Hangin' tough
The tawdry scandals surrounding U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer – from little old Happy Valley, Oregon – get worse by the day. This week we learn that on top of everything else, she's accused of throwing herself a birthday party on the taxpayers' dime and generally being a no-show on the job.
Where is the accountability, you ask? Well, don't worry, folks, today we have it. LCD's two chief lackeys, previously put on leave, have now quit or been forced out of their jobs.
And when you think about it, that's par for the course at the current stage of our country's steep decline. Chavez-DeRemer's many misdeeds make her a perfect fit in Caligula's cabinet. It's like a convention of Batman and Superman villains together, one monster more grotesque than the next. This country deserves what it's got coming to it.
How about my state's steep decline...I am a fifth-generation Oregonian and a fourth-generation Portland-area resident. My mother’s family came west in the 1860s — 18 that is — and we’ve seen it all.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up, Oregon felt steady and well represented. Mark Hatfield and Bob Packwood served together in the United States Senate for more than 26 years, from 1969 until 1995. Though both were Republicans, they formed a durable and influential partnership that gave Oregon a strong voice in Washington.
At the state level, Tom McCall served two terms as governor from 1967 to 1975. A Republican often described as a “liberal Republican” or a maverick, McCall championed environmental protection, land-use planning, public beach access, and the nation’s first bottle bill. He was willing to challenge his own party when he believed Oregon’s long-term interests were at stake.
That era wasn’t perfect, but it felt grounded — serious people tackling serious issues with a sense of stewardship for the state.
What do we have now?
What we have now is either the MAGA White Supremacist Party or the Tina Ko(hou)tek Government Employee Union Party. There are no Hatfields or Packwoods anywhere in sight, and if there were, they'd be laughed off. It's more like 1925 than 1975.
ReplyDeleteThis is what led to this mess…
DeleteNeil Goldschmidt
Ron Wyden
John Kitzhaber
Kate Brown
Tina Kotek
Sam Adams
Charlie Hales
Ted Wheeler
Kieth Wilson
Need I go on?
It’s time to stop the insanity, a change is long over-due
If voting worked to change the system, they'd ban it.
ReplyDelete