What makes Oregon unique?

Oregon has reliably rejected a Republican governor and senators for some time now, including during the last round of elections. Is it because the state is reliably liberal?

Not really. Oregon's almost equally split between urban liberals and rural conservatives. But it seems that people here can see the GOP for what it is—vile.

Take Art Robinson, the Oregon Republican Party chairman. He who tried for a seat in Congress last month and failed. Why? The Portland Tribune explains:

• Robinson circulated a petition that claimed reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would harm the environment.
• He suggested we could get rid of nuclear waste by sprinkling it over the ocean.
• Robinson stated that the residents of one of Oregon's most impoverished counties be tested with urine samples.
• And he called public schools the most devastating form of child abuse in the U.S.

In short, the leader of the state's GOP party is bonkers. And folks here just sort of picked up on it.

If there were a Hell, it'd have a special place for Oregon's GOP

Oregon's GOP really is a piece of work. Take its latest "gun raffle" idea. The GOP recently announced a dinner to honor Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln. And said party will award an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to the lucky gun raffle winner.

Er, but weren’t Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln both killed by assassins using guns? Yes, they were, huh? Anne Marie Gurney, the GOP party's vice-chair, explains: 

"Every time we do this we get asked if we are trying to be provocative, and honestly we are not."

According to the Oregonian, Gurney “said it didn't even occur to the county party leaders that King and Lincoln had been killed by guns.  It's simply the time of year that the legacy of the two leaders is celebrated, she added.”

So we have two possibilities: either the GOP leaders are morons or lying morons.

But after a heap of negative attention, the gun raffle was called off! Now here’s my favorite part—get a load of the GOP’s “apology” for this boondoggle:

In our enthusiasm for celebrating Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. Constitution, our Multnomah Republican Party issued a press release that was unfortunately easily misunderstood. The GOP stands for individual liberty, lower taxes, smaller government and individual responsibility. We apologize if people were hurt by the message being marred by insufficient wording and/or cynical misinterpretations by those who disagree with us politically.

One of every 16 people in Oregon sucks.

The Oregonian has a story about how lunatics in Oregon are racing to gun shops to arm themselves against ... themselves. And then on top of it, be sure to get a concealed handgun license. Because you never know when you might need a gun when you're out and about in ONE OF THE SAFEST STATES IN THE NATION.

Addendum: This figure was adjusted from one in 15 to one in 16. Yes! We have fewer assclowns!

Here in Oregon, we know how to make Affordable Health Care ads

Thanks to Laura Gibson for covering "Live Long Oregon"!

Meet Art Robinson, the Batshit Insane Head of Oregon’s GOP

Art Robinson is the new chair of the Oregon Republican Party. What are his qualifications? Well, he is a climate change denier. And of course, he’s a loose cannon. Hey, I’m just quoting him: “I'm an American. We’re all loose cannons.”

How loose is Art’s cannon? Here he is on nuclear waste:

“All we need do with nuclear waste is dilute it to a low radiation level and sprinkle it over the ocean — or even over America after hormesis is better understood and verified with respect to more diseases.”

On public schools:

“Public education (tax-financed socialism) has become the most widespread and devastating form of child abuse and racism in the United States. Can it be corrected by improving the public schools? No—only by abolishing them.”

When three of his kids went to Oregon State University and failed to get their doctoral work in nuclear engineering (!) approved, it was because “liberal socialist” school “dances to the tune of the Democratic machine.”

That doesn’t even make sense.

You must be wondering the same thing as me: How could Oregon’s Republicans be this desperate? Answer: Hedge-fund billionaire Robert Mercer. (Check his political contributions here.) And Mercer LOVES Robinson; witness his near million-dollar contribution to the Robinson’s “science foundation” two years ago. (Mercer is currently being sued by his employees, BTW.)

What have we learned? Republicans are batshit crazy—and they have some serious coin backing up their madness. 

What state just lost the national popularity contest?

If you poll Americans about their United States, you'll get some interesting results. For example, I live in Oregon, which is one of the "nicest" states, and is also "most underrated." But when it comes to being everyone's "least favorite" state, Texas has it wrapped up.

Reason #37: Why gun nuts suck

"Reckless target shooting threatens safety, land in the Mount Hood National Forest"

Alan Olsen is the Big Mind of the Day

Oregon State Senator Alan Olsen is a Republican. Astoundingly, he is also for true transparency in government. Go figure!

According to the Oregonian, Olsen has repeatedly introduced a bill in the legislature that would require lawmakers to put their names on proposed amendments. As he says: “Bottom line: If you're willing to write an amendment, you should be willing to put your name on it.”

It’s sort of incredible that this isn’t already the case. But there are loads of “mystery bills”: proposed legislation with unknown sponsors and anonymous amendments. So who’s to know what special interest has a thumb in the pie?

This is a cowardly, underhanded, duplicitous system, yes? Yet there are plenty of politicians who “say the anonymity afforded by committee-sponsored bills allows lawmakers to focus on policies rather than politics or personalities.”

Right.

Olsen gets the last word: “If you're proud enough to write it, you should be proud enough to put your name on it.”

Want to know what happens when the Tea Party runs things?

Oregon has two counties—Josephine and Curry—that have steadfastly refused to meet their budgets by taxing themselves. Things are so bad, that Josephine has one law enforcement officer for the entire county! The New York Times reported this week on how crime has escalated quickly and gun sales are through the roof.

And so the inevitable has occurred. To stop the counties from going bankrupt and sliding back into the Middle Ages, the Oregon legislature is going to bail them out. Which means tax payers in the state are actually riding to the rescue. Yep, liberals from places like Portland, Ashland, and Eugene are saving Tea Partiers ... from themselves.

Yay.

Sir, we regret your abortion too.

 Via. 

Oh, and in other news, Oregon Republicans nearly killed a measure aimed at stopping animal cruelty. Yes, I'm looking at you, House Minority Leader Mike McLane! But at least your GOP branding is going well: "Republicans: Standing for animal abuse and against, well, everything else.")