Posted by Merle Campbell on September 07, 1999 at 00:31:31:
I happen to be a registered Republican. I read the Republican platform and was very much impressed
by a document that was so noble, American, apple pie, motherhood and down right rightousness that it
must have been authored and crafted somewhere in the dark dank musty and murky hollows of a very holy
place, maybe even a crypt in Jeruselam.
After years of spouting the party line, trying to keep up with the correct retoric of the company I
then worked for. Listening to my boss drival on about the horror's of unionism and how lazy and
inebt the worthless government workers were, (city, county, state, federal and especially the post
office), and the corupt evils of socialized medicene, and the injured workers in effect getting hurt
on purpose, somthing happened. I worked on some legislation. What an eye opening experiance.
That first exposure taught me a very important lesson. That is THAT ANYTHING THAT COMES OUT OF THE
OREGON LEGISLATURE THAT IS FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE IS ABSOLUTELY SECONDARY TO THE TRUE INTENT OF
THE BILL!
That is true in the great majority of the cases of all bills passed into law by that auspcious body.
(Suspicious would be more accurate). Of course the above statements are in truest sense just my very
humble and not so humble opinion.
During the time I lobbied for the "Oregon Lemon Law" I could not get my own state representative, Glen
Wallon, to return even one telephone call. I called out of my district many times and finnaly reached
then Representative Dick Springer. He was the only one to listen. Big money, GM, Ford, and the
National Automobile Association had the legislatures ears, all of them but one. As you know that is
history and every legislator recalled the "Oregon Lemon Law" after passage and all signed on as
co-sponsors of the law and repassed it. Even Glen Wallon signed on, he never spoke to me not once.
Next election he claimed he strongly sponsored the law in his promotional material. You might note
that he failed to win re-election in the primary of the following year. I had somthing to do with
that.
We now have a need to write and pass legislation that is by far more important that the lemon law.
The workers comp system is more flawed, more wrought with fraud by insurance - business and IME lackies,
more chronicly unjust and unfair, more corrupt and criminal, more damaging to families and children
and finally more profitable to business than the problems with cars ever were.
Additionally the exclusive remedy provision is blatantly against the state and federal consitution!
Insurance and business interest enjoy far greater influence with the Oregon Legislature than you, I
and the people of this state do. By quantum leaps.
If we get corrective legislation curring insurance and business perpertrated fraud in the workers comp
system you will see nearly all legislators coming out as sponsors and claiming to have been a friend
and champion for the worker in this state. It will be OK to puke.
Disgusted,
Merle Campbell