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.

The question in this blog crosses my mind as I consider all the candidates who are bidding to serve in Congress in Oregon’s new Sixth Congressional District.

Why?

When one wins all she or he will have to do is:

• Board an airplane incessantly to get from Oregon to D.C. and back.

• On top of a first election win, begin campaigning again because terms in the U.S. House last for only two years.

• Consider the prospect of having to obey marching orders from U.S House Speaker Nancy Pelosi if she wins again on the Democrat side and keeps the Speaker job, or from Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy if he achieves his long-time goal of becoming Speaker.

• Gauge how to act in the face of nearly unsolvable public policy challenges when there is little interest on the part of Ds and Rs in finding middle ground.

On the campaign trail, I hope the media will ask candidates WHY they want to run and WHAT experiences they have in or out of government they think will serve as a credential.  Better questions like this than the normal who’s ahead “horserace” coverage from many reporters and editors.

What follows are excerpts from a story from Oregon Public Broadcasting on the Sixth District race.  It appeared under this headline:

State Representatives Andrea Salinas, D-Lake Oswego, and Ron Noble, R-McMinnville, headline crowded field vying to join the state’s congressional delegation.

Unfortunately, what has not gained much notice lately is that a Salem area friend of mine, Dr. Kathleen Harder, has joined the race despite my friendly advice that she has only a long-shot chance to prevail.

The fact that avoided by advice is running is, in many ways, a testament to her drive as what she calls herself, a moderate Democrat, who wants to change the public debate to something not akin to ravaging the other side.

Salinas is touting her track record as a lawmaker and chair of the state House committee on health care where she led efforts to increase affordability and access for Oregonians.  Most recently, she worked with colleagues in the Legislature to amend the state’s constitution to declare health care as a human right — an action lawmakers have tried to pass for more than a decade.

The resolution will appear on the November 2022 ballot, means all candidates, including Harder, will have to reckon with this huge change to Oregon’s Constitution.

I dealt with the “health care as a right” issues over many years in my role as a state health care lobbyist for Providence Health & Services and others. 

To me, the addition makes sense if only because it would compel legislators to deal with health care issues in much the same way as they with education issues.  Too often, that does not occur.

So, if we put the aside the basic question – why anyone from Oregon wants to serve in Congress – my hope is that the coming campaign will provide solid information on a range of credentials and issues – solid information that signals how best to vote.

And, this personal footnote:  As an unaffiliated voter, I am not able to play in the primary, but if my friend, Dr. Harder, makes it into the general election, I’ll cast my vote for her, if only so she can experience the reality of becoming a Member of Congress.