A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Walden brings
methodical
purpose to
political work
O
regon may not
know it yet, but in
2021, it is going to
lose a tremendous amount
of influence in Washington,
D.C.
That’s because long-
time federal lawmaker Greg
Walden will step down that
year from his slot in the U.S.
House of Representatives.
Walden, 62, announced ear-
lier this week that he will
not run for reelection in the
huge 2nd Congressional Dis-
trict. That district includes
large chunks of Eastern and
Southern Oregon — includ-
ing Grant County.
First elected in 1998,
Walden’s coveted position
will be up for grabs in the
next election. It also means
that, when Walden departs,
20 years worth of experience
and political know-how will
go with him.
That isn’t a good thing for
Oregon, and it is especially
bad news for the constituents
of his district.
As the only Republican
in Oregon’s congressional
delegation, Walden, for the
most part, delivered a type
of moderate center-right bal-
ance to a field dominated by
Democrats. While Walden
met criticism from the polit-
ical fanatics on both sides
of the political fence, over-
all his track record shows he
looked out for Eastern Ore-
gon on a consistent basis.
Whomever replaces
Walden will face a long
road to achieving the kind
of influence the Hood
River native built over
two decades of work in
Congress.
Walden also strived to
raise the voice of the rural
areas of the state in the fed-
eral arena. His successes
during his tenure are many
and the state — especially
the moderate GOP — is
going to miss his leadership.
Political voices of reason
— the adults in the room, if
you will — are sadly miss-
ing on the American political
stage as of late. The coun-
try is bitterly divided along
political fault lines where
there is a constant grind-
ing of rhetoric and dogma
that ignites sparks that burn
bright.
Politicians who, for the
most part, stick to party
alignment yet seek always
to find compromise to help
the nation and their state
seem like a vanishing spe-
cies. As Walden has pointed
out before, that perception is
quite correct.
Lots of good work is done
in the hallowed halls of Con-
gress by both Democrats
and Republicans on a regu-
lar basis. But it is the smol-
dering fire of fanatical doc-
trine that gets headlines and
seems to snake throughout
the political collective con-
sciousness like a main cir-
cuit cable.
Walden brings a sense of
methodical purpose to his
political work, and he did
a lot for Oregon. Once he
leaves the American politi-
cal stage, he will be sorely
missed.
SHOOTING THE BREEZE
The story of the princess
nce upon a time, there was
a little princess who lived
with her
queen mum, the
court jester and
a couple of sta-
ble boys. The lit-
tle princess loved
all things girl,
from frilly pink
Rod
clothes to Ameri-
Carpenter
can Girl dolls. The
court jester tried many times to
corrupt the poor little princess. He
did manage to get her to go fishing,
and she loved it. They had many
happy fishing trips together. Sadly,
he could never convince her to try
hunting, try as he might.
As the years passed, the jester
began to give up hope. Then the
miracle happened. The queen mum
drew a deer tag, and the prepara-
tions for the hunt began. Trips to
the rifle range, gathering neces-
sary clothes and discussing hunt
strategy. As the princess listened
and watched, she was caught up in
the excitement and declared that
maybe, just maybe, she would like
to try this hunting thing. The pos-
sibility of letting the princess actu-
ally hunt using the mentor program
was briefly discussed and then dis-
carded because she had never fired
a gun. It was decided she would
O
Contributed photo
The queen mum and princess pose for a photo while hunting.
tag along and watch.
The season finally arrived,
and it was agreed that the prin-
cess could miss one day of charm
school to tag along.
After the stable boys were sent
on their way, the jester, queen and
princess were on their way. The
princess was resplendent in her
pink sweatshirt and cowgirl boots.
As they headed to the hunt area,
they jumped some does and a lit-
tle forked horn buck. They had fun
looking the deer over, but the buck
needed a couple of years to grow
up, so they continued on their way.
At the hunting area, they came
up with a game plan and set off
on their hike. The princess was a
trooper and kept up no problem.
She was quiet and attentive. Unfor-
tunately, no more deer were seen
that day. Despite that, the prin-
cess announced that she had a great
time and would like to try hunting
for herself. Music to the ears of the
lowly court jester. Plans are already
in the works to make that happen.
