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
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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.)