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September 17,2003
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Electing an American President -2004
Politics must
speak to the
center of
people’s lives
bv C ongressman
E lijah E .C lmmings
People yearn fo ra 'p o litic s o fth e
c e n te r,’ the late S e n a to r P au l
W ellstone counseled before his
tragic death in a M innesota plane
crash last year, "not 'th e cen ter’ so
widely discussed by politicians and
pundits in W ashington, but, rather,
a politics that speaks to the center
o f people’s lives.
I am convinced that President
Bush is losing pop u lar support
because o f his failure to heed Paul
W ellstone’s adm onition.
Spurred in part by recent public
opinion polling that confirm s that
m ore A m ericans now oppose his
reelection than support it, G eorge
B ush is now out
o n th e c a m
p aign trail. He
has the pow er
o f incum bency
behind him , as
w ell as a w orld-
class “spin m a
ch in e.”
N e v e rth e
less, he m ust be finding it difficult
to look the A m erican peo p le in the
eye an d answ er som e very tro u
bling questions about his stew ard
ship o f the W hite H ouse.
The national unem ploym ent rate
is now o v er six percent. Jo b less
ness in A frican A m erican com m u
nities is tw ice that appalling figure.
H ow w ill the President explain the
reality that, since he took office in
January o f 2 0 0 1, the U.S. econom y
has lost o v er three m illion jo b s?
H ow w ill he attem pt to ju stify
rejecting D em ocratic proposals that
w ould have stim ulated the national
econom y by providing m eaningful
tax cuts to m iddle-incom e A m eri
cans and sm all businesses? W hy
did his A dm inistration ram through
m ore than $ I trillion in tax cuts that
principally benefit the w ealthiest
one percent o f o u r citizens w hile at
the sam e tim e, denying a child tax
credit to the fam ilies o f 12 m illion
A m erican children (2.4 m illion o f
w ealthy, w e could have assured
high-quality health care for every
A m erican child up to age 18 - and
have given a defined, guaranteed
p rescrip tio n d ru g benefit under
M edicare to every senior.
W hy has his A dm inistration not
provided the federal funding that
w ould have given the four out o f
In the most affluent country o f the
world, how does the President reconcile the
fact that more than 44 million Americans
still have no health insurance?
•
w hom are A frican A m ericans)?
In the m ost affluent country o f
the w orld, how does the President
reconcile the fact that m ore than 44
m illion A m ericans still have no
health insurance? H ow does he
rationalize this reality w hen, for a
f r a c tio n
of
th e
B u sh
A dm in istratio n ’s generosity to the
every ten children w ho are eligible,
but do not y et receive, the H ead
Start that they need and deserve in
life? W hy are the President and his
R epublican allies shortchanging
federal aid to public education to
the tu n e o f9 billion dollars - under-
funding the N o C hild Left B ehind
A ct, freezing the level o f student
financial aid and starving histori
cally black colleges and universi
ties?
W h y - w hile the Bush A dm inis
tration is spending billions each
m onth in its attem pt to “go it alo n e”
in Iraq - has it not yet provided the
states and o u r m ajor cities w ith the
federal support that w ould allow
our “ first responders” to m ore safely
defend o u r ports, our railw ays and
o th er public infrastructure against
the terrorist threat?
Since this A dm inistration and
th eir congressional allies talk en d
lessly about “defending our free
d o m ,” w hy have they asserted the
m ost extrem e assault upon ou rciv il
liberties that I have w itnessed in m y
lifetim e? H ow could they have the
hubris to call the centerpiece o f
th eir challenge to our fundam ental
freedom s the “Patriot A ct?”
W hy have they nom inated fed
eral ju d g es With no dem onstrated
com m itm ent to o u r civil rights o r
liberty?
W hy, w hen the C ongress passed
sw eeping election reform legisla
tion to address the 2000 presiden
tial election debacle, have the Presi
dent and R epublicans in C ongress
not yet provided the cash-strapped
states w ith adequate financial sup
port to im plem ent these reform s?
W hy has this President failed to
keep the solem n prom ise to govern
from the center that he m ade to us
after the contested presidential elec
tion o f 2000?
C e n trist talk is not en o u g h fo r
a p e o p le w ho n eed jo b s , e d u c a
tio n , h ealth c a re and h o u sin g - a
p eo p le w h o d e se rv e freed o m , as
w ell as se c u rity . W e are liv in g
th ro u g h a tim e o f c risis - a tim e
th a t c rie s o u t fo r a p re s id e n t w ho
w ill d efend this country w hile also
a d v a n c in g th e p o lic ie s th at w ill
bind us to g e th e re v e n m ore firm ly
as a n a tio n .
U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings,
D-Md. serves as chair o f the Con
gressional Black Caucus.
Redouble Efforts at Police Reform Revenue Fix Falls Short
K ristian W illiams
W hen 1 heard ofM ark K roeker’s resigna
tion my first response w as sim ple disbelief.
T hen, 1 cheered. A nd then, 1 started to
worry.
The labor m ovem ent has a m axim , "A bad
boss is the best organizer.”
K roeker’s tim e ran out as his credibility
took one hit after another. His career as
police chief is best sum m arized by a long list
o f scandals and controversies— M ay Day,
hazing rituals, anti-gay speeches, the cover
up o f an off-duty beating, the M ejia shoot
ing, the H am m ick shooting and the K endra
Jam es shooting.
He faced a law suit for brutality against
anti-w ar protesters; his civilian review board
suffered a com plete m eltdow n w hen a m a
jo rity o f its m em bers resigned and d e
nounced the oversight process as a sham ;
and an independent report found the police
b ureau’s investigations o f officer-invol ved
shootings to be lacking in every way.
