The American Experiment on Trial

I wish to tread some dangerous territory for me and dip my pen into the arena of political science for a moment as I give some of my thoughts concerning the 2020 race of Governor of Washington State. The primary being completed we now know this race to be between the incumbent, Governor Jay Inslee, and his opponent Loren Culp.

Mr. Culp rose to the surface over something like thirty challengers to Inslee’s office. His race in the primaries was interesting, to say the least. Culp, I think, first made headlines when as sheriff, he refused to enforce the state’s new gun laws. His campaign for governor has been largely along the same tack. He holds to conservative/Republican ideals, but he is more than that. He separated himself from the rest of the Republican candidates in refusing to play politics as usual. While Joshua Freed, for example, spent most of his campaign efforts winning the favor of the Republican party, Culp spent all of his time winning the people of Washington State. With that in mind, I see the race between Mr. Culp and Governor Inslee as a different kind of horse.

This is not essentially a race between a Democrat and a Republican. 

It is that of course, but that is not what it is in essence. Mr. Culp doesn’t appear to be a Republican team player. He may become that if he wins the office, but he hasn’t particularly played by the Republican playbook. In many ways, he reminds me of President Trump in that area.

This race is not essentially a race between liberal versus conservative ideologies. 

It is that of course. Governor Inslee’s worldview is that of a liberal. In his bid for the presidency, his one platform agenda was to save the planet. His ideology is liberal to the core. His supporters are liberal. If he succeeds in winning this election, he will progress his liberal ideologies. Culp, on the other hand, appears to have a very conservative worldview. We may expect that if he wins the election for governor of Washington State, he will put forward a conservative agenda. Perhaps more conservative than the current Republican party would put forward. 

This race is not even essentially between big government and small government.

It is that too, of course. Governor Inslee is all about government oversight – of just about everything. His is a socialist worldview that sees government as the answer to the needs of the individual. Governor Inslee is, by profession, a lawyer. His career has been that of using governmental heads to manipulate circumstances for the good of his clients. Mr. Culp appears to be the opposite. He has been a businessman, a construction worker, and an elected county sheriff. He sees government as needful but in a limited capacity.

This is essentially a race contesting the American experiment of self-government. 

Governor Inslee wishes, though I am sure he would not say so in these words, to remove the power from the people. He sees government as the protector and provider of the masses. He views us as needy, lacking direction, and requiring the care of a “big brother.” He sees government as that big brother. Mr. Culp has demonstrated his commitment to the people. His entire campaign to this point has been grassroots. Meeting with the people of Washington State from nearly one corner of the state the other. He has conducted rallies with hundreds of people and, in every case, allowed them the liberty to choose whether or not to wear a mask. In this respect, he has demonstrated his faith in the individual to make sound choices for themselves. 

In short, this race puts the American experiment on trial. Will we continue to be self-governed? Will we give the government to the elite few who aspire to be professional politicians? The 2020 race for governor of Washington State will point which direction America is headed.

Marvin McKenzie

In the fields