Document text
Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 12, 2006 U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden answers questions Wednesday from a crowd of more than 100 people who attended his annual town hall in Medford. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Wyden gets a town-hall earful Oregon senator fields questions on everything from government corruption to media power By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune A town hall crowd of more than 100 people spoke up loudly to Sen. Ron Wyden about bread-and-butter issues — health care, drug benefits, salvage logging — but were even more vocal about the course of democracy, as seen in Congressional and lobbyist corruption, church-state separation, voting fraud and concentration of media power. On his annual meeting with citizens of each county, this one in the Medford library on Wednesday, Democrat Wyden "had his heart in the right place on all the issues," in the words of constituent Dan Davis of the Applegate, but "our Congress is so dominated by the culture of corruption, that there’s no hope for his good ideas." On a question about wiretapping, torture and the concentration of executive power, Wyden, marking his 10th year in the Senate this month, said, "I’ve never seen an executive that stretched its power like this. It’s not my notion of balance of power," adding that it will be a "big, big issue" in Congress this year. Queried about pervasive lobby and corporate influence in Congress and the media, Wyden called for campaign finance reform going well beyond the recent McCain-Feingold Act. When one Ashland woman asked what Wyden was doing to stop the blurring of lines between church and state, he said his proposed tax reform measure, the Fair Flat Tax Bill, would halt the practice of "rewarding religion" with public funds — and that churches, using nonprofit organization laws, already have the tax advantage "if they want to go feed the hungry." Advertisement When Carol Wilder of Ashland expressed concern over electronic voting machines, Wyden said, "I believe there ought to be a paper trail for every ballot," but he cautioned that elections are regulated at the local level. After the meeting, Wilder, a member of the League of Women Voters, said she was disappointed that Wyden didn’t expressly say he supported "pending legislation to ensure verifiable votes on non-hackable voting machines." Wyden took frequent grilling about his upcoming vote on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, especially after he reminded the audience that 96 senators, including many Republicans, voted for Clinton nominee Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Wyden said, "This is my test: I am looking for an intelligent judge, with integrity, who is up to the job and knows the law. My first criteria is that he has not prejudged on issues. I consider it troubling what he wrote in the past on reproductive freedom, but I haven’t made up my mind yet." The crowd applauded loudly when one constituent reminded Wyden how many years in the future Alito would be on the bench, along with recent nominee John Roberts, and "I ask you to consider more than ‘Is he fair.’ " "Fair enough!" replied Wyden. The audience loudly applauded mention of Wyden’s anti-war vote, pro-choice record, opposition to the recent energy bill, criticism of profits in the pharmaceutical industry, his promise to work for protection of the Soda Mountain Wilderness and his stance on the right of illegal immigrants to work for citizenship. Wyden reminded listeners that most Americans "want it both ways," to enjoy the fruit picked, the caf� meals cooked and the motel beds made by illegals, but then say they oppose undocumented workers here. "We’ve got to first deal with the contradiction," Wyden said. Wyden called for national health care, noting the $1.8 trillion spent on medical costs in the U.S. annually is already enough to "send a check for $24,000 to each family of four — who could get with three other families and hire their own full-time doctor." On salvage logging, Wyden said it’s a "big priority" that part be kept for regrowth of healthy forests and part be logged. On the Iraq War, the senator said he supports legislation to set a timetable for withdrawal, linked with a well-trained Iraqi military and security force. Constituents were cordial but firm with Wyden. In post-meeting comments, one Medfordite, David Subia, said, "His proposals were light, couched, not specific. They reflected my views, but were soft, meant not to offend and step on toes, especially on health care and immigration." Davis, who is a member of the Jackson County Democratic executive committee, called Wyden "right on target, but he waffled on Alito, especially on (Alito) not recusing himself on the Vanguard case." (Alito ruled on a Vanguard Mutual Fund case when he owned funds with the company.) On the question of whether federal O&C funds, once a gusher of dependable cash for the county, would be continued past their 2007 extension, Wyden, in an interview, said, "I’m going to be tough on this administration to get that money. We’ve had a lot of unexpected expenses in Washington, but I’ve been very outspoken on this and (if it’s cut off) it would pound the rural West in the most devastating way." John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Distance Education Computer Security Cheap Website Hosting Discount Hotel Reservations dvd-r Online Pharmacy Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews High End Computers Online Casino News Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Advertisement s