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December 11, 2006

The Oregonian Compares Sizemore to O.J.

Now this is funny. The Oregonian is comparing Bill Sizemore to O.J. Simpson.

In 1997 a California jury found O.J. Simpson liable in the stabbing deaths of his ex-wife and a man she was with, but Simpson got out of paying the $33.5 million civil judgment.

If that was a victory for him, it was a perverse one. And that's pretty much how Oregonians ought to look at the courtroom victory claimed by initiative peddler Bill Sizemore last week.

It's nice to see a newspaper just come right out and say clearly what Brad Cain didn't say in his AP report last week, so that it can't be ignored by the right wing fools over at Northwest Republican: "Sizemore's blustery attempts to paint himself as vindicated last week shouldn't fool anybody." And the most important part:

Let the man have his victory lap, but don't forget what he and his sham operation did. … [A] jury found that Sizemore and his crew engaged in a "calculated course of criminal conduct" and "cynical, criminal manipulation of the democratic process." That finding still stands.

I've had several people tell me that I should forgive Sizemore and move on, and believe it or not I would not only love to do that but am also fully capable of doing it. But here's what it would take. You see, even God won't forgive someone unless they ask forgiveness and repent. So I don't think it's too much to wait to forgive Sizemore until he owns up to his role in the OTU scandal, apologizes publicly for it, and then honestly changes his way of doing business. Should that ever happen, I will be the first to reach out a congratulatory hand, if he will take it, and welcome him back into the Oregon family. Until then, like O.J., he should be treated as a pariah and not allowed to get away with his attempts to weasel his way back into an unearned position of credibility and respect in the family.

UPDATE

Some points of clarification regarding whether or not Sizemore is "off the hook." First, defunct or not, the OTU Education Foundation still owes the unions $2.5 million. Sizemore is concerned enough about being forced to pay it that he has filed an appeal with the Oregon Supreme Court. He would not do that if he was home free.

As for any repentance on his part, it is worth noting that despite being under court injunction against violating laws in the process of gathering signatures, he violated Measure 26, by which voters ended payment by signature. Members of Sizemore's insurance initiative signature gathering crew very much appear to have been paid by the signature - so much so that the Bureau of Labor and Industries has already issued fines over the matter. Interestingly, the Secretary of State has not acted in the matter. Surely it is because Democrat Bill Bradbury has a tremendous liberal bias and is out to get Sizemore. Oh, wait. That doesn't make sense at all.

Posted by Becky at December 11, 2006 10:01 AM