landgazing

Mannix appears to be a man of contrasts. If there
ever was a man who had a sail that steered him to
and fro with the political gale, it’d be this guy.
His record appears to toe the party line most of
the time, with key differences on issues such as abortion
or crime. He seems to have at least some sense of
pragmatism and definitely is not wanting in the “art
of the deal,” as the Oregonian mentioned. However,
he is not as definitive on issues such as taxes
and immigration reform that Saxton is a bit more solid on,
although I wish Saxton would talk about rolling back this
state’s insane dependence on other’s dependencies (namely,
on the Oregon Lottery).

And what’s with Loren Parks? Seems like the only reason he’s funding Mannix is that he is convinced he’ll crack down on activist judges he sees as responsible for him losing court cases (not to mention that whole sexual, hypnotist, self-help cult, uh, thing…)

One word Kevin: “DIS-connect!”

You know that new radio station in town? 93.1 FM KTRO? They mention on the air they are part of the Salem Radio Network but fail to mention that they are a proud Christian outfit. They do on their website, sure, but they never mention it on the air. Isn’t that a bit sloppy (or sneaky) that they have Christian-oriented news when otherwise people would think it is unbiased or “unspun?” 

When they advertise their weekly news radio program, they never mention it either.  

Nothing wrong with being a Christian outfit. But when you broadcast something in the guise of news when on your site you pride yourself on it having a ‘Christian format,’ isn’t that disingenuous?  

Both Web sites, BTW, have the same red, white and blue motif. Gotta represent the patriot Christian GOP, right? Let me hear an AMEN! 

From http://www.srnnews.com/  

“SRN News is family-focused and credible — specifically created for Christian-formatted radio stations.”  

Fair and balanced? You be the judge. 

A few days ago I saw a debate at WillametteU featuring all candidates for governor except for Kulongoski. Here was my gut reaction to them:

Hill-out of his element

Sorenson-leftie activist

Atkinson-smug

Saxton-hey, not bad…

Mannix-creepy

Westlund-well-meaning boob

But of course, those feelings are no reliable indicator
of fitness for the office. However, we all know
those impressions affect our decision to some degree.

I read the article today about Ben Westlund in the WW. They already
seem to be under his indie-spell, although his reputation as an
effective closed-door negotiator is compelling. Although, as
the article points out, does he just shift with the political
winds? Possibly, but his reputation as a dealmaker may be of interest come election time. Then again, being independent is one thing-bridging a gap (or yawning chasm as the case would be in Salem) is another.

He has experience and contacts in government,
although I doubt his friends in the bull semen
business could be of great utility. There is more
to him than meets the eye, however, so I’ll be
keeping my eye on him…

Ted Kulongoski. I applaud him for playing hard-ball with his
original supporters (the unions). I also applaud him for
his work in wooing businesses to relocate to Oregon. But what
happened to that big Willamette River cleanup initiative?
And does he not know the meaning of “PR?” His new 2007 agenda
is what we all would have wanted when he was elected the FIRST
time. And if he did do any of it, he didn’t have the common sense
to make his efforts known publicly. It’s crunch time, now, and time for some new blood.

I’ll be writing more soon about other candidates and some other
issues as well, that is if anyone is reading

Cool! Some sweet lady named Carla (who has a blog here) replied to a post of mine! Yay, my first one. Thanks! I was having meta tag issues with my service so I thought I’d never get on OrBlogs.

Ok, next batter.

So, today in the O, Jason Atkinson. All I really knew about the guy was that Lars endorsed him. Uh oh…raging rightie? Maybe not, because Atkinson is for the current guest worker program. The conservative line to secure borders FIRST, was always a bit anal to me. It has to be done, yes, and Congress’ priorities may be out of whack, but I’m not about to make every illegal a FELON.

About that law that Atkinson sponsored that would give a client of his some financial relief, I wonder why Adair isn’t answering the phone…

From all of Mannix’s endorsements, Atkinson just may turn out to be the little conservative engine that couldn’t I like his experience and credentials, although I’d like to know his thoughts about PERS and rural Oregon communities whose federal monies are slowly slipping away, endangering services such as education and law enforcement.

He should be careful who he hangs around, though. Check this out. Lie down with dogs, you’ll get fleas, Jason.

Thoughts on the governor’s race so far:

I didn’t watch the last televised debate and didn’t read about
it afterwards, which I am kicking myself for. But-

—-I read about Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson today in the O. The guy has less than $7,000 of campaign cash on hand. Talk about cash flow problems.

