A pick-up in Oregon's First Congressional By: jannelsen · Section: Election 2004 - REDSTATE
Three-term Democratic Congressman David Wu made headlines earlier this month in Oregon's First District with an ad showing him bungee jumping into a gorge, illustrating his opponent Goli Ameri’s “risky” plan to allow for limited private Social Security accounts.
Today, on the front page, The Oregonian cut Wu’s cord, and he is now plunging to certain electoral defeat -- over a 28-year-old allegation of sexual misconduct.
Posted On: Oct 12th, 2004: 18:18:40, Not Rated
An allegation of a serious offense, to be sure.
The couple met their freshman year at Stanford University, two bright science majors who shared a new circle of friends. She was a hard-working idealist and active campus volunteer. He was a chatty pre-med student whose interests would later shift to law and politics.
David Wu, future Oregon congressman, and the woman later dated in their junior year. But that spring, in 1976, she broke things off. A few months later, an encounter occurred that neither wants to discuss.
That summer, the 21-year-old Wu was brought to the campus police annex after his ex-girlfriend said he tried to force her to have sex, according to Raoul K. Niemeyer, then a patrol commander who questioned him.
Wu had scratches on his face and neck, and his T-shirt was stretched out of shape, Niemeyer said.
Earlier, someone had interrupted a scuffle in the woman's dorm room. A Stanford professor said the woman told him the next day that Wu had angrily attacked her. An assistant dean who counseled the woman for two months said that the woman called it attempted rape and that Wu used a pillow to muffle her screams.
Wu told police that what happened was consensual. "He said, 'We just, I was with my girlfriend, and we just got a little carried away,' " Niemeyer remembered. After that, he said, Wu "clammed up."
No charges were filed.
Twenty-eight years ago.
But Wu more or less acknowledged some sort of assault today in a statement. I’ll post the statement in its entirety -- forgive me the length -- because the man deserves a response to the charges. (Interestingly enough, The Oregonian’s version of his statement omits the emetic politicking toward the end. Not fair, really.) Here’s the statement from Wu’s website.
Dear Friend,
Today, the Oregonian published an article recounting an incident that occurred between my former girlfriend and me in 1976.
Twenty-eight years ago, I had a 2-year romantic relationship with a fellow college student that ended with inexcusable behavior on my part. As a 21-year-old, I hurt someone I cared very much about.
I take full responsibility for my actions and I am very sorry.
I was disciplined by Stanford University for my behavior and I worked with a counselor.
This single event forever changed my life and the person that I have become.
I was sorry for my actions 28 years ago and I remain sorry to this day.
Out of respect for the privacy for the other person involved I will not discuss the details.
I am disappointed the Oregonian chose to bring up a 28-year-old incident three weeks before an election. I hope that voters will judge me based on my work in Congress and the man I am today.
Today, we find ourselves on the eve of a crucial election that will determine the direction our nation will take in the coming years.
As your Congressman for the past six years, I have fought to improve our public schools, create new jobs, preserve basic worker protections, and protect Social Security. I took a principled stand against President Bush’s rush to war in Iraq. Most of all, I have remained an independent voice for Oregon.
Together, we have much more work to do to secure a brighter and more prosperous future for our children. We must continue to grow our economy and make college more affordable for every Oregon family. We must increase access to health care and reduce the cost of life saving prescription medication. And, we must implement a plan to bring our troops home from Iraq safely and soon.
It is an honor to represent you in Congress. In this crucial election, I again ask you for your support.
With Warm Regards,
David Wu
This statement is odious. Plus, politically, it’s a loser. Look, David, only Bill Clinton could manage Clintonesque. The fake, fawn and feint will not work. Accepting responsibility but then calling for “growing our economy” and increasing “access to health care,” etc., is ....contritionless. Dishonest. Crap.
Still, 28 years ago. Twenty-eight years ago. Is there no redemption possible in the world of politics?
No.
(Friends, do not run for public office beyond Park Board. It’s not worth it.)
The interesting back story, which The Oregonian does not bring up in its oh so serious Editor’s Note today is the paper’s attempt to redeem itself in the world of political/sexual reporting. Management must have vowed never to get scooped again when it came to politicians’ predilections and predations.
Back in 1988, The Oregonian got killed by The Washington Post on the story on Bob Packwood's career of groping, a story that ran after the election in which Packwood defeated Rep. Les AuCoin -- of the First District -- by a narrow margin. If the story had appeared before the election, Senator AuCoin would be entrenched today. (Quick and dirty summary, so to speak, is here.)
And this year, The Oregonian flailed embarrassingly over the story about former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt -- former mayor of Portland, former Secretary of Transportation, last Democrat I voted for (forgive me Norma Paulus) -- schtupping his 14-year-old nanny for a couple years several decades ago. By all accounts, it was statutory rape. Repeated statutory rape. A crime. Period.
The alternative Willamette Week shamed The Oregonian with the scoop in May, a fact I’m sure editors have not forgotten. In their shame.
In the end, I find this all depressing. Wu is a lousy congressman, a non-entity, someone who has accomplished little if anything during his three terms in the House. The Oregonian had already endorsed Ameri before the scandal story broke.
Goli Ameri, a 48-year-old Republican and Iranian American immigrant, seems like that someone. Ameri is new to politics and public service, but she is intelligent, graceful and articulate. Unlike Wu, she seems to have a firm grasp on the trade and economic needs of the high-tech industry and the district. That's a significant matter at a time when arguably the most important duty for members of Congress is to look out for the economic interests of their districts.
[snip]In many ways, Ameri reminds us of the candidate that Wu was six years ago. Both were foreign born, she in Iran, he in Taiwan; both won degrees at Stanford University; both settled in the district with their families and both sought election to Congress with no prior experience in public service.
The difference now is that Wu's had his chance to realize his potential and simply has not done so.
It's time for a change. Voters in the 1st District should send Republican Goli Ameri to Congress.
You know, I agree with this editorial, but it’s fundamentally dishonest. The opinion page editors must have known of the Wu story in the works, but did not divulge their knowledge. By endorsing Ameri before the blockbuster, they copped out.
I’m sorry for Wu’s former girfriend, I’m sorry for Wu -- who doesn’t seem a bad guy, whatever crimes or horrible mistakes he committed -- and I’m sort of sorry for Goli Ameri. Because she could have won in her own right. |
