via Salem Reporter: Oregon waits as game of political poker plays out at the Capitol
Playing "political poker," as the Salem Reporter calls it, is unethical and a breach of each legislator's oath of office. So much is at stake for the future of all Oregonians.
-Deb
By Claire Withycombe, Jake Thomas and Sam Stites - Oregon Capital Bureau
February 25, 2020 at 7:25pmSALEM — The Capitol became a place without Republicans Tuesday, an extraordinary act of defiance of the control by Democrats.
Their absence is grinding to a halt votes in the House and the Senate, plugging the political pipeline meant to cure immediate needs of Oregonians.
House Republicans mimicked their colleagues in the Senate, disappearing as House Speaker Tina Kotek gaveled into session a standard floor session Tuesday morning.
She proceeded with opening rituals – the presentation of the colors by youth from the Civil Air Patrol, the reading of “courtesies” by legislators who welcome constituents to the Capitol, and then a song by a high school student.
But when it was time to go to work, Kotek adjourned the session when all but one of 22 Republican legislators failed to respond to the electronic roll call. Without comment, Kotek gaveled the 16-minute session to a close.
Across the Capitol, in the Senate, Democrats gathered in what was a futile convening in the wood-paneled chamber, where even routine tasks were lost to the absence of all 11 Republican senators.
Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, clutched a religious text. Without enough members, she said, they couldn’t even conduct an opening prayer.
After about 10 minutes, the Senate adjourned, slated to return again on Wednesday.
Across the Capitol, no one was talking about what comes next.
Republican legislators are focused on just one of the hundreds of bills before the 2020 Legislature: A plan to reduce Oregon’s greenhouse emissions in a system they say will wreck Oregon’s economy, particularly in rural areas of the state.
The legislation – Senate Bill 1530 – was headed for the Senate floor Monday when senators in the minority declared they wanted no part of a vote.
The Senate Republicans on Tuesday were mum about their intentions, and Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, offered no public clue how he would bring his chamber back together. Twice before, Democrats have conceded to Republican demands to end previous walkouts.
In the House, the path forward was no clearer. Leaders of both the Democrats and Republicans weren’t saying what their next steps would be.
As the game of political chicken unfolded, Democrats tried to create some image of business as usual.
In both the House and the Senate, committees worked away at the grunt work of the legislature – listening to testimony and advancing bills. But they sent them off to an uncertain fate, since they will sit in the “inbox” of the Senate or House, awaiting floor action.