All politics is local

"Never forget whence you came."

- Tip O'Neill, All Politics is Local and Other Rules of the Game.

I have been thinking of Tip O'Neill's book and his famous saying that all politics is local. The point has been driven home by watching the anger and outrage present at U.S. Representative Greg Walden's town hall meetings. He just began his 10th term and I bet he never imagined experiencing meetings such as these. Maybe he has lost his way.

I served three four-year terms as a district attorney, a non-partisan position. My first election was hotly contested by my incumbent opponent and the other two times I ran I was unopposed. I never was sure whether the public thought I was doing a good job or perhaps the other lawyers in the county just considered it a lousy position.

In either event, 12 years was a long time to be in elective office. During that time I knew many elected officials including county commissioners, clerks, sheriffs, state elected officials, etc. I always felt that I was a tenant and I had several thousand landlords who could evict me at any time. But I noticed that the longer an individual stayed in a position he/she developed a sense of entitlement to the job. It became less of a privilege to serve the public after awhile and, as time in the office clicked by, they felt they deserved the job and it was owed to them.

With time, the distance between the elected official and the voters can grow and grow. Of course they play the politics game and get good at convincing voters they like nothing better than to serve them, but all the while the service increasingly becomes self service.

I cannot say Greg Walden is my favorite congressman but I do recognize, while we had different views on many issues, at one time he did attempt to represent his constituents in a way he thought best.

I respected the man especially when he at one time put family over politics.

The voters here have returned him to Congress with substantial majorities - in the 72-point range last time.

That is not at all shabby and is an amazing show of popularity.

I do suspect, though, he has been riding a wave for a time and perhaps the strength of that wave is just now diminishing.

Politics can be fickle, and fortunes can be made and lost quickly.

As a congressman, his primary responsibility is to represent this large and varied district.

Like Icarus (the Greek mythological figure who ignored his father's warning not to fly too close to the sun so his wings of wax and feathers would not melt), Walden has been flying too close to the sun. Bathing in the glow of Trump and Ryan and enjoying being a headliner and sharing the national stage with them, his ego has pushed him to move in a direction inconsistent with the views held by those from "whence he came."

He has forgotten that his poorly crafted healthcare plan would have deprived 64,000 people in his district the benefit of health insurance. The quick fix he and Ryan came up with a few days after the defeat of that proposal was even worse. His current stance on many other issues now mimics the whimsical views of the President.

Walden tries to project an image of an independent Republican, but his current views on immigration, healthcare, the environment are too closely allied to the administration and he does what he is told. He states he is an Oregonian, but he seems to have forgotten how to be one.

Walden needs to remember and reconnect with those he serves. No one is owed that job - it's not his job but the job the public has temporarily let him occupy. He has done some good things for the district, but past events do not deal with current realities. I assume he will get re-elected as people are used to marking off his name and I have not heard of any substantial opposition in either party.

But no election is a certainly. I am not a believer in term limits since each position is already limited by term. I suppose many voters don't want to know what he has done for us but what has he done for us lately. Right now he is disconnected. Whatever you do within the Beltway, just remember we are here, right here, and we are angry. You choose.