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As a 23 year, post military service resident of this area, one of the biggest disappointments about this area we live in has been the local daily paper.
And of the many disappointments within that despicable rag, Tom Koenninger has been the worst.
His list of idiocy and efforts to bully those wise enough to disagree with him is both long and distinguished. His many outrages against common sense include an unfathomable fetish for loot rail, one that he will cheerfully charge us billions of dollars to dabble in; a moronic fixation on forcing the people to pay for a downtown Hilton that has cost us millions and has yet to make a profit; a determination to silence the people that would have done Stalin himself credit... and his bizarre view that he is some sort of arbiter as to what is and isn't proper for, or about, the Columbia River Gorge.
Koenninger babbles about the Gorge on a frequent basis. He has, off and on, beat people up wise enough to disagree with his peculiar view that the Constitutional protections afforded to the rest of us are somehow beyond those who live and work within the confines of the Gorge Scenic Area.
The utterly absurd restrictions those thousands of people must live under are just that: utterly absurd. To get some appointed group's permission to change the color of your home, for example, is beyond stupidity. But such a restriction exists within the Scenic Area; one of many that were imposed without regard to the desires of the residents of the Scenic Area.... and one of many that Koenninger, his babble notwithstanding, does not choose to live under.
No, Koenninger views the Gorge as his personal fiefdom, and does everything he can to continue the oppression of the Gorge's residents and economy. He's even gone so far as to use his bully pulpit to attack a young couple trying to build a home, an already permitted home, within the Gorge... because of an inability on his part to determine the difference between the legally required standard of "visually subordinate" and the bizarre, self developed and totally unconstitutional standard not required by the Scenic Act or any other act of "invisibility."
When the issue was settled by a Washington State Supreme Court decision of a 9 - 0 crushing defeat of Koenninger's moronic position on the matter, (Note, the anti-Gorge leftist whackos like Koenninger did not appeal the decision in question) Koenninger failed to do so much as apologize to that couple, the Beas, even though he, personally, had used his platform so irresponsibly as to make their lives a living hell.
So, when legislators in the area made the effort to get the Gorge Commission's attention by cutting their budget, Koenninger got positively spastic over that effort, permanently cementing himself into the "stuck on stupid" mode that led to idiocy like his column today.
Koenninger demanded the resignation of one of those legislators, idiotically pointing out that his constituents would do it for him when he ran for re-election... in the face of the successful, bi-state effort (Oregon joined with Washington in whacking the Commission's budget.) that took place to, well, remind the Commission who they actually work for.
Koenninger was babbling then like he's babbling now; the legislator in question, then State Representative Marc Boldt, won re-election easily four times, and then has twice been elected county commissioner.
As I have frequently stated, self-delusion is the hallmark of the leftist. As a leftist, Koenninger stands as the chief example of the fact.
We have wasted millions on a Commission that has accomplished little to nothing. And we can no longer afford to indulge in Koenninger's fancies because he wants to do so.
SHB 3132 is the right bill for a group that has far outlived it's usefulness. Democrat Rep. Kevin Van De Wege's residence is as irrelevant as Koenninger's. Van De Wege does not live in the Gorge, and neither does Koenninger.
I knew Koenninger would get stupid over this proposal. I'm surprised it took him so long.
Hopefully, Van De Wege will be successful in eliminating this waste of money in the midst of our recession. And Koenninger, who has always felt parochial ownership of the Gorge, can certainly write a check to make up for any budget shortfall, if he REALLY feels the Commission to be all THAT important.
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