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 Attorney
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The
job of Attorney General is a critically important one.
This person sets the tone for how the justice system will treat
people who are accused of breaking the law. Their attitudes
and beliefs as well as their personal agendas can mean the difference
between fair and thoughtful enforcement of our laws, or out-of-control
crusading for personal gain.
The two top contenders for the Democratic candidacy where Greg
MacPherson and John Kroger.
OFF supporters have know that for as long as he served in the
Oregon legislature, MacPherson was an arrogant, self-important
crusader against gun rights and gun ownership. MacPherson did
all he could to attack the rights of gun owners, but thanks
to the activism of OFF supporters, he failed every time.
MacPherson's bid for AG ended in failure as well, which was
good news for freedom lovers in Oregon, especially since it
also meant he would be leaving the legislature and his position
of Chair of the House Judiciary Committee.
But as bad as MacPherson was, it would be a mistake to assume
that his democratic rival, John Kroger, represented a better
choice.
Kroeger's first job in politics was working for, none other
than America's most hateful gun grabber, Senator Chuck Schumer
of New York. It would be hard to find more serious anti-gun
credentials than that.
Kroger's recently published book "Convictions" might
lead many to wonder whether he would serve our state well in
a job that demands the highest of ethics.
Kroger served as an Assistant US Attorney, a prosecutor for
the feds. The job of prosecutor is not to make as many
arrests and jail as many people as possible. The job is to get
the truth in criminal matters and exonerate the innocent. There
is nothing "ethically complex" about it. But on page
41 of his book, Kroger discusses a quandary he had when interviewing
for his job.
Faced with a question of what to do if he discovered that the
Federal agents who brought charges against someone in a hypothetical
case were lying, Kroger describes his reaction this way;
"If being an AUSA was ethically simply, then why, I should
have wondered, was the major test I had to pass an ethically
complex hypothetical in which federal agents-the good guys right?-
had apparently committed perjury?"
This is indeed troubling, that a person who wants to be the
Attorney General of Oregon , would consider lying federal agents
a "ethically complex hypothetical."
Lying Federal agents should be jailed. There is nothing "
ethically complex" about it.
But even more troubling is Kroger's very next statement.
"And wasn't it a little bit odd that I began my career
as an AUSA by cheating on an interview question? Or that this
cheating was "traditional" Pg 41 "Convictions"
Later on Kroger describes his pursuit of someone he was hoping
to charge with a crime. He wasn't even sure what to charge him
with, so he settled on "currency smuggling." The "crime"
of bringing money into the country. But in further examination
of the law, Kroger was "shocked" to realize that his
"criminal" "might not have committed a
crime at all"
The constant pursuit of people for "something" must
often lead to the disappointing "shock" that they
had done nothing wrong. Kroger then went on to charge
him with something else.
On page 62 of "Convictions" Kroger describes
a method he adopted to pick juries. He sought readers of the
New York Post which he described as a "simplistic conservative
tabloid" and avoided people who read the left leaning New
York Times because those people were likely to be "thoughtful
liberals." In Kroger's world, people with conservative
values are "simplistic" and people who are liberal
are "thoughtful."
Oh his campaign
website, Kroger proudly poses with Janet Reno who was responsible
for the horrific deaths at Waco and discusses his role as a
"Democratic Party Activist." There he brags about
his role developing President Clinton's initiative to "hire
100,00 new police officers." An initiative that never happened.
As you know, there are other candidates in this race. Voters
should use care when deciding who should control Oregon's Justice
Department. Candidates driven by a desire to convict at any
cost are dangerous. Those who think that only liberals are capable
of being "thoughtful" may have agendas well beyond
pursuit of justice.
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© 2000 - 2011, Oregon Firearms Federation. All Rights Reserved.
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