OPINION
4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2016
Congratulations, you get to live on an airplane
Beneath occasional
moments of glamor,
being a member of
Congress is an awful job
A
candidate came to see me. He’s
running for the Republican
nomination to oppose U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden.
As I listened to his pitch, a thought bubble
over my head said “Why?”
Sam Carpenter of Bend — the GOP Senate
aspirant — brought me his book, Work the Sys-
tem: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and
Working Less. Carpenter
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ers pay him to turn their
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time candidate for Con-
gress, I ask why they
want that job. I’m really
wondering if they know
what they are getting into.
What they often don’t
know is that beneath the
Steve
very occasional moments
Forrester
of glamor, it is an awful
job. Being a member of
Congress from Oregon means you live on an air-
plane. Spending so much time going back and
forth from Washington, D.C., makes one won-
der: Which time zone are they really in?
Years ago, when Wyden was a member of
the House, one of his aides told me: “You will
never outwork Ron Wyden.” That’s one reason
why he’s impregnable. The other is that Wyden
will easily roll up a huge margin in Multnomah
County, and he’ll also do well in rural Ore-
gon, because he spends so much time there and
because he’s helped them (think Grant County
forest stewardship program).
The Daily Astorian/File Photo
Sen. Ron Wyden speaks during a group discussion at Fort George Brewery in July. The discussion was part of Wyden’s tour of
Oregon’s seven wonders to promote the economic impact of tourism and recreation.
T
he election season once contained an ele-
ment of enlightenment and even entertain-
ment. Not any more. It may be that I’ve seen
too much of this. Or it may be that the species of
homo politicus candidatus is in decline.
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to a dynamic Northwest congressman said: “It
used to be that new members came to the House
to do something. It’s unclear whether these new
crops of members want to do anything.”
The other odd element in electoral politics is
WKHFDQGLGDWHZKR¶VUXQQLQJIRUSHUVRQDOH[SR-
sure, but not to win (Think Ben Carson, who saw
sales of his book balloon).
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bit of a rush. Having seen this happen to people,
I think we should be restrained in suggesting that
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The ego-feed that comes with campaigns and
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Running for office
is heady business.
Wyden. Rep. Bob Smith of Burns had been a
stand-out senior Oregon state legislator. Many of
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To our great surprise, that didn’t happen.
“Moving from a state Legislature to Con-
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Congressman Les AuCoin told me. “It’s the
difference between playing chess and playing
three-dimensional chess.”
G
rowing up in a newspaper family, politi-
cians were occasional dinner guests and the
topic of conversations. One of our family legends
f you watch candidates long enough, you can was about my grandfather, E.B. Aldrich, who
spot “the look,” which is the man or woman was editor of the East Oregonian when Wayne
who feels like a winner. In 1980, I met two of Morse was a young politician in the 1940s. My
them within the same month. Ron Wyden was grandfather was so averse to Morse’s renowned
running as a Portland Democrat for the House. powers of argument that he would leave his
Sam Carpenter
Denny Smith was running as a Republican for RI¿FHZKHQ0RUVHFDPHWRWRZQ³,NQRZKH¶OO
the big Eastern Oregon House seat. The look in convince me,” he told his family.
their eyes said winning candidate. And both won
Relatively few of today’s Oregonians had the my wife and I saw vivid evidence of those gressman’s spouse whom our friends knew. The
in that big Ronald Reagan election.
H[SHULHQFHRIVHHLQJ0RUVH+HZDVDEOLQGLQJ destructive forces. Our dinner was with a con- woman loudly shared with the entire bookstore
:LQQLQJLVRQO\WKH¿UVWVWHSDQGPDQ\FDQ- intellect and a ferocious speaker.
gressman and his wife whose relationship had her anger at the lot of being a political spouse.
didates fail to grasp that truth. While Wyden
VXGGHQO\ JURZQ FKLOO\ 7KH\ VXEVHTXHQWO\ If any of us had ever thought about running for
took off like a rocket as a freshman congress-
he saddest aspect of being a candidate or divorced.
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man, another Oregon freshman failed to ignite,
being in Congress is that it can be a home
Following dinner, we walked to a nearby taking that plunge.
HYHQ WKRXJK KH KDG IDU PRUH H[SHULHQFH WKDQ wrecker. One night in Washington, D.C., bookstore to browse. In the shop was a con-
— S.A.F.
I
T
Open forum
Reject recall
F
or several decades my wife Con-
nie and I have enjoyed visiting
Cannon Beach, initially as casual
once or twice a year visitors. Over the
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until it made sense for us to buy a
second home in one of the world’s
most beautiful places. For over 20
years that home became our treasured
escape from the daily rigors of our
professional lives in Seattle.
