Climate Changed
Oregon's 11 Fugitive Senators Remain at Large, Stalling Key Bill
- Republicans fight measure to cut carbon output by running
- A state that’s a microcosm of a politically polarized country
Photographer: Sarah Zimmerman/AP/Shutterstock
This article is for subscribers only.
Six days after they went AWOL to sabotage a bill to curb carbon emissions in Oregon, 11 lawmakers are still hiding out -- in the latest, and weirdest, flashpoint in the U.S. divide over climate change.
The Republicans fled the capitol in Salem to prevent the senate from reaching a quorum to vote on a cap-and-trade program similar to California’s. Democratic Governor Kate Brown threatened to dispatch state police to round up the missing senators. One, Brian Boquist, responded by saying the authorities should “send bachelors and come heavily armed.”