Don’t expect Governor Heck to stray from the party line

Many of my conservative friends are counting the day Jay Inslee will be tapped to join President Joe Biden’s cabinet in some form or another.  They think that moving Inslee from Washington State to Washington DC will be good for the state because he will be replaced by another person.

According to state law, that person will be Denny Heck, the current Lieutenant Governor – who will hold the office until he is elected to the position in November 2021.  They hope that Heck will be better and more attuned to the realities of life in the real world.  They think that with Heck’s background he’ll be more realistic about the abilities of the governor to affect life in Washington State.

And, they’re right.  Almost anyone would be better than the lifetime political hack that Inslee has become.  Denny Heck will be a far better governor than currently.

But, they may be disappointed if they think Heck’s policies will differ greatly from Inslee’s.   He is looked upon as more conservative than the Democratic Party and as someone with real world experience who can understand the needs of the average person.

That is not the case however.  Heck has been shown to be an extremely political partisan.  While serving in the House of Representatives, he supported every partisan issue brought forth by Democrats including supporting the articles of impeachment against President Trump.   When he joined with his colleagues in this endeavor I criticized his actions and called him a partisan hack.  He’s never forgiven me for that and I’ve never forgotten his vote.

So, don’t expect Governor Denny Heck to stray far from the party line.  He’ll be better than Inslee, but Heck has been a partisan politician so long that he doesn’t know any different.