PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

Elected Republicans in Salem have walked away – again — from their jobs at the Capitol, but they contend it is the only way to protect their rural Oregon constituents.

What they are doing is legal and Democrats have done it before.

The goal now, Republicans say, is to stop the so-called “cap and trade” climate change bill they believe will wreak havoc in rural Oregon, meaning job losses and higher costs at the gas pump.

So, is there anything more basic behind the current set-to at the Capitol?

Yes. It’s the urban-rural divide.

There really are “two Oregons.”

One:  Urban areas, including Portland, the tri-county area around Portland, Eugene, parts of Medford and, according to new statistics, Bend, which now houses more Democrats than Republicans. And, the Democrats have been elected in nearly all of those areas.

Two:  Rural areas, which is every other part of Oregon, especially Eastern Oregon. There, Republicans have been elected in nearly all of those areas.

Never the twain shall meet.

Here is the way my former colleagues at my lobbying firm, now called CFM Advocates, described the current tension.

“Republican lawmakers say Democrats ‘rigged’ the legislative process to advance Senate Bill 1530 (the cap-and-trade bill) by rejecting every GOP amendment, blocking a move to refer the measure to voters, and failing to provide a comprehensive fiscal and revenue analysis.

“’We will not be party to a legislative process that ignores minority voices, rejects opportunities for consensus and rushes bills through without key information from our nonpartisan policy staff,’ House GOP Leader Christine Drazan wrote in an op-ed published by The Oregonian newspaper.

“’Walking out on the job is a dereliction of duty,’ Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick said. ‘Serving in the legislature is a great honor. Walking out on the job is dishonorable and disrespectful. I am disappointed in the Senate Republicans for taking this irresponsible action.’

“Governor Kate Brown also scolded Republicans, calling the walkout a ‘taxpayer-funded vacation.’”

Further, to illustrate the gravity of the tension, officials in several Eastern Oregon Counties have announced that want to leave Oregon and become part of Idaho. The idea has been christened “Move Oregon’s Border for a Greater Idaho Movement.”

“It’s a movement to try to maintain our rural values,” says spokesman Mike McCarter, a 73-year-old retired nurseryman and firearms instructor from La Pine in Central Oregon.

“We’re afraid of what’s coming down legislatively. It’ll destroy rural Oregon.”

Seceding from one state and joining another is a high bar, one reason says won’t be cleared.  But, still, the fact that the move is being discussed on the record shows the depth of rural angst.]

Here’s what Senate GOP Leader Herman Baertchiger says about the idea. “Oregon is largely controlled by one party that does not represent the entire state effectively, making the urban and rural divide striking. Democrats should be paying attention to how unhappy these Oregonians are with the current regime to seek secession from Oregon.”

No one appears to know what will be necessary to resolve the “two Oregons” issue, which has persisted for years. Perhaps some kind of political statesmanship would be required, but it is in short supply these days in Oregon.

And that failure applies to all sides.