John Minnis....John...Minnis...gosh, where have I heard that name before? Oh, I know I'm hearing it now, along with the rest of you, as the Attorney General's office has released the findings of its investigation into the (former) cop, (former) state legislator, and now (former) Department of Public Safety Standards and Training Director. It's a fairly interesting story, with the accused opting to resign immediately--rather than begin the parade of denials, walkbacks, confessions, political banishment and eventual political redemption we're used to.
If you're not totally up on things, here's the gist:
As first reported in last week’s WW, the issue that prompted Minnis to resign is the alleged sexual harassment and possible sexual assault of a female employee. Those allegations were the focus of a criminal investigation by the state Justice Department.
A letter (PDF) released today by DOJ chief criminal counsel Sean Riddell says prosecutors declined to pursue charges against Minnis because they can’t prove he broke any laws “in regards to his personal relationship with a particular employee under his supervision.”
However, Riddell’s letter to DPPST deputy director Eriks Gabliks notes Minnis “admitted to conduct that occurred outside of our jurisdiction that we do not have the authority to decline or accept prosecution.”
The DOJ forwarded a copy of its investigation to the San Diego Police Department and has offered to assist in that department’s ongoing investigation, Riddell’s letter says.
Minnis' quick goodbye suggests he understands that what happens in San Diego, does NOT necessarily stay in San Diego. But speaking of quick goodbyes, WWeek reports today that Minnis wasn't quite quick enough on the day the story broke, to avoid being confronted by an investigator for AG John Kroger:
While we were meeting [with other investigators] in the parking lot in front of the main building at DPSST, I received a phone call from [Deputy DPSST Director Eriks] Gabliks. He informed me that Minnis was moving personal items from his office and placing them in his private vehicle in the back parking lot of the building…Gabliks also informed me that he felt that Minnis was going to be leaving the building and that any effort to contact him should occur as soon as possible. I had obtained the number of Minnis’ cell phone and called him. When he answered, I identified myself and asked if he would make some time available for a meeting. Minnis said that he was already on the ‘highway’ and was unable to meet. I volunteered that we were currently in the front parking lot of the campus near the guard post and I believed he was still in the parking area at the rear of the building. At that time, Minnis became silent and I asked him to wait where he was until we could contact him. [We] drove to the back of the building and contacted Minnis at his vehicle.[emph mine]
I believe the proper term for this happenstance is, BUSTED! Sucks to tell a lie that's immediately verifiable as utter bullshit, I guess.
So that's what's going on now. But you might be forgiven if the name "John Minnis" and "sexual crimes" sticks in your memory for some reason. If you were a Loaded Orygun reader back during the 2006 election season, maybe your memory will be jogged by work done when Carla Axtman was still with us. Carla detailed Minnis' involvement in sexual assault allegations made against his brother Tuck, who worked at the pizza restaurant Minnis co-owned with his wife, former House Speaker Karen Minnis. For a quick recap:
In the girl's complaint (see pages 26-40), she alleges that John Minnis told her that "he could treat her any way he wanted because he was the employer." The girl further complained that she was forced to quit as they kept assigning her to late night shifts, ordering her to change her clothes on shift and off,setting rules for female employees that didn't apply to males and changing the girl's job description from hostess to cook--as well as treating her in a punitive and angry manner (anyone who watched Karen Minnis on KATU last night would totally buy this. Its obvious she's hella thin skinned).
Perhaps the part that rings the clearest bells, is the part where the Minnises quietly paid off their accuser to the tune of $20,000, despite claiming that they did not believe her story about Tuck. While professing innocence, Minnis nonetheless cut a deal and walked away. Sound familiar? The easy takeaway: for God's sake, don't let John Minnis hire you.
As we know, no one is working harder or more frenetically to gin up opposition to the deal bringing MLS to Portland than Jack Bogdanski at his Crucible of Curmudgeonry, bojack.org. Grasping at any potential straw to indicate an agreement falling apart or suffering from lost support, bojack presents this article from Willy Week as his proof that "the wheels are coming off," asserting that "3rd vote" commissioner Dan Saltzman "smells a rat" and is now reconsidering his support.
