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Jan-16-2008 19:13printcomments

Republican Attempts to Block Oregon's 2008 Legislative Session

Nothing like being slapped in the face with your own impotent irrelevancy.

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Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - State Sen. Larry George, R-Hillsboro, has filed suit to block the 2008 session of the Oregon Legislature in Salem. He claims he is 'defending the state constitution' but in reality it is nothing but a brazen attempt at political damage control.

The Oregon Republican Party has become used to getting its way. It dominated (some might say strangulated) the House for some two decades. Now they are out.. WAY out. In the Senate where George holds a position of greatly diminished power his side is outnumbered by around 2 to 1.

But he and his few fellow Senate Republicans could always count on the House under Empress Karen Minnis to gut, stuff and bury (like she did with SB1000 in 2005) anything they could not block the Senate from approving.

The 2006 elections shattered their world.

As evidenced by the 2007 session the Republican agenda is dead on arrival and they can provide little more than speed bumps to what they politically oppose. (You know, stuff like equal rights for folks, education, workers' rights, social safety net... the usual things the Republicans tend to view with disdain if not outright hostility).

Is it any wonder that a Republican would want to do anything they could to stop another session like 2007?

The fact is, though, that the legislature can call a session in an 'emergency' but that definition has been a pretty broad one. Also the Governor can call the legislature into session too. Once called they could vote to leave but I doubt the democrat majority would do so.

Another fact is that the 2007 session was one of the shortest in recent history in part because they planned to move some issues to the 2008 session. So if the 2008 session is blocked as an emergency session the legislature could just say they are re-opening the 2007 session to deal with things they always had planned to do in 2008 just after a long break.

Of course the Republicans would scream and stamp their little feet and vote against it... and be shown how irrelevant they are by being soundly outvoted. Nothing like being slapped in the face with your own impotent irrelevancy.

The Legislature is doing the right thing even if the likes of George wish to try to derail it. In fact, his desire to derail it in a way shows how much it IS the right thing to do.

Why should the Legislature ask the People to amend the Oregon Constitution to set up annual sessions before they have shown that such would be beneficial and without showing how such would work out?

That is what scares the likes of Senator George so much... they are terrified that after two decades of messy drawn out do-nothing sessions under Republicans the People will see under Democrats two nice, tight and tidy productive sessions. Republicans can't have that! How will they get re-elected? They will be seen as the party of inefficiency, waste and uselessness.

So, is it any wonder why a Republican State Senator might be desperate to stand in the way of the 2008 session?

Seems clear as crystal to me.




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Jefferson January 19, 2008 2:40 pm (Pacific time)

If some individual/group/organization simply ignores the will of the people, then they should be exposed. Putting this issue up for a vote is a reasonable thing to do, as is pointing out how irrelevant some in the Oregon legislature view the Oregon voters . Time to remove these people who ignore our constitution...


Henry Ruark January 18, 2008 6:00 am (Pacific time)

To all: See Comment under Stock Market Plunges story for impact unavoidably on this Oregon situation. Remember what happened to every Oregon program funded by Legislature in recession last-time ?


Kappie January 18, 2008 8:29 am (Pacific time)

Joe and Jeff, You make me sick. When people like you open your mouths I and most others close there ears... You sound like you were silver spoon fed by a pasture, brainwashed from birth... Anyone would beleve what you are saying if you brainwashed them from birth... No son fags should die and we are only good enough to steal our country then kick out anyone who wants in... Talk about re writing the history books... If people like you had your way this would be a white land where every man, woman, and child would be in church every Sunday just eating up your twisted bible... Brainwash em early I feel sorry for the kids who never have the choice in what to believe because the ones closest to the have already decided what they will .. Because of fear.... That should be illegal.... OOOOH and to suggest that dem's want to have sick criminals on the street.. Way to spread the fear Bro.... You lay it on thick Bro. you really look like a blind ignorant coward.... Thank you, You made me laugh this morning, Thank you again lol

Editor to Kappie, I am on a new drive here to clean things up a little bit. I am going to minimize the insults and editing will be seen more than before. You have every right to your opinion and after things settle then we will be more rational too. I'm leaving this one intact but please mellow on name calling, thanks.


Henry Ruark January 18, 2008 6:00 am (Pacific time)

To all: See Comment under Stock Market Plunges story for impact unavoidably on this Oregon situation. Remember what happened to every Oregon program funded by Legislature in recession last-time ? "Kicker"-emergency fund is woefully short even now, after corporate payback share was segregated, via heavy pressure across the board, and shoved in there as stop-gap. Are you ready for slashes in each program --all over again now ??


