As seen on the national political level, the lunatic fringes of the Democratic and Republican parties have taken control of the legislative process in Oregon and the ultimate losers will be the voters.

The best case in point is the recent walkout by Republican lawmakers from the Oregon Senate, which has not established a quorum since May 3.

Voters passed a measure last year to truncate such walkouts that stipulated when a lawmaker reached 10 unexcused absences, they were ineligible for election.

That didn’t work.

It probably won’t work in the long run either. That’s because, at some point, Republicans will probably take the issue to court and let a judge decide on its legality, especially the absence of a due process provision.

That’s all smoke, though, obscuring the big-picture fact that we’ve reached a point in our legislative process where the fanatics — on both sides — hold sway.

It didn’t used to be that way. Not all that long ago, Democratic and Republican lawmakers found ways to work together to come up with viable plans for the future. Back then, there was a sense of working for the people as a whole and finding compromise.

That’s what democracy is all about, just in case anyone is wondering. Finding a middle ground. Our great legislative triumphs — both in Oregon and nationwide — came about through compromise and good old-fashioned political horse-trading. Sure, lawmakers didn’t always get what they wanted. Often, they walked away with a partial victory. Yet that is what our system’s designed for: Finding a middle way where everyone doesn’t get all that they want but achieve part of their goal.

That’s not the case now.

The recent Senate walkout has been dubbed with several themes, but the real reason for the GOP lawmakers’ departure is their opposition to bills regarding abortion rights, transgender health care and guns.

Wise lawmakers, individuals who could be considered statesmen, would welcome these challenges and find a method to develop a compromise. Unfortunately, the Oregon Legislature has no one on par to a verified statesman of the same caliber as former Sens. Wayne Morse and Mark Hatfield.

What voters are left with are individuals focused on lunatic-fringe issues who seek victory at all costs. That’s a shame, and, really, Oregon voters deserve far better. That they are not going to get what they deserve is astonishing and terribly sad.