To be fair, although WWeek's headline is somewhat more accurate and they may well have been misled a bit by what they print as Saltzman's comments, in the paper's recurring role as Bojack Lite on this issue they make rather the same mistake:
Saltzman, of course, was the swing vote on the council March 11, when this deal won initial approval. His proposed (and until now, unreported) amendment sheds new light on Adams’ announcement Monday that he would postpone three key votes on the soccer-baseball deal and reconsider the best use of Memorial Coliseum. At the time it appeared Adams was bowing to public opinion that called for saving Memorial Coliseum. Now it appears the mayor may have thought he was on the verge of losing his third vote.
Last night, Saltzman says he came to the conclusion that the proposed Rose Quarter redevelopment scheme calling for a new baseball stadium and an entertainment district south of Broadway is still moving too fast, despite a second one-week delay on finalizing the deal.
Citing lack of process, his own nostalgia for Memorial Coliseum (and a long-ago Jethro Tull concert) and increasingly troublesome questions about the deal’s financing, Saltzman says he told the mayor he wants to decouple the Major League Soccer deal from the Rose Quarter redevelopment.
Wouldn’t that imply Saltzman opposes the pre-development agreement, since it ties construction of a new baseball stadium to the city’s deal with Paulson to bring MLS to Portland?
“Yeah,” Saltzman told WW. “I didn’t say it [to Adams] in those black-and-white terms. I’m still going to listen to what he has to say about what he may come back with, but that’s the way I’m feeling now.”
Note carefully what Saltzman is saying (his quote notwithstanding)--not that he doesn't support bringing MLS to Portland under the terms Paulson specified, but that the baseball park doesn't HAVE to go in the Rose Quarter, and that the rest of the entertainment district and how the Coliseum fits into that should be a separate discussion from renovating PGE Park and bringing the Timbers here...because of course MLS doesn't care whether the Beavers have a place to play or not, as long as it's not PGE Park.
I wouldn't share Saltzman's perspective on this necessarily, but it's a rational point to make. It apparently was so rational that Mayor Adams and Merritt Paulson seemingly agree, as today's Oregonian reports.
They have indefinitely delayed the baseball siting question, essentially decoupling it from the rest of the deal, which is what Saltzman wanted. And much more directly, we have confirmation that he is still behind that part:
Commissioner Dan Saltzman said he wouldn't vote to raze the coliseum without a more lengthy public process, one that lasts two or three months and takes a hard look at alternatives.
"If I'm going to make a decision to demolish the coliseum, I'd like to do that knowing there's been some process to look at the options," he said. "All these competing uses in the Rose Quarter and the implicit commitment of public money makes me think we ought to slow it down."
Saltzman said he's not opposed to ultimately tearing down the coliseum, a building he's nostalgic about, but he wants to make sure it's the right move. He also said he's still in favor of bringing Major League Soccer to Portland and is still behind the city's agreement with Paulson. [emph mine]
So what's the upshot here? Are the wheels really falling off, or is Council doing almost exactly what critics have been asking it to do about the Coliseum issue--slow down? Saltzman still supports the deal, but doesn't want to rush the baseball aspect of it into a much larger plan being developed in the Rose Quarter. Couldn't we agree these are good things? (Nahhh, probably not).
Regular LO readers know I'm pretty disgusted with Sam Adams--but unless and until I see a) clear evidence of criminal activity or b) clear evidence of his inability to participate effectively on Portland's City Council, I see no reason for him to resign. And while I agree that a potential recall should be the mechanism by which Adams is removed before his term ends, I wouldn't support any such recall at this time.
Obviously a bombshell--such as a text message trail--would change things quickly on the legal front, but Willamette Week's Nigel Jaquiss, WW's Pulitzer-winning reporter and the official breaker of the Adams/Breedlove story is ready to go ahead and declare Sam's effectiveness compromised in a number of key areas. The only problem is, Nigel cites little if any evidence to back up his analysis, and ignores some key counterfactuals. I like Nigel; I think he's a very fine reporter and has every right to follow this story...but when I've found his conclusions suspect I've said so (and so did Carla when she was with us at LoadedO). And here we are.
