Scott Bruun: There’s No More Political Giants in Oregon

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Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Scott Bruun, GoLocalPDX MINDSETTER™

Giants once roamed the Pacific Northwest. Political giants, that is. Political leaders whose acumen and influence led to unprecedented power and prestige for Oregon and Washington. Giants, true statesmen, who provided transformative leadership in Washington DC and on the world stage; leadership that proved vital to the strength and prosperity of the United States.    

These giants were Warren Magnuson and Henry “Scoop” Jackson of Washington, and Mark Hatfield and Bob Packwood of Oregon. Two Democrats, two Republicans. Combined, arguably the most powerful foursome to ever serve concurrently in the United States senate.

We tend to take good things for granted.  For example my friend Jeff, a die-hard Oregon Duck, wisely points out that from a football-fan perspective, “we are living in the good old days.”  It won’t always be this way.

Same with politics.  It’s easy now, perhaps easier than it was then, to appreciate how lucky we were to have had these four giants. Of course it’s been a while. The first giant, Magnuson, began his senate career in 1944; while the last to leave office, Hatfield, retired in 1997. Concurrently, they served twelve years together, from 1969 to 1983. Twelve years of remarkable political prestige and accomplishment for the Northwest and the nation. Now, ancient history.

It is perhaps unfair to compare our current situation with past glories. But can we help it?  Don’t we all, if we’re old enough, compare every Blazer team to that championship team now thirty-eight years gone?

At least for now, the political glory days of Pacific Northwest are gone. Today we have senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell from Washington, and Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley from Oregon.

Four Democrats, no giants.  

In all fairness, Senator Wyden often “gets it”, even if he doesn’t always get it done.  The same cannot be said for the others, including Jeff Merkley.  And this is what makes the now-realized prospect of another six year term for the senator from Portland so distressing.

During the election, his detractors often got it wrong.  Point of fact, Merkley is smart.  He’s ambitious and works very hard at his job.  Jeff Merkley is also a good person, a person I’ve known and worked with.  And there is every reason to believe that he is an excellent husband and father.

But as I’ve written before in these pages, Merkley is an accidental senator.  That he won his first election in 2008 had little to do with him and much to do with the year.  A year when national fatigue with the Iraq War was palpable, and Oregon’s brand of ideological contempt for President Bush was insurmountable.  Gordon Smith, whose only sin was the “-R” behind his name, had no chance.

That Merkley won this second election has less to do with him, again, and much more to do with a demonstrably weak opponent and a reflexively-Democrat electorate.

Sometimes accidental victors do rise to the prize bestowed upon them.  But not Merkley.  His only real impact has been, through filibuster “reform”, to reduce debating rights for the minority party.  This, plus his reliably-liberal voting record, has made him a hero of sorts with the fringe left.  But it has also hamstrung any chance for Merkley to achieve crossover appeal or influence.  To put it mildly, this is a political handicap.  A handicap that will become even more debilitating once Republicans gain control of the senate in January.   

‘Yes, but that’s just politics’ some would say.  Perhaps.  Yet it wasn’t always this way. We’ve done much better. And while those political giants of the Pacific Northwest are long gone, now distant echoes, it’s still worth remembering what once was.  Once, the Northwest had Packwood, Magnuson, Jackson and Hatfield.  Leaders who, individually, were highly-respected, highly accomplished consensus builders.  Giants who, collectively, were game-changers; regardless of the party in power.   

As we recall what once was, and compare that to what is, it becomes easy to grow cynical or complacent. We should resist this.  We should remember that there are no final victories in politics, and no final defeats.  Six years, a senate term, is a long time.  Then again, it may also be the perfect amount of time. The perfect time to find our next giant.

Scott Bruun is a fifth-generation Oregonian and recovering politician. He lives with his family in the 'burbs, yet dutifully commutes every day to Portland, where he earns his living on the fifth floor of Big Pink. 

Banner Photo Credit: iStock 

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