The flip of the House of Representative to the opposition party will hopefully provide a brake on Trump’s most egregious policies. The election signaled voter disapproval of the Republican’s wholesale support for the Trump regime and the party’s know-nothing approach to reality. But the federal political situation is a bigger story than I can visit now. More relevant is the fact that the Democratic Party now has super majorities in the Oregon legislature and Kate Brown is governor.
I have spoken with several key legislators in Salem about Wall Street forest ownership and its tax avoidance. In each instance they whined that their hands were tied and that I should speak with the “reasonable” members of the “other” party. Well, now they have no excuse–they are either going to walk their green talk or not. Currently, the priority in Salem is tax reform and solving the budget crisis. Will our information about corporate forest tax avoidance, if forcefully presented, be accepted in Salem? Will the green legislators acknowledge that the timber industry is the number one greenhouse gas polluter in Oregon?
A network of forest and climate activists are waiting for leadership to engage Salem lawmakers.
The CRA must play a leading role. Yet, I have no illusions. The corruption of the public’s interest by corporate power runs deep in Salem, particularly on forest issues. But we must engage lawmakers once again. 2019 – here we come!