Politicians. Scumbags. But I repeat myself . . .

I note via the ever-worthwhile Lowering the Bar blog that some months ago, the (Democrat) majority in the Oregon Legislature tried to pull a fast one. (Note that I don't specify Democrat politicians in the title to this post, as I'm sure many Republican dittoes would try the same trick if they thought they could get away with it.)

In June [2009], a committee of the Oregon Legislature stuck some language into a bill that would (I think) have briefly redefined "no" as "yes." Allegedly, Democrats were trying to head off an initiative they feared Republicans would later put on the ballot, asking voters to reject a spending measure. The bill provided that a vote to reject the measure would be counted as a vote to adopt it:

A measure referred to the people by referendum petition may not be adopted unless it receives an affirmative majority of the total votes cast on the measure rejecting the measure. For purposes of this subsection, a measure is considered adopted if it is rejected by the people.

The bill was amended again a few days later to remove the controversial language, after it became public.

More details may be found at Oregon Live.

I don't know why I should be surprised at politicians' duplicity . . . they do it all the time. Another example is the Senate's version of Obamacare, which provided (contrary to established legal precedent and the Constitution) that it could not be overturned without a super-majority vote. As I said earlier, Republicans are as eager to try such skullduggery and shenanigans as are Democrats - one party's as bad as another.

As I've said on several previous occasions: next election, my advice is to vote against the incumbent, or (if both candidates have prior political experience) vote for the one with the best (i.e. most honest) track record. The party doesn't matter, really.

Politicians! Grrr . . .

Peter