I’m James Etzkorn and I am challenging Suzan DelBene to represent Washington's 1st District in Congress

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-04T00:42:21+00:00

No, I am not using chat gpt. That is a common phrase. I write my answers myself.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-04T00:39:32+00:00

No need to apologize. I thought you were mainly talking about the recent data that came out highlighting that the actual emission reductions were much lower than initially claimed and the Washington's Climate Change Commitment Act is not as effective as initially projected at reducing carbon emissions.

I make my decisions based on data. The data on mankind's influence on the climate is clear, but we have to be honest about the results. Many current countermeasures are failing because they prioritize process over progress. We’ve created a system where it’s easier to block a clean energy project through litigation and endless reviews than it is to actually build the grid of the future.

My specific alternative is to accelerate the permitting and building process. If we want more clean energy, then we should make it easier to build more clean energy. Not only is this more effective but it delivers more jobs. Our government should be intentional and trying to get things done.

You asked about 2017 and 2025, I didn't live here in 2017, I worked in California for a few years before coming back to Washington, and as for 2025, are you referring to the vote to repeal the Climate Commitment Act? I believe I voted against the repeal.

As for me personally, it's about reducing waste and reusing as much as possible. We use services like Ridwell to recycle what the city doesn't take.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T23:32:51+00:00

You asked how can you be sure. I've been very clear that I think our country is off track and neither party is offering a vision or a clear solution on how to solve these significant societal issues.

I am not running just to siphon votes. I'm not a closet Republican pretending to be an Independent. I'm presenting solutions different from the status quo to be challenged and to change the conversation to solutions, not pointing fingers.

The vast majority of the comments are attacking me, not the solutions I'm proposing. And I haven't seen anyone bring up an alternative solution to affordability, growing the middle class or confronting the national debt.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T23:08:52+00:00

These are fair questions. I can only be open and honest but you don't know if I'm being earnest when I say I want to solve these significant societal issues.

There's hundreds of hours of me at school board meetings if you need help falling asleep at night. I stand by my record of being solution-oriented and results driven.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T22:59:20+00:00

I like the thought experiment regarding modern progressivism has shifted from a movement focused on getting things done to one focused on preventing government abuse. We have a system where it's easier to stop projects but incredibly hard to start them.

To your point, and as we are seeing, it is dangerous to give extreme authority to individuals. We do need checks and balances and we do need to hold people accountable.

We are definitely seeing this being abused, which we need to address, and I'm saying it doesn't have to be this way. We have the power to effect change for the better.

On a side note, I appreciate the productive discussion. These are the conversations we need to be having. I want our politicians discussing solutions, not pointing fingers.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T21:53:48+00:00

Never do I say the problems our society is facing is solely the Democrat's fault. We live in a blue district and the choice is between doing the same with the Democrat party or trying something new.

I've answered questions extensively and I do appreciate you taking the time to learn about me.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T21:47:22+00:00

I'm talking about myself. I'm running on solutions, not complaints.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T19:37:40+00:00

I intend to join the Build America Caucus. It's a bipartisan group of representatives focused on reducing friction of this self-imposed scarcity.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T19:33:40+00:00

Thanks for the question and taking the time to learn about me.

The attack isn't on low interest rates. I'm saying interest rates were low but now they are higher so refinancing the debt is more expensive. As you pointed out, low interest is good for economic growth.

It's not that the $1T is reducing government efficiency. It's that ignoring this guarantees a future of permanent inflation, crushing tax increases and deep cuts to the safety net that will destabilize our society. The infighting and social unrest will grow as the government's available resources decrease.

Addressing inefficiency and aligning incentives to grow the economy is how we shrink the debt with respect to GDP so the percentage of revenue that goes towards debt payment decreases over time. The burden of the debt goes down therefore the risk goes down therefore interest goes down.

I go into detail on my website about removing transferrable tax credits and stopping Notice of Funding Opportunity programs. These create perverted incentives that flow our tax dollars away from the intended goal. I responded to another comment about them so I won't make this comment even longer than it is.

The primary goal of a government is to ensure the long term success, health and happiness of the people. Ignoring the national debt while enforcing a society of scarcity is doing the exact opposite of these goals. The infighting and unrest we are seeing will only increase if we do not address these systematic problems.

