The ad says:
In these tough times can we afford to have Dino Rossi lower the minimum wage?
The proof:
Rossi has said he’s open to cutting the minimum wage for entry-level teens. [Associated Press, 10/16/08]
Although Democratic majorities in the House and Senate make revising Washington’s $8.07 minimum wage unlikely, the issue cuts to the core of the two candidates’ values and history….Republican challenger Dino Rossi, a self-made millionaire, a businessman who believes in the free market and a limited role of government, supports efforts to reduce it….When asked, Rossi said he was open to the idea of creating a stair-stepped training wage, which would begin $1.50 below the minimum wage. He said the minimum wage was meant to be an entry-level salary, not a family wage. Rossi: “Think of how many young people are being cheated out of their first job. The idea of going to work, fulfilling a task and being paid for it. That’s a very good thing. The work ethic is something very good to instill in our youth. But when the minimum wage gets so high that that job isn’t worth that much to the employer, you don’t get that first job.” [Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 10/6/08]
The ad says:
Let Rossi deregulate industry and weaken government oversight?
The proof:
Rossi talked about the need to streamline regulations on agriculture and other small businesses. [Yakima Herald Republic, 8/9/08]
Rossi would improve the state’s economy by creating a business climate that allows small and mid-size businesses to flourish by reducing onerous regulations. [Columbian, 10/3/08]
“Rossi says the government needs to pare back regulations…” [The Associated Press, 10/8/04]
Republican Dino Rossi vows to reduce government regulation. [Christian Science Monitor, 10/29/04]
Rossi has contended since he got into the race last year that Washington’s businesses have suffered from too much government regulation during 20 years of Democratic governors. He blames the state’s regulatory climate for its slow recovery from recession and says he can turn that trend around. [The Olympian, 9/15/04]
The ad says:
Allow Dino to take money from schools and health care to fund his transportation plan
The proof:
In a transportation plan released Tuesday, Rossi calls for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel, building a new Highway 520 floating bridge that could ultimately hold eight lanes of traffic, and building a four-lane, six-mile highway from Interstate 5 to Highway 7 in Pierce County. In addition, he outlined seven other major transportation projects designed to relieve traffic congestion around the state, including widening Interstate 405 from Renton to Bellevue, and replacing the Columbia River Bridge at Vancouver, Wash. Rossi proposed paying for the work in part by spending 40 percent of the state sales taxes on new and used vehicles for transportation projects a total of $7.7 billion in 2007 dollars projected over the next 30 years….That tax revenue currently goes to the state’s general fund where it’s spent on other programs. [Seattle Times, 4/16/08]
Dino Rossi unveiled what he called a transportation plan Tuesday, but it’s really only half a plan – and the easy half at that. The Republican candidate for Washington’s governor outlined a number of spending initiatives, from an expensive tunnel replacing Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct to a north-south freeway in Spokane. But when it came to paying for them, he punted. Actually, faked is more like it….he proposes robbing highway money from the general fund….What Rossi refuses to say is which general fund recipients would have to pay for that shift, and how much. Education has to be near the top of the list of places to cut, because it is at the top of the list for general fund spending. [Lewiston Morning Tribune, 4/17/08]
If elected governor, Rossi wants to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel, build an eight-lane bridge over Lake Washington, and widen Interstate 405, among other high-cost projects…It also would face some big obstacles…Two-thirds of the money for his plan would come from sales taxes that currently go into the state general fund, which pays for education, health care and other services. He’d likely face stiff opposition trying to use that money for road projects. [Seattle Times, 9/8/08]
The ad says:
Do nothing as Rossi takes away a woman’s right to choose.
The proof:
Rossi says he’s not running on the issue and doubts whether if a bill restricting abortion would ever come before him if he’s elected. But he indicated that he would sign such a bill. He said, though, that he would support exceptions for incest, rape and to save the life of the mother. “My wife and I are both Catholic and believe every soul has a value,” he said. “If it came before me, I’d vote my conscience, of course. If any of those issues do, I’d vote my conscience.” He said people have told him “you ought to change your position on life; you’d be a shoo-in for governor.” But Rossi said he won’t change. “If I’m going to make an error, I’m always going to err on the side of life. What’s the worse-case scenario? Someone is alive. So when it comes to those issues, I will always err on the side of life.” [Seattle Times, 9/18/08]
Rossi opposes abortion except in the case of rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother. [Seattle Times, 10/14/04]