Reforms in Washington an Example for National GOP

As a California Republican, I more often read articles from The National Review instead of the more liberal leaning Seattle Times, which serves a centrist readership in a Democratic state. Yet conservative columnist Michael Barone’s latest piece “Leading on Entitlement Reform” informed me of a welcoming development for reform minded Republicans in Washington State’s statehouse.

In the state senate, two Democrats crossed the aisle to form a power-sharing bipartisan majority with the growing yet not yet equal Republican caucus. Their shared concerns about education and ObamaCare mirror the pressing issues of our country: state sovereignty versus an expanding federal government.

I applaud state leaders for putting their parties aside to serve the best interests of the people and their state.

Their example of power-sharing for efficient and responsible governance serves as an example to my state, where supermajority Democrats want to raise taxes instead of cut spending, and deeply divided Washington D.C., where caucus leaders want to bicker and provoke instead of dicker and promote the general welfare.

Washingtonians have decriminalized pot, and they have rejected “soak the rich” tax hikes: a Democratic constituency supporting conservative values. The Evergreen State may help grow Republicans into a leaner, tolerant national party.