Friends,
Haven't heard the final District 49 result yet, but either way, Minnis won't be Speaker. $1.3 million for a minority rep with no power. $1.3 million for 300 votes.
And Minnis has been exposed for the hypocrite she is.
She and Wayne Scott can sit at a lunch table by themselves and commiserate about the good ol' days of running the legislature like a couple of thugs. We will move on past them without a second look.
The Gresham Outlook didn't count on, didn't even consider, losing the House.
And, I hope, the era of Chuck Adams is over, thanks in large part to the dogged, determined research and reporting of Carla and Torrid at Loaded Orygun. Old-school, roll-up-your-sleeves research, smarts and intuition still work in the new world of blogs. The Oregonian should be ashamed of all the stories broken while it played catch-up a day later.
And what can I say about Rob Brading? Well, he put it all on the line to take down someone who was hurting a lot of people in Oregon. Where would we be if no one had the courage to do that? Thank you, Rob. I am so proud of the race you and your team ran. Guts and fortitude. I hope you know what that meant to a lot of people. It is not insignificant. Not by a long shot.
Maybe we didn't get everything we wanted, but I definitely feel good that we all fought the good fight - a fight that needed to be fought. We, and a lot of other people, showed some arrogant bullies that they can no longer operate with thoughtless impunity. That, in itself, is an important victory.
There's more to do going forward, but today I just want to be happy about what has been accomplished in our state AND our nation, and what will NOT be on the agenda for the next legislative session. The all-out attack on health care, working families, schools, teachers, women and gay families is abated - for at least the next session. Those behind the attacks will be back. But not today.
Let's get to work. Let's continue to have each other's backs.
That blue wave is a sight to see. It's a good day. The best in a long time.