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PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, JULY 24, 2015 KeizerOpinion KEIZERTIMES.COM A calm, reasonable voice wanted Will a calm voice ever be heard again in our national politics? This year alone has resulted in so much vitriol from every side. Anger still lingers about the Af- fordable Care Act (Obamacare) and there remain calls for its repeal even after the U.S. Supreme Court let it stand. The same court’s ruling on same-sex marriage has brought forth calls for Constutional amendments to overturn that narrow ruling. Some quarters are mad about the agreement with Iran about its nuclear program. Pundits and politicians couldn’t re- spond fast enough to Donald Trump’s comments about immigrants be- ing murderers and rapists and Sena- tor John McCain not being a hero because Trump doesn’t like “people who are captured.” This summer has also made the Confederated fl ag a red-hot issue af- ter the shooting deaths in Charleston. Not to mention shootings around the country involving police. If the public wants to have some- thing to be mad about there are plenty of candidates. The country has been angry for a long time and it’s time to allow space for calmer voices. The op- portunity is here with the 2016 presi- dential race heating up. With at least 16 Republicans and fi ve Democrats running to succeed Barack Obama, you’d think there would be one— just one—candidate with the stature to call for lowered voices and set an example of a politician that wants to be president of all Americans, not just those on the left, the right or a par- ticular party. During the 1968 presidential campaign signs started appearing at political rally with a simple message: “Bring us together.” The victor, Rich- ard Nixon, took up the challenge and governed publicly in a way that seemed to bring us together. We don’t want another Nixonian presidency but we can certainly use a candidate who is more about bring- ing the many factions of the country together than divide them further with extreme positions. Presidents are the leader of all Americans, not just their party. Poli- tics is the art of compromise and there has been too little of that recently. When it comes to being president of everyone extremism is not virtue and moderation is no vice. Unfortunately, candidates feel they can’t win the nomnation without cur- rying favor with their party’s fringes. The discourse of the comng presi- dential campaign would be elevated with at least one candidate calling for lowered voices. We have learned that talking to Iran was better than the al- ternative of using military force. It is never a wrong step to talk to our global adversaries or to our politi- cal rivals. Through polite conversation we are able to hear each other and hopefully hear the good points our opponents make. Every side wants to be heard and understood which is hard when the conversation is overheated and loud. America needs a presidential can- didate who can make a rational case for their policies and proposals in a manner that is more welcoming than divisive. At this point in our history it doesn’t matter if that candidate is Democrat, Republican or Indepen- dent. —LAZ Not all welcome at concerts To the Editor: I had the most embrassing ex- perience at the City of Keizer- sponsored con- cert at the am- phitheatre at Keizer Rapids Park. I was asked to leave the park be- cause I was going to do my woodcarv- ing and leave chips from the carving. Not only was I asked to leave, but a fellow carver (Everett Koontz) was also asked to leave. I have been coming to the concerts in the park since they started and have always done my woodcarving during the shows. I have also carved at other events in the valley over the years and have never had any problem with the wood chips left—until this year. The small wood chips blow away in the wind and are not a problem—ex- cept for this year by one person from the Keizer Rotary. This is most embarassing and not necessary. It will be some time before I for one will attend another function; and, I am sure other wood carvers will not be attending any functions as we are obviously not welcome. Dave Disselbrett Salem To the Editor: We have enjoyed the summer con- certs at Keizer Rapids Park for some time but we had a bad experience Sat- urday, July 18. Several members of our Wood Carvers Club showed up as usual to enjoy the evening of music, food, fun and to do a little wood carving. As we set up in the back of the seating area we were informed that we were not welcome since we make too much of a mess with our wood chips. We were invited to leave. Our wood chips amount to about a quart of bio-degradable chips similar in size to, or smaller than, the existing wood mulch. The chips blend right in. They blend in better than the paper and food waste created by users of the food cart. It is a disappointment that our club, which frequents and supports Keizer events and businesses, is not welcome at the Park. We are welcome at the Salem con- certs