[Vision2020] Former Gov. Kitzhaber

[Saundra Lund]

*Absolutely* words *well* worth thinking about -- thanks for sharing them
with us, Mark!


Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
nothing.
Edmund Burke

***** Original material contained herein is Copyright 2005, Saundra Lund.
Do not copy, forward, excerpt, or reproduce outside the Vision 2020 forum
without the express written permission of the author.*****


-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Mark Solomon
Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2006 7:36 AM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Former Gov. Kitzhaber

This from former Oregon Governor Kitzhaber's speech saying he would not run
for governor, instead to focus on health care issues:


    Š our politics today have become largely transactional - "lower my taxes
and I will vote for you;" "give me prescription drug coverage and I will
vote for you." And it works the other way around as well - "vote for me and
I will cut your taxes;" "vote for me and I will fund schools first." The
problem is that these transactions are all about "me" - and have nothing to
do with "us." They are all about what I can get, not what I can give. They
neither foster a sense of the larger public interest; nor do they do advance
the common good.

    And the fact is that we cannot solve the crisis in our health care
system - or in our school system or in our economy or our environment -
through this kind of transactional politics because they erode any sense of
common purpose and foster the belief that if we can just elect a new
governor; a different legislature or a different congress - all our problems
will be taken care of. And that is simply not true.


Words well worth thinking about.


Mark Solomon