Letters for July 30

5th District voters have been scammed

It is time that we, the voters of the 5th District, admit that we have been scammed. When we elected our representative, we were told that the interests of his constituents would be his primary concern. However, his voting record belies that pledge. The budget bill that he voted for will effectively remove many people, including a lot of children, from Medicaid eligibility in order to provide tax benefits for billionaires, but of course not until after the 2026 elections!

I may be wrong, but I believe there are more Medicaid recipients in the 5th District than there are billionaires. He said ICE was going to arrest and deport criminals and drug dealers, but instead it has been sweeping up some of our citizens and imprisoning children and taxpayers who provide much of the labor for our hotels, restaurants, retail businesses and farms. The Republican Party, of which our representative is a member, used to pride itself on being fiscally conservative, but instead it has burdened our children and grandchildren with $3 trillion more in national debt.

I resent being scammed. How about you?

Daniel J. Schaffer

Spokane

Renewed tabs would boost coffers

I read recently that there are approximately 600,000 cars licensed in the state of Washington that are driving around with expired tabs. I have no evidence that this is true, but if it is, based on the fact that my two vehicles’ tabs cost $118 each this past year, that’s about $70 million dollars left on the table that could be used to purchase new EMS equipment like the things the city of Spokane is about to spend taxpayer dollars on.

Am I wrong or is law enforcement not required to compel these drivers to purchase new tabs? If not, why should any of us renew our vehicle registration each year?

Steve Carr

Spokane

Jackson’s column hit bull’s-eye

I would like to respond to professor Gordon Jackson’s satirical piece, “President creating a bigly legacy,” on July 17. He highlights some of our major challenges, including the deportation of individuals without due process, the assault on education and the economic uncertainty caused by the haphazard tariff policy. He closes with the satirical replacement of the Constitution by a brief document giving absolute authority to the president.

Jackson’s satire accurately captures the conditions facing the country. Behind the satire, Rep. Baumgartner’s voting record reflects that he has supported nearly every action proposed by this president and his party with not a suggestion of dissent. This should not be the behavior of a member of the legislative branch, a co-equal branch with the executive. Instead of fighting the elimination of Medicaid insurance for thousands of his constituents, protecting rural hospitals and research institutions and opposing the addition of over $3 trillion to our national debt to pay for permanent tax breaks to the wealthy, Rep. Baumgartner routinely defers, with pride, to the president and his party. He is supposed to be our representative, not theirs. The fact that he does not govern accordingly is a recipe for what Jackson rightly identifies as the “consequential development” of eliminating the U.S. Constitution.

In reality, it won’t require another document. It will only require the acquiescence of a compliant Congress with all the levers of power and an abundance of deference to one person over their obligation to the Constitution.

Tom Robinson

Spokane