and will continue to attend these events. Bob Curtis Salem letters Jeb Bush wants to share By DEBRA J. SAUNDERS The most recent time I had seen Jeb Bush speak in San Francisco was in January, when he addressed the National Automobile Dealers Association. It is hard to imagine a group more invested in the old- school economy. It was a friendly crowd. The former Florida governor seemed comfortable—and boring. I left feeling as if I’d spent an hour listening to a human BarcaLounger. The Jeb Bush I saw Thursday morning was a different candidate. He had shed some 30 pounds on the Paleo Diet. His campaign had pulled the dynasty name from the campaign logo and added an ex- clamation point. Now he’s “Jeb!” In this trip to San Fran, Bush ventured away from the stolid GOP base to address the young workforce of Thumbtack, a 6-year-old digital ser- vice that links consumers to painters, DJs, dog walkers and other contrac- tors. Bush arrived in a Toyota Camry ordered via Uber—the ride-hailing company that runs roughshod over the single-occupant vehicle model dear to car dealers. It’s hard to think of a clearer con- trast to Hillary Clinton. In 2014, she told NADA, “The last time I actu- ally drove a car myself was 1996.” The former fi rst lady, who has Se- cret Service protection for life, has no reason to use Uber. In a recent speech, the former secretary of state took Uber to task—without, and this is so Clin- ton-like, naming Uber. She said: “Many Americans are making extra money renting out a spare room, designing websites, selling products they design themselves at home or even driving their own car. This on- demand, or so-called gig, economy is creating exciting opportunities and unleashing innovation. But it’s also raising hard questions about work- place protections and what a good job will look like in the fu- ture.” According to The New York Times, Team Hillary “diplomati- cally contacted top offi cials at Uber to let them know about the passage in her speech that would draw attention to the service, according to people told of the conversations.” That pas- sage probably was: “I’ll crack down on bosses who exploit employees by misclassifying them as contractors or even steal their wages.” Clinton clearly is on the side of politicians who want to cripple ride-hailing startups that allow in- dividuals to drive their cars at their own discretion. These outfi ts truly refl ect market demand. If consum- ers don’t like a service, they won’t use it. If drivers don’t like the terms, they will stop offering rides. Com- petition improves the outcome— but Clinton wants to impose more regulation. In contrast, the son and brother of former presidents embraced the benefi ts of “disrupting the old or- der.” Bush started the day extolling businesses such as Thumbtack on a LinkedIn post. “I love learning about these kinds of companies pre- cisely because before they existed, their market didn’t exist either,” he wrote. Startups, he added, “cause mental dissonance for people who think they can plan the future of the economy from Washington D.C. — people like Hillary Clinton.” “He’s got a good grasp of the way tech is changing the workforce,” Thumbtack economist Jon Lieber told me after the talk. 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Rom- ney extolled “creative destruction” as an essential element of free en- other views terprise. He was right, but those words mean nothing to kids used to summoning wheels with their phones. They just know what they want. Perhaps 2016 will be the year capitalism fi nally clicks for millen- nial voters. If so, Bush is ready. When a re- porter asked him about Uber, Bush talked about a college student he met who graduated without crip- pling debt—because he drove for Uber. A Thumbtacker asked Bush about Obamacare. He turned “re- pealing Obamacare” into an act of disruption that would free consum- ers to “opt out of these old models.” When a Thumbtack worker asked Bush what he thinks of new FCC net neutrality regulation dear to the South of Market crowd, Bush did not pander. He answered, “The unintended consequence of these top-down proven rules is always negative.” Unlike the man I saw in Janu- ary, I think, I maybe could vote for this Jeb Bush. CEO Marco Zap- pacosta, 30, seemed to be enjoying Thumbtack’s fi rst presidential hope- ful meet-and-greet, so I asked him: Would you vote for Bush? Zappa- costa answered, “I don’t know.” It’s not clear at all that feeling the love for the sharing economy can win Bush young voters. During the Thumbtack town hall, no one asked Bush about Uber or Clinton or nig- gling regulations. Other than the net neutrality query, Thumbtackers asked about equal pay for women, about gun control, whether Bush supports state laws to protect gays from discrimination in housing and the workplace -- social issues where, as with net neutrality, young voters like government regulation. And really, they’re not all that impressed when a Republican uses Uber. (Creators Syndicate) Result of Democratic infi ghting in Salem Keizertimes Wheatland Publishing Corp. • 142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303 phone: 503.390.1051 • web: www.keizertimes.com • email: kt@keizertimes.com NEWS EDITOR Craig Murphy editor@keizertimes.