We have a form of government where the citizens elect representatives in their communities who then gather in the Legislature at the state level or in Congress at the federal level. Those representatives make our laws. That is called the Legislative Branch of government. The Executive Branch has the job of carrying out those laws. But in recent decades, this process has been turned on its head, and more and more, our executives, the Governor and the President, are bypassing your representatives to make the laws themselves.
The Executive Branch isn’t just the President or the Governor. It also includes all the agencies that oversee our lives in just about every way. At the state level, a few of these are Ecology, Labor & Industries, Employment Security, and Fish & Wildlife. At the federal level, you have the EPA, FDA, CDC, US Forest Service, etc. Agencies are being used by the Executive to pass rules that have the force of law. Here are some examples:
1. You cannot work at a government agency in Washington State unless you have been vaccinated. This was not a law passed by the Legislature but an order by the Governor to his agencies making them require it. Ironically, the mandate doesn’t take into account those who have had COVID and recovered. A vaccination from a year and a half ago is fine. Natural immunities from a month ago are not.
2. The EPA just announced they will make decisions based on social justice. That was a decision made by unelected people on a Board, not by your elected representatives. Businesses must comply with thousands of regulations created by agencies. Hunting and fishing, farming, food service, and child care, all have boards and commissions overseeing them. Some rules stem from laws passed by the Legislature, but many times the law is very vague, and the agencies are allowed to flesh out the requirements. This gives agencies a great deal of power.
3. President Biden recently used this power to bypass Congress. His decision to forgive student loans was not a decision made by your elected representatives – it was his decision alone.
4. The U.S. Dept of Labor, another agency, is going to unveil a proposed rule that will undermine independent contractors. Franchises will also be harmed. If you are an independent contractor, you need to be aware of this rule. You can read more about it here: https://bit.ly/3SGDriz
5. Our agencies do different things depending on who is running them. When Obama was in office, there was a clean water rule that was put into place that would have required you to get expensive federal permits for building if you even had a ditch on your property. They were going to claim that your wetlands are “navigable waters.” The Trump Admin repealed the rule. Another Trump agency direction was to remove 16 regulations for every new one proposed. They were able to repeal a lot of useless red tape during his time in office.
These are just a few examples of the thousands of rules and regulations that affect every part of your life but were not voted on by your elected representatives. This is not how our government is supposed to function. It’s also how the government can grow by leaps and bounds, and it needs to change. There is a very clear difference between the Democrat and Republican view of the agency bureaucracies in our country. Republicans support a government that is smaller in scope and size, whereas Democrats want to expand the size of government and the control it has over your life. Our Constitution says that the power of government comes from the people. The way we exert our power is through our vote.
Please take the time to vote this November. If you think government is too big and powerful, or if you feel that you want your elected representatives to vote on laws instead of unelected bureaucrats, you need to vote Republican.
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Ruth Peterson is State Committeewoman for Lewis County Republican Party, and works in the State Senate.
*In their infinite wisdom, the United States’ Founders created the Electoral College to ensure the STATES were fairly represented.
Why should one or two densely populated areas speak for the whole of the nation?*
*The following list of statistics has been making the rounds on the Internet. It should finally put an end to the argument as to why the Electoral College makes sense.*
*Do share this. It needs to be widely known and understood.*
*There are 3,141 counties in the United States.*
*Trump won 3,084 of them.*
*Clinton won 57.*
*There are 62 counties in New York State.*
*Trump won 46 of them.*
*Clinton won 16.*
*Clinton won the popular vote by approx. 1.5 million votes.*
*In the 5 counties that encompass NYC, (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Richmond & Queens) Clinton received well over 2 million more votes than Trump. (Clinton only won 4 of these counties; Trump won Richmond)*
*Therefore these 5 counties alone, more than accounted for Clinton winning the popular vote of the entire country.*
*These 5 counties comprise 319 square miles.*
*The United States is comprised of 3,797,000 square miles.*
*When you have a country that encompasses almost 4 million square miles of territory, it would be ludicrous to even suggest that the vote of those who inhabit a mere 319 square miles should dictate the outcome of a national election.*
*Large, densely populated Democrat cities (NYC, Chicago, LA, etc.) DO NOT and SHOULD NOT speak for the rest of our country!*
*And…it’s been verified and documented that those aforementioned 319 square miles are where the majority of our nation’s problems foment.*
Hey County Commissioners! What the heck are ya thinking? You gonna’ raise my taxes? To create a “Conservation Futures Fund”? And purchase land to preserve for agricultural purposes. To sustain the nation’s food supply? Really?
Do you not know that in the 1800’s, fully 90% of the population lived and worked on farms but that today, this figure has decreased to about 1% and, therefore, the arable land in Clallam County makes a minimal contribution to our food supply?
A farmer should be allowed to sell his land as he sees fit but don’t use my tax dollars to subsidize him so that he can place his property in a status that is not the highest and best possible use of the land. Which, likely, is not agriculture.
And, incidentally, this plan will further reduce the land available for housing which further increases housing prices thereby placing homeownership further out of reach for many of our citizens and, consequently, further intensifying the homeless problem…
So really, this whole deal is to extort money from me that I really don’t want to give you and that you really don’t need in order to address a farming problem that we really don’t have and thereby further exacerbate the homeless situation that we really do have and, for good measure, add to our budget deficit.
I know that you are trying to do the right thing but, in this case, you are merely trying… Very trying…
Those who would give up essential Liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety ~ Ben Franklin
Will our posterity celebrate their holidays in the United States Socialist Democracy of Amerika?
Happily, this year, our county commissioners did follow through with a fireworks ban proposed last year. Wherever America’s patriots still celebrate Independence Day, fireworks remind us of sacrifice and our heritage. Dazzling, sky-rocketing, crackling, thunderous fireworks embody liberty’s spirit. (more…)
Susan Hutchison, candidate for U.S. Senator, debated incumbent Maria Cantwell in the U.S. Senate race on October 8th. Susan did a stellar job of pointing out the differences between the Republicans and the Democrats, sharing how Republicans have action-packed plans for the future of Americans across the nation, while the Democrats seem to “resist” anything and everything that our President Donald Trump puts forth. Here is Susan’s opening statement at the debate:
