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 (Les AuCoin), 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.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Government processes move slowly.

It’s the reality, by design, for several reasons:

• A slow, deliberate process allows time for compromise somewhere in the middle – though compromise doesn’t occur enough these days as both sides, or all sides, yell on street corners, figuratively, in an effort to get acclaim and attention.

• A slow, deliberate process provides time for the general public to get involved if it chooses to do so.

• A slow, deliberate pace acknowledges the reality that government, whether at the federal, regional, state or local levels, is large and cumbersome.

Washington Post opinion column Jennifer Rubin wrote about this last weekend:

“President Biden came into office promising to be a decent, competent and normal president.  ‘Normal’ in part entailed no incendiary tweets, no self-dealing for him and his family, and no staffing government with unqualified hacks.  If those are the criteria, then he has succeeded.

“But ‘normal’ also means patient, often tedious and sometimes imperceptible statecraft.  You pass legislation.  The economy takes a couple steps forward, seems to hesitate and then continues on.  The opposition party takes definitive stances on everything in proposed legislation, and then the White House tries to pick off allies.  Major legislation takes months, not days or weeks.”

Further, Rubin that, “in foreign policy, you steel yourself for mind-numbing negotiations and plenty of play-acting.  Especially if you are inclined to use a full array of international tools (e.g., economic, diplomatic) and rely in part on coordination with allies.”

After he reached the 100-day mark in his presidency, Biden has continued to seek major, transformative legislation.  But, to quote Rubin, “he is the proverbial tortoise who steadily moves ahead, pounding away at his message, talking to Congress and reaching out to the country at large.”

Let me turn to reflect on the situation in Oregon for just a moment – the state where I worked in and around government for about 40 years.

Things are designed to move slowly.

For instance, if an individual piece of legislation is introduced, here is what happens to it on its way toward passage:

• First, the legislative concept is put into a draft bill form by members of the Legislative Counsel Office, which functions much like a law firm for the Legislature.
• Second, when the concept is final, it is introduced as a Senate or House bill.
• Third, from there, the bill, if it is heard, goes through at least five steps – and sometimes more – before it is sent on to the governor.  [Of course, not all bills are considered for hearings and, if not, don’t become law.]
• Fourth, in the first chamber – either the Senate or the House – a bill, if it is to move forward, is scheduled for a “public hearing.”  Then, if it still going to move, it is scheduled for a “work session.”
• Fifth, any bill that passes a House or Senate committee goes to the full chamber for a vote.
• Sixth, if the bill passes the first chamber, it is sent to the second chamber where the process starts again.
• Seventh, if the second chamber passes the bill, it heads to the governor who has three options – sign it into law, allow it to become law without his/her signature, or veto it.

So, slow movement.

Back to the Biden pace.

For me, two things are true. 

First, Biden understands a lot about government given his long tenure and he is able to move confidently slowly through the process.

Second, I remain concerned about his tendency to rely too heavily on government solutions to every problem.  For me, that was true with Biden’s Democrat predecessor Barack Obama who, with Biden at his side, also turned too often to government.

Despite this latter point, I am glad Biden is in the White House, given the alternative.  At least, as columnist Rubin writes, we don’t have to deal with “incendiary tweets, self-dealing for Trump and his family, and staffing government with unqualified hacks.” 

We now can have real debates about policy, including about the role of government in those policies – despite the slow pace of the process.