lot of damage. They can’t win because the truth is people want freedom, even though it doesn’t seem like it all the time, and economics counts.”

Listen to the Todd Herman Show weekday mornings from 6 – 9 a.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here.