He calls himself a populist and progressive, one who sticks up for
the little guy and “working families.”

Uh oh. Besides being trite, It sounds like he’s the kind of person who often believes government (and their underlying bueaucratic inefficiencies) is the answer. But hey, when you don’t have the backing of unionized labor, it can’t be all that bad, right? Well, bear in mind he has represented Eugene for much of his political career, and he was elected then re-elected. Darn, I was beginning to like him…

—-With the Loren Parks/Greg Clapper alliance and the Indian tribes, this is shaping up to be a campaign fought by proxy. My memory is hazy regarding past races-is it usually like this?

The Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde, for one, have only a financial stake in this, so do your own research, folks, on these guys.

But I don’t have to tell you intelligent people that.

—-Read about Jim Hill yesterday. Uh, Jim who?

—-I haven’t read the O’s piece on Ted Kulongoski yet. Uh, Ted who?

(I’m just kidding, I’ll write about them a bit later.)

—-I’m going to wait until I read some more before commenting on Atkinson, Mannix and Saxton. Oregonian con-blogs seem to favor Atkinson as their man, with Saxton and Mannix “wafflers” and “flip-floppers.” Let the swift-boating begin!

—-The buzz on Ben Westlund is that he’s the Ralph Nader of the November election. His work on the Oregon Health Plan and civil unions likely would take votes away from the Dems. He’ll only be able to get so many votes from those who “declare their independence.”

To lodge all power in one party and keep it there is to insure bad government and the sure and gradual deterioration of the public morals.
- Mark Twain’s Autobiography

Conservatives really have their act together, don’t they? Each one of the right-wing planks have at least one staunch advocate in the blogosphere, print or radio. I think of it like a baseball team, each one playing their position:

Richard Mellon Scaife/Sun Myung Moon - co-owners

Coach - Ann Coulter 

Hollywood - Michael Medved

Higher education - David Horowitz

Courts - Mark Levin

Iraq & Patriotism - Sean Hannity

Blacks and their victim mentality - Larry Elder

Bias in the MSM - Brent Bozell

Mike Gallagher is the batboy It’s no conspiracy, but each of the conservative talking points are well-represented with their respective advocates and detractors. Progressives are on the little dinghy that is Air America (and maybe NPR but I don’t listen to it often). Is it the free market that saturates the airwaves with conservatives? I once e-mailed Bob Miller of KPAM, a local AM talker, and he said people just like conservatives more. True? Time to bring back the Fairness Doctrine? Would it be used to squash conservative talkers, or is that a canard? Hmm…

MY MANIFESTO, BIBLE, whatever floats your boat…

I am an Oregonian, and I enjoy politics.

BUT:

I am not a pundit. I don’t live for C-Span, write
partisan essays taking up five screens or feel
self-aggrandized swimming in the vagaries of the
system or indulging in smarty-pants pol-speak.

I am not a partisan. On paper, I’m an independent.
In real life, I’m the same thing (ask my fiancee or
her daughter). Wouldn’t we ALL say it depends on
the issue?

I’m not a pol. I’m a working stiff, trying to get
my Bachelors, struggling to keep a house afloat (with my fiancee)
while organizing a wedding and navigating the minefield
of egos and feelings that comes with that territory.

I try to keep up with things as best I can, as you
do. I read the Oregonian (or as Lars calls it the Daily
Dead Fish Wrapper) almost every day and listen to talk
radio from Hewitt to Hartmann.

What is my goal? Give short takes on political and
cultural life in Clackamas County, Oregon itself, and
the US of A, infused with, at varying times, spite,
humor and/or indignation. Who has time for Hannity’s
3-hours-a-day-every-day? I sure don’t. And the partisan
boards and blogosphere are humming with spittle,
venom and hatred from the Freepers to the nutbags at DU.

I’d like a lighter touch and some more evenhanded-ness.
I can’t find it on blogs, so, darn it, maybe I can
introduce some. As I said before, I’m not a George Will,
and I don’t have a degree in Political Science. I just
try to apply some critical thinking and basic intelligence
to what I see out there. OK?

I probably won’t post daily, but I promise I’ll write when
I believe I have something meaningful to say.
In other words, I won’t tell you I’ve just washed my cat.

That’s the kernel and the nutshell right there,
so let’s get started, uh, tomorrow!