VIDEO — Inslee Tells Bernie ‘COVID is Excuse to Push Green Tactics’

The video and transcript are spreading like a virus itself, comments Gov. Jay Inslee made on May 13 about his wishing to use the COVID crisis as an excuse to push green tactics and climate change.

As part of a symposium-town hall on climate change on Bernie Sander's website, last Wednesday, Inslee said COVID is an opportunity to push green tactics on the state of Washington.

Inslee's comments read in part: (bold lettering added for emphasis-from Grabien.com clip from Bernie site)

"We should not miss an opportunity to drive home what Varshini was talking about, that this has enormous backing in our constituents to understand the economic necessity of this. And we should not be intimidated when people say, 'Oh, you can't use this COVID crisis, you know, to peddle a solution to climate change.' No. We have to recognize the necessity of this moment that this will allow us to rebuild our economy and jump-start it. It was a necessity before the COVID crisis. It is an absolute requirement now to rebuild our economy. And we shouldn't be intimidated by Republicans about this at all. The last thing I'll say is we can't use code as an excuse for inaction on climate change. These are two things we have to deal with and we can deal with both because they're so similar. They both are similar that they're based on understanding of science, they're both similar in understanding that this is under our control."

Seattle media, including KIRO radio's Dori Monson, quickly picked up on this, and many began to 'roast' Inslee over his tone-deaf and "disgusting" comments.  It's noted that the day after Inslee did this interview, the state froze unemployment payments temporarily because they literally ran out of money. Why? Because they'd paid out too much to people filing fraudulent claims. Meanwhile, he is off pushing green environmental agendas, say critics, when his focus needs to be on our state's economy.

It's interesting with the backdrop of this video, the next time Inslee 'praises'  "Washin' tonians" as he says it, the insincerity of his comments. On one hand he's praising citizens for their part in flattening the curve, the other, he's stabbing them in the back with these words about using the COVID crisis for political purposes.

As Obama's first Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel once said "you never let a crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that; it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before."

It will be interesting to see if any reporters press him on this during his Monday, May 18 press conference.

To see the Inslee video for yourself, click on the button below.