Yet, though this bill sounds like it's justified, every Republican in the House, save one, voted against it, including Greg Walden. I called Walden's office in Medford and spoke with an aide named Brett who had no idea why Walden voted against the Bill. What benefit, I asked, did Walden's Constituents in the 2nd District derive from his "No" vote? Brett didn't know how to answer that and, in fact, hemmed and hawed so inarticulately that he sounded more like the office's janitor than Walden's aide. He stammered an answer to the effect that Walden would have to make a public statement as to why he voted against the bill and suggested I write a letter to the Congressman to find out why. He used the term "ambiguous" to describe Walden's possible motive. I couldn't figure out what that meant and poor Brett was tripping over his tongue so much that I took pity on him and let him off the hook by hanging up. At least Brett wasn't an obnoxious combative creep like the Walden aide I clashed with three or so years ago over Walden's vote against the S-Chip bill to cover poor children's healthcare that Bush vetoed. That guy sneeringly assured me that the Dems were playing politics and that S-Chip would be passed in due time. "Due time" turned out to be after Obama was sworn in and signed the bill. Walden is a typical Republican dedicated to helping the very richest tax cheats avoid paying their fair share of taxes that working stiffs have deducted from their paychecks. As Warren Buffet noted in a moment of candor, "If there is a class war going, the Rich are certainly winning it."
- R.T.Tihista, Bend