Listening to the Locals: Oregon

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Thursday October 23, 2008 · 3:42 PM PDT

2008/10/23 · 15:42

(In the final days of an election, there is so much information from so many races, it's difficult to stay on top of every story and understand the subtle dynamics often at play on the ground. Thankfully, we have an expansive 50-state blogosphere to match our 50-state strategy. Over the last two weeks of the campaign, we've asked leaders of the state blogospheres to provide insight into late developments and share the stories of their states in a series we're calling "Listening to the Locals." SusanG)

My name is Kari Chisholm, and I'm one of the editors at BlueOregon - the premier progressive political blog in Oregon. Here's a political tour of our fine state.

Oregon can be a political conundrum. Outside the state, we've got a reputation as a liberal haven, loaded with those latte-loving, sushi-eating, mountain-biking, Prius-driving, soccer-loving, secular hedonists that right-wingers love to hate. And at the presidential level, we've voted for the Democrat every year since 1984.

But here at home, the reality is a bit more complex. For 16 years, until 2006, the Oregon House was dominated by the nastiest right-wing Republicans around. We've got a ballot measure system that's dominated by wacko conservatives and their corporate backers. And, of course, we've got the last remaining Republican Senator on the West Coast.

We've decriminalized marijuana, but banned gay marriage. We'll let you get a doctor's help to end your life, but we won't let you pump your own gas.

Why the schizophrenic politics? Maybe it's the rain. Or maybe...

karichisholm

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Wednesday July 09, 2008 · 11:18 AM PDT

2008/07/09 · 11:18

I've been fairly well appalled at the hagiography of Jesse Helms in the wake of his death. The man was a racist and a homophobe.

They're saying he was a "gentleman" - which is utterly wrong. Would a gentleman have greeted Senator Carol Mosely-Braun (D-IL), the first black woman in the U.S. Senate, by entering the same elevator and literally whistling "Dixie" through the ride?

Which is why I'm so impressed with a man in North Carolina named L.F. Eason. From the Raleigh News-Observer:

L.F. Eason III gave up the only job he'd ever had rather than lower a flag to honor former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.

Eason, a 29-year veteran of the state Department of Agriculture, instructed his staff at a small Raleigh lab not to fly the U.S. or North Carolina flags at half-staff Monday, as called for in a directive to all state agencies by Gov. Mike Easley.

When a superior ordered the lab to follow the directive, Eason decided to retire rather than pay tribute to Helms. After several hours' delay, one of Eason's employees hung the flags at half-staff.

karichisholm

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday June 03, 2008 · 12:41 PM PDT

2008/06/03 · 12:41

Last week, I posted a Top 50 list of potential running mates for Barack Obama over at BlueOregon - and we had a fantastic conversation.

Now here's your chance to weigh in. I've set up an Instant Runoff poll that lets you rank your choices (from among my Top 32.)

So dive on in, and rank your picks for Obama VP. You don't have to rank all 32 choices - but at least do your top ten or twenty. And if there's someone you absolutely, definitely don't want on the ticket - be sure to rank everybody else above that person.

Not to worry, DemoChoice.org makes it pretty fast - automatically re-ranking and re-sorting each time you make a pick.

There's already 500+ responses - and it's a very close contest (though I won't spoil the fun for you by letting you in on it...)

I still believe in a place called Hope.

karichisholm

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday April 24, 2008 · 1:11 PM PDT

2008/04/24 · 13:11

[Originally published at BlueOregon.com.]

I just spent three days in Little Rock, Arkansas - where I was invited to talk about technology and politics at the Clinton Presidential Library, to a conference of under-35 elected officials.

The visit to the Clinton Library was an extraordinary reminder of how good we had it during Bill Clinton's presidency. In a stark contrast to the failed Bush presidency, the exhibits remind you of achievement after achievement of the Clinton years.

But it all started in 1992.

In that campaign, Bill Clinton called on a new generation to participate in the political life of our nation, and millions of us responded. He asked us to "vote our hopes, not our fears" -- and many of us joined him in believing in a place called Hope.

Clinton told us that his presidency would be about "putting people first" and putting power back in the hands of the people. He came from outside Washington, to fight the "privileged, private interests" that have "hijacked" our government.

karichisholm

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday April 14, 2008 · 12:13 PM PDT

2008/04/14 · 12:13

[Note: Also cross-posted at BlueOregon.com. Full disclosure: My firm built Jeff Merkley's campaign website, but I speak here only for myself.]

Deep inside the Willamette Week endorsement interview of the Dems running for the U.S. Senate, there's a clip of Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick talking about blogging. And it sparked a mini-firestorm in the netroots over the weekend.

