Oregonians Are Tired of Packwood Debate : Politics: Residents, who see themselves as enlightened, worry that cynicism stemming from Senate inquiry will tarnish their state’s image.

PORTLAND, Ore. —  In Oregon they’ve had it. They say they cannot bear more of the scandalous accusations against Sen. Bob Packwood.

But neither can they tear themselves away from the fascinating, revolting and painfully slow drama now unfolding.

It’s a hopeless feeling to elect an old friend, and then watch him like this. The easy cynicism of the times only deepens and hardens, so much so that Oregonians have started to worry about themselves and their self-image as some of America’s most fortunate and enlightened residents.

Take Julie Williamson, who leveled some of the earliest charges of sexual harassment against the Republican senator. This week she took a break from the swirl of events that have consumed virtually everyone connected with the case and went browsing in an antique store.

She was recognized and greeted warmly by the woman behind the counter, who commenced to deliver one of those hoary tirades about all the loathsome characters who populate American politics.

The woman made Williamson furious.

Having devoted 25 years of her life to politics, Williamson couldn’t be angrier about Packwood or more determined to force him from office. But neither could she be sadder about the thickening cloud of cynicism.

“Except for Sen. Packwood, none of the people I’ve worked for all these years have I known to be corrupt, to be in public service for anything except service. Playing a role in government is hard, and things like this make it only harder,” Williamson said. “That’s why I’m amazed at how this is dragging on.”

Packwood may face more than charges of sexual misconduct. Suspicions recently have been aired that Packwood may have acted improperly in trying to get supporters to provide his wife a job. Despite an overwhelming Senate vote Tuesday seeking access to his personal diaries, which may contain evidence of wrongdoing, Packwood has vowed to fight his colleagues in court.

Much of the reaction here is frustration. Instead of having a senator, Oregon faces the prospect of being represented for the foreseeable future by a potential defendant, a lonely figure captured in news photographs this week walking slump-shouldered all by himself down a cold marble hall of the Capitol.

And the frustration is not just with the five-term Republican senator, but with the process, with politics, with politicians. After all, just a year ago Oregon’s other venerable senator, Mark Hatfield, another moderate Republican, was rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for failing to disclose $42,000 in gifts.

Said Rabbi Emanuel Rose of Portland’s Congregation Beth Israel: “There is a very broad feeling here that Oregonians were denied information before the (1992) election,” in which Packwood won reelection. “A lot of people feel duped. And that in turn creates more cynicism--and that’s the worst thing that can happen.”

In a state of 3 million, there are many divergent points of view. Supporters believe that whatever Packwood may have done, it does not warrant so much fuss. Opponents are livid at attempts to diminish the testimonials of 28 women who say they were pressured, propositioned, assaulted and then slandered by a man using the high station of his office.

But teachers, town hall organizers, clergymen and ordinary citizens say Oregonians are united in this: The events of the last week and months reinforce every rotten stereotype about politics, and threaten to undermine some of the grand old shared glories of Oregon.

“I think people are sick of it,” said Susan Ward, president of the League of Women Voters of Portland. “But everyone’s watching.”

Frank Mungeam is the producer of KATU-TV’s Town Hall program, which went live this week to discuss Packwood. Mungeam said viewers were profoundly split--with a good many men and women believing the senator is the victim of disgruntled Democrats in his own state.

But even as the show was airing, KATU’s switchboard recorded a steady flow of incoming calls. We’ve had enough, viewers said, find something else to talk about.

“People are tired, and that can be out of embarrassment or fatigue, or both,” said Mungeam.

The air is so poisonous in the state that Packwood rarely visits home, and when he does he takes measures to keep his movements to himself and select supporters. He has forbidden his staff to talk to the largest newspaper in the state, the Oregonian.

All of this in a state that once rode high on an image of clean, lively, independent politics, a place of social tolerance and an area fairly blessed with environmental allure and sensitivity.

“Naturally, it was an overblown image. But Oregonians took pride in it, and it was even an economic resource because other people believed it and came here,” said Bill Lunch, political science professor at Oregon State University and an analyst on Oregon Public Broadcasting.

In recent months, besides the Hatfield and Packwood investigations by the Ethics Committee, Oregon has witnessed an exodus of teachers as the result of its tax revolt. It has been put in the spotlight of the timber wars, with the nation exposed to endless scenes of denuded public forests and the bitter epitaphs of timber workers. A fundamentalist uprising in politics forced a statewide vote on an anti-gay and lesbian statute (defeated) and regional votes (passed in five counties and 10 cities).

“The danger,” Lunch said, “is that the nation will rethink its views of Oregon and might find that it’s really the poor sister of its two neighbors. People in America might say to themselves, Gee, that place looks a lot like a backwater.”