Bonamici on Wu in Congress: Scary

by NW Spotlight

Rob Cornilles and Suzanne Bonamici met with the Portland Tribune Editorial Board this past Thursday, January 12, 2012.

The folks at the Portland Tribune did their best to stop Suzanne Bonamici in the midst of a blunder – but they weren’t quite fast enough.

Suzanne Bonamici: You know the Oregonian said that, sorry to mention your competitor, that a seat in Congress isn’t an entry level position, and, you know, I agree with that. [What] you want is someone who has a record, so that people know: This is how someone is going to act. This is how someone is going to serve constituents. This is someone’s voting record, that people can look at to see where someone’s positions are. So, constituent services – top of my list.

Portland Tribune (male): Suzanne, I think Ron Wyden went to Congress in an entry level position – he’s done OK – or do you disagree? Do you think he floundered?

Suzanne Bonamici: No, I don’t think he floundered.

Portland Tribune (male): So it’s possible for someone to [interrupted]

Suzanne Bonamici: It is possible, but it’s seldom that that happens. In fact, ah, my predecessor, David Wu, went to Congress with no legislative experience, [interrupted] which is scary, and didn’t work out so well.

Portland Tribune (male): [interrupting] I was using a different example so you didn’t have to go there.

[laughter]

Portland Tribune (female): [jumping in] Rob, I’d like to, I’d like to hear from you, what your, what your plan is.

Rob Cornilles: Thank you. I’m not sure why you’d support David Wu for so long if you didn’t think he worked out very well.

NOW Suzanne is throwing David Wu under the bus.

David Wu was elected in Oregon’s first congressional district seven times. Not once did Suzanne Bonamici ever express any doubt about him. In fact, she didn’t even stand up for his 18-year-old sexual assault victim or call for Wu’s resignation after both Oregon U.S. Senators had and her primary opponents had. But now that it works in her favor, now that it’s politically expedient, she throws Wu under the bus and uses him as an example of someone who floundered – someone who shows why sending a person to Congress without legislative experience is “scary”. And yet, she agrees that going to Congress as “an entry level” position worked out OK for Sen. Ron Wyden.