More of Steve Stuart's hypocrisy: "If you're not afraid of the answer, you shouldn't be afraid to ask the question."

Exhibiting some of that breathtakingly-huge hypocrisy that he's so capable of, NOW, when the CRC is a corpse after Stuart pushing it for the better part of a decade, he suddenly sees the light:

"If you're not afraid of the answer, you shouldn't be afraid to ask the question,"

...said the Commissioner who did absolutely nothing to listen to that answer when HE was in charge... in fact, arrogantly laughing at such an effort:

“Substantively, let me see if I’m getting this right,” Stuart wrote in response to Rep Ed Orcutt. “You want us to ask voters to approve another layer of bureaucracy (which you don’t support), to pretend new tax authority would be used (which nobody’s suggested and you also don’t support), in order to ask a question that wouldn’t be based on any real project details and isn’t even the question you want answered? So, how would that show leadership? Don’t you legislators have a huge budget deficit to deal with up there, that would be a better use of YOUR leadership rather than try to create fake votes for our constituents? I’m personally not interested in creating fanciful scenarios and fake votes. We’re focusing OUR leadership on the real issues of trying to save services that are suffering from State and Federal budget cuts and mandates. We would really appreciate your help and leadership on those real issues facing us.”

Stuart ended the email: “Thanks again for the note. Steve.”

Ed, along with many others, provided the needed leadership to kill this disease before it became fatal.

Yet, oddly, Stuart makes it clear that HE had ZERO interest in "asking the question."  Why was that?

Now, he even wants to design the question TO ask.

It's that kind of rank hypocrisy that makes people sick of government.

Because here's the thing:  NONE of the CRC Scammers EVER advocated for a public vote on their project when it was still alive.

ALL of us in opposition advocated for such a vote.

So, what's changed?

What's changed is that asking for a vote on the entirety of the project NOW is the ONLY hope the Scammers have left to keep this zombie alive.  That such an effort would be crushed at the polls doesn't deter them: it's all they've got.

Stuart later offered up the fifth potential vote when he told Madore he felt the three transportation-related issues weren't broad enough.

"I'm just worried you just have light rail, and that's the only piece of it," Stuart said. "My recommendation is on the notice for the light rail advisory vote you actually change it to a Columbia River Crossing … advisory vote."

Stuart argued that residents should still have a chance to vote on the matter of replacing the Interstate 5 Bridge even if the Columbia River Crossing was killed by the Washington Legislature.

"If you're not afraid of the answer, you shouldn't be afraid to ask the question," Stuart said.

I note now as I've noted for years that Stuart didn't say "replace the bridge without loot rail."  That makes this a less than transparent attempt to keep the fungus of loot rail alive as well.

It's not just that Stuart favors this underhanded bullshit: it's that he's so bad at it.