Here's how Nigel ledes:
Three weeks after Mayor Sam Adams admitted lying about his sexual relationship in 2005 with then-teenage Beau Breedlove, Adams is gamely trying to return to city business as usual.
In a Jan. 25 video announcing his return to work, Adams asked to be judged on “my ability to deliver results.”
But it’s unclear exactly what “business as usual” means for the new mayor, and even less clear that he can deliver results.
Certainly a fair premise, as I've noted. But you've got to back it up. Below the fold I'll explore the rest of the article for such evidence...
Everybody's got Blazer Fever in Portland these days, including the folks at Willamette Week. The Christmas Eve edition features a cover story on a present sent from New York, that everyone involved seems to agree will likely soon be returned sometime after the holidays. On merit and the long term needs and future of the franchise it makes sense, but based on the mutual love affair between 6'11" forward Channing Frye and his adoptive new city, it will be a damn shame if and when he packs his duffel for the last time and takes a paycheck somewhere else:
When the Portland Trail Blazers traded for Frye last year, it was a finishing nail in the coffin of the old “Jail Blazers” image. Gone were all the bad-character guys who had soured the small-town love between the franchise and the biggest city in America with just one major-league sports team.
And now, 18 months later, the Blazers are winning with a roster packed with good-character players. Yet Frye, just three years removed from being a promising, 6-foot-11 rookie standout, has hardly played this season.
None of which is particularly unusual in a league where players come and go faster than Allen Iverson can break your ankles with a crossover. But Frye, through his offbeat sense of humor and evangelistic love for his new home city, has quickly become a part of Portland’s fabric in a way very few pro athletes ever accomplish.
He is, for fans more concerned with local art and cuisine than with Brandon Roy dropping 52 on Phoenix last week, the face of the Blazers. He’s the guy they see regularly cracking jokes in the Portland press, eating with his bulldogs Milton (also known as “Fat Boy”) and Lily at the Tin Shed on Northeast Alberta Street, or hanging out in the Pearl on First Thursday.
And the love is mutual. “This is where I want to spend the rest of my life,” Frye says. “But, at the same time, if you ask me the question, ‘Do I think this is the place for me in the next five or six years?’ I’m saying definitely not.”
I'm over at Grand Central Bowl in Southeast Portland, a pretty happening little alley if I say so. The good folks at Willamette Week and the Bus Project are hosting a returns party, and as part of the festivities are liveblogging/tweeting the results. For the moment the discussion is all national, but of course after 8pm things will switch into high gear for Oregon races.
So keep your page refreshing at Willy Week's livejoint, for all the latest tidbits and updates. And follow WWeek on twitter as well. And as a bonus, if you have your own account and follow Wweek's, they'll follow YOU, and your tweets will appear in the sidebar at the liveblog!
As I mentioned, Executive Session is an option when a quorum is desired but discussions are sensitive, typically involving land deals, business contracts or legal matters. In this case all three were involved in Wednesday's session, as indicated by the mandatory justification for calling it closed. As a check on the process, members of the media are invited to attend without the benefit of questions, and under agreement not to disclose what transpired beyond the justification.
Knowing this, I kept my seat when Mayor Hammerstad attempted to close the session. There was a pause, and she asked "this gentleman" who he was. I said I was with Loaded Orygun. "With what?" of course was the response from some Councillors. Attorney Powell fairly snorted: "Oh, it's a blog. You know, anyone can start one of those" and proceeded to recommend that the term media applied only to professional, credentialled media.
That caused The Oregonian to look into the concept of bloggers as journalists, or at least bloggers attempting to act in the public interest regarding the accountability of elected officials. As Lake Oswego's City Attorney Powell noted while recommending I be ushered from the chambers, somebody oughta define their policy on who constitutes "media"
The problem with Powell’s doctrine is his proposed accreditation criteria—a journalist must work for an “institutionalized,” registered Oregon corporation, having “multiple personnel with defined roles.” We note that the First Amendment covers everyone.
