The announcement of John Frohnmayer as an Independent candidate for the U.S. Senate had the chattering class in Oregon tripping over themselves to figure how his presence in the race will affect the outcome.
Bloggers at NW Republican, and noted OSU poli sci professor, Bill Lunch, have speculated that he will add his voice to the chorus of critics against Bush and Smith, pushing the state and debate to the left.
Commenters at BlueOregon and some members of the print press have speculated that his entrance into the race will hurt Democrats.
Read on for more info about John and his candidacy...
My speculation, and to be clear on this, I am working with John, is that he will be holding both sides to account - taking shots at Democratic leadership for failing to hold Bush accountable and failing to end the war - and Republicans for promoting a culture of lawlessness, and for spending like "a drunken sultan on a shopping spree".
Frohnmayer is a civil rights attorney; a decorated officer in the U.S. Navy who served in Vietnam; and Chairman of the NEA under Bush 41 where he earned the ire of the radical right wing as it was just coming into ascendancy in the early 1990's.
His Oregon roots run deep. His family, which is from Medford, is a historical fixture in the Southern part of the state. He has a great deal of name-recognition on his own merits, and because his brother was attorney general and is President of the University of Oregon.
He has a reputation for personal and professional excellence. He was editor in chief of the University of Oregon Law Review; Oregon's student athlete of the year in 1960; and recently won 2 golds in his division at the Canadian national rowing regatta.
In terms of politics, he is cut of the traditional Mark Hatfield/Tom McCall wing of liberal and moderate Republicans who once dominated Oregon politics.
In his announcement speech, he cut lines that will resonate with Republicans, who have felt abandoned by that party since its takeover by the social conservatives that his family has fought against for decades, and Democrats who feel that their party has not gone far enough to end the war or hold the Bush administration to account.
Some excerpts from press coverage of his speech:
From the Oregonian
"President Bush should be impeached," said John Frohnmayer, who announced his bid Wednesday ... Frohnmayer was adamant, saying Bush has ignored or inserted his own interpretation of hundreds of laws, including those regarding wiretapping and torture.
"We must respond to what amounts to constitutional demolition," he said. "If he is not impeached, the same constitutional abuse is available to the next administration."
From the Gazette Times
"Four and a half years into the war Senator Smith has changed his position. But that does not to me suggest leadership, because with that first four and a half years he was compliant with the president and the war has been a disaster and it was ill-considered from day one."
From the Business Journal
He criticized both President George Bush and the U.S. Congress for "profligate spending" in allowing the federal debt to balloon to more than $8.9 trillion while failing to address some of the nation's biggest priorities, including health care, education and ending the war in Iraq.
What does it all mean to the race? I won't speculate, but he's a good man, and I think that he has an important message to take to the people of Oregon.