INDEPENDENT2026

The Full Read · Article by Article

Cliff Bentz

Rep · R–OR-2
4/7
📚 Summer School
📚 Summer school. Cliff Bentz holds 4 of seven stars — but fails a critical Article (Open Books & Free & Fair Elections). Assignment: summer school for Civics, watch every Schoolhouse Rock episode five times, and submit a one-page report — due before the end of the year. Report to summer school →

Rhetorical, not literal — an opinion on conduct measured against our civics standard. Ratings terms · Challenge this review

1Open Bookscritical
2%☆ not yet
“…the property of the people.” — Cicero, De Re Publica
55.5% of receipts from PACs — over the 15% cap; fails the money floor. (FEC 2026)
60
2Free & Fair Electionscritical
35%☆ not yet
“The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” — Abraham Lincoln
Voted to overturn the 2020 election (Jan 6, 2021 certification objection). Fails Free & Fair Elections.
60
3The Dignity of the Opponent
70%★ earned
“Treat humanity … always as an end and never as a means only.” — Kant
Measured, lawyerly public demeanor; no documented record of dehumanizing rhetoric toward political opponents.
60
4Fear Is Not Fuel
68%★ earned
“…the better angels of our nature.” — Lincoln, First Inaugural
Policy-focused messaging on water, land, and energy; little reliance on threat or grievance framing.
60
5Truth & a Kept Word
70%★ earned
“…living within the truth.” A representative owes “his judgment.” — Havel · Burke
No notable fact-check findings; substantive committee record with no documented broken-promise controversies.
60
6Against the Spirit of Party
45%☆ not yet
“The baneful effects of the spirit of party.” — Washington, Farewell Address
Generally party-line but occasionally shows an institutionalist, less combative streak; modest documented independence.
60
7Morality
75%★ earned
“The time is always right to do what is right.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
No documented corruption, criminal, or scandal matter on the personal-ethics record; default applied.
60

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Scores are Independent 2026’s own editorial read against the Seven Articles — ≥60% earns the star. The first two Articles are critical: fail Open Books or Free & Fair Elections and there is no seal, whatever else holds. Each Article carries its founding quote as the yardstick. On bias →

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