It w as in this context that K roeker finally
a n n o u n c e d th e s u s p e n s io n o f S c o tt
M cColl ister, the cop w ho shot and killed the
bv
unarm ed Jam es fleeing a traffic stop.
The tension surrounding the case, high
lighted by d em onstrations involving th o u
sands o f people, put K roeker in an im pos
sible position. H e could either capitulate to
the public and lose the support o f his o ffic
ers o r he could defend the police and face
Civil rights advocates
cannot afford to relax
their scrutiny o f the
police bureau or delay
their prodding for
change.
||
m ounting opposition from the com m unity.
In earlier police-public battles, K roeker
had alw ays backed his troops, regardless o f
the evidence or the dem ands o f com m on
decency. As a consequence, w e saw an
increasingly arrogant police force, an in
creasingly skeptical new s m edia and an in
creasingly angry public.
O bviously, the police bureau could not
continue dow n this path and retain any
claim to legitim acy. So, by suspending
M cC ollister fo r five and a h a lf m onths,
K roeker offered the public a partial conces
sion. B ut the effo rt'b ack fired . The police
union felt betrayed, and critics felt the dis
cipline too w eak. A nd both sides blam ed, to
g reater or lesser degrees, the c h ie f s per
sonally. T his gave the m ayor an easy out.
She asked for his resignation.
W e can, and should, celebrate the end o f
K roeker’s ugly tenure. But civil rights advo
cates cannot afford to relax their scrutiny o f
the pol ice bureau or delay their proddi ng for
change.
N ow is the tim e to am plify o u r efforts.
If w e w ant to see real change, w e need to
bring intense pressure to bear w hile the
crisis persists. It w as true w hen Frederick
D ouglass said it, and it’s true now ; Pow er
concedes nothing w ithout a dem and.
Kristian Williams is a member o f Rose
City Copwatch and the author o f Our En
emies in Blue: Police and Power in America
(Soft Skull Press, 2003).
Seniors still impacted by service shortfalls
F ran L andeair , E lders in A ction
A fter w itnessing the longest legislative session in O regon history and en d u r
ing a rancorous, nearly tw o-year debate on how to co v er o u r state’s revenue
shortfall, it is tem pting to breathe a sigh o f re lie f afterG ov. Ted K ulongoski signed
the tem porary revenue package, on A ug. 27. H ow ever, for thousands o f seniors
| and o th er vulnerable citizens in our state it w o n ’t be that easy.
T he revenue package is only a tem porary solution to the state’s budget crisis.
The $792 m illion - raised mostly from taxes paid by higher-incom e households and
businesses - i s a fair and balanced approach to recovering som e o f the revenues
needed to keep schools open, keep our com m unities safe and m aintain services
for the elderly, poor and disabled.
H ow ever, anti-tax extremists, with no real solution on how to fund these basic
qualify o f life services, have vow ed to obtain the necessary num ber o f petition
signatures to force a referendum on the tax package in a Feb. 3,2004 special election.
People need to realize, even with this partial revenue fix, som e o f our state’s m ost
vulnerable citizens w ill still be w ithout essential services. F or instance, O regon
Project Independence is a program o f in-hom e services designed for low -incom e
seniors w ho have difficulty with the basic activities o f daily life, and w ho do not
qualify for M edicaid, yet need services to prevent m ore costly institutional care.
f
O PI w as form erly funded at $ 17 m illion. It is now listed in the rem aining state
budget fo r2003-05 at $6.5 million. Last year, approxim ately 4,000 O regon seniors
w ere served in their hom es through O PI . A t this greatly reduced funding level, the
i program w ill serve far few er clients at reduced levels, leaving m ore seniors
by
I
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vulnerable to declining health and safety issues.
Since F ebruary, m ore than 6,000 seniors and persons w ith disabilities - m ost
o f w hom live in their ow n hom e - have lost state provided in-hom e care services.
In spite o f this new revenue package, m ore than 2,500 clients w ill still lose these
critical services. T he saying, “penny w ise and pound foolish” rings in m y head.
T he average cost p er case for in-hom e care under OPI is about $250 per m onth.
By com parison, nursing hom e care costs about $3,000 per m onth.
W hat can concerned citizens do to help o u r state’s m ost vulnerable? First, find
opportunities to volunteer in your com m unity. For m ore than 35 years, the not-
for-profit E lders in A ction has w orked to im prove the quality o flife for older adults.
T he organization represents the interests o f seniors in the Portland m etropolitan
area through its volunteer O m budsm an S ervice that offers assistance, advocacy
and em otional support to seniors and persons w ith disabilities in the areas o f
housing, health care and elder crim e abuse
T he services w e offer run the gam ut from helping to solve sticky housing
issues, helping sort through the com plexities o f getting prescription m edication,
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and helping seniors w ho have been
the victim s o f crim e and abuse, in
cluding the ram pant problem o f iden
tity theft. Since state budget cuts
began im pacting social services for
seniors this year. Elders in A ction
has experienced a near 40 percent
increase in requests for assistance.
All w e ask is that you donate a m ere
8-10 hours per m onth to helping
those in need. C all us at 503-823-
5 2 6 9 o r v i s i t u s o n li n e a t
w w w .eldersaction.org.
F inally, m ake state governm ent
officials m ore accountable for creat
ing a fair, equitable and balanced tax
system . No o th er state in the nation
is m ore reliant on a single tax than
O regon is on the incom e tax. Contact
your legislators to encourage them
to create tax reform that is not as
vulnerable to fluctuations in the
econom y, that creates a rainy day
fund, and that it is less dependent on
incom e taxes. Learn m ore about the
state budget and how our system o f
taxation works, and most importantly,
help others to leam m ore too
f