During that time we made many
new friends in Cannon Beach, mar-
veling at the community’s collective
commitment to maintaining a livable
town, and the volunteer hours con-
tributed by so many to ensure that
status would be in place for future
generations.
We watched as the community
wrestled with growth and social
issues, always seeming — after some-
times heated debates — to arrive at
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making Cannon Beach an even bet-
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that process in action is the Cannon
Beach Fire District Board of Direc-
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who every four years submit them-
selves to the scrutiny of the elector-
ate, at least those citizens who partici-
pate in our democracy by voting.
During the past two decades that
board, with the assistance of a dedi-
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has grappled with a myriad of issues
that ultimately improved service and
kept insurance rates low throughout
the district, including relocating the
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in downtown to the midtown area,
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ern state-of-the-art tools, and improv-
ing the service available to Arch
Cape, among others.
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responsible actions, the board has
functioned as the district’s person-
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WKDW ¿GXFLDU\ UHVSRQVLELOLW\ WKDW KDV
led to the current effort by the fam-
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to lodge a recall election against three
current members of the board, a recall
effort based on as yet unproven alle-
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wrongly terminated.
That recall effort should be
answered with a resounding rejec-
tion from district voters. The board,
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nel oversight duties followed, with
advice from counsel, the applicable
statutory process. To have done oth-
erwise would have been a breach of
their sworn obligations. The board is
to be commended for its action, not
condemned by heated rhetoric that
tests the bounds of libel and slander.
Vote no to recall at the April 5
election.
PHIL AND CONNIE
WINBERRY
Seattle
with, I never listened to him on the
TV shows. I wasn’t interested in any
of that type of show.
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along with the others — was saying
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is wrong with our country, and the
president, and politicians, and the
rich businesses going overseas and
keeping the money in their pock-
No recall
ets. Also, giving the money we pay
wanted to clear the air about the LQ6RFLDO6HFXULW\WD[HVHYHU\ZKHUH
situation at the Canon Beach Fire That money should not have been
Department. The majority did not spent, and the trust fund left with
sign the recall. As a matter of fact, IOUs.
only 10 of the 26 members signed.
I’ve found Trump says things
Many members feel as I do, that the after being accused of things he
board was doing the job they were QHYHUVDLGRUWKHSUHVVH[DJJHUDWHV
elected to do.
or adds to what he says. It reminds
, VXSSRUW WKH ¿UH GLVWULFW DQG WKH me of when F. D. Roosevelt put the
board members. A recall will only U.S. together. The ones who always
KXUWWKH¿UHGLVWULFW,I\RXIHHOVRPH- put the money in their pockets fought
one needs to be replaced, do it when him.
we vote on new board members in the
Trump’s the only one with the
QH[W\HDURUVR:HDUHKHUHIRU\RX PRVW JRRG LGHDV +H¶V FRQ¿GHQW
so please support us and vote no on because he knows how to do things. I
the recall.
DPDFRQ¿GHQWSHUVRQRUZDVZKHQ
LT. MIKE JOHNSON I was young.
Cannon Beach Fire and Rescue
All I can say is, if you vote for
some who are desperate to get in,
that’s what you’ll get. I believe in
&on¿Gent Ln Trump
each person voting for their choice.
get very tired of hearing people
FLORENCE HAWKINS
attack Donald Trump. To begin
Long Beach, Washington
I
I
Thank you
T
he family of Ray Hickman
would like to thank the Can-
non Beach Police and Fire Depart-
ments, the Coast Guard, the search
and rescue teams from Clatsop, Til-
lamook, Washington, Multnomah
and Clackamas counties, Moun-
tain Wave Search and Rescue, and
all the volunteers, neighbors and
friends who spent time and effort
in such inclement weather to search
for Ray when he went missing on
Jan. 30. Many of you are still look-
ing as time permits, and we appreci-
ate that so much.
We’d also like to thank everyone
who donated money, and the man
from Hamlet who lent the use of his
drone.
We’ve learned that many Can-
non Beach and Seaside restaurants
donated food for the searchers. And
we know that many from the com-
munity donated food for the search-
ers and for us. Thank you all.
Such an outpouring of support
from the entire community has been
just overwhelming, and very spe-
cial. It keeps us going every day. We
appreciate all of it so very much.
ANITA, HOLLY, MICHAEL
AND MAYA HICKMAN
Cannon Beach
STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher • LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
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