Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden exercised what he calls “pure, unfiltered, unvarnished grassroots democracy” in a public town meeting in Eugene that drew about 175 locals with questions about the Iraq war, civil liberties, Judge Samuel Alito’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court and abortion issues.
The first question thrown at Wyden was about his progress on setting a timeline for pulling troops out of Iraq.
“If my vote prevailed in the Senate, we would not be in the circumstances we’re in now,” he said. Wyden was one of 23 senators to vote against the Iraq invasion.
“The question is: What do we do now?” he said.
Following a public meeting just hours earlier where demonstrators protested the senator’s stance on Iraq, Wyden did his best to articulate his views of the war, calling it a “very, very difficult situation.” Wyden said he felt the situation could be made worse if funding is completely cut off.
Some people booed Wyden’s declaration that he will not support cutting off money to the troops.
He cited a Jan. 7 front page article in The New York Times, “Pentagon Study Links Fatalities to Body Armor,” that reported 80 percent of soldiers’ upper body wounds could have been prevented in Iraq if the soldiers had adequate armor.
Wyden said he never believed there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but said it’s too late to drop everything and pull out. Also, the Senate is far from a majority on establishing a pullout timetable, he said.
Amy Gibson, a Eugene resident and member of the Democratic Party of Lane County, said President Bush’s war in Iraq inspired her to get involved in politics.
“The question of whether or not to send money to Iraq is a huge dilemma. I want us out as well, but we made the mess,” Gibson said.
“I’d be devastated if one of my three boys had to go (to Iraq),” she said.
Supporters of Planned Parenthood, a reproductive health resource center, and other residents commented on the future of the judicial branch of government and questioned Wyden’s stance on Alito, whose confirmation hearings are under way.
Wyden, who said Planned Parenthood is one of the best resources for preventing abortions because it helps families plan ahead, said “the federal government ought to leave women alone.”
Alito’s intelligence, integrity and his ability not to pre-judge issues are determining factors for Wyden’s vote, he said.
Wyden said he won’t say yet whether he would support a filibuster on Alito if he is confirmed. Wyden is planning to meet with Alito on Wednesday.
Peace activist and Eugene resident Gordie Albi asked the senator to spend more time concentrating on how to make peace, not war.
“I’ve been appalled at the lack of creativity of you fellas in the House and the Senate; there’s no creativity about how you can wage peace,” Albi said.
Wyden said he would continue to oppose the “skewed” USA Patriot Act.
“I feel very ferociously that it is possible to fight terrorism without throwing our civil liberties in the trash can,” he said.
Wyden said that the view the administration has forwarded – that one either fights terrorism without civil liberties or has no civil liberties and risks threats of terror – doesn’t sit well with him.
“In other words they say, ‘You want your civil liberties? Fine, you’re going to die by tomorrow afternoon. The terrorist are going to mow you down,’” he said.
“I just don’t buy that,” he added.
Eugene’s Campbell Senior Center was Wyden’s 21st stop since Jan. 3. He has promised to host at least one town meeting in each of Oregon’s 36 counties every year he serves as senator.
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