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Eric A. Howald news@keizertimes.com ADVERTISING Paula Moseley advertising@keizertimes.com Lyndon Zaitz publisher@keizertimes.com One year: $25 in Marion County, $33 outside Marion County, $45 outside Oregon PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY Publication No: USPS 679-430 POSTMASTER PRODUCTION MANAGER Send address changes to: BUSINESS MANAGER Keizertimes Circulation 142 Chemawa Road N. Keizer, OR 97303 Andrew Jackson graphics@keizertimes.com EDITOR & PUBLISHER SUBSCRIPTIONS Laurie Painter billing@keizertimes.com OFFICE INTERN Periodical postage paid at Salem, Oregon Allie Kehret LEGAL NOTICES legals@keizertimes.com facebook.com/keizertimes twitter.com/keizertimes I have been struck by the im- pression of Senator Peter Court- ney (D) and Rep. Tina Kotek (D). They come across as unfriendly and grouchy. Whatever the case, one is now the longest-serving Senate presi- dent (Courtney), while the other is the Speaker of the House (Kotek). As the 2015 session proceeded through fi ts and starts and then came to its end, the two of them were near fi sticuffs at sine die time. They’re both Democrats who appear to have a need to be in charge of all that happens in the Capitol. So, this made for fi ve months of bickering and score-set- tling. Oh, dear, what happened along the way to serving Oregonians rather than egos? Senator Courtney was angry be- cause the end of the session did not happen timely enough for him to at- tend a Senate Presidents’ Forum in Paris where he could enjoy French cui- sine and delightful sight-seeing. Now that’s a very expensive trip that you just know some or all will be paid by other folks; therefore, who wouldn’t be greatly annoyed. According to Court- ney, it was all Kotek’s fault. The Paris trip that never happened was just one among many a dust up be- tween these two of the most powerful public offi cials in the state. Some say they became even more powerful than Governor Kate Brown. The saddest consequence of their not getting along is that so many of us will pay dearly for their disagreements, occurring by confl icting personalities and competi- tion over who’s the boss. A lot of low- paid employ- ees in Oregon have wished and continue to wish for a higher minimum wage, $15 per hour was the target. Courtney saw to it that this objective was found fl oating face down in the Salem Slough. There might have been hundreds of millions of dollars in the kitty for much need- ed transportation upgrades across the state had it not been for Kotek’s un- willingness to play nice in the Capitol sandbox. In other words, the result is much disappointment between what was promised by Democrat majorities in the House and Senate that fi zzled by the end of the session. Although sharing political party la- bels, Courtney and Kotek are far apart in age as Courtney is 72 and Kotek is 48. Then there’s the built-in tension between the two chambers while that factor is naturally combined with a number of contentious issues. Also, it’s a given among most politicians whose weight is signifi cantly increased by their egos that they want to be the star and that fact sets the session on a collision course from the outset every year. Bitterness and rancor between Courtney and Kotek reached a melt- down when the House helped to kill a project Courtney hoped would be the legacy accomplishment of his legisla- gene h. mcintyre tive career. He viewed as his monu- mental achievement a $300 million- plus plan to upgrade the Capitol to make it earthquake safe. It found the dustbin. Courtney’s reported to have said that “We had too many bitter fi ghts, and relationships were severely damaged.” As reported in the press, the parting comment by Courtney to Kotek was “Stick it in your ear!” It would seem from an objective observer’s view that both of them were tired and short-tempered by early July. However, another factor is Courtney’s age and the fact that he not only looks worn out and not well. Although he won’t retire because it’d probably be considered by him a loss of face and surrender to a young, up- start colleague who’s become an ad- versary seriously threatening his fi ef- dom. Courtney, meanwhile, is often rec- ognized as the man who, due to his years in the Capitol, possesses the most institutional knowledge. After all, his memory spans 35 years as an Oregon legislator. However, since he apparently ended the session in a state of extreme frustration, the time may have come for Courtney to fi nd a quieter role. Perhaps a change well- suited would be to serve as director of the Oregon Historical Society. As for Kotek, since she can’t get along with others to accomplish the state’s business, it’s hoped her constituents will send her away. (Gene H. McIntyre’s column ap- pears weekly in the Keizertimes.)