The Oregonian endorses Saxton

I’m baffled by The Oregonian’s endorsement of Ron Saxton for governor. It seems based not on what Saxton has done, but on what he says he will do. Puzzling, indeed, since The Oregonian’s own political writer, Harry Esteve, has pointed out that a great deal of what Saxton says just isn’t true: his implication that the National Report Card for Higher Education (i.e., colleges and universities) was actually an indictment of Oregon’s K-12 educational system; his erroneous claim that hordes of illegal aliens are using state drivers licenses to vote; and his assertion that tax increases by Ted Kulongoski “cost every man, woman, and child in Oregon $1,000,” which, Esteve points out, is only true if every man, woman, and child in Oregon attends college. Considering that The Oregonian itself has covered Saxton’s fast and loose attitude toward the truth, why on Earth would the editorial board assume that his campaign promises are any more honest than his campaign ads?

Tuesday’s letters to The Oregonian, questioning the endorsement of Ron Saxton, were extremely heartening. It’s good to know that I’m not the only person in the state wondering if your editorial board had suffered a bout of temporary insanity.

That said, none of the letter writers addressed the point that disturbed me most: the sweeping generalization that “Oregonians seem unwilling to lift a finger, or spend another dime, to remedy (the state’s) problems.” Who are these uncaring, self-centered folk of whom you speak? Not most of the Oregonians I know, that’s for sure.

I think most Oregonians realize that taxes are the price we pay to live in a civilized society—one which values libraries, parks, schools, firefighters, and law enforcement officers. Just because Ron Saxton believes that government can somehow function without taxes doesn’t mean the rest of us are so disconnected from reality, compassion, and civic responsibility!