Powell also wants articles to use a reporter’s “true name.” Thus, one of the last century’s greatest journalists, George Orwell—born Eric Blair—couldn’t cover the Lake Oswego City Council.
Worse, Powell decided legitimate publications must “include at least 25 percent news content” and “clearly distinguish news reporting from advocacy.” What, no Vanity Fair?
Finally, Powell’s proposal would let the Council ask a reporter’s employer to send another, more accommodating scribe, if it believes a reporter has broken its arbitrary rules. This, folks, is called censorship.
“All we’re saying is who is qualified to conduct the watchdog role,” Powell says. Right. That’s the problem.
The Council shouldn’t go down this road when it holds a hearing Oct. 7 on the matter. The policy is illegal and wrong.
I'm very pleased to see organizations that Powell considers "media" take up this question as a matter of news, in a situation where they have little to gain and something to lose by bringing it up--their own access to"secret" deliberations by public officials. This is a new area of law and policy, and Loaded Orygun is proud to have pushed it into the mainstream colander of topics.
We'll have more on Powell's policy draft, just as soon as I can get myself an updated copy and review it before commenting. Until then, enjoy our new slogan:
Provoking Officials into Rogueworthy Behavior since 2006!
The fact that Democratic registrations have surged in Oregon over the last year or so--boosted in large measure by the army of volunteers for Barack Obama--has already been reported to a certain extent, but over the weekend Randy Stapilus at Ridenbaugh looked into the recent release of June registration totals by party and brings us up to date:
Four years ago, Republicans had a narrow lead of about 7,000 in the state’s second-largest, Washington County; now Democrats lead there by 20,000. In Clackamas County, Republicans were in the lead for years ago by a narrow 3,000; now Democrats do, by 10,000. Maybe most strikingly, Marion County, long a Republican base, had a Republican lead of about 8,000 four years ago, and now Democrats narrowly lead there.
When you add in enhanced leads in Multnomah County (Democrats did lead about about 2-1, now it’s closer to 3-1) and Lane County (a narrow lead in 2004, now approaching 2-1), that gives Democrats a sweep of the five largest counties.
Randy also does a little back-of-the-envelope math to see how the changes break out by legislative district:
If legislative districts were held this year entirely by whichever party, Republican or Democratic, now has the edge in voter registration, the legislature would look like this:
I suspect that--just as no one really expects the Dems to end up with 39 seats in November--the registration edge is not necessarily dispositive in some districts, although it certainly makes an impact. On the other hand, the documented presence of sufficient voters who would appear amenable to voting Democratic, challenges the state party to begin treating those areas as winnable and worthy of confident attention. I've said earlier that FuturePAC, The Bus Project and any other organizing units should be concentrating on 40 districts this fall--and it looks like that's spot-on.
Willamette Week says it got six minutes with Barack Obama, and they asked the question many Senate primary watchers are dying to find out: how does one of the chief players in Merkley's campaign strategy see the race? Now we finally have the earth-moving answer from the assumed nominee himself:
Do you care who wins Oregon’s Democratic Senate primary between Steve Novick and Jeff Merkley?
I have no opinion.
Devastating! That's going to move some numbers this week!
There are three Portland-based, general circulation newspapers: The Oregonian, The Willamette Week, and the Portland Mercury*. The number of times they've all endorsed the same candidate for a major office recently can probably be counted on one hand (or less!), but when it comes to the Democratic nomination for Senate, they're in perfect harmony: they want the guy with the hook.
We covered The O's big Sunday endorsement of Steve; let's add in the others. First, Willamette Week, whose nod may certainly have been less of a surprise than that from the House of Stickel, but which comes on the heels of a joint endorsement interview Novick's critics--and even some supporters--mark as his low moment of the campaign. They may or may not have liked Novick's answers on the peripheral questions of the race, but they liked Merkley's issue positions even less, making note of three separate areas of "concern."
