Sarah Mirk Commissioner Amanda Fritz let the news drop casually last night, during a council and mayoral candidates forum hosted by the Northwest Oregon Labor Council. Two of the politicians most familiar with her work on the council—fellow commissioners Nick Fish and Dan Saltzman—have decided to back Fritz in her re-election fight against formidable Democratic […]
Election 2012
Posted inCops
And Now a Letter from Mayoral Candidate Mike Reese
Spencer Burton Chief Mike Reese: Occupy Portland City Hall? When Police Chief Mike Reese telephoned labor officials last week and asked to be included in the Northwest Oregon Labor Council forum for mayoral and city council candidates, no one had overdosed yet at Occupy Portland, police hadn’t arrested a suspected arsonist hiding in the camp, […]
Posted inElection 2012
Rick Perry Is a Strict Constitutionalist
In a desperate speech, Rick Perry is calling to “uproot, tear down and rebuild” the federal government: Perry’s already up with a new web video highlighting another plank of his new platform: jailing members of Congress who cut stock deals based on insider information…In addition to his proposed changes to Congress, Perry would also institute […]
Posted inCops
Police Chief Mike Reese Opens Mayoral Fundraising Account
While Occupy Portland was grabbing most of the headlines across town this weekend, Police Chief Mike Reese took a step toward his post-police-bureau future last Friday and quietly registered an account to start raising campaign cash for next year’s mayoral race. Which I’ll take as the most official sign to date that he’s all in—coming […]
Posted inElection 2012
Get Ready for the Main Event: Supreme Court to Rule on Health Care Reform
It’s on: The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide the fate of President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, with an election-year ruling due by July on the healthcare system’s biggest overhaul in nearly 50 years. It’s hard to tell if this is good news or bad news for President Obama. On the one hand, it […]
Posted inElection 2012
Rick Perry Murders His Own Presidential Campaign on Live Television
I have never seen a candidate go down in flames this badly during a debate before. This is incredible: And that was the last anyone ever heard of Rick Perry, except for all the endless YouTube remixes and parodies. Via MSNBC, here’s the transcript: Perry, who has sought to resuscitate his campaign after a string […]
Posted inPolitics
Mike Tyson Is Funny
After a number of thoughtful, touching Tweets following Joe Frazier’s and Heavy D’s deaths, and now this, I’m a big Mike Tyson fan this week. For those who haven’t watched yet:
Posted inElection 2012
Must-See Video: Teabaggy Rep. Joe Walsh Screams at Voters for Picking on Poor Banks
Required viewing! Required viewing! This video, via Wonkette, is unbelievable: Illinois Republican Representative Joe Walsh, who is best-known for being a teabagger and a scummy deadbeat dad, loses his shit when voters ask him about the market’s culpability in the financial meltdown. Get ready to watch a grown man devolve into a yowling crybaby, and […]
Posted inElection 2012
Post-Election Round Up! What’s Next for Oregon?
Lots of political news this morning! It’s post-Election Day 2011, but the news is all about looking ahead to what will be on the ballot next year. First off, Mississippi rejected a measure to declare a fetus a person, which is good news for people who support access to abortion and don’t support charging abortion […]
Posted inElection 2012
Who Do Religious Republicans Want?
Religious conservatives get pushed to the background when the economy’s hurting, but Elizabeth Dias at Time linked to a Pew poll of how religious voters are leaning right now: Twenty-one percent of white Evangelicals said they’d like to see Perry win the GOP nomination, while 17% favored Romney and 13% backed Cain. Sixteen percent, meanwhile, […]
Posted inElection 2012
Run Away, Mitt, Run Away!
This very effective Huntsman commercial highlights Mitt Romney’s campaigning style: Keeping Mitt Romney away from situations in which Mitt Romney would have to speak without any kind of prepared statement: The DNC should hire Huntsman’s ad people once he drops out.
Posted inElection 2012
Second Accuser: Herman Cain “Reached for my Genitals”
Over the weekend, Republican presidential pizzanaut Herman Cain made clear to reporters that he was moving on, and would refuse to answer any more questions regarding his growing sexual harassment scandal. “Don’t even go there,” Cain said when reporters asked him about the story after an issues forum with Newt Gingrich in Texas. “We are […]