I figure we're in different social media circles, but where I am, I'm seeing a lot more frustration with Democrats (for not wielding their supermajority effectively) than with Republicans. I get that that's harder when those Democrats are your coworkers and comrades, though.
With just 36 we need *everyone* to be on board, and that’s no small feat. Add to that we have people dealing with critical medical issues— it’s tenuous at best. But I hear that. Having served in both situations, 36 and a super majority is exponentially harder to unite than 35. Strange but true.
I understand - ultimately, the supermajority tax increase thing is to blame. If Congress had that, they would fully collapse. In spite of my disappointment with the party, I know a lot of you are doing good work and dealing with hard situations. There's just so little margin for error as it stands.
I hate it. We shouldn’t be here because we absolutely should have passed HB 2025 in June. I don’t shy around the fact that this stops hemorrhaging, not even bleeding. It’s a tourniquet and we better get ready to perform surgery ASAP or the patient dies. (I should not blue-skeet after midnight lol).
It's 2am here 🫣. But no, you obviously feel the importance of this as much as many Oregonians, and that's really reassuring. My wish would be for the same urgency to come through from more legislators. If you have clones in other house districts or something, lmk
And good luck with the surgery!!
To continue the metaphor… we need to train some doctors. If I had bandwidth I’d be in, but I chair Labor and between that, the pub sub, and emergency management, gen govt and audits….it’s a lot. Now insert my not so silent plea to professionalize the legislature b/c I am a Full time FF as well.
There are not a ton of working folks serving but the legislature is a full time job. Professionalize the positions and I think you’d see far better outcomes from a more diverse range of people.
I fully support a full time, better paid legislature as well. I think about this article sometimes www.opb.org/article/2022...