If only it was that cheap to stay in a luxury hotel in Maui! Apparently Oregon’s House Majority Leader, Wayne Scott (R-Oregon City), seems to think so. According to today’s headliner in the Oregonian, three Oregon legislators [Scott, Rep. Derrick Kitts (R-Hillsboro) and Sen. David Nelson (R-Pendleton)] went on a luxury junket to Maui which was paid for by members of the Oregon Beer and Wine Distributors Association. Oregon law requires legislators to report these junkets if they exceed a certain limit. This one was not reported. In 2004, when the three blind mice legislators went to Maui, the limit was $144. When the O asked Scott why he failed to report this junket this was the nugget of a response he gave:

“If (Romain, the lobbyist) didn’t provide me something saying I exceeded that (amount), I assumed it was under the limit,”…

Now I know we like to make fun of politicians when they don’t know the going price for a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk, but let’s get real here. Everyone knows, even if they’ve had their head stuck in a golf course sand trap for 20 years that golfing, dining and sleeping at a luxury resort in Maui costs more than $144. If it didn’t we’d all be there right now sipping on bright colored neon drinks with little umbrellas in them next to the pool!

What was the purpose of the trip? The book cover purpose was to “educate” the three blind mice about the beer and wine distribution industry in Oregon. Of course that’s impossible to do in legislators’ offices in Salem, because if it’s done there they will fail to understand the industry. It has to be done on a golf course or pool side in Maui in order for them comprehend how it all works. The inside the cover purpose was to persuade the three blind mice to block legislation, which they dutifully did, that would have increased the taxes on beer and wine, currently the lowest in the nation because they haven’t been raised in 30 years.

But let’s look at this whole issue in a different light: Even if they had reported the junket, isn’t it still a black-eye on how our democracy works? I like to call these junkets, even when they are reported, legalized corruption. How many of us regular folks have the means to send our lawmakers, let alone ourselves on luxury trips? We don’t, which begs the question who does the House Majority Leader of our state, and his other junket, travelling companions, really represent?

For more excuses on why everyone failed to report the junket read the whole article.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 27th, 2006 at 10:11 am and is filed under Elections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.