THE CASE FOR LYNDA RING ERICKSON

VOTE WISELY ON NOVEMBER 6th

Submitted to Shelton Blog by Katherine Price Mason County Progressive

The Case for Lynda Ring Erickson, Democratic Candidate for the 35th Legislative District, Position 2:

I am no fan of Lynda Ring Erickson. However, after listening to her opponent's recorded interview (link below), I am tempted to send her a donation. This radio interview is perhaps the best argument FOR Lynda Ring Erickson yet.

Drew MacEwen has no new ideas, and has instead memorized the rules the really crazy freshman Congress used to get elected in 2010. He has their lines down pat.

He does not seem to know what he is talking about when he talks about running the state government in Olympia. He just applies what worked for the farthest right fringe of the country in the 2010 elections, changes the dysfunctional "Washington" to "Olympia", and hopes that for some folks that will be enough for him to get their vote.

He uses the tea-bagger trigger words and phrases: he promises to fix what is wrong; he promises to bring big changes (without elaborating on what those changes are or how they will be delivered); and he promises to bring jobs, jobs, jobs (how did that work out for us on the federal level?). He believes that because he operates a small business, he is qualified to help run something as large and complex as Washington State.

Drew MacEwen does not appear to understand the public school system, or the real hardship that system operates under because it is not fully funded. This is made clear by his use of such political platitudes as our kids having to take remedial math courses when they get to college.

Someone should tell him that it is not because the split between what makes it to the classroom and what is used to administer public schools is unbalanced, but rather it is because our schools are given so much less than what they need to operate effectively that they cannot meet the necessary standards. The budget constraints are such that it cannot be done. These students reach college unprepared because in Washington State, even though the voters told our Legislature to fully fund our education system, our schools are not fully funded. Not at all...

Why are our schools not fully funded?

Because we cannot raise taxes on the small minority of folks who are doing really, really well in this otherwise down economy. Not everyone is hurting; only the majority of us are. There are some folks who are doing better than people have EVER done in this country and on this planet -- EVER. And we are not able to raise taxes on them in order to raise revenue to efficiently operate our State!

Without the needed increased revenue, we find ourselves constantly trying to operate the massive, complicated and amazing State of Washington, on a smaller and smaller and smaller budget.

Our public education sometimes seems to suck. But do not blame it on the administrators, or the teachers, or the caring parents and volunteers who try so hard to make things work year after year, with less and less funds. It is not because we spend too much money on our schools, but because we don't spend enough! It is not because not enough of what the state provides gets to the classroom, it is because not enough money gets from the state to the schools.

The police, firefighters, and teachers...these are the people who folks like Drew MacEwen see as the problem. With their modest benefits packages, and barely living wages, are they the ones breaking the back of the American and Washington State economy? What about the 1% who have gotten rich from 10 years of really generous tax cuts?

Lynda Ring Erickson's opponent is a knock-off of the 2010 far-right radicals who hijacked the Republican Party, and who replaced the last moderate Republicans for the crime of wanting to work with the President and the Democrats to find solutions for our country's ills. He is the mirror image of the whack-jobs who were elected on "jobs, jobs, jobs", and who then proceeded to talk about a woman's reproductive rights every day since taking office, and who voted against the President's jobs bill.

Perhaps with the positive influence of Kathy Haigh, Lynda Ring Erickson could become a good representative for the 35th District. It could happen! I have no such hope that her opponent could ever become a good representative for our district. (Please listen to Drew MacEwen's interview for yourself, and vote wisely on November 6th.)

Return Kathy Haigh to Olympia, and send Lynda Ring Erickson along with her! We could certainly do worse.

Link to KMAS radio interview with Drew MacEwen:
http://masoncountydailynews.com/masoncountydailynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32824

Graphic: www.borderlesnewsandviews.com