You cannot judge a politician by their party, tempting as it might be. Tennessee pastor Greg Locke made national news for pronouncing judgment on “godless Democrats” (nothing new there) and promising to kick anyone out of church who dared to show up wearing a mask. Yeah, because as Jesus said, “You have heard it said, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’ but I say to you, kick anyone out who disagrees with you.” Being vaccinated, I had stopped wearing a mask until the Delta variant has made it necessary again, but by golly, if I lived in Tennessee, I know one place where I most certainly would.
Back to those “godless” Democrats who want to do things like provide universal health care (the horror!), stop climate change (the hoax!) and protect voting rights (the hijack!). If that makes one godless, sign me up. I have been tempted of late to lob similar rhetorical bombs the other direction, particularly given the way so many on the Republican side seem perfectly willing to back insane conspiracy theories about the election and proven lies pedaled by a puerile ex-President.
And then there was this gem over the weekend from one Wendy Rodgers, Republican member of the Arizona Senate, who had enough with the renaming of a certain Cleveland baseball team. Tweeted Sen. Rodgers: “I like Indians and I like Redskins. I like Aunt Jemima and I like Uncle Ben. I like Robert E Lee and I like Stonewall Jackson. I don’t like traitors who hate America. Stand up for our culture!” Good grief. Someone sign that woman up for Critical Race Theory 101! Never mind the fact that Confederate Generals led a war against the United States government. Evidently they have different definitions for “traitor” in Arizona.
But here is the thing that is most disturbing about her tweet. Note that “our culture” means things like using racial tropes as team mascots and to sell products, not to mention honoring the leaders of the Confederacy who fought a war to preserve slavery. Her culture that she defines as American is specifically White culture, meaning a culture that sees “whiteness” as normative. The viewpoint of people of color can be discounted because that mascot or that image is an icon of “our culture” when in reality they are icons of White culture. Worse, anyone who does not agree with her perspective “hates America” and is a traitor. I can hardly think of anything more contrary to the ideals of this country and more dangerous to democracy. No wonder the Republicans of the Arizona Senate are looking under mattresses of voters for some dirty secret they are hiding. They do not believe in democracy and they certainly are not willing to trust the voters, they only believe in their own cause.
And so it is tempting to write off all Republicans as bad for our country. That would be a mistake. For one, I’ve known and worked with too many Republican legislators on a variety of issues over the years to know there are many good and decent leaders in the GOP who share many of my values even as we may disagree on specific policies. One was an elder in the church where I grew up, Sen. Frank Morse, a businessman turned politician after we moved to Eugene and someone I visited every time I was in the Capitol to lobby on some bill for Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. We didn’t gain his vote every time, but he was always honest, kind and compassionate. I was sorry when he decided not to run again. Another was my cousin, Sen. Neil Bryant, who chaired the Judiciary Committee and was most helpful to me when I was working on mental health legislation. Then there are those like Rep. Liz Cheney, willing to sacrifice her leadership role in the party in order to speak the truth about what happened on Jan. 6. Don’t know if I agree with anything else she has done, but for that alone I am deeply grateful. And then there is Rep. Adam Kinzinger, whose emotional statement at the Jan. 6 Commission nearly moved me to tears. (Take time to watch it if you missed it!)
Another was Gary Leif, representing Douglas County in the Oregon House. I first met Rep. Leif when, as a County Commissioner for Douglas County, he came up to tour Emerald Village. He told me that he would love to see a village like ours built in Roseburg. Then he was appointed to a vacant seat in the House and re-elected in 2018. This past spring Rep. Leif called me with an idea for a bill to fund two pilot projects with funding from Oregon Housing and Community Services. The bill proposed $5 million for the projects. For the next several months I worked with Rep. Leif and his legislative aid, Mike Fieldman, on the bill. We testified together before the Housing Committee. We met with and received support from Speaker Tina Kotek. Rep. Leif made clear this was one of his highest priorities. We didn’t discuss national politics so I’ve no clue about his views on the election or events since. Regardless, he was always enjoyable, easy to work with and dedicated to helping low-income residents of his community find more affordable housing. His bill received unanimous support in the Housing Committee but stalled in Ways and Means. Thanks to his efforts though, a line was added to the “Christmas Tree” bill at the close of the Session which awarded $2 million to SquareOne Villages for a pilot project.
I spoke to Rep. Leif afterwards about next steps and some of his ideas for using half of that money in Roseburg. He didn’t look particularly well but he was as jovial as ever and full of ideas and plans. It came as a complete shock therefore, when Mike called me last week to inform me that he had succumbed that morning to prostate cancer. As a survivor of prostate cancer myself, it is always sobering when someone I know is taken by the disease. Unbeknownst to anyone of us, he had been battling the disease for a number of months with the goal just to make it through the Session. Looking back it is humbling to know that this most decent man made this effort to create a village modeled on our work at SquareOne part of his legacy, and that the largest grant we will have received to date was due to his work, one of the last things he did.
I am frequently peeved these days by the party of Rep. Leif, but you know, you cannot judge a person by their party. People like Rep. Leif help me keep an open mind. I am glad to have known him and worked with him. God bless you Gary, and may you Rest In Peace.
Photo from the Jan. 6 Commission hearing. https://www.newsweek.com/jan-6-commission-hearing-live-updates-house-democrats-2-republicans-begin-investigation-riot-1613289
I should add that by biggest political hero before President Obama was Sen. Mark Hatfield, R – Oregon. I followed his career ever since first hearing him speak on my first trip to DC while in high school, read his books, went to hear him speak once in Fresno when we lived there and then was delighted when I got to meet him in his office after he retired from the Senate. A true champion of the common good and democracy.
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