In the end, the editors appear happily surprised to have Novick exceed their expectations to become a legitimate, solid candidate with the potential for greatness:
Let’s be clear. Back in January 2007, Novick was little more than a placeholder. Novick has a rapier wit, a winning affinity for sports references and an impressive behind-the-scenes résumé working for worthy causes. But Oregonians were waiting for another, more credible Democratic challenger to Smith, a telegenic senator who’s raised boatloads of cash and worked to style himself in the moderate image of past Republican icons such as Mark Hatfield, Bob Packwood and Tom McCall. We all thought that other person would come along.
We were hotly divided between the fun, speak-his-mind insurgent who calls to mind the late Sen. Paul Wellstone and the impassive Merkley, who calls to mind the widely respected Sen. Al Gore—the wooden version, before he became as steaming as the planet.
In the end, we rallied around Novick because we see a capacity for a refreshing independence and an unwavering willingness to tackle our toughest issues, like providing universal health care and ending the war in Iraq. We recognize, too, he could be a spectacular failure, a quotable firebrand for the left who is both alienating and alienated. Our hope is he commits himself to becoming the Senate’s best workhorse before shooting for the ranks of Sunday talk-show showhorse. Novick, please play nice.
{the Merc's endorsement, and even bigger swipe at Merkley, below}
Does everyone know what the Friday dump is? It started in Presidential administrations during the development of the TV age for covering politics. It was discovered that like anyone, journalists hate hanging around doing real work late on a Friday, so their most fervent hope on the White House beat is that they will "close the lid" and declare the newshole from them finished for the day. Scribes scatter, the real nefarious shit starts happening in the Oval Office, and we settle in for Bill Maher and a beer.
Taking advantage of this propensity to ignore potential news on a Friday, administrations learned to release bad news they had to put out, on Friday afternoon. It was hoped that everyone would look at the large "dump" of paper on their desks and say "nope, that's a Monday story." Monday would come and it would be time for Monday's news, not Friday's. So whatever was in that dump, gets passed over or given the short shrift in the news cycle. Bad news goes out, and dies there.
Needless to say, this technique has filtered down, and perhaps always existed informally anyway. But you rarely see candidates rather than incumbents do it. Maybe because Merkley has electoral experience, he knows the rules of the game already and is keen to play it. But last weekend Merkley clearly tried a Friday dump--but he also mixed in a diversionary attack on Steve Novick, as insurance to drive the cycle even farther away from his own release.
Two quick updates on CGW if you were planning on going but have not secured a ticket:
Do NOT go to Bus or Willamette Week for tickets!! They are out and they will shake their heads sadly at you if you go to them.
There ARE a few door tickets for early arrivals, and at the very least a 21-and over crowd can enjoy it via closed circuit on the floor level of the Roseland. Check with them for their age policies.
This gig is booked solid, from stage to audience, and but for the grace of Bus I'd actually have to miss it myself. Tough ticket!! Next year, Crystal Ballroom, after that--Rose Garden! Think about being the only city in America to fill a major arena with a debate!
Monday April 28th, 2008 Roseland Theater 8 NW 6th Ave Portland, OR 97209 (503) 224-2038 7pm doors 8pm show
It's baaaaack! I'm just getting around to tell you about it, but if I'd mentioned it a lot earlier, would you remember it was coming up? The most unusual "debate" in American politics is ready to go for the 2008 cycle... Candidates Gone Wild takes place at the Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th Ave., Monday, April 28.
The most unusual political circus, er, debate, in the country is back.
And it promises to be wilder than ever.
Since 2002 Portlanders have looked forward to this irreverent approach to local candidates and campaigns. On Monday, April 28, at the Roseland Theater, host STORM LARGE will preside over our latest political cage match.
This time, the races for Portland's mayor and City Council and the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate are at stake. Candidates will be grilled, skewered and fricasséed (and then they will be asked questions). They will share their non-political talents. They will justify their political existence. The evening will also include exclusive short films with a political bent, including contributions from those clever kids at Wieden & Kennedy.
"Debate the issues, get to know your candidates, drink a lot of beer. That's our mission statement," says Mark Zusman, editor of Willamette Week. Portland's alt-weekly and the Bus Project are once again the proud presenters of CGW.