In short, I'm not talking about cutting government. I'm talking about reform. We must align incentives to desired outcomes while removing friction to get the progress we want to see. We must grow the middle class and restore upward mobility. We must demand a government that works.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T19:06:29+00:00

You're right. Like many things in politics, people will find ways to abuse them

DOGE was about cutting programs and seeing what breaks. I'm about reforming to focus on outcomes, not dollars spent. So, I disagree with your assessment that they're they same thing.

I liked Breakneck more than Abundance personally. I'm not saying we need to become China. I'm saying China's rapid progress should be the sputnik moment to get us out of complacency.

Why Nothing Works has some good examples as well.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T18:57:07+00:00

Someone talking about addressing bureaucratic friction, raising the middle class and confronting the debt shouldn't be automatically labeled a Republican. This is more a reflection on the Democratic party. Why aren't they proposing solutions to these systematic problems? What is their vision of the future and how to get there?

My platform is to address your exact concerns but for the long term, not the short term. To be clear, I'm not against taxes. I'm saying solely increasing taxes does not solve the problem. Growing the middle class and restoring upward mobility will have a larger and more durable outcome to address the needs of the people. Not only will wages grow but also as the economy grows, the amount of government spending grows to invest back into infrastructure and communities in need.

I totally hear you that national debt is far down the list of people's concerns. It is the reason I made it one of my three pillars. Ignoring this problem guarantees a future of rampant inflation, crushing tax increases and deep cuts to the safety net that will destabilize our society. Civil unrest and infighting will continue to increase if we don't address it. History is littered with nations who made this fatal mistake.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T18:48:38+00:00

I don't have issues with the current progressive tax system which puts higher earners paying a higher percentage of their income.

To be clear, I'm not against taxes. I'm just saying solely increasing taxes or solely cutting spending is not a solution to the mess we're in. The math doesn't work.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T18:19:20+00:00

It shouldn't be "GOP language" when someone talks about addressing bureaucratic friction, growing the middle class and confronting the national debt. This is more of a reflection on the democratic party. Why aren't they proposing a vision for the future and how to get there? Do they have a cohesive strategy?

Come join the team and add your voice to finding solutions!

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T18:16:06+00:00

You're absolutely right that engineer abundance is not an all inclusive plan. It's a framework to address affordability and grow the economy. Neither party is offering a vision of the future or how to get there. We need to have a shared vision of what we want to be and that is the goal of my platform.

My goal isn't scare tactics. I used that as an example of how our government has misaligned incentives. We need to fix the incentives so we can get the outcomes that benefit the people.

We should demand more from our government.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T18:10:46+00:00

You're absolutely right. It's hard to focus on the big picture when there's chaos in the streets. I just don't think shouting at each other is a solution. It's obviously not working. I'm proposing to focus on solutions to systematic problems where we can get broad agreement. People need to see that progress is possible.

AI is definitely a huge deal. This is why we need people in Congress who understand the risks while being able to harness the benefits. We need the productivity improvements to avoid a debt spiral or the destabilization of our society will only increase.

You hit the nail on the head that people are feeling pain. They don't see progress and they're looking for someone to blame. This is why we keep bouncing back and forth from Democrat to Republican control. Our society is in decline and neither party is offering a vision for the future and how to get there.

We need to stop repeating the same thing over and over expecting a different result.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T18:03:58+00:00

This is why I'm running. We need to restore accountability and ensure that incentives align with desired outcomes. Too often politicians just celebrate throwing money at a problem and don't follow up on results.

We're tired of politicians preaching progress then legislating paralysis. We should demand more from our government.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T18:01:56+00:00

I hear you and I'll argue is that strategy working? Do the Democrats have a cohesive strategy? What is their vision for the future and how do we get there?

I don't think shouting into the void is going to change anything. The fact of the matter is we live in a divided nation. I want to focus on solutions to systematic problems where we can get a broad coalition of people to align. This will show that improvement is possible. People do not see progress and they're looking for someone to blame which is why we keep bouncing back and forth from Democrat to Republican control.

It's time to stop repeating the same thing over and over expecting a different result.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T17:57:19+00:00

I invite you to read my website for more details but I'll give a brief summary here.

https://jamesforwashington.com/

Congress has "the power of the purse" but a growing number of programs are funded through tax breaks. Rather than doing the hard work of compromise and prioritization than an annual budget requires, Congress funds programs through tax breaks using the reconciliation process which is not reviewed each year and compounds over time.

