Strategy Brief: Bob Ferguson's Broken Promises and How to Weaponize Your Everyday Routine to Stop Them
When Bob Ferguson was asking for your vote, he spent a lot of time looking working families in the eye and promising he would hold the line on taxes. He campaigned heavily on making life affordable for the middle class.
But a political promise made on a campaign stage means absolutely nothing when the establishment comes to collect.
When the pressure mounted last year, he completely caved. He stood by and let the state dig even deeper into your wallet, allowing massive, hidden cost-of-living hikes to hit everyday families at the gas pump and the grocery checkout. He didn't hold the line. He handed over your checkbook.
Now, with the ink barely dry on Olympia's latest tax hikes, that betrayal is escalating. Ferguson is actively paving the way for a broad state income tax. This isn't just a philosophical policy shift. It is a direct assault on your paycheck. An income tax takes your hard-earned money before you even have a chance to pay your mortgage, fix your truck, or feed your kids.
Look at states like Illinois or New Jersey to see the establishment's real playbook. They always promise new taxes will only impact a "small fraction" of people. But a bureaucracy’s appetite is endless. Within a few short years, the middle class is completely hollowed out, and working families are forced to pack up a moving truck just to survive.
They expect us to just roll over, stay too busy to notice the bait-and-switch, and quietly accept a shrinking paycheck. Yesterday, we started organizing to protect local job creators. Today, we are building a firewall around your family's household income. We are going to kill this narrative at the grassroots level before it ever takes hold.
State politicians rely on you playing by their conventional rules. We are not going to do that. Here are 5 distinct unconventional actions you can take today to weaponize the things you're already doing and stop this income tax dead in its tracks.
YOUR PLAYBOOK
1. Deploy The Main Street Firewall
Olympia’s first income tax target is the pass-through income of local small businesses. I have published the exact strategy packet you need to fight back and shield your operations. But having the playbook means nothing if the community doesn't see it.
- Step 1: Go to this link immediately to read the full strategy packet: https://votepenner.com/the-main-street-firewall/
- Step 2: If you own a business, begin implementing these defense tactics today.
- Step 3: This is the most critical step. Pull out your phone right now and text that exact link directly to three local business owners you personally know. Do not wait. They need this information before the new tax hits their bottom line.
- Step 4: Fund the machine that built this strategy. If you are using this packet to protect your business or sending it to your network, we need your financial backing to keep our digital infrastructure running.
2. The Yard Sign Embargo
Local politicians desperately need your lawn space during election season. Use that leverage.
- Step 1: Make a strict household rule that no local candidate gets a yard sign on your property unless they have publicly opposed the state income tax.
- Step 2: When a candidate or volunteer knocks on your door asking for support, politely tell them your vote and your yard are off-limits until their campaign issues a public statement against the Ferguson Tax.
- Step 3: Watch how fast local politicians pressure the state party when they realize they are losing grassroots real estate.
3. The Community Board "Receipt Truth"
Make the inflation and tax crisis impossible to ignore in public spaces.
- Step 1: Take your next shockingly high grocery or gas receipt.
- Step 2: Write a simple message across the top in a thick marker: "Stop the Income Tax."
- Step 3: Pin it to the public community bulletin boards at your local coffee shop, grocery store, or library. It provides a raw, visual reality check for everyone walking by.
4. The "First Paycheck" Talk
The establishment relies on young voters not paying attention to their paystubs. We need to activate the next generation of voters in our own homes.
- Step 1: Sit down with the teenagers or young adults in your family who are working their first summer or entry-level jobs.
- Step 2: Do the math with them. Show them how an income tax works (based on FICA). eg you NEVER even see the $.
- Step 3: Help them register to vote based on protecting their own starting wages.
5. Audit Your Dues and Subscriptions
Many professional associations, trade unions, and even large homeowner associations quietly use your mandatory dues to lobby for establishment politicians in Olympia.
- Step 1: Identify any organization you pay monthly or annual dues to.
- Step 2: Send a polite but firm email to your local representative asking for their official lobbying stance on the state income tax push.
- Step 3: Demand to know if your own money is being used to support politicians who want to shrink your take-home pay. Make them answer to the worker.
TODAY'S 60-SECOND DEPLOYMENT
You now have the playbook, but it means nothing if it stays on this screen.
My challenge to you today is immediate and requires zero travel. Pull out your phone right now and text your active group chat: your coworkers, your bowling league, or your extended family. Don't overthink it. This movement fails if you stay silent.
Use this natural, low-pressure script so you don't sound like a political operative:
DISMANTLING THEIR SPIN
When you start taking these actions, the establishment PR machine will panic. To win these conversations and hold the line, you need to know exactly how to dismantle their lies the second they leave someone's mouth.
The Spin: "The Governor is just adapting to new economic realities to stabilize the state's future. Creating a stable revenue source is responsible leadership."
The Reality: "He looked working families in the eye and promised affordability. Changing his tune the second he got power isn't 'adapting'. It's lying. Everyday families have to adapt to economic realities by cutting our household budgets. The state needs to do the exact same thing instead of bailing themselves out by stealing from our paychecks."
The Spin: "Washington has an outdated tax code, and this new tax will finally make the system fair by making the rich pay their share."
The Reality: "Adding an income tax doesn't replace the taxes we already pay. It just piles a new burden on top of the highest gas prices and sales taxes in the country. Once the bureaucracy is built, the goalposts always move. They will inevitably adjust the brackets downward until it hits the middle class squarely in the jaw."
If today's brief armed you with a strategy you can use, consider funding the machine that built it.
Thank you for continuing to follow me as I build the machine we need to take WA back. I’ll see you on the campaign trail, but always know you can reach out to me directly by responding to this email.
Josh Penner
State Representative | Defending the 31st. Fighting for WA.
Calling All Allies & Organizations
I want to highlight your good work and help you organize. If you lead a local group, reply to this email and let's coordinate. Whether you run a County GOP chapter, a local business advocacy coalition, or a parent group, your grassroots work is essential. Let's connect our efforts and build a statewide network that the establishment can't ignore.
YOUR CHECKLIST FOR THE WEEK
| ☑ | Execute Phase 2: Take the local actions outlined above and complete today's text message deployment. |
| ☐ | Deploy the Firewall: Share https://votepenner.com/the-main-street-firewall/ directly via text with every business owner you know. This is critical. |
| ☐ | Expand the Network: Forward this email to 3 people who know Washington is worth fighting for. |
| ☐ | Fund the Mission: We are building the data infrastructure to execute this strategy statewide. The establishment is funded by dark money. We rely entirely on grassroots investors. |