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August 29, 2006

TABOR Debate Soap Opera

I'm really flabbergasted at the misplaced arrogance of the proponents of Measure 48 today. In response to yesterday's challenge by Gov. Kulongoski of Howard Rich, and Rich's subsequent refusal to debate, Don McIntire is now challenging Tim Nesbitt, who McIntire says is the real governor of Oregon, to debate the measure.

I've seen Tim Nesbitt debate, and the man is good at it. He's smart, he doesn't resort to juvenile tactics, and he knows his facts. And I've seen Don McIntire debate, at a time when I was rooting for him, and he is really out of his depth in that sort of situation. That is not to say he isn't entertaining or that he can't come up with some witty statements – quite the contrary. He does a good job of that. But when it comes to appealing to the intellect, understanding the key points that must be emphasized, and responding to tough questions, he just doesn't cut it. Tim Nesbitt would clean his clock.

If a formal debate is necessary, let me make the outrageous assertion that the proponents of Measure 48 would do much better to put Bill Sizemore at the podium. There's a man who can put forth the bullshit like nobody's business and make you believe it. I've never seen anyone so quick on his feet or so capable of recognizing what is blocking someone from accepting his position and cutting straight to that point.

To see the complete inability of McIntire to understand the issues being brought forward by the measure's opponents, one must only take a cursory read of his letter to Nesbitt:

Thank you for your letter, which offers yet another reason for Oregon voters to support the Rainy Day Amendment. It reveals, after all, the fact that Oregon's Governor has no clue as to what's going on in his own state.

I think the Governor has actually hit the nail square on the head with this one. Whether he continues to do so is something I am anxiously waiting to see.

McIntire continues his letter by offering some "facts" to the Governor. One of these facts is the smoke and mirrors statement that over 300 local donors have given to the campaign, implying that Howard Rich isn't really responsible for the measure. What is interesting is that even though Rich went to great lengths to disguise his involvement, and even though you will not find his name on the contribution list for this measure, now that the cat is out of the bag McIntire says, "We're thankful to Howard Rich for helping us get our campaign off the ground." You know, it was all our idea, just like term limits and eminent domain, and it's purely a coincidence that a dozen other states are running the same batch of ballot measures at the same time and all are funded by Howard Rich.

Another "fact" McIntire points to is that Colorado's TABOR measure "was a smashing success." As I explained in a previous post, the measure had both positive and negative results, but in the end, the negatives outweighed the positives. State government debt per capita rose dramatically, schools were beginning to suffer, and the poor were paying a bitter price. Colorado voters decided to put the measure on hold for awhile to help stop the bleeding.

The next "fact" McIntire cites is this doozy:

The Rainy Day Amendment won't cut a single penny of government spending. It allows spending to grow every year - by at least $2.6 billion in the first two years alone. Look it up, Governor. And, no offense, but if you can't understand simple math, why should the voters trust you with a $45 billion budget?

First, the notion that the state budget is "simple math" is ridiculous. That sort of simplistic thinking is very telling. It's the sort of thinking that leads McIntire to state, "You don't care about the future of Oregon--you care about your own, taxpayer-funded paycheck and your kickbacks."

As to the statement that the measure "won't cut a single penny of government spending," McIntire is playing a game of semantics. An analysis published by the Oregon Center for Public Policy demonstrates very clearly that this is not true. Their figures show that if the measure had passed in 1990, state spending today would be 25% lower. That's a pretty sizeable cut in spending – a cut equal to eliminating all state funding for K-12 education, Oregon Health Plan payments, the Department of Corrections, (including prisons), and services provided by the Department of Agriculture, the State Plice, and DEQ – combined!

I strongly urge you to go read the piece at the OCPP website and to download the full report so you know the real facts about this measure. In the mean time, try to enjoy the ongoing idiocy from the pro-"Rainy Day Amendment" crowd.

Posted by Becky at August 29, 2006 10:20 AM