Republican Bob Horning is running for the Oregon Senate seat now held by Betsy Johnson in District 16.
At first glance one might be prone to say "gutsy move".
Johnson is well entrenched here and has earned the right to be thought of as as a "local" even though she makes her home closer to Portland than to the coast. She has spent an incredible amount of time making herself a part of nearly everything that goes on here. I've never seen anything quite like her commitment to every part of the district she represents. If you were to ask nearly anyone if they could name their state legislator most would be at a total loss but they know Betsy. People may not be familiar with how she votes but they certainly know she comes to the local fundraisers and annual events. She contributes.
For Bob Horning it's going to be Johnson's accessibility and personal involvement that will be hard to beat. Voters are unlikely to accept anything less so this can't be a typical campaign. He will have to be as present as Johnson.
At first glance one might be prone to say "gutsy move".
Johnson is well entrenched here and has earned the right to be thought of as as a "local" even though she makes her home closer to Portland than to the coast. She has spent an incredible amount of time making herself a part of nearly everything that goes on here. I've never seen anything quite like her commitment to every part of the district she represents. If you were to ask nearly anyone if they could name their state legislator most would be at a total loss but they know Betsy. People may not be familiar with how she votes but they certainly know she comes to the local fundraisers and annual events. She contributes.
For Bob Horning it's going to be Johnson's accessibility and personal involvement that will be hard to beat. Voters are unlikely to accept anything less so this can't be a typical campaign. He will have to be as present as Johnson.
On the political philosophy front....
Horning has been working on a website where he lays out his position, his way of thinking about Oregon. He asks "Where is the Oregon I remember?" Here's an excerpt:
"The people of Oregon are the greatest resource we have, yet our leaders:
Have worked to save the farmland but not the farmers;
Have worked to save the forest but not the loggers;
Have worked to save the salmon but not the fishermen;
Work at congregating everyone into large cities and have abandoned our small communities.
Oregon's land-use laws encourage corporate farming and have forced many family farms out of business.
Oregon is 1 of only 11 states that had fewer farms in 2007 than in 2002, despite farm land use laws that are the most restrictive in the United States.
Oregon imports lumber from Canada despite abundant forest resources that can be managed in an environmentally responsible way.
Oregon manages fisheries in a way that does not fully take advantage of our abundant streams, leading to diminishing salmon returns and reduced access to fisheries.
Oregon can not have a healthy economy if our smaller communities are not healthy also. Without strong small communities, large communities have no support, thus Oregon suffers wild swings when it comes to the economy. The smaller communities in our state have suffered at the hands of politicians who do the bidding of Portland and the larger cities.
All of these points and more need to change if we are to have a healthy and vibrant Oregon."
Horning is laying groundwork on his site that should make for an interesting debate with the incumbent Johnson in the next election but the question remains: Is he capable of becoming part of the community he hopes to represent?
I'm a proud independent. I've voted democrat for most of my entire life. And I like Betsy. You're right, she gives and gives of herself to this community. But look at how she votes. She's a tax and spend democrat just like Uncle Ted and all these crazies!
ReplyDeleteWithout thinking, I will vote straight republican in all of the next elections.
Enough is enough is enough. You think spoiled trust fund babies are bad? We just created an entire nation of them with the government take over of health care.
The current plan of all these tax and spend democrats is obvious: If 51% of the people depend on the elected for jobs and handouts, then you'll never leave office!
Vote em all out!!!
Well, Tom I never said Betsy was a saint but, transcending parties?
ReplyDeleteYou're damned right she does and your third caller this morning absolutely reiterated my point to you that the "Us Versus Them" attitude so prevalent today in the two mainstream parties does us much more harm than good and you agreed with this guy?
Contrary as well the point that emotion should not play into our political psyche and decision making over voting straight party line or trying to insert a certain party philosophy into Non-Partisan Local Government.
Bob Horning best bring his prime game plan to beat this woman and the usual party campaign rhetoric will not cut it on this one.
Bob Horning's WebSite
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, the big question for Bob, and he is going to have to confront it sooner or later, is his position on LNG Siting and accompanying pipelines in our District.
Seems his website conveniently skirts the issue of our "Energy Future".
