4A | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Cottage Grove Sentinel
116 N. Sixth St.
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NED HICKSON , MANAGING EDITOR |
Opinion
541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ CGSENTINEL . COM
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Mueller report could off er much-needed
diagnosis of our ailing political system
Even after Special
Council Robert Mueller’s
unexpected 9-minute
public statement made
a few weeks ago, many
layers remain unrevealed
from what will undoubt-
edly continue to be an
endless peeling back of
this special investiga-
tive onion — and in the
end, no camp will be
left standing outside its
pungent aroma.
As I said months ago,
regardless of how you
feel about our current
president, his election
and subsequent endless
controversies — while
polarizing many Ameri-
cans — have also forced
us to engage with our
government and its pol-
icies more than we have
since the 1960s and 70s.
Whether or not you
believe the president
willingly or unwittingly
colluded or obstructed,
I do want to believe that
the dozen indictments
Mueller has handed
down over the course
of the last two years
will force us to take a
hard look at just how
ineffective and corrupt
our political system has
become — regardless of
which side of the aisle
you’re on.
And while Russia’s
influence campaign
and “individuals” in
elections — spawning
Super PACS (Political
Action Committees) that
routinely raise hundreds
of millions of dollars for
candidates by holding
events hosted by special
interests, lobbyists and
From the Managing Editor’s Desk
Ned Hickson
unquestionably played a
role in the 2016 elections,
it merely recognized a
weakness in our system
we have been unwilling
to admit or change: A de-
pendency on campaign
funding from special
interests, both financially
and fundamentally.
In the 2004 general
election, 95 percent of
House races and 91 per-
cent of Senate races were
won by candidates who
spent the most on their
campaigns.
This has only become
more prevalent since
2010, when the Supreme
Court’s “Citizens United”
decision began allowing
unlimited spending by
corporations, unions
others hoping to benefit
from influencing future
legislation.
Tucked within the
2016 election were
Russian special interests,
beginning with Mueller’s
very first indictment in
April 2018, when Dutch
national Alex van der
Zwaan was indicted
for — and eventually
pleaded guilty to — lying
to federal agents about
his contacts with Trump
campaign deputy chair
Rick Gates in September
2016.
In addition to his con-
tacts with Gates, van der
Zwaan was also connect-
ed to Paul Manafort and
Konstantin Kilimnik, a
Russian business associ-
ate of Manafort’s with ties
to Russian intelligence
officials.
Though accusations of
collusion, manipulation,
money laundering, false
statements and conspira-
cy are still being investi-
gated through individual
branches stemming from
Mueller’s report, they are
merely symptoms of a
political plaque that has
been building in the ar-
teries of our government
for decades — and now
threatens the very heart-
beat of our democracy.
The special counsel’s
report could prove to be
one of the most import-
ant in our nation’s histo-
ry, providing 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 the pocketbooks of
special interests at home
and abroad.
Write to Cottage Grove
Sentinel Managing Editor
Ned Hickson at nhickson@
cgsentinel.com
Send letters to:
nhickson@cgsentinel.com
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS
Oregon state
representatives
Oregon federal
representatives
• Sen. Floyd Prozanski
• Rep. Peter DeFazio
District 4 State Senator
PO Box 11511
Eugene, Ore. 97440
Phone: 541-342-2447
Email : sen.fl oydprozanski@
state.or.us
(House of Representatives)
405 East 8th Ave.
#2030
Eugene, Ore. 97401
Email: defazio.house.gov/
contact/email-peter
Phone: 541-465-6732
• 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
• 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
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