All Politics is Local...sort of

Thomas "Tip" O'Neill of the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts asserted this truism during his tenure as Speaker of the US House.

And so we come to me in 2004. Out on my front page, I mention my support of Howard Dean. Here as part of my links on the right side of this page, I include a lot of national issues websites and blogs. I am running for the State Legislature, why all the national content? Well because the BIG PICTURE is of immeasurable importance this time out, but (cue Mr. O'Neill) "All Politics is Local"

Howard Dean (or any other Dem for that matter) winning the White House will only accomplish so much for the circumstances of the nation and even less for the circumstances of the state. We are in a time of great opportunity, but by the very nature of the opportunity, it is also a time that lingers on the edge of a disaster.

The GOP's control of the Oregon Legislature resulted in marathons of sessions and special sessions over the past few years. Tough decisions - decisions of precisely the magnitude and complexity for which we decided on representative democracy, rather than direct democracy, have been avoided, dodged, postponed, or passed on by that GOP-controlled legislature and either left undecided or referred to the voters, so all the voters who have the background to make an informed choice on the Oregon revenue system can jump right up and somehow manage to be a majority result?

Folks in my district tell me I have tackled a hard task - Rob Patridge is popular and has done a good job representing us, they say.

Really? How many positions went unfilled in 549c this past year because there wasn't enough money to staff them? You may recall schools used to be funded by local property tax base, but the voters of Oregon changed that (and why that wasn't a good idea is an entirely different post) and the LEADERS in the legislature were expected to either find new sources of revenue or to at least propose some workable ideas that the voters could be involved with. How long do we need to wait?

So at some level, I am not running against Patridge, per se. I am running against a GOP majority in Salem. I am running against stagnation and disregard of the common good. I am running against an Oregon legislature that has acted in support of the immediate needs of a limited number of citizens and with apathy as regards the needs of the Oregon of my twilight.

The mismanagement leads to a rage at government which then serves to make the problem worse. The few items we are given to vote on tend to be items which reduce even further the revenue stream and the options for that revenue stream. OR they are attempts to force even more direct democracy decisions over items that a very small percentage of the voting public are qualified (to be charitable) to make.

A comparison (though perhaps a stretch) may be this (and bear with me, this could be convoluted): We hear a lot of "It's our town, we know what is best for it!! We should have the right to vote on all X decisions." Well...it's my body, I know what's best for it, I should have the right to decide on on all surgical decisions...

Sounds like a good start, yeah? But wait...What about the surgical decisions that come up after I am anesthetized and cut open? Not very practical now, eh? But I did say "all surgical decisions", didn't I?

Oregon voters are so chapped about the direction of government that they are passing "All decisions" laws and after the fact realizing what "all" means. We have another one coming up here with Medford 15-49 and I'll bet it passes. And I'll bet we figure out after the fact that in means voting on stuff after the patient is drugged and opened.

Ah, I rant today...