Hamilton January 18, 2008 4:31 am (Pacific time)

Again, truth emerges from dialog: "You cannot have a reasonable debate with the irrational, you just cannot..." I should know --as victim of early assassination by same tribal cult. My deadly offense was to term political opponent "a dangerous man."


Neal Feldman January 17, 2008 6:28 pm (Pacific time)

Jefferson - your attempt to claim your right wing extremism is the only segment of siciety that supports the military is as vapid as you asre (which is extremely in case you wondered). As for desecrating the flag you don't hold much respect for the first amendment do you? It is called free speech you wingnut. So long as it is the person's flag, their property, and so long as they do their thing in a way that causes no threat to public safety they have every right to burn whatever they like. The flag is a symbol. As such desecrating it is a form of speech to show opposition to that which the symbol represents. Only a know-nothing wingnut like you would defend the country by shredding the foundation of it. And what is with this racist sambo crap? You realize that currently there is pretty much no way to use the word sambo that is not racist? And what the heck is 'assassination chic'? You mean the same kind of crap your side did with Clinton for 8 years? Remember that irrelevant toxic spew The Clinton Chronicles? What am I saying, you seem to have built the framework of your delusional fantasy land from it. And religious bigotry? Oh you mean the reasonable reaction to defend oneself from the religious extremism of various fundies (in the US Christofascist fundies). I see. as for death wishes what about your right wing wingnut kill sheet websites against abortion providers? How about your good buddy Fred Phelps and his gloating over every homosexual who dies of AIDS (or any other method of death, even being murdered as Matthew Shepard was.. check their website sometime). It seems you have an extremely narrow case of tunnel vision and you show that your vrand of wingnut extremist has exceptionally thin skin. What a cowardly wuss you are, sheesh! Do you cry into your mommy's apron strings every night? You sure come across like that. As for derangement syndromes we need only look at you and your fellow traveling wingnuts to see more than enough of it. As for your last line it is oh so true as you prove regarding yourself and your ilk constantly. Ah well...


Jefferson January 17, 2008 1:11 pm (Pacific time)

Joe the far left will not care about your opinion. Spend anytime in the blogosphere and it’s clear that the two sides of the political galaxy are not created equal. One side burns effigies of American soldiers and craps on the American flag. The other does not. One side wraps itself in assassination chic. The other does not. One side indulges in vicious Sambo photoshops, rank religious bigotry, death wishes, gloating over the illnesses of public figures, and fill-in-the-blank derangement syndrome. The other does not. You cannot have a reasonable debate with the irrational, you just cannot...


Neal Feldman January 17, 2008 10:54 am (Pacific time)

