Washington Gov. Jay Inslee speaks at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox during the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, IA on Saturday, August 10, 2019.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee
The governor of Washington and one of the Democrats running for president took to the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox on the morning of Aug. 10.
He’s focused on climate change as his central issue, calling for drastic action to reduce carbon emissions, and his speech revolved around that issue.
He kicked off his speech asking for Iowans’ support for him to get on the next Democratic debate stage.
Inslee hasn’t yet qualified for the third round of debates (in September), not having met the stricter debate qualifications. He added if he would get on the debate stage, “I will beat Donald Trump like a $2 mule.”
He said he disagreed with Vice President Mike Pence in wanting to get rid of Iowa Rep. Steve King. The only Iowa Republican in the House was blocked by fellow Republicans from serving on any committees in January after publicly claiming the terms “white supremacy” and “white nationalism” were not offensive. His comments sparked a firestorm of criticism.
Inslee also said he would oppose a Muslim ban.
On gun control, a frequent topic at the fair after last weekend’s mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, he said he voted to ban assault weapons, which caused him to lose his seat in Congress, and he would work to enforce a ban as president.
He called recent mass shootings a “public health crisis.”
Channing Dutton received a shout-out from Inslee as a climate-crisis advocate. Dutton said although Inslee still has a ways to go, if he could vote today, Dutton would vote for Inslee.
“We’ve got to move climate to the top of the stump speech,” he said. pic.twitter.com/PQ6PyZnut6
— Daily Iowan Politics (@DIpolitics) August 10, 2019
Inslee told the audience he was a truck-driving, dish-washing, climate-change-fighting governor of the state of Washington.
As he talked about the climate crisis, he referred to a Davenport woman who ran a nonprofit called Dress for Success. Her business, he said, was flooded in the spring as a direct result of climate change.
He went on to say it is time to remove a climate-change denier and put someone in office who will defeat climate change, adding that until America doesn’t solves the climate crisis, every other issue will be moot. He also called for a debate on climate change.
He told reporters that President Trump’s weakest point was on climate and that farmers could help with combating the climate crisis.
Inslee told reporters that Iowa farmers could be a strong ally in combating climate change, pointing to innovative farming that keeps carbon in the ground.
— Daily Iowan Politics (@DIpolitics) August 10, 2019
As he called for more investment in alternative energy, he referred to a policy plan he released as the “gold standard” for phasing out fossil fuels on the electricity grid.
Urbandale resident Shay Kent, at the fair advocating for Save the Children, said she liked Inslee’s stance on education and climate change.
“If we are going to have a future full of successful kids, we need to have a climate that is just as successful,” she said. pic.twitter.com/2nCdxgYLV2
— Daily Iowan Politics (@DIpolitics) August 10, 2019
Other items on Inslee’s to-do list included a higher minimum wage and equalizing the gender pay gap.
He also listed his accomplishments in Washington state that he would continue if he were elected to office, including legalizing marijuana, a public-option health-care plan, and a plan to reduce child-care costs.
In response to a question, he said he would support providing education for “Dreamers,” people who came to America undocumented as children, and he wanted to reduce the cost of child care.
He ended his speech with statement that if those in attendance wanted to see climate change on the September debate stage to donate to his website.