The rematch between Chris Gregoire and Dino Rossi for the governor’s office was even nastier than their original race. Rossi forced Gregoire into making political promises that, in light of the current economic climate, are virtually impossible to fulfill.

The most improbable promise she made is to produce a balanced state budget without raising taxes. As George H. W. Bush learned after proclaiming, “Read my lips, no new taxes,” the economy changes and promises made one day are promises broken the next.

In this case, Gregoire has to deal with the worst nationwide economic crisis since the Great Depression, and having a balanced budget without raising taxes will require her to sacrifice nearly everything she believes in.

Some of the voters may have been impressed with Gregoire’s promise, but I was not one of them. I was impressed with her commitment to progressive values such as education, health care, fighting poverty and raising the quality of life in Washington. I was not impressed with Rossi’s divisive campaign or his bizarre stances on reproductive rights.

Unlike those seeking re-election who are forced to pander to populism, Gregoire has already been re-elected and can work from a position of doing what is right, not necessarily what is popular.

Her budget hardly reflects a commitment to health care or education. As reported in a Jan. 12 Daily Evergreen story, “Gregoire’s proposed budget recommends cutting [WSU’s budget] by $31 million, or 12 percent. The governor’s proposed budget contains none of WSU’s new requests for its operating budget.” Similarly, The Daily Herald in Everett reported on Dec. 19, “Teachers, state workers and long-term care workers won’t get promised pay raises and up to 2,600 employees, many in higher education, could lose their jobs under her proposal.” Education was not the only casualty The Daily Herald reported.

“She is seeking to lop 42 percent out of the state’s Basic Health Plan program that helps 105,000 low-wage earners obtain health insurance,” the article states.

A new tax, however, could help balance the budget and reduce the painful cuts our governor must make. This will undoubtedly upset some voters, which is why Gregoire should tax the smallest group of people – the rich. These are difficult economic times, and Gregoire’s budget hurts those already suffering, rather than siphoning off money from those who can afford it.

Gregoire won my vote because she is a progressive leader – unlike Rossi. The problem is, her budget proposal at the moment is not progressive nor pragmatic, and it is nearly a mirror version of what Rossi himself would have done as governor.

Gregoire blasted Rossi during the 2004 and 2008 campaigns for his cuts to children’s health care and education, but her budget proposal does the same. I know Gregoire’s priorities, and I know her budget proposal came from desperation. Yet it seems to me that defeating someone in an election is pointless if you govern the same way they would have.