Yes, Tom, Betsy Johnson will indeed be a formidable opponent for a newcomer like Bob Horning, and for the reasons you point out, which is her visibility & accessibility. But the very reason for her strength is, for me, her weakness. She (just like fellow Democrats Wu, Merkeley, and Wyden) is more than happy to be the go-between, the go-to person to call when someone, or some government or some group needs something from Salem, or needs to grease the skids at some government agency.
ReplyDeleteWhat this translates to is essentially a system best described as a political mafia. This is what Oregon and the Federal government have become. The series of bureaucracies and legal hoops Democrats have incrementally and systematically put in place to control, regulate, tax, restrict and dominate individuals and businesses (and, frankly, local governments) is such that it “requires” a mafia agent (our representatives) to guide you through the maize, or to “fight” to protect your interests, or to be a hero by finding some wonderful source of “free” money from a source no one cares to consider.
Well, this system sucks. There is no “source” of money anymore. The federal government is broke. This is no longer just a cliche; it’s a real statement of fact. But the Betsy Johnsons (& company) pretend as if it’s just a political issue to ignore, rather than a reality to face. Oregon government is just as bad as the Federal government with the only exception being that Salem cannot print money. But it can and does borrow, and it can and has created unsustainable liabilities. Yet, what do Betsy and her fellow Democrats spend time in Salem doing? Discussing paper vs. Plastic. Or debating what tax to add to individual and business burdens. They have systematically added to the government payroll, completely ignored the unrelenting payroll and benefit growth of the public sector because the very people they make checks out to are their largest contributors combined with electoral support. It’s no secret that the government unions all support Democrats, period. They do this because Betsy and her fellow Democrats have consistently supported their salary increases, Pers benefit guarantees, unlimited benefits growth, and restricted firing procedures.
So, yes, Betsy is available to explain government complexity, having helped create it. I don’t want to understand government complexity, I want to simplify and shrink it! But she votes for all the tax increases, and most importantly, she votes for a continued Democrat leadership who has produced expensive, bloated and incredibly sick Oregon government. They have created a culture of dependency of individuals, businesses and local governments who are being trained to look for others to help them rather than into the mirror.
Whether she admits it or not (and she of course wouldn’t) she and her fellow Oregon Democrats are controlled by extremists who have foisted 18th century energy regulation onto an Oregon economy that is strangling in bureaucracy and struggling to just survive much less grow. Many individuals and businesses are leaving Oregon for states that actually encourage individual initiative, want businesses to flourish and provide revenue and jobs, and where government is willing to limit itself rather than dominate. Betsy Johnson (and her fellow Democrats) thrive in the Big Government culture that has controlled Oregon for decades. She and all of them have to go. If Betsy Johnson really believed the many critical statements she makes about government, she could have changed parties; that she remained a Democrat, voted for big government, Democrat leadership, and helped Oregon arrive at the poor fiscal condition we find it in, she owns this Big Government culture, and needs to go.
Art Hyland
Astoria
And of course Art clearly reiterates the depth of that chasm of "Us versus Them" that will ultimately be our downfall, both sides of the aisle and the victims?
ReplyDeleteWhy, ourselves of course and then, there's Ole Betsy and the funny thing is, I've never voted for her because she's a Democrat or a Republican or how she has voted in Salem but, moreso what she's done for us around these parts and in the majority, it's been very positive.
Then on the other hand, she has done more to bring LNG Speculators here than many and has been in on the game since day one with Ken Leahy on what was called then "The Bradwood Project"... Trying to find a proper use for his Bradwood Landing Propeerty, now the proposed site for Texas based Northern Star Natural Gas's LNG Receiving Terminal and you're going to tell me she didn't have a clue that was going to happen?
So, go figure, just try to tell me she doesn't transcend parties.
Hell! In truth she's her own party.
Excellent commentary by Art Hyland. The "Behind" the scenes Betsy is just as Bad as the "in your Face" Betsy.
ReplyDeleteUnfotunately, I would rather work to change her instead of training someone else, Betsy needs correction and reminders that she can't play both sides of the street. Her activities with DSL is a great example, while she tells her "problem children" in Claskanie and Astoria that she is helping them with DSL, she is making backroom deals with DSL and Compromises to get her way in other Salem Business. This is the good and evil with Betsy.