It’s the season of giving—so Democrats took more.

The Twelve Days of Democrat Taxmas: Olympia’s Gift That Keeps on Taking

A recent op-ed by GOP State Sen. John Braun points out that, as Washington Democrats close out 2025, they’ve helpfully provided a holiday-themed reminder of why the state keeps getting more expensive—one policy at a time. Framed around The Twelve Days of Christmas, Senate Republicans tallied a dozen ways one-party Democrat rule in Olympia has made affordability a punchline instead of a priority.

It starts innocently enough: dining out in Washington now costs 13.6% more than the national average, thanks to Democrat-approved taxes and mandates. Then there’s state government itself, which has grown at twice the rate of workers’ wages—a neat trick if you’re in Olympia, less so if you’re paying the bills.

From there, the hits keep coming. Washington ranks near the top for housing costs, gas prices, and overall cost of living, helped along by higher gas taxes and the Democrats’ beloved cap-and-tax scheme. Rent? Fifth least affordable in the country—right as lawmakers congratulated themselves for passing rent control that will almost certainly make rents worse.

Democrats also quietly pulled in $1.6 billion from carbon allowance auctions, which translated into about 60 cents more per gallon at the pump—a regressive tax they pretend isn’t regressive. Job growth? Washington’s is running at one-seventh the national rate, with zero growth projected for 2026.

Then there’s the feel-good stuff that doesn’t feel good: an eight-cent bag fee that was supposed to cut plastic waste but instead increased it by 17%, and is about to go up again because clearly it just didn’t hurt enough the first time.

On taxes, Democrats came in hot with nine proposals, passed five of them, and raised $9.55 billion—while keeping the other seven tax ideas on ice for later. The sales-tax expansion alone slapped a 10% cost increase on previously untaxed services, even hitting food banks and school districts after being rushed through in just eight days.

Add it all up, and Washington families now pay about $1,100 more per person in state and local taxes than the national median. For a family of four, that’s $4,400 extra—before factoring in higher gas, rent, food, and fees.

The grand finale? $12.46 billion in new taxes over four years, courtesy of legislative Democrats who insist affordability is a top priority—right after raising the cost of literally everything.

As John Braun put it, Washington simply can’t afford policies that make life harder for working families. Unfortunately, Olympia Democrats seem determined to keep handing them out—one “gift” at a time. Read more at the Chronicle.

“Millionaire Tax,” Meet the Constitution: Democrats Try Again Anyway

Washington Democrats are back at it—this time with Bob Ferguson floating a so-called “millionaire tax” that would slap a 9.9% income tax on certain earners, on top of the state’s already-controversial capital gains tax. The branding is cute. The legality? Not so much.

Here’s the inconvenient truth Democrats keep tripping over: Washington’s Constitution doesn’t ban all income taxes—it bans unfair ones. Article VII is crystal clear: all taxes must be uniform. Flat. Same rate, same class of property, no political carve-outs. Income counts as property. That’s not a right-wing talking point—it’s been settled law for more than 90 years.

Back in Culliton v. Chase (1933), the Washington Supreme Court ruled that income is property and that a graduated income tax violates the Constitution because it doesn’t treat everyone the same. That precedent has survived decades of progressive wishful thinking and legal gymnastics.

But Democrats are betting the current Supreme Court will blink—just like it did in Quinn v. State (2023), when it magically rebranded the capital gains tax as an “excise” to dodge the uniformity requirement. Two justices dissented, pointing out the obvious: capital gains are income, income is property, and calling it something else doesn’t change the math.

Even under Quinn’s tortured logic, Ferguson’s income tax scheme still collapses. Taxing only “millionaires” while exempting everyone else is exactly the kind of non-uniform tax the Constitution forbids. The only way to “fix” it would be to apply the tax to everyone—a move Democrats conveniently never mention out loud.

If Olympia pushes this through anyway, lawsuits are guaranteed. And don’t be surprised if the real fight ends up in federal court, where equal protection and the Constitution’s “dormant commerce clause” become a problem Democrats can’t simply redefine away.

Bottom line: Washington’s Constitution was designed to restrain government overreach. Democrats keep testing those restraints. And sooner or later, someone’s going to enforce them—whether Olympia likes it or not. Read more at Seattle Red.

Daycare Dollars, Bus Threats, and Blind Endorsements: Democrats Call This “Progress”

Remember Democratic-aligned candidate for King County Council, Ubax Gardheere? The candidate who once threatened to bomb a school bus? Well, Gardheere is – once again – raising eyebrows after a recent viral investigation into Minnesota daycare and adult care businesses by independent reporter Nick Shirley.

It appears that Gardheere’s campaign accepted thousands of dollars from these Minnesota daycare and adult care businesses that are now under scrutiny after investigative reporting by Shirley alleged widespread fraud in Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program. Shirley documented “daycares” receiving millions in public funds despite appearing to have no children at all—including a Minneapolis storefront with a misspelled sign and an empty parking lot.

So naturally, some of those same providers found spare cash to donate to a county race in Washington state. Nothing suspicious there—just cross-state childcare philanthropy for a local election.

At the time, Gardheere was also a highly paid Seattle bureaucrat, pulling in over $130,000 a year while proudly calling herself a “bureactivist.” This, despite a history that would normally disqualify someone from managing a lemonade stand, let alone public office.

Back in 2010, Gardheere boarded a school bus full of children and threatened that she could have a bomb or a gun, causing kids to flee through emergency exits. She reportedly said she was “prepared to die.” Police arrested her.

Yet in 2021, Democrats decided this was not a dealbreaker.

Even after video of the incident resurfaced, progressive officials—including Rebecca Saldana, Mike O’Brien, Tammy Morales, and Varisha Khan—continued to endorse her. Labor and activist groups piled on too, including SEIU and the Transit Riders Union, once led by Katie Wilson—yes, the one with a bus logo.

The pattern didn’t stop there. After losing the primary, Gardheere was arrested again—this time for allegedly assaulting a parent during a school drop-off while shouting political slogans. In a later incident at a middle school, police say she pounded on a car hood, grabbed a man by the collar, scratched his neck, and tried to get into his driver’s seat—all in front of children.

And through it all, Democrats kept endorsing, excusing, and deflecting—while taxpayer-funded daycare money from another state somehow flowed into her campaign.

If this is what Democrats mean by “equity,” parents might want to keep one eye on the budget—and both eyes on the bus. Read more at the Post Millennial.

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