I see Jay Inslee - EXCLUSIVE
Iowa teems with politicians during Caucus Season. I have many a story
where a friend went to the airport, a coffee shop, or even just to church and a
Presidential candidate was there.
I have always maintained that if it requires minimal commitment, I should take advantage of every opportunity that I get (which explains why I almost went and met Ben Carson) and I have met great public servants on both sides.
So, with that, it’s only logical to go see Jay Inslee. The most surprising thing, of course, is that Jay Inslee and Steve Bullock are two different people, and neither of them is John Hickenlooper.
That’s a 2020 candidates joke, of course. There’s so many of them! I love all the Western governors, and if you know me, I like to focus on the funny.
Inslee’s gambit is to be the climate change candidate and that seems to be a good idea, given the crowded field. He has been polling around 9th and in a crowd of 24 or so, that’s rather enviable actually.
It is also smart that it does seem climate change has become the defining issue of the race, in the way that immigration has been at times for the GOP.
This is obvious for a couple of reasons, flooding in all parts of the state have been epic. The incumbent and opposition party’s views on the topic also necessitate a counter plan.
So, it’s logical, but it can also be attributed to the person who may be Iowa’s biggest progressive activist, Ed Fallon, a former gubernatorial candidate, former member of the state house, and radio talk show host (He of the Protest Penguins).
I like Fallon (I listened to his radio show and voted for him at least once), but he’s been pretty aggressive on getting his message noted. At the end of the day, the Caucus does get pulled by both parties to their respective activist angles.
Which brings me back to the Caucus Meet and Greet. They are a very unique part of the Election cycle and truly amazing. If you live in Iowa or New Hampshire, you simply have to attend one to say you have seen it.
The Cable News channels try to sell their town halls, but they can’t compare. I witnessed one where a Presidential Candidate was asked point blank if he would commit to finding the “real truth” about the JFK administration. That was a moment, for sure.
It’s almost like a job interview and in many ways, that is exactly what it is.
To speak of this event specifically, Inslee had a good crowd. I tell everyone I am terrible with numbers, but I would guess between 80 and 100 people, which should be encouraging.
Also, the activists were definitely there to get the answers they needed. Climate change and women issues voters were there to be heard.
There did seem to be some contingent of people generally interested in Inslee, along with the undecided. His camp should find that encouraging as well. For the most part, though the room did read as typical older Iowans who came to see what he had to say and factor that into their decisions.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get there early enough to read the room and chat, but I didn’t pick up any post-speech buzz except the appetizers looked awesome. It’s not a big deal, but it might have been better to see something generating more energy than the flatbread.
It is a fascinating phenomenon - the meet and greet. The goal is to move up to campaign rallies, of course. As we get closer to Caucus Night, you want to draw a bigger crowd than one that will fill a back room. Hillary probably never had meet and greets, and I suspect Biden and Sanders are too big for them now. Hey, that’s ok.
No matter how dedicated the crowd, you need numbers to win.
Still, everyone starts somewhere and the buzz generated by Barack Obama and Pete Buttigieg in small forums, generated excitement that would multiply audiences. Rick Santorum beat long odds to win Iowa by doing meet after meet after meet.
Inslee seemed genuine enough. He could almost be out of central casting for Governor. He stressed that he was able to get things done like infrastructure and work across the aisle. He also wanted to point out how Progressive he has been.
Progressive and Bipartisan? If I was quick enough (and not scared by the loud, crazy activists), I might have asked him how he hoped to be both. The two almost seem like antonyms in the current environment.
As Inslee stakes his claim as a climate change fighter, it undoubtably opens up for attacks on the subject (take a look at the headlines and who is attacking him- Rick Perry, Fox News Favorite and Spokane Sherriff Ozzie Knezovich, etc) . He was asked at the event point blank about Washington’s nuclear plants.
He was asked about wage inequality and Inslee has a good record on that, so credit to him there
.
His biggest moment was at the mention of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Inslee joked that he caught her when she started to fall down the steps and that him saving her from injury might have been his biggest public service contribution.
The Left may be split in a few items but they seem to all love RBG
Inslee ended the night with an urging to make the 3rd debate qualifications which means a larger number of donors. Even a dollar donated would help his cause. It is an uniqueness that candidates are seemingly begging for a dollar- a phenomenon that Vice has picked up on and are making fun of.
Inslee has a great story to share about his dad being a high school teacher and how a former student came up to him and shared how he was ready to drop out, and only didn’t because Mr Inslee saw something worthwhile in him. He would go to become the first Filipino to buy a house in the Seattle area- a place which had discriminated against Filipinos for decades
It has been noted that what makes a great public servant and what makes a great candidate may be two separate lists. Inslee isn’t a particularly dynamic speaker. He doesn’t have the level of personality that lifts the room like the current or the last President. He does indeed come across as a genuine person and a rational and sympathetic leader. He is well-spoken and steady. It’s hard not to want to compare him to Joe Biden in many ways. However, that might not be enough to excite an electorate.
For me, I liked that he was open to questions (with multiple same-day events, time was limited). He seemed kind, intelligent and able to speak on multiple issues. It is interesting to see that in the 24 hours now past since I attended Mr Inslee’s event, he has had some important media attention. It is a given that others will co-opt his message. That Joe Biden just announced he won’t accept money from Fossil Fuel donors is proof of that. More importantly, he has seemed to get an endorsement from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
That seems like a big deal. I am not sure how much influence AOC wields in Iowa but if Inslee is looking for something to nudge him up over the crowd, it certainly can’t hurt.
My gut instinct after seeing Inslee is that he can be taken as a serious contender, but I can’t see him overcoming obstacles that are between him and the nomination, but one just never knows. Is he gunning for a veep slot? Maybe. Anyway, I have seen 2 candidates this cycle. Only 22 more to go!
