Wednesday, March 3, 2021
A4
OPINION
VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN
Walkout
may result
in changing
quorum rules
D
o you think Gov. Kate Brown
should do more to get schools to
reopen? Do you think the state
should do more to vaccinate seniors
sooner? Do you think the state should
look to speed up reopening of businesses?
Those are reasons why Oregon Senate
Republicans on held a protest and walked
out of the legislative session Thursday,
Feb. 25. The GOP says their efforts to get
Brown’s attention to these issues have
gone unacknowledged. So they held a
walkout to get her attention.
Yes, they got her attention. But Repub-
licans didn’t compel her to make any
changes. And we can’t imagine she will
fundamentally change her approach.
Perhaps Senate Republicans did suc-
ceed in a few ways. Just getting people’s
attention these days takes more than mak-
ing a speech. The protest got the Ore-
gon public’s attention for at least a news
cycle. And in that moment, Republicans
highlighted what the difference might be
if they were governing.
They also reminded their fellow leg-
islators they still have the power to shut
down the making of new laws.
Oregon is one of only a handful of
states that requires by its constitution that
two-thirds of lawmakers must be on the
Senate floor and the House floor for work
to be done. The narrow Democratic mar-
gin in the Senate means the Democratic
majority is not walkout-proof. A walkout
is some of the only raw power Republi-
cans in Oregon really have.
For how long? Will voters tire of this
tactic? It seems inevitable that through
a bill or an initiative a measure will get
on the ballot for a constitutional amend-
ment to change Oregon’s quorum rules to
a simple majority.
That might not be something to cele-
brate. Yes, it would work in the favor of
Democrats now. It is, though, one of the
few tools to prevent a tyranny of a simple
majority.
Oregon voters are roughly evenly split
between Democrats, unaffiliated voters
and Republicans — in that order. There
is probably far more that unites Orego-
nians than divides them. On some issues
at least, majority opinion is slim or hard
to find.
Democrats hold power now. They may
not always. Democrats have used the
power of the walkout before, in 1971,
1995 and 2001.
In these unsettled times, Oregonians
need legislators and a governor who find
ways to work together, not write new
exclusionary rules.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Agrees with Dunham’s
previous letter
I want to commend Connie Dunham
for her articulate response to Rich Wand-
schneider’s letter to “Republican friends.”
It seems this month he wants to direct
his attacks toward “libertarian friends,”
claiming “they forget, of course … the
staunchest libertarian puts a boundary
at the point at which his or her liberty
infringes on the liberties (or the well-be-
ing) of others.”
I would encourage Rich and anyone
else reading this to carefully consider the
weight of expressing opinions and ideol-
ogy on behalf of others. It takes a hum-
ble mind to admit you don’t know enough
about a topic to be critical of it, and his
supposition that the libertarian’s concern
for “other’s well-being” ought to compel
diligent mask-wearing is based on a false
belief that it is “other’s well-being” for
whom libertarians draw their boundaries
on personal freedom. While it is certainly
noble to be concerned for the welfare of
others, it is not integral to the libertarian
worldview.
EDITORIALS: Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Wallowa
County Chieftain editorial board. Other columns, letters and
cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not
necessarily that of the Wallowa County Chieftain.
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Additionally, Rich incorrectly places
the burden of proof on libertarians who
are allegedly harming others by refus-
ing to mask. Only in corrupt, utterly evil
places of the world do we accuse one
of a crime without evidence. How can
we hold someone accountable for harm
caused when we have no proof they have,
in fact, harmed another (supposedly by
unknowingly spreading coronavirus)? If
my liberty infringes on another’s, hold me
accountable, but don’t assume that I am
causing harm based on hypotheticals and
ever-changing models. Doing so leads us
down a dark path.
Rebecca Patton
Enterprise
Kudos to the Cloverleaf
Hall vaccination team
Recently I received my first dose of the
COVID-19 vaccine at the Cloverleaf Hall
convention center.
I was a bit apprehensive about the long
lines, canceled appointments and poten-
tial vaccine shortages that you hear about
CONTACT your REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande office: 541-962-7691
Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
Pendleton office: 541-278-1129
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
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SENATOR
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
M eMber O regOn n ewspaper p ublishers a ssOciatiOn
USPS No. 665-100
Cliff Bentz
1239 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
Medford office: 541-776-4646
REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court Street
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
U.S. SENATORS
Wallowa County’s Newspaper Since 1884
VOLUME 134
in the news. I arrived at the site a few min-
utes before my appointment and stood in
a line of three. I was greeted by a lady at
the first table, given a short questionnaire
to complete (2 minutes), then was sent to
the next table — no line. The young lady
checked my card and gave me the “shot”
and pointed me to the next table.
Again, no line. The young lady asked
my name, did her computer thing while
another lady placed a piece of tape on my
coat on which she had written my depar-
ture time “11:45.” You have to wait 15
minutes before you can leave to make sure
you don’t have any adverse reaction to the
vaccine. It’s important to note: my depar-
ture time was the same as my appointment
time. Other than the 15-minute waiting
period, the whole process took approxi-
mately 4 minutes.
This was the most-organized, stream-
lined event I’ve ever attended and should
be a model for the nation. Congratula-
tions, amazing job. And this “crew” of
amazing people did approximately 400
vaccinations that day.
Richard Underwood
Lostine
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-423
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
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