On a day the little princess
couldn’t go along, the queen mum
managed to take the buck of a life-
time, but that is a story for another
day.
Have a great hunting story?
Drop us a line at shootingthebree-
zebme@gmail.com.
Rod Carpenter is a husband,
father and hunting fool.
OTHER VIEWS
Democrats must work
with GOP on climate bill
regon Republicans
most likely under-
stood at the end
of the last session that the
controversial carbon emis-
sion issue wasn’t going to go
away.
Already, one of the archi-
tects of the carbon emis-
sion reduction bill that failed
during the last session is
hard at work crafting a new
proposal.
Readers probably remem-
ber that Senate Republicans
walked out of the 2019 ses-
sion, a decision that destroyed
hopes by Democrats to push
their favored carbon emission
blueprint into law.
The bill was designed to
slash the state’s greenhouse
gas emissions and generate
funds to use on a host of envi-
ronmental programs.
There is also, apparently,
a push by an environmental
group to put a carbon emis-
sion reduction measure before
voters.
Sen. Michael Dembrow,
O
WHERE TO WRITE
GRANT COUNTY
• Grant County Courthouse — 201
S. Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City
97820. Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax:
541-575-2248.
• Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon
City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0509.
Fax: 541-575-0515. Email: tocc1862@
centurylink.net.
• Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville
97825. Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541-
987-2187. Email:dville@ortelco.net
• John Day — 450 E. Main St, John
Day, 97845. Phone: 541-575-0028.
Fax: 541-575-1721. Email: cityjd@
centurytel.net.
• Long Creek — P.O. Box 489, Long
Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601.
Fax: 541-421-3075. Email: info@
cityoflongcreek.com.
• Monument — P.O. Box 426,
Monument 97864. Phone
and fax: 541-934-2025. Email:
cityofmonument@centurytel.net.
• Mt. Vernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt.
Vernon 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688.
Fax: 541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@
ortelco.net.
• Prairie City — P.O. Box 370, Prairie
City 97869. Phone: 541-820-3605. Fax:
820-3566. Email: pchall@ortelco.net.
• Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca
97873. Phone and fax: 541-542-2161.
Email: senecaoregon@gmail.com.
SALEM
• Gov. Kate Brown, D — 254 State
Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378-
3111. Fax: 503-378-6827. Website:
governor.state.or.us/governor.html.
• Oregon Legislature — State
Capitol, Salem, 97310. Phone: (503)
986-1180. Website: leg.state.or.us
(includes Oregon Constitution and
Oregon Revised Statutes).
• Oregon Legislative Information —
(For updates on bills, services, capitol
or messages for legislators) — 800-
332-2313.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
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D-Portland, the lawmaker who
led the effort for the carbon
emission reduction legislation,
is working to simplify a new
bill and that should be good
news for everyone, especially
voters.
That’s because the origi-
nal piece of legislation was a
confusing tome that created a
host of questions from critics.
A more narrowly tailored
piece of legislation is needed
because there isn’t any doubt
— or shouldn’t be — that cli-
mate change is real and we
all need to discover a way to
address it.
But we can’t develop a
solution on the backs of the
rural residents of Oregon.
Nor barge ahead with a solu-
tion that ignores the valid
concerns of those of us who
live and work and play in the
great rural areas of Oregon.
Dembrow and his Dem-
ocratic supporters on a new
carbon emission bill must find
a middle ground with Repub-
licans on this issue, and that is
going to be a pretty tall order.
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The well between the two
parties on this issue has,
indeed, been poisoned. But
that shouldn’t mean lawmak-
ers throw up their hands and
walk away. This is an import-
ant issue, and just because it
was bungled in the last ses-
sion doesn’t mean it should
be discarded. What must
be avoided is another long,
drawn-out political battle
that ends with the minority
party walking away from the
capital.
No one is going to say
finding a solution will be
easy. It won’t be. Democracy
is a messy business some-
times, and the last session’s
battles over the carbon reduc-
tion initiative clearly reinforce
that scenario.
The Democrats staked their
legislation success last session
on a bill that was essentially
a prototype on political over-
reach. They must work with
their political brethren in both
the House and Senate to find a
viable solution.
—East Oregonian
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Blue Mountain Eagle
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