In the clip, Jeff Merkley praises the blogs, noting that the netroots will spread the word about our Senate race in the fall. But Steve Novick dismissed blogging as "a way for a number of people to waste a vast quantity of time."

And while it's certainly true that there's plenty of time wasted all over the blogs, it's also true that the netroots have become a central part of the progressive infrastructure in this state and across the country - helping take this country back. We share information, build community, get organized, raise money, and influence the dialogue. Novick's backhanded dismissal is just bizarre.

One-minute video clip on the jump...

karichisholm

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday April 08, 2008 · 9:17 AM PDT

2008/04/08 · 09:17

For weeks now, there's been all this talk about how this presidential primary campaign might come to an end - if several prominent superdelegates were to endorse either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton as a group. Or even, a larger group of semi-prominent superdelegates (remember the superdelegate surge that was rumored to be happening post-Texas/Ohio?)

Which got me to thinking: Who would those superdelegates be? Which superdelegates are especially influential - with other superdelegates, with the media, with the public?

Obviously, a lot of folks have mentioned Al Gore. But he doesn't seem particularly interested in the job.
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid could play that role, but they seem committed to waiting it out.
Jimmy Carter has negotiated peace treaties and observed elections all over the world. Maybe we need him to weigh in.

In any case, rather than brainstorm up names, I decided to attempt a Power Ranking of Uncommitted Superdelegates.

So, I poured myself a stiff cocktail, came up with some criteria, assigned some values, and came up with a chart that ranks all 286 uncommitted superdelegates.

karichisholm

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday March 27, 2008 · 1:18 AM PDT

2008/03/27 · 01:18

[Note: this post includes content originally published by me at BlueOregon.com along with a more recent update.]

In a front page Oregonian story, Congressman Greg Walden tried to tapdance away from blame in the NRCC auditing scandal.

First, a recap for those new to the story: The FBI is investigating the loss of at least a million dollars from the campaign operation for US House Republicans. It's alleged that a contract committee treasurer faked audit reports for the members of Congress overseeing the operation. Among those involved? Oregon's very own GOP Congressman Greg Walden, who chaired the audit committee while the fraud was perpetrated, right under his nose.

karichisholm

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday September 26, 2007 · 12:29 AM PDT

2007/09/26 · 00:29

Yesterday, Markos took the opportunity of another stupid WSJ editorial to raise the issue of campaign finance reform. He's repeatedly argued that we should stop tinkering, and do some kind of major reform.

So, here's an idea that I've had brewing in my head for a while.

Let's create a voluntary campaign finance reform that does the following:

In each congressional district, after the primary, any major-party candidate could voluntarily choose to forgo all private financing - and instead receive a single check of $1 million in public funds for their general election campaign. If their opponent raised more than that, they'd get matching funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

That's it. That's the whole thing.

Some notes on the jump...

karichisholm

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday July 21, 2006 · 11:11 AM PDT

2006/07/21 · 11:11

Tomorrow, the DNC is expected to take up a proposal to add another state to the early presidential primary/caucus calendar.

All indications are that it's going to either Arizona or Nevada (or maybe Colorado). Whichever state wins out, it'll be a caucus - wedged between Iowa and New Hampshire. New Hampshire will be the third state, but will retain its status as the 'First in the Nation' primary. Read More

DailyKos now appearing at LeftyBlogs.com

karichisholm

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday June 08, 2006 · 7:03 AM PDT

2006/06/08 · 07:03

Over at LeftyBlogs.com, we've been building a system that automagically reads, collates, and shares over 1500 liberal/progressive/lefty blogs from around the country.

Want to know what's happening in North Carolina? What about Montana? Or maybe Florida? You get the idea.

Well, through the magic of tagging and RSS - LeftyBlogs.com is now featuring diaries from DailyKos that are tagged with a state's name. Say, if you're writing about Jon Tester, just tag your diary "Montana" and it'll appear over at LeftyBlogs.com, in the Montana feed. That'll help make sure that plenty of state bloggers can stay in touch with what's happening in the Kos community.

Oh, and if you've got a blog about state and local politics, be sure to add it at LeftyBlogs.com.

RSS

Listening to the Locals: Oregon

Integrity: He quit his job, rather than lower the flag for Jesse Helms

Instant Runoff Vote: Obama's pick for vice-president?

I still believe in a place called Hope.

OR-SEN: Novick disses the netroots, causes firestorm, then apologizes (video)

Uncommitted Superdelegate Power Ranking

Greg Walden (OR-2) and the NRCC Accounting Scandal

A simple, workable, voluntary campaign finance reform idea.

Presidential Calendar: It's not about tradition, it's about winning the White House

DailyKos now appearing at LeftyBlogs.com