There is a meme floating around out on social media. It shows a man and a woman in swimwear jogging on a beach looking at each other saying, “Let’s not think anymore, let us trust government.” That meme summarizes how I view many Washington state citizens.
Until citizens start seeing the greater truth in that meme, Washington state will remain divided in two groups.
One group lives in the Potemkin village version of Washington state where the illusion is stronger and more believable than the reality. The other group prefers fact based realities, regardless of politics or marketing spin.
While a recent article in The Columbian titled “Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez finds her footing” by Carlos Fuentes, gave what I would call more of a marketing oriented, public relations write up in favor of the new representative from Washington’s Third Congressional District, the article, along with about half a dozen other congratulatory articles about her in that publication, triggered within me a healthy cascade of skeptical deductions.
By all accounts, it may seem too soon to hold a freshly elected congressperson to criticism, but I will mention some things that raise some concerns. Written as if the backdrop of three years of horrendous lockdowns and mandates never happened, the echo chamber this article lives in is smaller and less resonant than a catalytic converter on a Prius.
It must be fun to pretend there was no overreach and abuse of authority by a majority of zealous partisan Democrats for three years. It must be fabulous to feel like journalists no longer need to hold the political establishment accountable in the context of informing the public.
Welcome to the world of the “what I don’t know won’t kill me” club. Let us keep pretending everything is OK.
Out of The Columbian’s glowing coverage of Gluesenkamp Perez, there was not a single mention of her vote against the Republicans’ courageous bill to ban President Joe Biden’s 80,000 IRS agents. No mention of her intention during her campaign to vote along party lines in favor of gun control and in support of Biden’s plans to ban certain weapons. She voted to keep vaccination requirements in place for foreign travelers.
So, in order to maintain the illusion of stability and fairness for the Potemkin village adherents of Washington state, Gluesenkamp Perez has had a few “town halls.” Apparently from what some attendees have shared, the questions by audience members were submitted in writing and read by a moderator to avoid “gotchas.” Also the number of attendees were in the dozens, not in the higher numbers of, say a Joe Kent town hall, which have been recorded as being jam packed when he ran as a candidate.
By many deductions, the harmonized marketing operation making sure this new precious asset such as Marie Gluesenkamp Perez meets with the right people, with right preparations, has the right press giving her just the right mix of coverage, make her seem like the right person for the Potemkin village version of Washington state.
Josh Winsor,
Yelm
