Michael A. Langley

Note: This was originally published in the March Tilixam Wawa and written prior to the COVID-19 closures

I graduated in 1985 from Tillamook High School in Tillamook, Oregon. Tillamook is known as “The Land of Cheese, Trees, and Ocean Breeze”. (We locals always added a fourth line that is more colorful.) The significance of place and time is important to Tribal folks and is also a means of understanding where someone comes from in the distant past as well as the more current past. For me, that’s born and raised as a Native American with family and ties to multiple Northwest tribes in a rural, middle of the road, conservative and yet progressive, Oregon community. My upbringing there was much different then today. Our community managed without a McDonald’s, Burger King, Fred Meyer, or any of the other big corporations outside of Dairy Queen. Buying local was the only choice for most of us. 

My first experience in politics was as a fourth grader at Sacred Heart Academy for a mock election. The year was 1976 and the pick for Oregon was Gerald Ford over the eventual winner Jimmy Carter. The margin in Oregon was only 0.16% and was the closest in the nation. As I recall, Jimmy Carter was our school’s choice. This is not much of a surprise from a Catholic grade school since nationally Catholics went for Jimmy Carter 54% to 44% over Gerald Ford. My vote was for Jimmy Carter and was a vote for change. Plus, he was active in his church and lived his faith and wasn’t merely all talk. That he lived it (and still does) meant a lot to me. 

Fast forward to 1980 and my support, although not an official vote, was for Ronald Reagan as it would be for the next cycle in 1984. 1988 was my first real Presidential election in that I was able to officially vote. As a business student at Portland State University, I appreciated George H.W. Bush’s (H.W.) experience in the military and governmental services. He also played baseball at Harvard which gave him credibility in my family. For me, this support was earned when he exercised constraint in the first Gulf War knowing the raid on the treasury that would result if we started something in the area. His and Colin Powell’s “You break it, you fix it” rationale resonated with me. I was behind him all the way. 

Until I wasn’t. I admired when H.W. debated against Ronald Reagan during the Republican primary which included his arguments for fiscal restraint. He was the one who gave the term “voodoo economics” to the fiscal policies of Ronald Reagan. Reagan’s debt spending was never turned around once Bush was elected and H.W. had his shot of doing so. 

1992 was my first official vote for a Democratic candidate. I felt that Bill Clinton brought a new and fresh approach that reflected my conservative financial nature while paying attention to some of the more progressive social issues. Families were struggling and much like Ronald Reagan had done, Bill Clinton was able to communicate with folks in a way that resonated. The economy took off and the national debt was paid down, including a surplus. Other than marital discretion, what more could a fiscal conservative/social progressive ask for?  

My father, Leonard Langley, will tell you if asked that he only votes in Tribal elections and has no use for the federal or state elections. I suppose that this strategy works for him because it allows him to focus on what matters to him; our Tribal people. He doesn’t see that other governments have ever done anything for him or us, so he chooses not to participate. For him, it isn’t about Republicans or Democrats. Nor is it about the Green Party or the Libertarian Party. It’s only Tribal. 

Perhaps that is why I have a similar approach to national and local politics. I am not as extreme as Dad and I do participate in the voting process so that isn’t the similarity. It’s mostly that I am a true Independent and not beholden to any one party. 

It makes sense to me because I can point to all kinds of political leanings that attract my attention. There are elements of conservatism when it comes to financial discipline. I don’t believe in exploding the national debt unless it is for averting or helping to come out of a depression. This used to be something that I felt the Republican Party followed. Unfortunately, this element of conservatism has been abandoned by the Republican Party, culminating with the largest single annual deficit this last year. In 2018, we paid 7.9% of the budget on interest. We will now be paying 10.1% of the 2020 budget to merely service the interest on the National Debt and it is estimated to rise to 12.9% in 2026. (Source for 2018 – 2026: “Tables S-1, S-4, S-9, FY 2020 Budget,” Office of Management and Budget.) 

It worries me what tools we will have available when the next recession hits. Lowering interest rates to stimulate the economy has been a solid tactic in the past. Interest rates are already low though. We certainly don’t want to go the route of negative interest rates. The rising debt has flooded the market with cash and has led to a heated economy that we all know will have a bill that comes due. 

I also understand that there’s elements of progressives that are very worthy of support. Many of these were hard fought for in the past. Things like work hour regulations, worker’s safety, environmental protections that keep our waters, lands and air clean, the Social Security Safety net (that is further enhanced through Elder’s Pension), and civil rights. There’s many, many more that we have forgotten how hard the work was in getting them and as a result don’t appreciate the change from what it was like before. 

Growing up in a rural Oregon town, being a Native with multiple lineages, and then moving to the city of Portland to attend Portland State University has exposed me to a lot of different people and political persuasions. As I have lived and explored and got to know people, it is fascinating to see such a variety. Since I have met a lot of wonderful people, it is easy to look past any differences and sort through the noise. It shouldn’t be only be about political party. Nor should we act in complete isolation from other tribes. 

This is especially true for tribal interests. We are stronger together. There is much that we agree on. We should be more than willing to vote and give support across party lines and when possible, each other. One of the best luxuries for this politically independent Tribal Council Member is my elected position allows the focus to be on issues and not party. Squarely where I exist naturally.