Owing to the number of Council candidates, it's going to be a packed stage--but More Candidates just means More Wild, right? And I will fully cop to the bold emphasis in that quoted section; I loves me some Storm Large. Council candidate Amanda Fritz, the frontrunner for Position #1 this time, was a little worried about looking silly last time when she was running a serious race, but she's back too, so it's all good. I bet if she did a cover of "Ladylike" she'd bring the house down.
Candidates Gone Wild tickets are on sale at the insanely high price of $4. They can only be purchased at the offices of Willamette Week, 2220 NW Quimby St., or at Bus Project HQ, 333 SE 2nd Ave.
Be there!
{jump for the Ladylike video, because Storm is too cool}
As I've mentioned, I thought all eyes were mostly on Steve Novick's prospective performance Tuesday night, and he did well enough to answer most if not all questions posed (however flimsily) by the candidate and his select but savagely available band of internet warriors.
Of particular interest to many, including the Democratic Party of Oregon, was what Novick might have to say about John Frohnmayer and how Novick's preference for him squares with an implicit agreement to back the Democratic nominee after the primary. Novick was direct and about as loud as he got the entire debate, in his full-throated support for the Democratic nominee. In what I think is actually a pivot, but may just have been an additional step to show he was serious, he urged Frohnmayer and his supporters to drop out (and support him, of course).
I think he's being totally honest (or else why on earth bring it up!), and he is stating an ideological kinship with a potentially decisive sector of the general electorate that feels left out by both parties. Merkley will NEVER capture a majority of those voters, because he is the Democrats' representative of what the Democratic hierarchy thinks Americans want from their Democrats. Novick is what a lot of people anywhere want from whatever candidate in whatever party: someone who's on the ball, will work to give everybody a fair shake, and for God's sake is honest and talks in real terms.
And thus would the way be cleared for a fully united effort to change the real rot in Washington, el Gordo. AND, and, that whole idea of Steve carrying Frohnmayer's trust with him in November can be used NOW, in the waning days of the primary, as a reason to think about Novick's edge in a general.
All of which is to say that Novick genuinely thinks well of Frohnmayer. But he knows he really can't win and can mess it up for getting rid of Smith to boot. So preferring Frohnmayer and voting Democratic in the fall are not mutually exclusive events. And could you blame Novick for wondering why he should support a Democrat who seems to have no compunction for attacking his fellows on the slenderest of reeds?
One thing, however, is clear: at no time did the name Frohnmayer and the phrase "general election" come in communicable disease-level contact. If you suspect that's what he meant, I'm going to argue it pretty strongly, but I can't dictate people's interpretations. But it was never said by Steve Novick that he would support Frohnmayer in the general election, and at the event being used to allege it, he makes clear--however belatedly, if you wish to interpret it as a change of heart--that he will support the nominee.
Which makes the letter from Meredith Wood Smith of the Democratic Party of Oregon, delivered to all county chairs just hours before the biggest debate of the Senate primary, amazing in its assertions/
An interesting statement from Novick over the weekend, clarifying and expanding his remarks on blogging in last week's Willamette Week endorsement interviews:
In the Willamette Week endorsement interview the other day, I gave a pretty dumb answer to a question about the impact of blogs on politics. Some folks online are blowing my comments up as a betrayal of the netroots, so I wanted to take a moment to apologize for my statement and clarify what I was trying to say.
We were asked: “The blogs … do you think they've helped or hurt the Democratic nominee's chance to win in November?” Given the editor’s additional comments, I took this to mean, “Has all the back-and-forth between the candidates’ partisans on the blogs so far helped or hurt the cause?”
The truth is that blogs and the netroots are doing a lot to beat Gordon Smith and they are doing a lot to help my campaign. I was proud to attend the Yearly Kos conference last year and be recognized as a netroots candidate. I’ve blogged here on my site, on Daily Kos, Huffington Post and Loaded Orygun. And I’m incredibly thankful for all of the online support I’ve received and the value of the blogs in exposing just how out of step Gordon Smith’s record is with the priorities of regular Oregonians.
