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2 Wednesday, October 17, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O N Voting for strength and heart By T. Lee Brown Guest Columnist Letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. Let- ters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday. To the Editor: Some comments from Greg Walden’s debate: Does Walden respond to people in his dis- trict who have a problem? Why did he not answer a voter of his in Eastern Oregon who wrote him asking for help with a problem with invasive grass made by Scott Seeds which was harming his crops? (High Country News source) If a large number of people in his district live near the poverty line why is it that most of the fence signs I see in Central Oregon are on farms? Do they get special consideration in some way? Walden has a VTV ad portraying him as a veterans champion, but in the debate it was brought out he had voted no on veterans bills for at least a decade. He is big on any bill for the timber industry, understandable as the industry is good to him with contributions. Where is Walden on conservation? I don’t remember hearing that from him in the debate or any other time. Maybe it is in his news- letter, which I have asked for four times in the last three years and have never seen an issue. The request seems to have reached the Republican headquarters though as they keep writing asking for money. I am not a registered Republican. Climate Change: nothing said. One cannot buck the party approach. By Walden’s demeanor as the debate ran along it seemed to me that he was very uncom- fortable any time he was asked something which he couldn’t respond to with the party line. I guess that is why Walden does not have open town halls. Was he willing for another debate before November? He wouldn’t answer that, even though it was asked three times. Instead he finished with how perfectly Oregonian he is, with a compilation of his background, which I suspect will be in the voters pamphlet. Was that an instance of tribalism to try to convince the See LETTERS on page 22 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny 70/40 76/40 76/40 77/39 75/41 72/40 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Fax: 541-549-9940 | editor@nuggetnews.com Postmaster: Send address changes to The Nugget Newspaper, P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759. Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon. Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Easterling Graphic Design: Jess Draper Community Marketing Partners: Vicki Curlett & Patti Jo Beal Classifieds & Circulation: Lisa May Proofreader: Pete Rathbun Owner: J. Louis Mullen The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $45; six months (or less), $25. First-class postage: one year, $85; six months, $55. Published Weekly. ©2018 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as uncondition- ally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and subject to The Nugget Newspaper’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts. It’s easy to vote in Oregon. We just fill in the little bubbles on our bal- lots, which show up con- veniently in our mailboxes, and send ‘em back. But who should we be voting for? Ideally, I’m looking for a saint with excellent lead- ership qualities, one who’ll cut through red tape and bureaucratic nonsense while standing up for the poor and middle class. A saint who can cure cancer with one hand while roping a steer with the other, then whip up 100,000 family-wage jobs— small-business jobs that make our state more beautiful and self-reliant. A saint who’s never made a wrong move or an inappro- priate comment. Failing that, I’d settle for a real human being with integrity, compassion, and honesty. One with a big heart, a good brain, and a pair of ears that really listen. They should listen to every- body in District 2, not just people who happen to be in their party. Nearly a third of Oregon voters aren’t Democrats or Republicans, including non-affiliated voters like me. My candidate would respect Oregon’s rural traditions and encourage their supporters to do the same — even their liberal, urban, and college-town voters. Urging citizens to get off their phones, turn off the news, and meet up in real life, they’d hold frequent town halls and public debates. Providing an example of common decency and trying to bridge divides would come naturally to them. This person ought to have enough government and organizational experi- ence to do their job. On the other hand, they shouldn’t be yoked to the political establishment — much less a bunch of mega-corpo- rations and their lobbying lackeys. You’ve probably guessed that my fantasy candidate ain’t Greg Walden, the current Oregon District 2 Representative to Congress in Washington, DC. I’ve heard enough from him to last a lifetime. He accepts big money from the pharmaceutical industry, for example, then starts making a big show of caring about the opioid cri- sis. For those of us whose families have been torn up by prescription drug addic- tion, this is way too little, way too late. Walden chairs the House committee that’s supposed to oversee the healthcare industry. He could’ve taken action long before this elec- tion year. But he had good reason not to. As John Lamoreau, formerly a Republican Commissioner of Union County, puts it: “No mem- ber of Congress received more political action com- mittee money from the pharmaceutical/health prod- ucts industry than Walden during the current election cycle.” The Mail-Tribune in Medford wrote up a thor- ough explanation of fund- ing details in “Since You Asked,” June 2018, avail- able online. Well, that was a depress- ing digression. Let’s get back to my fantasy candi- date, the one who might actually stand up for real Oregonians in Washington DC. The one who’d come back often to chat with us. The one with both strength and heart. I think I’ve found her. Her name is Jamie McLeod-Skinner, and she’s running against Walden on the Democratic ticket. McLeod-Skinner is a hard worker and a big lis- tener. Experienced but humble, she has the cour- age to stand up for what’s fair. She’s not perfect—but, for a refreshing change, she doesn’t pretend to be. She’s just trying to make things better for everyday people in Oregon. People who are strug- gling with rising healthcare and housing costs. People searching for the best in themselves and others, even if we don’t all agree on everything. People who are willing to take on the seri- ous work of rebuilding our democracy. People who still believe in America. I’m one of those peo- ple. I’m voting for Jamie McLeod-Skinner. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.
