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I'll
sunburn for that day at the beach
Sunday, October 01, 2006
That's all it is, this brouhaha involving legislators, island vacations
and beer-and-wine lobbyist Paul Romain. A few red faces. A night or
two of discomfort. Some regrettable overexposure.
A little sunburn for that day at the beach. That's all it is or will
be. And that's precisely why you should be so disgusted. With the
legislators and their "working trips" in surf-and-spa heaven.
With a system dominated by perks and special interests. With the eviscerated
joke that is the "ethics" commission, and the cavalier oversight
by Oregon AG Hardy Myers. |
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With
the fact that all too soon this will be a memory, a shrug, a yawn.
For years now, Oregon legislators (and, quite often, their wives)
have been treated to Hawaiian vacations, hosted by Romain and the
beer-and-wine distributors. Romain has either picked up the tab or
told the latest crop of beach bums to pay for the trip with campaign
funds, which the lobby promptly reimbursed with a fat check.
These boondoggles were so blatant, so routine, so part of business
as usual, that House Majority Leader Wayne Scott, R-Canby; Rep. Derrick
Kitts, R-Hillsboro; Sen. Ryan Deckert, D-Beaverton; and a handful
of others never reported, as required by law, that the beer-and-wine
lobby paid for these 2002 and 2004 resort getaways.
Scott is now bellyaching it's all Romain's fault. The chief budget
writer in the House, Scott apparently can't keep a running list of
his own expenses. Not that I'm surprised. This is a goombah who revealed
in an interview with The Oregonian's Betsy Hammond that he doesn't
understand how the kicker works and doesn't know how much money is
in the state's general-purpose rainy-day fund (uh, none).
Scott was also outraged by the suggestion that his vote is for sale.
I stand by him. These luaus are neither enticement nor bribe.
No, they are rewards. Rewards for services rendered. Rewards to the
loyalists for playing along. Rewards for keeping the beer tax at 8
cents a gallon for the past 30 years and the wine tax unchanged for
the past 23.
Rewards for protecting the archaic statutes -- cash on delivery and
exclusive distribution rights -- that have enriched the beer-and-wine
crowd.
Rewards for making sure that for every alcoholic beverage tax dollar
collected by the state of Oregon, 91 cents comes from the folks who
drink liquor and only 9 cents from the cognoscenti of beer and wine.
That's just fine with Scott, by the way. He opposes taxing beer and
wine, he told Hammond. "What's the difference between beer and
soft drinks?" he asked. "Why tax beer and wine and not tax
soda pop or bottled water?"
Gee. I don't know, Wayne. Because there are no treatment programs
for root beer addiction? Because bottled water isn't yet sufficient
grounds for a DUI bust?
Before all this fades from view, remember this: The only reason we
have a revealing group photograph of this biennial day at the beach
is because one person -- The Oregonian's Dave Hogan -- was paying
attention. One guy studied the spot-check documents requested by the
Elections Division and connected the dots between the legislators,
Romain and that stuffed pig on Maui.
Thanks to his diligence, we know that at least eight legislators have
partied with the beer-and-wine lobby in Hawaii since 2002 and all
of 'em neglected to report the industry picked up the check.
If we've had a curious epidemic of false swearing -- a Class A misdemeanor
-- it certainly hasn't inspired Myers to begin a criminal investigation.
The AG's office is monitoring the anorexic ethics commission, much
more comfortable as an adviser than an adversary.
Until that changes, this will remain just another day at the beach.
A little sea. A little surf. A little sunburn to tote home along with
Wayne Scott's $20,000 check.
Steve Duin: 503-221-8597; 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201 steveduin@news.oregonian.com
http://steveduin.blogs.oregonlive.com |
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