My concern, which I agree came out very poorly, was whether the internal fights between like-minded progressives can distract us from the larger task of taking back our country. In my own primary, we’ve seen bloggers who are typically allies divided into increasingly personal and repetitive fights that I worry do little to help reach a broader audience or advance our cause. Of course, as I noted in my comments, this is (hopefully) really just a loss to those individuals, but I worry about the cost to personal relationships and uniting progressives in the general election. Kossacks have been having a similar discussion over the past month about the back and forth in the presidential race. And it was in that context that I thinking when I responded to the question. (I feel quite sure that’s how Willamette Week intended the question, too.)
I really don't think much apology was called for, except perhaps to soothe the souls of the sensitive bloggers who thought all internetdom had been unfairly castigated as the realm of the pajamaed loser.
Certainly the idea that many people waste a whole lot of time blogging is unassailable, but the answer--particularly when dropping the initial part of it where he agrees with Merkley that blogs can provide good information--ended up sounding grumpy, typically blogophobic--like the media's general reaction bloggers expect. So perhaps a mea culpa is best, if only to explain to the larger audience who may not know of Novick's own active blogging experience, or the specific context of blogging WWeek was asking about, and heard it as just another attack on bloggers.
What I find interesting is that Novick is taking a step back on this, while there's not even a hint of an apology apparently coming from the campaign for saying it preferred Frohnmayer to Merkley at this point in the primary (which seems to have manufactured some more outrage among the usual suspects, but which probably sounds eminently reasonable to the majority of people who are currently planning on backing someone besides Merkley). Novick said he'd back Merkley if he won, but some feel Merkley is entitled to automatic support no matter how lame a Democrat you've been.
I believe Steve is sincerely pretty shocked at the range of nasty and substanceless attacks unleashed and tested that Merkley has let go on him--and then to make it about STEVE being negative? I never thought I'd call Steve naive about anything, but he seems to have trusted Jeff Merkley--which you can probably do, until you start threatening his meal ticket.
I bet Karen Minnis wasn't too surprised when she was compared to a pedophile Congressman, but then again that was HER style all the time, threatened or not. Novick doesn't do that stuff, but it's sure being done to him. He didn't think he'd see that cornered animal response from Merkley, but once it was clear he was behind, Merkley started going negative, and going personal. It made for a messy City Club debate. What will the KGW version reveal?
First things first, apologies for not providing this here sooner: a reasonably good document on the various positions of the remaining candidates in the Senate primary. A small comparison on the jump, because this weird non YouTube embed causes more trouble than the regular YouTube embed...it won't allow any text below it. So jump:
Man, the guy can't win for losing--but such are the wages of sanctimony and humorless piety. What do I mean? Start with the headline:
Busted: Merkley Tracker Lies About Identity, Gets Caught
March 24th 2008 2:48pm
Back in January, you may recall, Eugene’s Register-Guardreported on a staffer with the National Republican Senatorial Committee who used a fake name in order to snoop on the campaign of Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley, who’s running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.
BlueOregon, predictably outraged by the Republican invasion, riffed on the scandal with a headline that screamed: “Busted! GOP tracker lies about identity, gets caught.” [Which inspired our own headline above.]
Back at the Register-Guard, a Merkley spokesman groused about the deception. “[T]here’s an honest way to do it, and there’s a dishonest way to do it,” Russ Kelley told the Eugene paper. “You find out where they are through public notices and things like that. You don’t call and misrepresent yourself … And you especially can’t do that and get caught.”
If only the Merkley campaigned had listened to its own advice.
On Friday, March 14, a young man named “Cole Stewart” showed up at Democratic opponent Steve Novick’s campaign headquarters saying he was a Reed College student who wanted to help Novick raise money.
Trouble is, Reed College officials say they have no student by the name of “Cole Stewart,” nor “Cole Stuart” for that matter.
But “Cole” looked familiar, according to Novick staffers Andrew Gorry, Henry Kraemer and Seth Moore. Soon they realized they’d seen “Cole” before – as Hayes Ingraham, a Reed graduate who is a paid Merkley staffer. [emph mine]
" And you especially can’t do that and get caught.”
Right on, Russ. That certainly sounded like the right thing to say at the time, didn't it? Who knew you and the rest of the Merkley crack team would be wearing the JV sweaters with the big H for Hypocrite on them?
