Sometimes, Being Right Is Not All There Is To It

Tue., July 29, 1997

Doug Floyd Interactive Editor

Forget what the cynics say. Nearly 40 years in and around the Legislature are an asset, not a liability - if the person in question is fundamentally intelligent, concerned and ethical.

State Sen. Eugene Prince, a Republican from Thornton, is those things. Colleagues in both parties will vouch for it.

Which is why a comment he made last week in Spokane bears reflection.

“I don’t believe in right and wrong,” Prince told the annual meeting of the Citizens League of Greater Spokane.

Not believe in right and wrong?

Prince said much of what afflicts politics today is that too many people are so certain of the rightness of their position that they won’t respect anyone’s right to differ.

The results? Bitterness, recrimination and a loss of constructive, problem-solving discourse.

Prince’s years, first as a legislative staffer and since 1981 as an elected lawmaker, give him insights that political newcomers would be wise to tap.

Where does the discussion begin? Where might it lead?

Timely resentments summon sentiments of the past

The Seattle Seahawks have begun their exhibition season, but Spokane area attitudes don’t appear to have softened regarding Paul Allen’s bankrolling of an election to secure a new stadium for his team to play in.

Some readers are turning to literary devices to express themselves.

Mikel Stevenson of Spokane, for example, now despises both Allen and the Legislature and stresses the point with a quote from Sir Francis Bacon:

“I never wonder to see men wicked,

“But I often wonder to see them not ashamed.”

And Mary Ann Murphy of Spokane conjured up James Madison and Thomas Jefferson (the latter of whom had suggested that the young republic prohibit the sale of elections to private individuals).

“‘Pass me my wig, powderhead,’ says Madison, ‘and don’t waste your time with that silly provision. Democracy is so precious and the free vote by the electorate is the keystone. No elected officials - guardians of our precious, hard-won heritage - would ever consider selling an election. And if they dared, the citizenry would rise up in outrage.”’

, DataTimes MEMO: “Bagpipes” appears Tuesdays and Thursdays. To respond, call Cityline at 458-8800, category 9881, from a Touch-Tone phone, or send a fax to 459-5098 or e-mail to dougf@spokesman.com. You also can leave Doug Floyd a message at 459-5577, extension 5466.

“Bagpipes” appears Tuesdays and Thursdays. To respond, call Cityline at 458-8800, category 9881, from a Touch-Tone phone, or send a fax to 459-5098 or e-mail to dougf@spokesman.com. You also can leave Doug Floyd a message at 459-5577, extension 5466.

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