Jay Inslee in Democratic candidates debate in Detroit Michigan, July 30-31, 2019
On Crime:
Mass incarceration comes from school-to-prison pipeline
I approach this question [of racial and gender discrimination] with humility because I have not experienced what many Americans have. I've never been a black teenager pulled over in a white neighborhood. I've never been a woman talked over in a meeting.
I've never been an LGBTQ member subject to a slur. And so I have believed I have an added responsibility, a double responsibility, to deal with racial disparity.
And we've talked on the way we do it, including ending the school to prison pipeline in my state.I believe you can draw a straight line from slavery through Jim Crow through the banking and the redlining to mass incarceration.
But you know what other line I can draw? 88% of the people in our prisons dropped out of high school. Let's fix our school system and maybe we can fix the prison pipeline that we have.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
On Drugs:
I pardoned thousands of people with drug crimes
Julian Castro [to Inslee]: About criminal justice reform, there are a lot of things that we can talk about--sentencing reform, cash bail reform, investing in public defenders, diversion programs. I'm the only candidate that has put forward a police
reform plan, because we have a police system that is broken.INSLEE: Let me suggest that people come out to the state of Washington and see what criminal justice reform looks like, our effort to reduce racial disparity. I was the first governor to
offer pardons to thousands of people with drug crimes. Now we're vacating more, tens of thousands. We've eliminated the death penalty. And when people come out of the legal system, we need to make sure they can get a job. We have banned the box so that
people can actually get a job when they come out. And I've got to argue with Secretary Castro. We haven't just put forward a plan. We have adopted one of the best police accountability measures and trained police officers in de-escalation techniques.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
On Energy & Oil:
Climate change must be top priority; no middle ground
If we make defeating the climate crisis the top priority of the United States, we will have a fighting chance to save ourselves and our children's future. It has to be our top priority. My plan is one of national mobilization, quickly bringing
100 percent clean energy to Americans, creating 8 million good union jobs. This is a big, bold, ambitious plan for clean energy for a big bold ambitious nation. Middle ground approaches are not enough. We can defeat the climate crisis. Let's get to work.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
On Energy & Oil:
We've got to do stop using coal in ten years
Q: Would there be any place for fossil fuels in a Biden administration?V.P. Joe Biden: No, we would work it out. We would make sure it's eliminated and no more subsidies for either one of those, any fossil fuel.
Inslee: We cannot work it out.
We cannot work this out. The time is up. Our house is on fire. We have to stop using coal in 10 years, and we need a president to do it or it won't get done. Get off coal. Save this country and the planet. That's what I'm for.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
On Environment:
Middle ground solutions aren't going to save our air & water
INSLEE: Climate change is not a singular issue, it is all the issues that we Democrats care about. It is health. It is national security. It is our economy. And we know this; middle ground solutions, like the vice president has proposed, or sort of
middling average-sized things, are not going to save us. Too little, too late is too dangerous. It doesn't matter what your zip code is, it doesn't matter what your color is, you ought to have clear air and clear water.V.P. Joe BIDEN:
There is no middle ground about my plan.
INSLEE: These deadlines are set by science. Mr. Vice President, your argument is not with me, it's with science. Unfortunately, your plan is just too late. The science tells us we have to get off coal in
10 years. Your plan does not do that. We have to have off of fossil fuels in our electrical grid in 15. Your plan simply does not do that. I believe that survival is realistic, and that's the kind of plan we need. And that's the kind I have.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
On Immigration:
I'm proud to be first governor to accept Syrian refugees
We have to make America what it's always been, a place of refuge. We got to boost the number of people we accept. I'm proud of being the first governor saying send us your Syrian refugees. I'm proud to have been the first governor to stand up against
Donald Trump's Muslim ban. I'm proud to have sued him 21 times and beat him 21 times in a row.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
On Jobs:
Pay increases for teachers, nurses, and female-majority jobs
We need to think about a bigger scandal in America, which is that in professions and careers where women have been more than the majority, they have been almost always underpaid. I'm proud to be the governor who won the largest pay increase
for our educators in the United States. That is long, long overdue. I think it is true for nursing staff as well. And I'm glad that we've increased our union membership 10% so unions can stand up for women as well.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
On War & Peace:
We need a president to stand up against drums of war
We have to determine whether a potential president has adequate judgment. I was called to make a judgment about the Iraq war. I was a relatively new member of Congress, and I made the right judgment, because it was obvious to me that
George Bush was fanning the flames of war. Now we face similar situations. We need a president who can stand up against the drums of war and make rational decisions.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
Page last updated: Sep 08, 2019