Joe - If you think the dems are the only ones who spin (and I never said they don't) you are fooling yourself. There are usually more than two sides. But the point here is even under Empress Minnis there were emergency sessions where the world was not ending. As I said it is crystal clear why George is all up in arms to defend the constitution... where were his cries of outrage when Empress Minnis gutted, stuffed and buried SN1000 when the constitutional rules actually required her to give a floor vote to the bill since it had sufficient support on the House floor to pass and she knew it (which is why she gutted, stuffed and buried it). Where do the dems not follow the federal and state constitutions? Be specific. Where are they rewriting history to something other than what happened> I've seen some revisions but usually it was to undo the sanitized version and actually show what really happened. I can point to a lot of what you accuse the dems pf that the republicans are guilty of. Where did the dems get rid of punishment for criminals? I check the records and for 12 yrs from 94 to 2006 the republicans were in charge of the federal legislature and of the years 1980 to 2007 only 8 were under democrat administration and of those 8 6 were under a republican controlled Congress. Over the past 2 decades the Oregon House has been primarily under Republican control. So please explain how any issues in law enforcement and criminal justice are the democrats fault. Measure 11 has locked up for life minor criminals who hit a third strike on a petty beef so that since there are limited prison beds wer have had to virtually decriminalize most crimes... they either do not get prosecuted at all or any sentences are cut short as they get released early. Are you saying the democrats are responsible for Measure 11? I thought it was Kevin Mannix, chairman of the Oregon Republican Party that did that to us (and now wants to sock it to us again with his Son of 11 BS). You accuse the dems of taxing and spending. At least that is far more fiscally responsible than the republicans' policies of BORROW and spend that has the national debt nearing TEN TRILLION DOLLARS (almost double what it was when Shrub took over)... Shrub took over a budget with surpluses as far as the eye could see and turned that around to the deepest deficit spending the country has ever seen. A trillion dollars in tax cuts targeted for the richest folks putting the burden onto the backs of the decimated middle class. He lied us into a war that will cost this country trillions more and keep us in a quagmire in Iraq for (depending on whether you believe Shrub or McCain) ten to over 100 years. Talk about big intrusive govt, the government has never been bigger or more intrusive than under Shrub, a republican. How about massive unfunded mandates like No Child Left Behind? I do agree with your point that the dems are soft on illegals but so are most republicans too. UIMHO, as i have opined before, BOTH sides need to get a spine and implement the policies I suggested (starting with severe penalties for employers who hire illegals and landlords who rent to or sell to illegals, denial of virtually all benefits to illegals, limiting the effects pf anchor babies etc). And not all illegals are from Mexico (or even south and central America) though admittedly the Hispanic illegals do seem to be the most demanding and arrogant group that forces inconveniences onto us with Press One for English and their apparet tendencies for enormous broods they cannot afford without draining welfare services dry that pack our classrooms to the exploding point. But I want all illegals treated equally. I want them all driven out. ou go into the twilight zone with your 'weird base heathen' BS. Most dems are Christians (just generally not fundies) so I find your 'heathen' and 'hate jesus' claims ludicrous. There is a separation of church and state that fundies (mostly republicans) wish to deny the reality of. This is one of the cases of republicans ignoring the constitution that I mentioned earlier. As for the ten commandments 5-5 of them (the ones plagiarized from Hammurabi) dems have no issue with. It is the 4-5 of them that are purely religious (the I am your god, you shall have no other gods before me commandments vs the thou shalt not steal commandments). The government has no business promoting one religion or group of religions over any others. Period. And our laws are not based on the bible or the ten commandments. A great deal of our governmental structure and law was based on the Amerind government models such as the Iroquois. You can say it is wrong to steal or wrong to commit rape or murder or assault without use of the bible. Democrats do not 'want to kill unborn babies'.. you are getting hysterical, hyperbolic and histrionic. They properly support a woman's right to choose to what purposes HER body is put. It is HER body, not yours and not the government's. Besides when abortion was illegal they still occurred, just with a great deal more risk of harm. In fact the abortion rate today, when legal, is actually lower per capita than when it was illegal. Democrats are not forcing anyone to have abortions, and in fact they are the ones more supportive of social programs that allow women to keep children they otherwise might have had to abort. The government is not our mother. Do you think it should be? Situational ethics does not universally say lying is ok. But situational ethics is the only rational framework for ethics. Without situational ethics you have no self defense position against a murder charge if you kill someone to protect your life or the life of another. Without situational ethics any cop who kills some crook is a murderer (some are but most are not) and every soldier is a murdereer without situational ethics. without situational ethics a man stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving kids is no different from the guy who embezzles the entire church fund. Far greater harm cromes from ethical frameworks that are intractable, inflexible, didactic, rigid and unforgiving as you seem to wish to support. Where do the dems want 'sex perferts (sic) and offenders' to walk the streets? They serve their time and are released. Are you advocating life in prison without possibility of parole for all 'sex offenses'? Are you aware some whackadoos consider hugs to be a sex offense? Would you want folks locked up at taxpayer expense for the rest of their lives for hugging someone? Really? As for their being in favor of equal (not special - EQUAL) rights for GLBT folks that is true, as it should be. This is not a theocracy and our govt is not the Taliban. Your homophobic bigotry is not acceptable in a free country that respects equal treatment under the law and opposes discrimination and bigotry. Get used to it. And the bible says men who shave are worthy of death too. Do you shave Joe? better slt your own throat next time you do ... remember your support for unforgiving rigid ethical support of all in the bible. You are not a hypocrite, are you? as for capital punishment (which I support) there are folks in all political parties who support and oppose capital punishment. You are incredibly naive if you think otherwise. People who are convicted and not sentenced to death or life without possibility of parole get released when their sentence is served. You seem in this rant of yours to be putting up the idea of capital punishment for any and all convictions for any and all offenses all the way down to littering and jaywalking. That, at least, is how you seem to be coming across on the subject. As for criminals clogging up the courts are you advocating not even bothering with the niceties of court trials before you want everyone even accused of any offense to be summarily executed? Really?! And the biggest drain on court resources and prison space is the utterly and completely failed policy of Prohibition, specifically in this case the War on Some Drugs. So since you want the courts unclogged and serious criminals to serve meaningful sentences without bankrupting the country you support abolishing the War on some Drugs and all other Prohibition type criminal statutes? I assure you I have read the history books... clearly a great many more than you have. This is a secular nation and always has been. It is not the fundie Christian theocracy you seem to think it is. You are sounding like Fred Phelps. We do not need imaginary beings blessing the nation. We need the nation doing what it is supposed to do without the fear-mongering threats of eternal torment to try and keep the sheep in line. Where do you get that *I* want criminals on the streets? Wow are you ever off base. I'm about as hard-line on crime as they come in a reasonable, intelligent and rational mindset. The psychologists face the facts that homosexuals harm no one any more than any other groups do and the stupidity being demonstrated here is yours. And where do you get that nothing can get done in the regular session? The 2007 session was the shortest yet most productive session in about 2 decades and was under democrat majority. Exactly what yardstick are you using? You clearly have a lot to learn. Ah well...