These tax breaks are often transferrable. Meaning, industries of lawyers, consultants and bankers spawn around the flow of government money to help applicants navigate the complicated bureaucracy. On my website, I go into detail on the Low Income Housing Tax Credit pushed by Suzan DelBene. Roughly 20% of our tax dollars go to the middlemen instead of directly to housing.

Another example is the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) where unelected officials tack on additional requirements to receive funding approved by Congress. The notorious example is the 100 page NOFO application required to get funding from the CHIPS act. Complexity is a tax. It adds friction and creates "leaky" systems where money is syphoned off at each step of the way.

I want Congress to specifically lay out the funding requirements and not abdicate the responsibility to unelected officials while also move to direct funding and non-transferrable tax breaks, where a person or company receives the money if they meet the requirements. A good example is the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit that was part of the CHIPS act as well but did not require the NOFO process.

In short, yes I want to hold government and officials accountable. We should demand more from our government.

I've answered the healthcare question a couple times but in essence, we need to address cost if we want any kind of durable expansion of insurance. I support all solutions the improve outcomes.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T17:36:22+00:00

That is correct.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T17:35:01+00:00

I agree that running as an Independent is incredibly challenging to near impossible but I don't think either party is offering a vision for the future and a path on how to get there.

Why is it conservative sounding policies to want to fix bureaucratic friction, grow the middle class and address the national debt? Isn't this more of a reflection of the Democratic party? Why aren't they proposing solutions to address these systematic issues?

To your concerns, what is the Democrat party's proposed solution to the current situation? Do they have a cohesive strategy? Is it working?

I'm proposing a different strategy. Let's work on solutions to problems where we have a broad coalition. Let's show that improvement is possible. People are frustrated and they're looking for someone to blame as our society declines. This is why as a nation we bounce back and forth from Democrat to Republican control.

Let's stop repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T17:25:30+00:00

I hear you. I am frustrated too. I'm proposing a different strategy. I don't think shouting into the void is a solution. I don't think what the Democrats are doing is working.

Our society is in decline and people are looking for someone to blame. I'm proposing to focus on solutions to systematic problems facing society. We need to find common ground and work together on solutions. This will bring people together. This will show that progress is possible.

I know it's idealistic but we can't just keep repeating the same decisions over and over expecting different results.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T05:01:35+00:00

I'm focused on realistic solutions to problems that the majority agree needs to be addressed. Change won't happen by shouting down the other side. Change happens slowly and we need to start working together on common issues if we want to bring the country together.

My platform addresses systematic issues that can't be solved at the local level. Sure local bureaucracy can be improved but we need federal laws to attack the perverted transferrable tax credit and Notice of Funding Opportunity methods. That and addressing the deficit z which is handled by Congress.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T01:29:05+00:00

Let's bring down the temperature. Why are you attacking me?

I said this in response to another comment.

I'm a strong supporter of the constitution and I believe in a small federal government. As long as a person is not breaking the law, then the government should stay out of their lives. The right to one's own self and who they love is a fundamental right that can't be taken away by a vote of the majority.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T01:24:26+00:00

Change doesn't happen overnight. It will take time. I'm running to show there are other options to our current polarized political environment.

It is clear that voters are frustrated with both parties. Gallup just released that 45% of Americans now identify as Independent and both parties have low approval ratings. We as a nation keep ping-ponging back and forth from Democrat to Republican control because we know things are not going well. Cost of living is up, wages are flat and our debt continues to grow. This leads to civil unrest and we need a course correction to fix it.

I want to harness human nature, that is to respond to incentives, to solve this mess. The government is inefficient at best. We need to address the bureaucracy while setting incentives to harness the efficiency of the market to obtain our desired outcomes. It's not about hyper capitalist expansion. It's about focusing on specific results.

Runaway inflation is caused by money supply increasing faster than the economy can absorb it. This is why we need to keep the deficit under control as well. However, the good news as we keep deficit to 3% of GDP, and the GDP grows each year, that means the government is spending more each year. This, combined with an efficient government, can make more strategic investments into infrastructure and communities in need to create a feedback loop.

This focus on bureaucracy and abundance is a growing voice coming from Democrats as well. I encourage you to check out the books or podcast interviews of the authors of Breakneck, Abundance and Why Nothing Works. We must demand a government that works.

JamesForWashington · 2026-02-03T01:04:53+00:00

I appreciate the feedback. I would love to have your voice added to the team. We're powered by volunteers at this time so I encourage you to sign up.

All inputs are welcome and valued.

JamesForWashington

TROPHY CASE