Greg Walden could have been great. He chose to be a lobbyist instead.
Go along to get along.
Walden punted on impeachment. “I think the American people would rather have us, sure, get to the facts, but also, basically, leave it in their hands to decide who the president is."
He voted against the procedural vote to move toward impeachment the same week he announced he was not running for re-election. He could have voted the other way, and now be speaking out as a Congressional leader with a country and a branch of government to defend.
He could have chosen greatness, saying that as a matter of simple fact and for avoiding a dangerous precedent, President Trump must not be allowed to ignore Congressional subpoenas nor should any President bully foreign countries to assist his own political campaign.
He could have chosen greatness, saying that as a matter of simple fact and for avoiding a dangerous precedent, President Trump must not be allowed to ignore Congressional subpoenas nor should any President bully foreign countries to assist his own political campaign.
He need not do it in the name of abandoning his GOP nor as a turncoat. Instead, he could insist he was speaking out to save his great Party by demonstrating that it stands for principles and policies, not a person or tribe.
Walden's congressional success came because of service to the Party, including times when it stood for principles very different from the direction Trump has led it. He could speak as an insider and person of consequence.
He would have been heard.
He had paid his dues. He climbed the slippery pole of Congressional leadership and became the Chair of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, the committee that supervised health care, telecommunications, and energy policy, the center of great issues facing the country.
He would have been heard.
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| Click: KATU clip |
It was sweet. Drug companies, health providers, telecommunications companies, and every other special interest with issues before Congress lavished money on him.
It was also bitter. As part of GOP leadership, he had to toe the Party line on issues. He could no longer represent his own conscience, nor could he represent Oregon's 2nd District, with a huge number of people who relied on the Medicaid expansion.
It was also bitter. As part of GOP leadership, he had to toe the Party line on issues. He could no longer represent his own conscience, nor could he represent Oregon's 2nd District, with a huge number of people who relied on the Medicaid expansion.
Then the Democrats won back the Congress and he did what this blog predicted long ago he would do, leave Congress. It had to be miserable for him to address someone else as "Mr. Chairman," I wrote, when that used to be him.
Plus there are greener pastures. Walden is smooth, comfortable with wealthy people in suits, and he understands issues.
No longer in leadership, Walden got his conscience back, if he wants it.
He could speak out against tribalism. Walden would get a tongue lashing and nasty tweets from Trump. He could embrace them. After all, the work he has done for his adult lifetime was in devotion to a better America, as Walden saw it, not devotion to personality cult. Walden could signal he represented the Constitutional conscience of the Republican Party, the Party that will outlast Trump.
It is a good option. Walden has seen how conscience transforms a person's reputation. Chris Wallace of Fox has been repositioned from just another Fox sycophant into something greater, now representing the integrity of journalism.
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| Click: Walden is very, very good at raising money |
Plus there are greener pastures. Walden is smooth, comfortable with wealthy people in suits, and he understands issues.
No longer in leadership, Walden got his conscience back, if he wants it.
He could speak out against tribalism. Walden would get a tongue lashing and nasty tweets from Trump. He could embrace them. After all, the work he has done for his adult lifetime was in devotion to a better America, as Walden saw it, not devotion to personality cult. Walden could signal he represented the Constitutional conscience of the Republican Party, the Party that will outlast Trump.
It is a good option. Walden has seen how conscience transforms a person's reputation. Chris Wallace of Fox has been repositioned from just another Fox sycophant into something greater, now representing the integrity of journalism.
Walden is going the money route instead. Conscience and speaking out for Constitutional order would have cost him contracts and credibility as a lobbyist, someone welcome in the office of any GOP Senator or Member of Congress. A teammate.
It is a disappointment. He could have been better than this.
It is a disappointment. He could have been better than this.
[Tomorrow: Knute Buehler steps up to replace Walden. It is a brand new Buehler.]
4 comments:
I guess we should thank Trump for making these guys so uncomfortable that they are quitting. Unfortunately, it raises the specter of someone worse moving in, unless Democrats can find someone who can actually win. Any ideas?
Basically, Greg Walden never achieved more than being a party "hack". The people of Oregon were ill-served for the past twenty years by placing their faith in a man lacking integrity, vision and empathy for those less fortunate being among us. I for one will not miss the hypocrite.
Bob Warren (Not a fan)
I do not feel charitable towards Walden, regardless of what he does about the impeachment issue. He introduced bill after bill designed to over-log our forests. The famous one he introduced was during the fire in the Columbia gorge, where he wanted to go in and log all of the fire area, even tho it was not designated for timber use, (recreation area), burned in a mosaic pattern, leaving many areas unburned, and was on steep and unstable soils, etc. This bill fortunately did not pass.
Then there was HR 2936,(Walden was a co-sponsor) a devastating bill designed to increase logging and cut back public input and NEPA requirements. There we many of these bills. He also held up designating wilderness and other bills the conservation community proposed.
Nope, not sorry to see him go.
However, the possibly of getting Buehler as a replacement is maybe just as scary.
Knute Buehler is nothing but the latest version of the "rubber stamp" Republican who is out to screw the pubic for the benefit of a few.
He has no credibility or history to warrant his election to any office where the pubic interest may be overrun in favor of the deep pockets that keep giving us candidates like Trump and Buehler, who is nothing more than a pawn to be used for the benefit of the moneyed interests.\
Bob Warren
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