On Monday the Oregon House of Representatives passed HB 2020. It is described as a cap and trade climate bill. Since it has to do with improving the environment by reducing carbon emissions, even if just a little and over an extended period of time, the state's republican legislators opposed the measure with their usual pro corporate, faux patriotic, vitriol.
They had a problem though. Republicans are the minority party in the Oregon legislature and since the Governor, Kate Brown is a democrat the measure was sure to become law. The conservatives were not pleased. In fact it is safe to say the very idea of not being able to jam up the works when it comes to climate change drove the right wing legislators into an apoplectic fit.
Once the bill moved to the Senate arguments raged in the chamber which is comprised of 18 democrats and 12 republicans. The republican opposition was still doomed though until someone came up with a bright idea. Oregon law requires at least two members of the minority to be present in order to hold a vote. In desperation GOP lawmakers, at least 11 of them, threatened to walk out which would effectively delay any further action.
On playgrounds across the nation such behavior is defined by the statement, If I don't get my way I'll take my ball and go home.
Brown responded immediately by telling the republicans if they pulled the bullshit move she'd authorize the state police to drag them back to the capitol building.
Then, when you thought it couldn't get any crazier, it did. GOP senator, Brian Boquist told the governor, "...hell is coming to visit you personally if you go forward with your threat." In addition he told a reporter Brown should, "Send bachelors and come heavily armed. I'm not going to be a political prisoner in the state of Oregon, it's just that simple."
On Thursday the right wing senators walked out. As promised the Governor ordered the state police to go get them, although they really couldn't because most, if not all of the republicans not only didn't show up, but had fled across the Oregon border into Idaho.
Meanwhile, encouraged by Boquist's threats of violence, members of various, self proclaimed, militias promised to protect the fleeing law makers. In other words, they would resist with fire arms if any of the state police obeyed a legal directive from their boss, Governor, Kate Brown.
Today, on the advice of state police, the Oregon Senate cancelled its planned session because, according to Captain Tim Fox, "We have been monitoring information throughout the day that indicates the safety of legislators, staff, and citizen visitors could be compromised if certain threatened behaviors were realized."
The Oregon republican committee stated on Twitter, "The Oregon state democrats cancelled their weekend session citing a fear that republican voters may show up. It added, "More than 1,000 opponents of radical and ineffective climate policy had planned to show up."
The, "republican voters," the tweet referred to was a planned show of armed force by those militias which had previously threatened to shoot state cops.
Last night, democratic state Senator, Sara Gelser tweeted, "(Democrats) were notified we were in physical danger. I'll keep showing up to do what voters sent me to do. Republicans have an obligation to reject violent threats."
I hate to tell you Senator, but that's probably not going to happen since it was a republican who started issuing them in the first place.
Yes, the charge toward a banana republic system of governing continues and as we've just seen the extremist GOP and its leadership is leading the way. In short, Give us what we want fuckers, or our paramilitary will gun you down.
This from what used to be the "law and order," party.
Well, why not? It is, after all, the 21st century and the age of Trump. Laws have become subjective at best and rules are to be ignored when inconvenient at any particular moment. And--most importantly--the opposition must be destroyed by any means available, up to and including the threat and use of violence.
It is, in the end, the new American Way.
6-22-19
Several years ago a Middle Eastern friend told me, the reason the USA is so appealing politically to so many people around the world is, the excesses of those at the top do not affect those at the bottom. I believe that was true then, but today? Undisciplined corporate greed and the inability of our major political parties to agree on anything have changed that dynamic. I wonder, what will our nation be, what will our society be like, in 25 years or so?
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