4A • COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • MARCH 1, 2019
O PINION
The First Amendment
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ing the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of
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Political/Election Letters:
Mueller report is about much more than President
Trump, Hilary Clinton or even Russian meddling
lobbyists and others hoping
look at just how ineffective
to benefit from influencing
and corrupt our political
system has become because future legislation.
While legislators and their
— regardless of which side
of the aisle you’re from — it's staff are prohibited by law
a system that has developed from making fundraising
Even as more layers con-
a dependency on campaign calls from their offices, both
tinue to be revealed from
Democrats and Republicans
funding from special inter-
what seems to be an end-
can utilize party-owned call
ests.
less peeling back of Robert
centers within two blocks of
In the 2004 general elec-
Mueller’s investigative onion, tion, 95 percent of House
Capitol Hill.
it’s clear that the Donald
This was documented in
races and 91 percent of
Trump, Hillary Clinton and
Russian camps will be left
standing among its pungent
From the Managing Editor’s Desk
aroma.
Ned Hickson
As I said almost two years
ago, regardless of how you
feel about our current presi- Senate races were won by
a “60 Minutes” report last
dent, his election and subse- candidates who spent the
April, when Florida Rep.
quent controversies — while most on their campaigns.
David Jolly exposed “call
polarizing Americans — has
centers” in the back rooms
This has only become
also forced us to engage with more prevalent since 2010,
of his own party’s headquar-
our government and its poli- when the Supreme Court’s
ters where legislators and
cies more than we have since “Citizens United” decision
staff can make “cold calls”
the 1960s and 70s.
utilizing a script aimed at
began allowing unlimited
And that’s a good thing.
persuading individuals to
spending by corporations,
In that same way, I also
donate.
unions and individuals in
believe that the multiple
According to Jolly, the goal
elections. This spawnned
indictments Mueller has
Super PACS (Political Action is to procure $18,000 a day.
handed down over the
“These are essentially
Committees) that routinely
preceding months are just
sweat shop phone booths
raise millions of dollars for
the beginning of what I hope candidates by holding events that compromise the dignity
will force us to take a hard
of the office,” Jolly said in his
hosted by special interests,
interview.
Sure, he was a Republi-
can, but without question
Democrats utilize the same
banking operations that
have become another cog in
an out-of-control political
machine.
While issues of collusion,
manipulation, money laun-
dering, false statements and
conspiracy are being leveled,
they are merely symptoms
of a political plaque that has
been building in the arter-
ies of our government for
decades — and now threat-
ens the very heartbeat of our
democracy.
Mueller’s investigation
could prove to be one of
the most important in our
nation’s history, revealing a
diagnosis of what we need
to know rather than what we
want to know.
Only then can we begin to
address the kinds of reforms
needed to assure that the
heart of our political system
beats for its people rather
than its pocketbook.
Election-related letters must address pertinent or
timely issues of interest to our readers at-large.
Letters must 1) Not be a part of letter-writing
campaigns on behalf of (or by) candidates; 2) Ensure
any information about a candidate is accurate, fair
and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay;
and 3) explain the reasons to support candidates
based on personal experience and perspective rather
than partisanship and campaign-style rhetoric.
Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the
editor column to outline their views and platforms
or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid political
advertising.
As with all letters and advertising content, the
newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publisher,
general manager and editor, reserves the right to
reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above criteria.
Send letters to:
nhickson@cgsentinel.com or cmay@cgsentinel.com
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS
Oregon state
representatives
Oregon federal
representatives
• Sen. Floyd Prozanski
District 4 State Senator
PO Box 11511
Eugene, Ore. 97440
Phone: 541-342-2447
Email : sen.floydprozanski@
state.or.us
• Rep. Cedric Hayden
Republican District 7 State
Representative
900 Court St. NE
Salem, Ore. 97301
Phone: 503-986-1407
Website: www.leg.state.or.
us/hayden
Email: rep.cedrichayden@
state.or.us
• Rep. Peter DeFazio
(House of Representatives)
405 East 8th Ave.
#2030
Eugene, Ore. 97401
Email: defazio.house.gov/
contact/email-peter
Phone: 541-465-6732
• Sen. Ron Wyden
405 East 8th Ave., Suite 2020
Eugene, Ore. 97401
Email: wyden.senate.gov
Phone: (541) 431-0229
• Sen. Jeff Merkley
Email: merkley.senate.gov
Phone: 541-465-6750
C ottage G rove
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