A few bones to pick with Greg Jayne

Call me a skeptic if you like (I'm sure that's just one of many adjectives some people apply to me) but Greg Jayne's approach to his new position, on the surface at least, seems so reasonable.

With the exception of a few mis and under statements, it was not a bad opening gambit.

First, the CRC isn't "gone."  Lefty Lou's already forgotten charge to put it behind us as, well, for example, much of Greg's column talked about it.

No, it's not behind us.  The CRC will be used as a litmus test for years: this newspaper supporting those who want(ed) the CRC over any or all others, and since those who wanted the CRC were, coincidentally, democrat, that's just another reason to avoid endorsing Republicans.

The CRC remains the 8000 pound gorilla in the room, a moronic exercise that wasted 10's of millions of dollars, deeply divided a community and led to, ultimately, wholesale change on the county commission with two Republicans taking over for the first time.... ever?  And the CRC was a major player in resulting in 11 of the 15 legislative seats in Clark County being taken by Republicans.

Second:

• I always will be willing to listen to you. We might not agree on the issue, but I will listen and will give due consideration to your opinion.

If so, that would be a first.

Lefty Lou has never changed a position unless he saw it as going to his advantage.

And he certainly never has listened to me, although he's been a punk about attacking me in print.

Third:

 • I never will be beholden to one particular position. If a debate is worth having, then by definition there are valid points to be made on both sides of the issue.

Again, that would be a first.  The scum-wad you're replacing believed that "debate" meant using his bully pulpit to beat the hell out of, belittle, berate and just generally devalue and dehumanize those of us wise enough to oppose this rip off.  "Cockroach" immediately comes to mind.

And when it comes to being "beholding to a position," once the rag you work for stakes out a position, they do anything and everything to defend it.

Historically, it seems like an utter impossibility for the rag to EVER admit it was wrong.  It's documentable position of doing everything it can to support weakening the GOP majority on the county commission because they finally lost their democrat majority, for example.  It's slavish devotion to the disaster of the CRC Scam, where they NEVER demanded a county-wide vote, an investigation, or any accountability of the CRC Winged Monkeys tends to show that, in fact, being "beholden to a position" is entirely what you people are and do.

An exception to their failure to admit error was their flip on the Ballpark Scam.

Seeing the possibility of bank in advertising revenue, the democratian did a 100% flip on a few month old position where the paper, properly, stated that no taxpayer dollars should be used to build a ballpark, in this case, a facility for the AAA newly-homeless Portland Beavers.

But back to luring the baseball team over to this side of the river. That would require a stadium with at least 8,000 seats, which would cost about $40 million. As we've editorialized before, there appears to be no way any of that money could or even should be provided by taxpayers. That hurdle hasn't discouraged Leavitt, though. Theres still a lot of interest in bringing Beavers baseball or Triple-A baseball to Clark County. Private interests are working on a financing plan, he said. To which we respond: Great! Work away! Which is a nice way of saying don't come begging to cash-strapped city or county governments.

And going back to the CRC Scam; even when Lefty actually ACKNOWLEDGED what a screw up the process had been, he supported it ANYWAY.

There have been so many missteps on this Columbia River Crossing project that if it was entered on "Dancing With The Stars," it would be voted off before Mike Tyson. It's just mess after mess. The tomfoolery is epic. Even its most ardent supporters would agree with this. For me, I hold my nose and close my eyes, and say we should move forward.

So, Greg, while YOU may not be "beholding" to a particular position, the same can't be said for the Clown Posse you work for.  And how long will you be able to hold out against that kind of pressure?

• I will ensure that the Opinion page continues to reflect a wide range of thoughts and a wide range of backgrounds, particularly in our Letters to the Editor and our syndicated columnists.

That would be new as well, given your predecessor's Heywood-like leftist bent.

If the Clark County commissioners are afflicted by cronyism or if a mayoral candidate disingenuously runs on a platform of preventing tolls on a new bridge, we will call them on it.

We know what "calling the commissioners" looks like: trash articles literally by the dozens... in fact, to a laughable level.

See, the hypocrisy of it is that the mayor of Vancouver is a psychopathic liar on policy issues.  He lied to get elected and lied about light rail.

Where's the dozens of articles condemning him about that?  Where's the Madore-like cult of hatred for Leave-it?

No where.

And we all know, for example, that you'll be endorsing Tim "The Liar" Leave-it, the slimiest pol in the local area...; because yeah, he's lying scum, but he lies in the ways your paper likes. Also, for this election, no one who has opposed the CRC has... or will... received your newspaper's endorsement.

And that's the thing: DEEDs, not mere platitudes.  When your rag takes after Leave-it and Stuart the way you've taken after Madore and Mielke, then you'll be able to use that "hold accountable" stuff with a straight face.

But we both know that ain't gonna happen.

And how beholden to a position is that?

So, Greg, you have an opportunity.  You can be responsible for a partial renaissance for your newspaper, which would be completed with the departure of the scum you work for, Lefty Lou Brancaccio. You can swim against the leftist/pro CRC Scam current.  Will you?

Your slavish devotion to the idiocy of the Ballpark Scam cast that likelihood in doubt.  The moment you actually oppose a position of that moron you work for... in print... then we'll know.  Otherwise, you're just carrying his water like Gunga Din, and you're no good to the paper or this community by acting as that idiot's sock puppet.

Just sayin'.