Neal Feldman January 17, 2008 9:48 am (Pacific time)

Glen - that fable is quite appropriate to the situation, true. Hey! I affected a comic strip! Neato! LOL! (wonder if Neato will ever reallt make a comeback? lol) Ah well...


Glen January 17, 2008 9:46 am (Pacific time)

Joe, you hurt your own arguments when you make such statements as "Democrats are deceived base heathen. They hate Jesus Christ, the Bible, and the 10 commandments which our laws were based on before these new age Democrats were born." It goes without saying that Christians belong to both parties. Any reasonable visitor who reads your accusation is going to be turned off to whatever else you have to say. If you have a point to make, make it without wild accusations and your arguments will be more persuasive.


Joe January 17, 2008 8:32 am (Pacific time)

I heard a piece what this was about, there are two sides. Don't beleive all the Democrats feed you. They spin what is the truth and fold know that. We do need to stick to our constition rules. Why can't the Dems get on board with our forefathers. The Dems will not support the constitution in the state and federal government. They change history in the text books so young people won't know what really happened. We use to be able to walk or streets without fear, then the democrate had a great ideal to get rid of punishment for criminals. The Dems want to tax and spend, so do not expect to get much done during the regular session. If Democrats want to not support sending back the illegals to Mexico, they should stop crying about not having enough money because they spend it on illegal and their families. All the crime these illegal do against America does not matter to them. Send the Criminals back to Mexico, if they come here again then execute them, do not let them walk our streets to commit bad crimes and murder. What are democrats stuip or what. Don't have compassion on the criminal, have compassion of the law abiding person. That is to hard for the Democrat to figure out. Democrats are not the Democrats of the old times( 30 years ago). Dems now are weird people. No logic to their thinking. Democrats are deceived base heathen. They hate Jesus Christ ,the Bible, and the 10 commandments which our laws were based on before these new age Democrats were born. Democrats want to kill their unborn babies and not to protect them as a good mother should. They beleive in situational ethics(lying is OK), they want sex perferts and offenders to walk our streets(keep the people behing bars), they are for homosexual crowd( The Bible says they are worthy of death), they do not want capital punishment, but criminals to be set free. They want to force feed them some words and call it counseling, and then say they can go free. The crimals get out and hurt our kids and sell drugs. They kill people and do horrible acts. They clog up our courts. What more can say. Read your history books, God does not bless a nation of perferts and homosexuals. Read it if you care. You won't because you want the criminal to get out of jail and walk our streets along with the Sodomites. The Pychologists might think this is a Model for our nation. It is a Model of Stupidity and the democrats are all for it. No wonder nothing can get done during the Regular session.


Glen January 17, 2008 6:12 am (Pacific time)

A well chosen fable from Aesop ("The Ant and the Grasshopper" is the one I'm thinking of) illustrates your point. Maybe an idea for Nota Bene.


Neal Feldman January 17, 2008 12:49 am (Pacific time)

But we Oregonians are a hardy folk! Heck, we even outlaw saving for a rainy day as a goovernment policy! (kicker for the utterly clueless) We love to suffer! Ah well...


Glen January 16, 2008 9:21 pm (Pacific time)

Nice piece, Neal. The pendulum has swung the other way, but let's hope the economy doesn't tank after 8 years of Bush. Oregon always gets hit hard when the rest of the nation just gets a hiccup.

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