Where are the moderate Democrats?
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| Pham and Dembrow, awful and awfuller. |
I've been looking around on the Oregon secretary of state's website to see who's running for office in the elections that are a couple of months away, and my findings are pretty depressing.
Take as just one example the races for the state Senate here in northeast Portland. Lew Frederick, the Democratic incumbent who voted to keep the awful street drug decriminalization law, Measure 110, is running unopposed for the nomination to keep his seat, and in this district, the Republican has no chance whatsoever. So it's four more years for Lew.
In the next district over, the Dem incumbent, union shill extraordinaire Michael Dembrow, who also voted against getting rid of 110, is retiring. But his seat will be taken over by the even worse Khanh Pham, yet another big fan of legalized street drugs and a key sponsor of the dangerously misguided "right to rest" bill that would have made street squatting as legal as public fentanyl smoking. Pham, currently a shrill voice in the state House, is running completely unopposed for Dembrow's position, as far as I can tell.
Where in God's name are the normal people? So many folks I know would vote for a moderate Democrat over either of these two birds. But we are not given that choice. No wonder we're in the shape we're in.
Now, I can understand a person with a real life not wanting to dirty themselves by becoming a politician. And standing up to the Democratic Party machine that churns out the likes of Frederick and Pham requires thicker skin and a stronger constitution than most people have. But if we're going to save Portland, somebody competent and reasonable is going to have to step up and primary these jokers. Until then, the inmates will be running the asylum.
Then there are the Multnomah County commission races, which are not partisan primaries and could well be decided in May. I'm not clicking my heels at what we're looking at there, either. But that's a lament for another time.
I don't think you can attract normal people to the Legislature job given the salaries and commitment. Even the Governor of Oregon makes under $100k, which is essentially poverty wages in Portland in 2024 for a working class person.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think it’s entirely the about money. Decades ago, the one party Oregon government made the alternative difficult. I’m afraid the alternative is out of reach today.
DeleteYeah, adding on to this, there are open opportunities (like Portland City Council) where we still see few applicants even though the salary is a lot more reasonable. You're right it's deeper than money, but money is a big barrier.
DeleteHave you seen the average Portlander out and about? There is your answer right there. A population that would be totally unprepared for any kind of mass disaster or a major war. The majority are either non-functional, or are head cases looking for their next fix of things to be aggrieved about.
ReplyDeleteSpoken like someone who neither lives, nor spends any time in Portland.
DeleteProbably in a similar place to the moderate Republicans. We have become so polarized, and the loudest, most shrill voices seem to be the only ones heard.
ReplyDeleteEach side is heavily polarized, and proud of it.
ReplyDeleteWell, if normal Democrats both refuse to run for office and refuse to vote for anyone but a Democrat, I predict both Portland and Oregon will get worse.
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly what's happening, with the occasional exception of a Gonzalez or a Meieran.
DeleteDo you remember the mob on the front lawn of Dan Ryan's house or Gonzalez's car getting torched?
DeleteI remember Jack saying he’d never vote for a Republican. What was the definition of insanity again?
DeleteMult County just convicted a bartender for misgendering a dude being rude in the women's can. Good times. No wonder nobody wants to run for office.
ReplyDeleteThe normal folks are out hustling to make a living and being too ethical or too busy to learn to live off the non-profit teat.
ReplyDeleteBecause it's basically the highest degree of difficulty to try it here. Take Gonzales for example. If he ran the positions on this blog's platform, Rubio would kick his teeth in by 20+ pts. This ain't West Linn. There's not enough PBA folks and Jordan Schnitzer friends to make that campaign work. Which is why we have what we have.
ReplyDeleteTo get elected, he (and any other moderate Dem) will have to make more overtures to the progressives than speak "moderate Dem talk", which includes standing next to JVP for some speeches. I'm all for the pretense if there's an endgame where they pull a heel turn after they get in office.
At one time, Lew was well meaning but often misguided. These days he’s totally lost his marbles and is just crazy. His positions on so many things don’t make any sense and hurt the community.
ReplyDeleteHe's my senator. Have I ever been invited to hear his views or interact with him? No.
Deleteif I could have assurances my house, car, and person wouldn't be assaulted by the mob, maybe I'd run for public office or share my views candidly. But the recent history of violence towards any politician slightly right of Karl Marx tells me not to get involved. Instead I just bide my time until I can get out.
ReplyDeleteI was with you until I saw the word cult
ReplyDeleteI am a homegrown Portlander myself and not much younger than you. While Portland had it’s artsier/hippie side back in the day, the politicians were for the most part practical and middle of the road.
ReplyDeleteIf you cannot, or are unwilling to see the drastic changes that have happened to a once quite livable and functional town, then I can’t help you.
I'm not a Republican. But I'm not an idiot, either.
ReplyDeleteI'm in Dembrow's district. I hate him. I attended several of his constituent coffees and when I asked about the bill to fix a problem regarding prosecuting car theft, he said he knew nothing about it. I followed up with an email and asked him to reply. He never did. It has been written up in the WW so I'm pretty sure he did know about it.
ReplyDeleteThe bill was being sponsored by a Republican, so I guess he could ignore it, along with my concern.
All he cares about is the "party line". I'm a Dem and I despise him and his arrogance. He doesn't care about real issues faces by his constituents.
The reason is that the progressive political machine here demonizes everyone with even moderate views. If you don’t just say “give them more resources” to any question about the homeless and drug addicts, you get called a MAGA Republican.
ReplyDelete