I have always maintained that if it requires minimal commitment, I should take advantage of every opportunity that I get (which explains why I almost went and met Ben Carson) and I have met great public servants on both sides.
So, with that, it’s only logical to go see Jay Inslee. The most surprising thing, of course, is that Jay Inslee and Steve Bullock are two different people, and neither of them is John Hickenlooper.
That’s a 2020 candidates joke, of course. There’s so many of them! I love all the Western governors, and if you know me, I like to focus on the funny.
Inslee’s gambit is to be the climate change candidate and that seems to be a good idea, given the crowded field. He has been polling around 9th and in a crowd of 24 or so, that’s rather enviable actually.
It is also smart that it does seem climate change has become the defining issue of the race, in the way that immigration has been at times for the GOP.
This is obvious for a couple of reasons, flooding in all parts of the state have been epic. The incumbent and opposition party’s views on the topic also necessitate a counter plan.
So, it’s logical, but it can also be attributed to the person who may be Iowa’s biggest progressive activist, Ed Fallon, a former gubernatorial candidate, former member of the state house, and radio talk show host (He of the Protest Penguins).
I like Fallon (I listened to his radio show and voted for him at least once), but he’s been pretty aggressive on getting his message noted. At the end of the day, the Caucus does get pulled by both parties to their respective activist angles.
Which brings me back to the Caucus Meet and Greet. They are a very unique part of the Election cycle and truly amazing. If you live in Iowa or New Hampshire, you simply have to attend one to say you have seen it.
The Cable News channels try to sell their town halls, but they can’t compare. I witnessed one where a Presidential Candidate was asked point blank if he would commit to finding the “real truth” about the JFK administration. That was a moment, for sure.
It’s almost like a job interview and in many ways, that is exactly what it is.
To speak of this event specifically, Inslee had a good crowd. I tell everyone I am terrible with numbers, but I would guess between 80 and 100 people, which should be encouraging.
Also, the activists were definitely there to get the answers they needed. Climate change and women issues voters were there to be heard.
There did seem to be some contingent of people generally interested in Inslee, along with the undecided. His camp should find that encouraging as well. For the most part, though the room did read as typical older Iowans who came to see what he had to say and factor that into their decisions.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get there early enough to read the room and chat, but I didn’t pick up any post-speech buzz except the appetizers looked awesome. It’s not a big deal, but it might have been better to see something generating more energy than the flatbread.
It is a fascinating phenomenon - the meet and greet. The goal is to move up to campaign rallies, of course. As we get closer to Caucus Night, you want to draw a bigger crowd than one that will fill a back room. Hillary probably never had meet and greets, and I suspect Biden and Sanders are too big for them now. Hey, that’s ok.
No matter how dedicated the crowd, you need numbers to win.
Still, everyone starts somewhere and the buzz generated by Barack Obama and Pete Buttigieg in small forums, generated excitement that would multiply audiences. Rick Santorum beat long odds to win Iowa by doing meet after meet after meet.
Inslee seemed genuine enough. He could almost be out of central casting for Governor. He stressed that he was able to get things done like infrastructure and work across the aisle. He also wanted to point out how Progressive he has been.
Progressive and Bipartisan? If I was quick enough (and not scared by the loud, crazy activists), I might have asked him how he hoped to be both. The two almost seem like antonyms in the current environment.
As Inslee stakes his claim as a climate change fighter, it undoubtably opens up for attacks on the subject (take a look at the headlines and who is attacking him- Rick Perry, Fox News Favorite and Spokane Sherriff Ozzie Knezovich, etc) . He was asked at the event point blank about Washington’s nuclear plants.
He was asked about wage inequality and Inslee has a good record on that, so credit to him there
.
His biggest moment was at the mention of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Inslee joked that he caught her when she started to fall down the steps and that him saving her from injury might have been his biggest public service contribution.
The Left may be split in a few items but they seem to all love RBG
Inslee ended the night with an urging to make the 3rd debate qualifications which means a larger number of donors. Even a dollar donated would help his cause. It is an uniqueness that candidates are seemingly begging for a dollar- a phenomenon that Vice has picked up on and are making fun of.
Inslee has a great story to share about his dad being a high school teacher and how a former student came up to him and shared how he was ready to drop out, and only didn’t because Mr Inslee saw something worthwhile in him. He would go to become the first Filipino to buy a house in the Seattle area- a place which had discriminated against Filipinos for decades
It has been noted that what makes a great public servant and what makes a great candidate may be two separate lists. Inslee isn’t a particularly dynamic speaker. He doesn’t have the level of personality that lifts the room like the current or the last President. He does indeed come across as a genuine person and a rational and sympathetic leader. He is well-spoken and steady. It’s hard not to want to compare him to Joe Biden in many ways. However, that might not be enough to excite an electorate.
For me, I liked that he was open to questions (with multiple same-day events, time was limited). He seemed kind, intelligent and able to speak on multiple issues. It is interesting to see that in the 24 hours now past since I attended Mr Inslee’s event, he has had some important media attention. It is a given that others will co-opt his message. That Joe Biden just announced he won’t accept money from Fossil Fuel donors is proof of that. More importantly, he has seemed to get an endorsement from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
That seems like a big deal. I am not sure how much influence AOC wields in Iowa but if Inslee is looking for something to nudge him up over the crowd, it certainly can’t hurt.
My gut instinct after seeing Inslee is that he can be taken as a serious contender, but I can’t see him overcoming obstacles that are between him and the nomination, but one just never knows. Is he gunning for a veep slot? Maybe. Anyway, I have seen 2 candidates this cycle. Only 22 more to go!
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