The voters' next move? Total recall

Oregonian/OregonLive.com ^ | 03/04/04 | Steve Duin

[B Knotts]

So much for open government.

So much for faith in the people.

On Wednesday morning, Chairwoman Diane Linn and three members of Multnomah County's Board of Commissioners -- Serena Cruz, Lisa Naito and Maria Rojo de Steffey -- finally stepped out from behind closed doors and went public with a shameless crusade designed to make a mockery of open-meetings law and the democratic process.

They were defensive, timid and disengaged, conduct consistent with a stealth campaign to legalize same-sex marriage without even the pretense of a public debate. Linn and her henchwomen granted special access to Basic Rights Oregon and -- despite the "Love Makes a Family" mantra -- mandated a special exclusion to Lonnie Roberts, the one member of the commission family who would have blown their cover.

"This," Roberts said Wednesday morning, "was a clandestine approach to what should be open government. Not only was I left out, but the general public was left out."

The public was left out because these four women have absolute disdain for what the public -- or a comrade with Roberts' objections -- thinks. As such, they have forfeited the right to represent the citizens of Multnomah County.

...

Four women on the Multnomah County board just declared war. Not just on the opponents of gay marriage, but on the undecided, unsolicited, unnerved mass in the middle.

[B Knotts]

For those who don't know, Steve Duin is a very liberal columnist for the Oregonian. When a guy like him says that these four gals "forfeited the right to represent the citizens of Multnomah County," you can rest assured they are toast.

They will be recalled from office.

[B Knotts]

FYI PING

[B Knotts]

I am going to put together a Multnomah County Recall ping list. Anyone interested in being on it, gimme a shout (or a FReepmail).

[rudypoot]

David Fidanque, executive director of the ACLU of Oregon, said Wednesday afternoon, "I think it is critically important that couples got married today. And are getting married, even as we speak. Now it becomes an issue of not granting rights, but taking rights away, if a change is made."

I didn't know mayors could grant rights. So if a mayor in a town in Illinois declares that Conceal/Carry is a right and starts passing out permits, does that mean it becomes an issue of "taking rights away"? And they call conservatives fascist.

[Cicero]

Liberals are so used to pushing the envelope and riding roughshod over people's rights, they seem to have miscalculated on this one.

[Egg]

I didn't know mayors could grant rights.

You assume that there exists a logical structure of law. We now have a Burger King constitution, where everyone can have it their own way. One simply needs to go judge shopping, or get elected to office and twist the law into whatever contorted fashion that fits one's own opinion. Just how long do we think this anarchy can continue before the 'great divide' comes?

[Monti Cello]

You are correct. These people are desperate. They are throwing a lot of money in the pot behind a losing hand, because that's all they've got.

They apparently think this is winning issue for them, and a distraction from the more substantive points Bush has going in his favor.

If Bush and Rove play the cards right, the Dems could get cornered and receive a huge shellacking in November. I think this would dispirit many libs, and send many others over the edge in a process that would effectively end the party.

The key is making them look unreasonable to the middle. And with Kerry on board and the courts monkeywrenching society for sport, I don't see that as a difficult case to make.

[highlander_UW]

This is the language of the Oregon law that is being viewed as a loophole...

Under Oregon law, marriage is a "civil contract entered into in person by males at least 17 years of age and females at least 17 years of age." The law doesn't specify that the union be between a man and a woman.

This is an excerpt from a local newsource in the Pacific Northwest.

[StriperSniper]

Just how long do we think this anarchy can continue before the 'great divide' comes?

I keep hoping for an e-mail from Claire saying, "It's time." ;-)

[JimSEA]

This must be the first time I have agreed with a Steve Duin editorial column. It just goes to show how far Oregon's liberal establishment is willing to go. This action by the county government also shows what liberals think of us, the "unwashed masses".

[rudypoot]

You assume that there exists a logical structure of law.

There is a logical structure of law. I think you are trying to say that the left doesn't abide by this.

[randog]

I didn't know mayors could grant rights. So if a mayor in a town in Illinois declares that Conceal/Carry is a right and starts passing out permits, does that mean it becomes an issue of "taking rights away"? And they call conservatives fascist.

You're absolutely correct. Many pundits, pols, and talking heads are talking about the 'anarchy' that's taking place in various pockets of the country. Dictionary.com defines anarchy as, "Absence of any form of political authority." There is no absence of authority--no politician has abdicated his or her authority. On the contrary, they have ripped authority away from those that possess it (supposedly) -- the people -- and have substituted their own will in its place. Dictionary.com has another definition for this:

totalitarianism: a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)

Let's quit pussy-footing around and call it what it is, but more importantly, let's deal with it in a decisive way. These people don't need to be recalled; they need to be dragged out of office in chains.

[Egg]

There is logical absolute law, but there long ago ceased to be logic in America's laws.

"Our Constitution was written for a religious and moral people and is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." -John Adams

[happygrl]

We now have a Burger King constitution, where everyone can have it their own way.

Sad, but apt description.

[SAMWolf]

For once I wish I lived in Multnomah County so I could vote in the Recall.

[GulliverSwift]

I wish some conservative mayor in a liberal anti-gun state would do just that. Why won't anyone do it?

[SAMWolf]

Kindly put, the interpretation Multnomah County Attorney Agnes Sowle has of Oregon law is disingenuous:

Oregon Revised Statute 106.010 reads: "Marriage as civil contract; age of parties. Marriage is a civil contract entered into in person by males at least 17 years of age and females at least 17 years of age, who are otherwise capable, and solemnized in accordance with ORS 106.150" (my italics).

ORS 106.150 reads: "Form of solemnization; witnesses; solemnization before congregation. (1) In the solemnization of a marriage no particular form is required except that the parties thereto shall assent or declare in the presence of the clergyperson, county clerk or judicial officer solemnizing the marriage and in the presence of at least two witnesses, that they take each other to be husband and wife."

So unless Sowle would like to reinvent the English language to suit her prejudice, there's no ambiguity whatsoever.

Multnomah County is violating the law.

[Gritty]

I wish some conservative mayor in a liberal anti-gun state would do just that. Why won't anyone do it?

Because conservatives are generally law-abiding and do not attack the law through extra-judicial means.

What the Left is doing is a typical radical-Leftist tactic of using in-your-face, illegal confrontation and chaos to push illegal change.

[dixiechick2000]

Well, I'm absolutely gobsmacked! Steve Duin usually irritates the life outta me. I guess he doesn't like anarchy, either.

Please put me on your recall ping list.

[dixiechick2000]

"For once I wish I lived in Multnomah County so I could vote in the Recall."

You and me, both! I would refuse to pay that tax, too!

I've become quite radical since I moved here. ;o)