By Butch Freedman
I was having a conversation with my daughter, Jessie, when, as is unfortunately the norm in all conversations these days, the talk turned toward politics and the crew of spineless politicians supporting our sociopathic president. Jess asked, “Why would anyone want to be a politician? They’re all corrupt and only in it for themselves.”
My first response was, “You better not let your stepmom hear you say that.”
Jessie laughed. She knows Bev was an elected official for many years here in Oregon. And both of them love and respect each other. Jess once even told her younger sister, “We’ve got to always be nice to Bev. She’s our best parent.” Of course, Bev didn’t have to deal with them as teenagers. But that’s a different story. The fact is that my wife, Bev Stein, was a caring and intelligent politician, who never thought about personal gain or power. She even encouraged her staffs to always question her decisions. Can you imagine trump doing that?
I think my daughter’s take on today’s politicos, though, is the same as most people. They’ve given up on their representatives, both democrats and republicans. They’re all frauds and liars, they claim. But therein holds the lie. On the one hand, except for a very few brave souls, the republican party has turned itself into a trump cult. They do his bidding without a blink. The house and senate republicans even voted against their own sworn responsibility in not requiring trump to get congressional approval for his declared one-man disaster war. They are a sickening crew. And will soon be voted out of the majority. Hope stays alive.
On the other hand, the congressional Democrats dig in to fight the good fight, to stand up to this assault on democracy. Think Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, A.O.C. And our own two senators—Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkely—both upstanding, righteous pols. These men and women are in it for the right reasons—to protect the rights of their constituents and (without hyperbole), rescue the country from an out of control autocracy. These democratic politicians suffer the attacks of soulless, hostile supporters of the mad king—the Proud Boy types who send death threats, the pardoned Jan. Sixers now committing new crimes and, weirdly, in two known cases running for office themselves. I won’t even go into the sheer idiocy and incompetence of trump’s cabinet appointments—ass-kissers all.
Even, or especially, on the local level this dichotomy plays out. We have politicians of both stripes—those who will slavishly do the right-wing’s bidding and those who stand up for the true rights of all citizens. Look at our own Oregon Representative Cyrus Javadi, a man brave enough to switch his party affiliation once he fully understood how his own democratic ideals and moral center could no longer square with the republicans’ cruelty and hate. Javadi recently stated that: “Donald Trump can sign whatever executive order he wants, but he does not get to override our laws, our Constitution, or the will of Oregon voters.”
Another stand-up politician here in Tillamook County is Mary Faith Bell, who is currently running for re-election as county commissioner. Although that race is supposed to be non-partisan, her opponent, Jeff Sprink, is running as a maga candidate, declaring himself another mindless trumper. It was Mary Faith who I almost immediately thought of when my daughter asked about why anyone would want to be a politician. Ms. Bell exemplifies all the good reasons why some still do. They work tirelessly to make life better for everybody they represent. They uphold the rights of free-speech and protect those people being unfairly and meanly targeted. They listen, rather than preach. And then follow up with concrete plans for improvement. Look, Jess, and all of us who feel dispirited by today’s batch of anti-democratic and corrupt politicians, have heart. There are still good ones out there. And soon there will be even more. I’m looking at a November landslide of good politicians. We sorely need them.