Add another item to the stack of issues where Steve Novick appears to be moving left of Jeff Merkley (and Gordon Smith, natch):
According to a Dec. 14, 2007, letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne from 39 Republicans and eight Democrats, a movement is again afoot to repeal a ban on firearms on all lands belonging to the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
In liberal Portland and the Willamette Valley, Smith’s endorsement of the ban’s repeal is making him an easy target for most of his wanna-be challengers in the 2008 election, including Independent John Frohnmayer and two Democrats running in the May primary: activist Steve Novick and Eugene real-estate broker Candy Neville.
“This isn’t the Wild West, this is the 21st century,” Neville says. “We need responsible gun control.”
A third Democratic candidate, House Speaker Jeff Merkley, isn’t so ready to take aim at the letter.
I...wazzat? Come again?
Merkley spokesman Matt Canter points out an exception exists that allows hunting on some federal fish and wildlife land in Oregon,.Canter also points to Democratic support for the proposal from the likes of Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who endorsed Merkely.
Merkley “would have to discuss the issue further with these Democrats before he would move to make weapons more accessible,” Canter says.
I maintain that the sincerest form of flattery is not pure imitation, but parody. Imitation works if the viewer hasn't even seen the original; they may be confused about the provenance but the imitation can still work without that knowledge. But a parody is useless without the beginning reference to the original.
Which suggests that Steve Novick and Eichenbaum Associates ought to be pretty flattered, indeed. Local Willamette Week cutup Adrian Chen has found himself with neither the time nor the good sense to occupy himself in properly mature pursuits--which left him free to make this commercial that plays off the viral success of Novick's "Beer With Steve" ad, released last week to wide acclaim.
Well, I sure cut into my vacation leave stash with a good long break over the holidays. I had to leave early in that last pre-Christmas week in order to pick up an ailing relative and bring her back to Portland, and stayed out of the office until this morning. So like me, perhaps late last week you were still pulling wrapping paper and a hunk of tape off the bottom of your slippers, and almost missed the little to-do about the continuing wait for interactive appearances between interested Democratic candidates for Senate.
It started off with a speculative analysis from a well-known diarist based on a derivative "whispers" column, but by the end of the afternoon resulted in a straighter record on on the proceedings and status, and some questions about who, if anyone, is holding up debates. Along the way it seems some folks jumped to conclusions based on their reliance of the good old MSM--always a mistake, one finds these days.
I saw this on the inside cover of last week's Willamette Week, and I thought for sure someone would mention it. I think it's an awfully interesting picture and concept:
If you didn't figure it out, that's Jesus there kneeling on the floor, washing the feet of prominent world leaders--some "good" ones, some "bad." It comes from the website "GoodNewsTour.com," and I know little else about it or GoodNewsTour (obviously, it's a Christian organization of some kind). What does it mean? It's been a while since I've seen so eloquently expressed what I believe we're supposed to get out of the Jesus story: He loved everybody, because everybody human was made in the image of God. EVERYBODY.
Now, I'm not religious. I'm not even particularly spiritual. I'm not an atheist; I'm willing to accept that there just might BE some kind of superior Creator who fabricated the universe and the stuff in it. But if she does exist, she's so far beyond my meager plane of understanding that it seems senseless to attempt comprehension or understanding of her, in a misguided attempt to "serve" her.
But I can easily get behind the (these days, seemingly forgotten) message: love thy neighbor. Obviously it's hard to love Osama bin Laden...or George Bush, for that matter. But it's a reminder that whatever our origins, we share those origins with the rest of humanity. If Jesus were alive today, he wouldn't be picketing abortion clinics or standing with Fred Phelps and hatin' on the gays. He'd be washing some asshole's feet. Thank God.
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There are three Portland-based, general circulation newspapers: The Oregonian, The Willamette Week, and the Portland Mercury*. The number of times they've all endorsed the same candidate for a major office recently can probably be counted on one hand (or less!), but when it comes to the Democratic nomination for Senate, they're in perfect harmony: they want the guy with the hook.
