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Hello,
Welcome back to my newsletter, and thank you for reading.
My colleagues and I are willing to return to the Legislature to work on bipartisan bills and the state budget. But the Democrats in control would rather sacrifice bipartisan legislation on wildfire, behavioral health, housing, and education in favor of an agenda that is unlawful, uncompromising, and unconstitutional. HB 2002 is an attack on the innocence of children and Oregon families. They are holding the issues that matter most to hard-working Oregonians hostage.
My quote in a recent New York Times article about the walkout: "'Taking this stand was a moral obligation for me,’ Mr. Bonham said. He said that when he left the Senate chamber, he purposely left a Bible on his desk there, open to a passage in which Jesus says that anyone who causes a child to stumble should perhaps be drowned with a millstone around his or her neck."
The Bible does not mince words in Matthew 18:6, for a reason. Children must be protected. In walking out, I am fighting to protect Oregon children and families, and the rights of parents and guardians
Right now is a good opportunity to point out the cost of partisan gerrymandering. As I mentioned in a prior newsletter, Oregon tends to vote for Democrats on the federal level, but that's not the case with statewide issues and candidates - where we are more balanced.
For example, our current governor won with only 47% of the vote - meaning more people wanted someone else to be governor. This, despite the fact that she spent more than $8 million more than her closest opponent to squeak out the victory last Fall; a sign that we are a more balanced state than some think.
Yet our redistricting process was painful and partisan, as special interests and carve outs were prioritized over Oregonians. We ended up with a map that does not reflect fair representation in Oregon. The maps have Republicans packed into districts and Democrats spread out, disproportionately cementing blue majorities for the next ten years.
This creates conditions where Democrats do not even need to fake "bipartisanship"; they can, and do, scoff at minority party attempts as we advocate for our constituents and hard-working Oregonians.
Look no further than how Senate President Rob Wagner has behaved during the current walkout; by pushing HB 2002, he has prioritized the Democrats' income streams from their special interests over the nuclear family.
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A fair district map would reflect the diverse and competitive makeup of Oregon’s electorate. We need to remove partisanship from the maps as best we can, and an independent redistricting committee will help move us forward.
Democrat leaders' corruption knows no limits. I think it's important to distinguish that I'm speaking of the party's leaders, not its people.
The Attorney General has too-little-too-late recused herself from the investigation pertaining to the corruption and potential Class C Felony by the Democrat Party of Oregon for accepting and falsifying a massive donation from failed cryptocurrency business FTX.
Senate President Rob Wagner literally - I'm not kidding - declared Republican and Independent senators will be fined $325 per day if we are not around to keep their partisan gravy train rolling. Their "Banana Republic" strategy is in full swing.
Remember: Democrats accepted stacks of cash, upwards of $10,000 in campaign donations, from La Mota, a troubled cannabis business. They should have known that taking massive sums of cash from a company that owes taxes to the state was a corrupt, bad idea. |
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These same elected Democrats in Salem want to pass legislation that would give small dollar donations an 8 to 1 match from the state (your tax dollars), it is obvious our state needs meaningful campaign finance reform.
This session alone, the Democrats have violated the Constitution in numerous ways. For example:
Eliminating Public Hearings: Senate President Rob Wagner has allowed an extremely partisan bill, SB 393, to pass out of committee without a public hearing. There is no greater example of driving democracy into a ditch by allowing bills to pass without holding a public hearing.
Silencing Oregonians We Represent: Rob Wagner killed the entire Senate Republican Equitable Oregon agenda. He did this despite Republicans and Independents representing nearly 2 million Oregonians and roughly 90% of Oregon’s natural resource lands. Later, Republicans attempted to bring 75 bills to the floor for consideration and Rob Wagner led his Caucus in voting no on each of these critical discussions. This is not good faith bipartisanship.
Refusing Common Sense Bipartisanship: Rob Wagner refuses Republican and Independent legislators requests to set up a bipartisan, bicameral, even-numbered committee on oversight and accountability (See Exhibit F - Republican joint letter April 18, 2023).
Ending The Current Walkout Should Be Easy:
The conditions for Republicans and Independents to return to the Legislature and allow further legislation to pass are extremely modest. A sliver of bipartisanship is all we've sought, and we can worry about solving corruption on another day. Here are a few examples required for a return:
-Stop HB 2005 and other gun bills like SB 348. Agree no attacks on the 2nd Amendment in Oregon through at least 2027.
-Amend HB 2002 to make more bipartisan, at least keep parents as #1 guardian of children, not State.
-Agree to pass common sense bills like SB 990 (return full $5.5B+ Kicker in form of check this year.)
Click Here to Subscribe to Senator Daniel Bonham's E-Newsletter.
I will be back with more updates soon.
Until then,
Senator Daniel Bonham, District 26
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1726
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-423, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: Sen.DanielBonham@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bonham
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