Letters for Wednesday, March 4

We deserve better

After a letter to the editor was published pointing out the overwhelming number of letters critical of Rep. Baumgartner, there has been an increase of letters singing his praises. A coincidence? Maybe, but it is doubtful the positive letters will assure voters that Mr. Baumgartner represents his constituents well. His written statement regarding the State of the Union emphasizes that he is out of touch, and not for the first time. Remember the House Judiciary Hearing regarding Special Counsel Jack Smith on Jan. 22? Mr. Baumgartner began his questioning of Jack Smith by explaining that upon learning he would be participating in the hearing he had to ask, “Who is Jack Smith?”

Mr. Baumgartner’s statement following the State of the Union said, in part, “Good News, our nation is safer and more prosperous than it has been in generations.” It is doubtful that any citizen in Minneapolis feels safer. He wrote that his party has, “delivered broad-based tax relief so working families can keep more of what they earn.” The very wealthy are feeling prosperous after the president’s Big Beautiful Bill but most citizens are struggling with higher grocery prices, increased insurance and utility rates.

Not to worry. Mr. Baumgartner states he will “keep fighting to make sure families in Eastern Washington feel that progress where it matters most – at home.” Is he fighting for us or just taking every opportunity to align himself with the present administration? His constituents deserve better.

Roxanne Imus

Spokane

Tariff dizziness

Michael Baumgartner has had a long dizzy dance with tariffs. In March 2025 he co-authored a Spokesman-Review column that expressed serious reservations about tariffs:

“… Any enthusiasm for increased tariffs must be tempered by the economic reality that for us in Eastern Washington, tariffs mean trouble.”

“The price of Washington’s soft white wheat … will likely drop due to declining competitiveness in global markets.”

“Tariffs are taxes. These taxes will hit trade-dependent states like Washington especially hard.”

“… The economic reality is that they are taxes paid by American businesses and often passed down to consumers in the form of higher prices.”

Then Trump launched “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2 under authority of IEEPA. IEEPA requires Congress to approve – within 15 days – the “national emergency” caused by “unusual and extraordinary” threat from our international trading partners. Instead (and here’s the first dizzy part) Republicans ducked the vote by redefining a “day” to mean the remaining eight months of the congressional term. Baumgartner voted for this time warp.

Fast forward to February and more dizziness: The eight-month “day” expired. Baumgartner voted to stretch it further. It failed. Three Republicans concluded a “day” was really just a “day.” Baumgartner wasn’t one of them. Darn, now Republicans had to vote for or against Trump’s tariff authority.

With no further place to hide, Baumgartner voted “yes” for the tariffs that, in his words, “mean trouble” for Eastern Washington.

Sadly, there’s still much tariff trouble ahead, and little courage to push back in Congress.

Steve McNutt

Spokane

SAVE Act makes voting harder

On Feb. 11, Rep. Michael Baumgartner voted in favor of the SAVE Act, which in brief, requires proof of citizenship to vote in elections. On the surface, that seems like a reasonable thing, but the devil is in the details, as they say. When you dig down, this is yet another Republican -inspired voter suppression effort, because when your policies hurt everyday citizens, the only way you stay in power is taking their vote away.

How do you prove you are a citizen? You will need either a passport ($165 for first-time applicants) or a valid birth certificate that matches the name you use today. If it doesn’t, such as in the case of married women who took their husband’s name, that will require a legal name change, filing paperwork with a court appearance and a fee of nearly $300. If you have an enhanced driver’s license, you have already paid some of these fees. But remember, that enhanced driver’s license program took nearly a decade to roll out, and Baumgartner says this bill, if passed, will go into effect for the November election. Nonsense!

In earlier times, this would be called a poll tax – charging money to be able to vote. That’s been declared unconstitutional by an earlier Supreme Court and the 24th Amendment. How today’s court would rule is anyone’s guess. Baumgartner knows Republican policy hurts everyday people. Instead of trying to improve the lives of his voters, making it harder to vote is all he has left.

Annie Bouscal

Kettle Falls