At 02:35 PM 12/27/98, Senator Tony Corcoran wrote:
Frank,
I have always been available to the motorcycle rights people in Oregon. I'm sorry we
have a fundamental disagreement about waivers involving motorcycle helmets, but I don't
appreciate your anti-Democratic party tirade. Ask my constituents, I run into them
occassionally in the district, they know we disagree on this issue, but they don't attack
me and my party because of this legitimate agreement to disagree on one issue. I will
continue to have my office door wide open to them for reasonable discussions.
When you venture off track into comments about "freedom" and "taxes"
and attacking Democrats, you make me wonder if I'm wasting my time listening to rhetoric
when I could be talking to my own constituent motorcyclists, who appear to be much more
open-minded than nastily partisan.
Sincerely,
Tony Corcoran
Easyrider (tm) responds thusly:
Sir,
Last year, when I asked you about helmet law repeal you accused me of being a "single
issue" Voter. This year, you became enraged because I objected to a wide variety of
Democratic Party ideals... increased taxes, increased regulation, weakening of the 2nd
Amendment and so on. You may be interested to know that it was partly due to your insults
that I was motivated to become active in the Republican Party..... just as it was the 1987
mandatory helmet law that got me involved in ABATE of Oregon in the first place.
If you Politicians had just left us alone, we would be happily riding around blissfully
ignorant of all of the laws you are passing to increase my taxes and to take away my
rights. You have no one to blame but yourselves for our active participation in the
legislative process.
Anyone can spend a few minutes looking at DPO Candidate responses to Project vote smart to
see that a great many of the Democrats in Oregon do not support the concept of freedom in
America. I know that it didn't used to be this way... several years ago it was the GOP who
was running rough shod over liberty in America and it was the Democrats who supported
helmet repeal. Should the tide turn and Democrats again start voting like Patriots instead
of like Socialists, I will probably switch back. I was a registered Democrat for most of
my 35 years as a Voter although, as I said, until the mandatory helmet law came along, I
really didn't know or care what was going on in the Legislature. There is no way that I
could ever go back to the Democratic Party so long as they continue to insist that it is
their place to regulate and micromanage my life.
This position is not "Partisanship" as you have asserted...it is simple
practicality by informed Voters. Why on Earth would I want to support or be part of a
Party that has so little respect for me that they actively force me to wear a piece of
so-called safety equipment that is far more likely to get me killed than to do me any
good?
I think you have an inaccurate view of your Constituents. Perhaps most of your
motorcycling Constituents won't tell you to your face what they think of you and your
voting record, but they sure haven't been very complimentary of you in any meeting I have
ever been to. Next to John Minnis(R), you are the number one guy they like to hate. And
most are not the least bit bashful about expressing their negative feelings about you
either. At least I have given you the courtesy of being open and honest with you and have
given you every opportunity to present your side of things. If you look over my homepage
carefully, you will see that I bend over backwards to be fair to those who oppose us. In
my opinion, your responses have been petty and unprofessional.... is this how you want to
portray yourself on a web site that receives thousands of hits a Month?
I'll ask you the same question I asked Jim Hill (R). How many Constituents asked you to
vote for HB2454 last session? How many asked you to vote against it? In Mr. Hill's case,
hundreds asked for a yes vote and zero asked for a no vote. Zero!!! Aren't you guys
supposed to be representing the People's will down in Salem? If you have a huge majority
of Constituents asking you to vote for something, why would you vote against it? Could it
be because of "politics"? Because Governor Kitzhaber (D) doesn't want to have to
veto the bill so he gets all of his little minions to do his dirty work for him? I'd
really like to know why HB2454 got your no vote when so many people contacted you and
asked you to vote yes.
I'm just a working man who was forced into being a political Activist because I don't like
what I am reading in the newspapers and seeing on the nightly news about what is happening
to our freedoms and rights in the Country. Unlike everyone else in the World, Americans
have no place to go once the USA ceases to be a free Country. Since moving isn't an
option, I feel that I need to change the system from within by either educating those who
hold elected office or in your case, working to remove them if they are beyond listening.
This is my right and my obligation as an American Citizen. I'm sorry that you choose to
see what I am doing as an "attack" and a "tirade". What I am doing,
sir, is exercising my rights as an American Citizen while I still have them.
Like Bob Packwood (R), I think that you "just don't get it". There isn't, or at
least there shouldn't be anything "Partisan" about promoting freedom in America.
I absolutely do not consider myself to be Partisan... if I were, why would I have worked
so hard on Brad Avakian's and Robin Smith's campaigns? Or to a lesser degree on other
Democratic Party Candidate campaigns for office in Oregon? Do you think Jeff Smith, my GOP
Chair was happy about that? I can assure you that he wasn't. But I will always work for
whoever I think is the better Candidate for the job, without regard to the Party label.
Had the Republicans come up with a Candidate who was even marginally more acceptable to us
than your Opponent, I think you would have seen a lot of Motorcyclist money and volunteer
effort being engaged to get you out of office. But... there is always the 2000 election.
We were, as you are probably aware, very successful in getting rid of a few of our enemies
such as Ken Baker (R) and Jeanette Hamby (R).
Obviously, you are pretty much a guaranteed "no" vote for motorcyclists rights
bills, although I always love surprises. The only thing that differentiates you from your
no-voting Peers is that you have not been at all forthcoming as to why you vote the way
that you do. You have already said that a lot of your Constituents wanted you to vote for
helmet law repeal. While most Democrats who are anti-freedom can at least articulate
reasons for their no vote, you have consistently chosen to hide behind a smoke screen of
allegations about "single issue voting", "tirades" and
"Partisanship".
If I am wrong and if the Democrats are really so gung-ho about freedom in America, you can
feel free to prove that any time by using your leadership position in the Party to help
get our helmet law repeal bill passed by an overwhelming majority. Are you up for the
challenge? Or will it be politics as usual down in Salem this session?
Sincerely,
Click HERE to chat with Marc Abrams, Democratic Party of Oregon Chair. Note that I have had several conversations with Mr. Abrams and that he has always said that he supports our right to choose. The problem is *NOT* with Mr. Abrams but with many, such as Senator Corcoran, in his Party.
For more information
about the "effectiveness" of helemt laws, Click HERE
Click your browser 
button to return from whence you came
Click HERE to return to the Easyrider LAN Pro, Legislative Info page
Homepage of Easyrider LAN Pro
Last modified December 27,1998
Copyright © 1994-1999 Easyrider LAN Pro
Copyright © credits