In Oregon today, our Political Establishment is trapped in an unresolvable dilemma: The status quo which has given them absolute control over Oregon Government can survive only so long as the resentments of those who are the source of that power are inflamed without boiling over.

All persons of good will are appalled by what appears to have been the unlawful use of deadly force against Mr. George Floyd, as well as so many other catastrophic deaths at the hands of our police. I certainly am.

But against whom are our protestors really protesting and our rioters really rioting?

The Oregon Democratic Party has dominated Oregon for decades. In those decades, Oregon Democrats keep promising social justice…yet, according to a November 25, 2019 Oregonian article, a black Oregonian is 830% more likely to be in jail than a white one. Worse than Mississippi. Worse than Alabama. Worse than Louisiana. In fact, worse than anywhere else in America.

No reasonable Oregonian is against peaceful protestors exercising their inalienable right to demand positive change. But centuries of experience have taught us that rage rarely leads there. And, as we see nightly, the rioters are enraged.

The rioters are losers and malcontents, which is why it isn’t easy for me to admit...They’re right.

The rioters grasp a truth that those protesting peacefully shy away from: Those in power -- “Progressive” Democrats who ritually say all of the right things -- never had any intention of delivering on any of their promises.

Ted Wheeler believes in...Ted Wheeler. Those who elevated him are counting on that.

You don’t get the support of the racketeers who wield actual power in Oregon Government by rocking the boat. And, like the Mafia in New York City in the 1980s, our racketeers intend to keep laughing all the way to the bank. Forever.

Oregonians aren’t idiots. We know that the raging torrents threaten to carry us away, but most would rather drown on the floundering horse we’re on than jump -- mid-stream -- onto a piebald nag that’s already drowned.

I hate to burst your bubble, but very few of the people I’ve met in politics on either side are inherently honest or wise. Like children, most politicians need strictly enforced boundaries.

Which brings us to the Oregon Attorney General, the one person who should be keeping the politicians and the rioters honest and on side. (And keeping the police off the peaceful protestors).

Tragically, our incumbent Attorney General wasn’t put into that job by John Kitzhaber because of her willingness to rock the boat. Ellen’s re-election slogan is, “I’ve done nothing, and it’s not working!”

Do I sympathize with the anger and resentment of the scruffy, ill-informed, easily-manipulated adolescents who are undermining our protests?

Sympathize? No. As the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., teaches us, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.” But I do empathize. Because I understand what it feels like to be used by cynical politicians who will promise you anything to preserve their own power.

It hurts.

Dan Crowe is from Mount Angel. He was the 2016 Republican candidate for Attorney General.


--Dan Crowe

Post Date: 2020-08-21 19:30:34

Last Update: 2020-08-17 20:23:39