When in doubt – vote for balance on November 8
In Tuesday’s Midterm election, undecided voters have the power to usher in a period of much-needed sanity. They can do it by prioritizing balance above political party.
At a time when extremes on both sides are pushing bad ideas – balance is the only thing that can truly protect us.
Balance requires compromise, consensus, and common sense.
Our state and our nation could use all three right now.
Given Democrat control of Congress, the White House, the Washington state legislature, and the governor’s office, this may sound like an endorsement of Republican candidates. Rather, it’s an endorsement of checks and balances.
Think about some of the worst bills to pass recently at the state level.
House Bill 1054 dramatically limited police pursuits in Washington state, contributing to a blatant disregard of law enforcement during a period of record crime.
Balance would have prevented it from passing.
Washington’s long-term care tax forced millions of households to either buy costly private plans or see more money taken out of their paychecks during a period of economic hardship. The law was so poorly thought out and unpopular that Governor Inslee opted to delay implementation until after this year’s election.
Balance would have prevented it from passing.
How about the new tax on CO2 emissions that will cost Washingtonians an estimated 46 cents extra per gallon starting in January? The timing couldn’t be worse.
Balance would have prevented it from passing.
It doesn’t mean that the legislature can’t work toward meaningful criminal justice reforms or find ways to combat climate change. They’ll simply need to justify their ideas outside their own echo chamber. Imagine that.
And the same applies to Republicans.
Balance can and will prevent Republicans from passing their most extreme agenda items. Some Democrats point to the possibility of a national abortion ban to scare voters away from GOP Congressional candidates. What they fail to point out is the president’s veto power.
Even if Republicans gain control of the U.S. House and Senate, they would be blocked from enacting any sort of restrictions on reproductive rights. Indeed, President Biden reassured voters this week that he will veto any attempts to restrict abortion.
“The president has to sign it. I’ll veto it,” he said during an interview on MSNBC.
With abortion bans as a nonstarter, perhaps a Republican-controlled House or Senate could instead work on much-needed immigration reform or search for a bipartisan solution to bring down inflation.
Or, you might argue, they’d get nothing done and spend the next two years bickering and spinning their wheels.
Honestly? I’m OK with that.
I’d rather see nothing pass than watch a single party push through bad idea after bad idea.
Brandi Kruse is a Future 42 Ambassador and host of the [un]Divided Podcast.