Flip the district

To my neighbors of the 8th Congressional District:

If you, like me, have come to believe that our great nation is in danger due the actions of an unstable, erratic and amoral President, this November you have the opportunity to make a huge difference in the direction of the country.

I urge you to vote to flip our Congressional District, which has been under Republican control for decades, to the Democratic side of the aisle.

If you, like me, believe that science-based climate change is real, that women are equal in every way and deserve to make decisions for their own bodies, that skin color or religion doesn’t make you less of an American, that we need a sensible immigration policy versus a wall, that health care for all Americans is a right, that we need to study gun violence and propose common-sense solutions, that the average citizen is every bit as important as a corporation, that our children deserve better public schools and pathways to college, that reasoned regulation is required to safeguard our environment, that we benefit from good relations with other nations, and that moderation is the only path forward, then I urge you to vote for Dr. Kim Schrier for Congress.

This is the moment we say “no more” to the embarrassment that is our current President, by voting in representatives that will stand up to this deeply flawed administration.

Steve Heinke

Snoqualmie

Something is wrong

Something is wrong when the President is elected by a minority but says he won a majority.

Something is wrong when we elect a President who lied for years about former President Barack Obama’s birthplace.

Something is wrong when the Washington Post counts more than 5,000 falsehoods from the President.

Something is wrong when children are cruelly taken from their parents.

Something is wrong when we torture.

Something is wrong when the President has a history of connections to organized crime.

Something is wrong when Russia attacks our sovereignty, and the president does nothing.

Something is wrong when the President calls the press the “enemy of the people.”

Something is wrong when the President trusts the KGB, not the FBI.

Something is wrong when former director of the CIA says the President’s behavior in Russia “…is no less than treason”.

Something is wrong when the GOP suppresses millions of votes.

Something is wrong when the President calls Neo-Nazis and assorted fascists “fine people”.

Something is wrong when so many warn tyranny is coming.

Something is wrong when corporations are people and money is speech.

Something is wrong when climate change is ignored for short-term profits.

Something is wrong when evangelicals abandon the teachings of Christ, attacking LGBT and women’s rights.

Something is wrong when world leaders laugh at our bragging President.

Something is wrong when life-long conservatives like George Will and James Comey say vote for Democrats.

Something is wrong in America. Please vote.

Roger Ledbetter

Snoqualmie

CLF ad is the worst

Recently I came across a remarkable advertisement by CLF (Congressional Leadership Fund), the Republican superpac promoting Dino Rossi. I learned that apparently Congress can make states, against their will, impose a state income tax.

In this ad a solemn female voice dripping with doom declares “Kim Schrier supports state income tax.” The subtext being, “Be very afraid.Elect Kim Schrier and a state income tax is inevitable.”

If this is indeed true we have a real problem.

I bet Dr. Schrier “supports” eating broccoli and a daily exercise regimen as well. Elect Dr. Schrier and get ready for mandatory broccoli and 30 minutes of daily huffing and puffing.

Political ads that mislead with deceptive innuendos are the worst of its kind. This ad by CLF is a prime example. It misleads by implying, not stating of course (just wink, wink, nod, nod), that federal government has anything at all to do with state income taxes. Shame on the CLF for running it. Mr. Rossi, what say you?

Sankar Ray

Sammamish

Schrier wants to raise taxes on farmers

According to her responses to a candidate questionnaire from the 31st Legislative District Democrats, she favors “strengthening certain taxes like the estate tax.”

The estate tax or “death tax” is one of the worst parts of our nation’s tax code, but it is especially devastating for farmers and ranchers. Before it was amended in 2017, the estate tax allowed the federal government to take 40 percent of estates valued at more than $5.5 million. For example, say the land of a small family farm is worth $5.5 million, and the owner passes away and wants to pass the farm on to his children. For the children to gain ownership of their own family farm, the federal government first taxes it at 40 percent. Since farmers are often land-rich but cash-poor, they often need to sell almost half of their farmland and equipment just to cover the cost of this egregious tax.

Congress and the President gave some relief to farmers from the death tax last year. Instead of a $5.5 million threshold for the tax to apply, it has been doubled to $11 million. This means that farms or estates valued under $11 million are not punished by the death tax.

What does Dr. Kim Schrier mean when she says she favors “strengthening” the death tax? Does she want the threshold brought back down so that smaller farms have to pay it? Or does she want to raise the rate higher than 40 percent?

It’s unclear exactly how she wants to strengthen the death tax, but one thing is clear: Kim Schrier is no friend of farmers and ranchers. As a third-generation farmer, I want to keep my farm.

Bob Schnebly

Ellensburg

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Mailer wrong about Rossi

I got a mailer from the Washington State Democratic Party that suggests Dino Rossi raised property taxes by supporting last year’s McCleary fix.

What it doesn’t say is that those property taxes come back down in 2019. As the Seattle Times says, “last year, in a move Democrats reluctantly agreed to, lawmakers hiked the state property-tax rate for every homeowner in 2018 by about 80 cents per $1,000 in assessed valuation. Then, the plan caps and lowers local property taxes collected by the state’s 295 school districts beginning next year. Many homeowners ultimately are expected to see an eventual overall tax decrease” (March 7, 2018).

The mailer also shows a family with sad looks on their faces with a caption that says, “My family can’t afford higher taxes, but that’s exactly what’s going to happen to pay down $1.9 trillion to the national debt.”

The Washington State Democrats imply that taxes on middle class families will need to be raised to compensate for lost revenue from last year’s tax cuts passed by Congress. They suggest that since Dino supports the tax cuts, Dino will also support raising taxes on the middle class to pay for those tax cuts, and therefore we shouldn’t vote for him. The mailer might as well say “Dino supports tax cuts so therefore he might raise your taxes.” It makes no logical sense.

Also, attacking Dino Rossi on taxes is absolutely astonishing given the fact that his opponent Dr. Kim Schrier supports a state income tax, a carbon tax, repealing last year’s tax cuts, and “strengthening” the death tax (estate tax).

I would’ve laughed at this ridiculous mailer if it didn’t make me so angry. Educate yourselves before you vote, and if you want your taxes to stay low, vote for Dino Rossi.

Derek Flint

Ellensburg