The Washington Democrats’ pay-for-play politics erodes voter confidence in state elections

While the WAGOP is working tirelessly to pass common-sense initiatives to fix what’s broken in this state, Washington Democrats have been caught red-handed in a shameless pay-for-play scheme, favoring gubernatorial candidate WA Attorney General Bob Ferguson, over his chief Democratic rival state Sen. Mark Mullet.

“WA Democrats’ sleazy practice of selling their Party endorsements is getting more traction in the media, including The Seattle Times and The Spokesman-Review — and also in the minds of Washington voters,” says WAGOP Chairman Jim Walsh.“

“There’s good reason for this,” adds Chairman Walsh. “The narrative shines a light on decadent, end-of-an-era corruption. This pay-for-play sleaze is why so many bad laws and reckless budgets emerge out of Olympia. Everyone in Washington state knows this — and it must stop.”

“It’s a horrible precedent to set,” State Sen. Mark Mullet, a Democrat himself, told The Seattle Times, recently. “You are going to have primary contests for Democratic seats in the state of Washington that are going to the highest bidder. You have to buy their endorsement.”

While some WA Democrat officials scoff at their corrupt practices, “It’s a serious problem,” says Chairman Walsh.

Equally corrosive, the WA Democrats’ sleazy pay-for-play politics erodes voter confidence in state elections. It breeds cynicism and distrust toward our state government and our one-trusted institutions. And it silences the voice of the people — and they are starting to notice.

Adds Chairman Walsh: “There are many good Democrat voters in this state who are ashamed of their Party’s shameful behavior—and contempt for the will of the people. I challenge WA Democrat Chair Shasti Conrad to renounce the selling of her Party’s endorsements, and to resist shady backroom deals. To clean the air of this stink of corruption. To organize a real, unscripted convention where real people endorse candidates they choose. To move past the lies and toward the truth. If she does this, all Washingtonians will be better off.”

Conrad did not hesitate, recently, to denounce the unscripted and unchoreographed WAGOP convention in Spokane, saying: “The GOP Convention chaos proves these are not serious people and they cannot be trusted to lead our state.” To be sure, Conrad is projecting onto others what she is guilty of herself.

Curiously, while Conrad was swift to rebuke the WAGOP State Convention — despite not being there — she was “unavailable” when The Seattle Times reached out to her for comment on WA Democrats’ sham endorsement process.

Information provided by Washington State Republican Party.