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The Arrogance of Power Part 2 – The End Justifies the Means

Posted by Scott Rohter on Wednesday, July 3, 2019

 

 Arrogance of Power – Part 2

 The End Justifies the Means

By Scott Michael Rohter –  July 3, 2019

Time was running out on the 2019 session of the Oregon Legislature. The most contentious bills were coming up for a vote as well as all of the important budget bills necessary to run the government. At this critical time all the Republican members of the Senate, all eleven of them walked out of the Capitol and vowed not to return until two bills they don’t like, HB 2020 and HB 2015 were removed from the legislative calendar.  Shortly after leaving,  these missing members of the legislature had to flee the State because Governor Brown ordered the Oregon State Police to round them up and bring them back “in handcuffs if necessary”.. That is how the whole imbroglio got started with very disgruntled and very determined Republican Senators boycotting the legislative proceedings so Democrats couldn’t bring any bills to the floor for a vote, and with the Governor publically announcing that she would not negotiate with the missing Republicans as long as they were out of State… Meanwhile secret negotiations were actually going on behind closed doors at a furious pace…  I saw people going into and out of a private room in the Senate minority leader’s office clutching their laptops in hand while other members of his staff stood guard at the door.

The stalemate which lasted for nine long days drew the attention of the New York media. The impasse came to an end when a political compromise was worked out between opposing Republicans and Democrats.  Eight of the eleven missing Republican Senators agreed to return to the Capitol giving  Democrats the necessary quorum they needed to pass legislation.  Part of this deal was to table House Bill 2020, the so called Climate Change Bill which would have imposed an ambitious program of carbon trading in Oregon known as Cap and Trade to combat what people on the Left believe is human caused global warming. .In exchange for killing this Cap and Trade Bill Democrats received assurances from Senate Republicans that they would not walk out when HB 2015, a Bill that gives drivers licenses to illegal aliens came up for a vote. Then on the very first day they came back without any Republican members of the Oregon Senate actually voting for it HB 2015 passed and was sent to the Governor for her signature… Republicans knew  this would happen if they came back, but they came back anyway.

One of the unfortunate consequences of allowing illegal aliens to obtain an Oregon drivers license is that  they will also automatically be registered to vote, thus guaranteeing the Democrats a super majority in the Oregon Legislature. In fact it turns their super majority into a super duper majority and ensures that only Democrats will sit in the Governor’s office for the foreseeable  future.

Another part of the deal that was worked out behind closed doors between Senate Democrats and Republicans was that any Republican member of the Senate who did not like the deal did not have to return to Salem just as long as there were enough Republicans present to provide the necessary quorum to conduct business. Three Republican Senators did not return for the last two days of the legislature… They are Brian Boquist, Fred Girod, and Dennis Linthicum.

What Republicans who were negotiating in good faith failed to realize is that Democrat leaders had a backup plan which they intended to implement if they were forced to sacrifice the Cap and Trade Bill on the alter of giving drivers licenses to illegal aliens so they could get them registered to vote.. . Plan B was for Governor Brown to declare a statewide emergency and implement Cap and Trade by executive order, circumventing the Legislature altogether.  The Republicans didn’t see this coming, but they should have because the only thing that really matters to a Democrat in office is power and money. The end justifies the means. They have found two new ways to raise money for the state… by taxing the hell out of dope and carbon, and that’s what they intend to do it at the same time they are busy investing in companies that sell them. Whether the Governor is just blowing smoke or not is hard to tell… If she can actually implement a statewide cap and trade program by executive order without the State Legislature remains to be seen.  Some insiders don’t think she has the authority to do it, but she seems to think so for now, or at least that is the impression she wants to leave with the public. 

The law is a funny thing. Since Democrats have appointed all of the judges in Oregon during the last twenty plus years including all of the Supreme Court anything can happen. Someone once remarked that the law is an ass, and an ass is the mascot of the Democrat Party. King Herod once said to Jesus, “What is truth?” So what is the law in Oregon when Democrats exercise absolute power and authority? The Governor could just be trying to convince voters that she is still fighting for cap and trade or Democrats might actually be thinking of creating a way to bypass the State Legislature entirely, and if they can think it maybe they can do it. Frankly I wouldn’t put anything passed them. One thing is for sure though. Cap and Trade is not dead. There is always next year, and the Democrats can resurrect any bill they want in 2020.. They don’t negotiate in good faith.

 As far as Oregon’s Republicans in the State Legislature are concerned they sold us out on HB 2015. They decided that it was more important to stop cap and trade than it was to stop illegal aliens from getting drivers license and thus being automatically registered to vote… On top of this tactical mistake is another more fundamental insult. We the voters already said no to giving drivers licenses to illegal aliens in a statewide referendum back in 2014 by an overwhelming margin. It was 2 to 1 against doing this. The only conclusion we can draw from this is that the Legislature does not respect the will of the voters…  Neither Party does. Think about that for a minute. Such is the arrogance of power on both sides of the political aisle.

On Monday July 8 at 9am there will be a hearing in room B at the State Capitol, Salem Oregon by the Senate ethics committee officially known as the Committee on Conduct. It is chaired by Senator Floyd Prozanski (D.) of Eugene.  On the agenda are the rather irate remarks made by Senator Brian Boquist in response to the Governor’s call to round up all the missing Republican Senators and bring them back to the Capitol “in handcuffs if necessary.”  Mr. Boquist said she had better send bachelors and make sure they are well armed because he was not going to be held a political prisoner in his own country.  If you can attend this hearing to show your support for Senator Boquist at a very important time please do so…

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