Happy Friday, Oregon! It’s been one hell of a week, particularly for our Republican state senators, those rascally interstate travelers. In their brave pursuit to kill a market-based approach to curbing carbon emissions (similar to one championed in California a decade ago by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger), our GOP legislators have been reportedly fleeing the Capitol—and in some cases, the state—to deny their Democratic colleagues a quorum on the Senate floor.
Sen. Brian Boquist, for example, has reportedly fled to Idaho. And while we aren’t sure of the whereabouts of other Republican senators, we’re do know they’ve gotten the hell out of Salem, and possibly Oregon. In other words, they’ve gone road-tripping, and we all know that no great road trip is complete without an epic road trip playlist.
Fortunately, the Mercury has obtained a leaked copy of the Traveling Republicans' shared Spotify playlist. We’re publishing some of these tracks here, with the hope of bringing a little outlaw, renegade spirit into the weekend.
"Fuck Tha Police" by NWA
Governor Kate Brown is sending the state police after the missing senators, prompting Boquist to warn that they better "send bachelors and come heavily armed" (What, no bachelorette cops? :/) So while our friends in the GOP might generally be more inclined to take a "Blue Lives Matter" approach, in this particular case, they're down with NWA's message. Well, they're down with the chorus, anyway. They can't really understand what those young men are saying because they're rapping so quickly!
"Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake
Notable lyrics: "No, I don't know where I'm going/But I sure know where I've been."
"Kate" by Johnny Cash
"Well there's no way to doubt it/Ain't no two ways about it/As long as your name's Kate, you put me here."
"Take This Job and Shove It" by Johnny Paycheck
"You better not try to stand in my way/'Cause I'm walkin' out the door/Take this job and shove it/I ain't working here no more."
"Turtleneck" by The National
A source tells us this track was selected by Boquist, the fashionista of the group.
"Bitch Better Have My Money" by Rihanna
"In a drop top, doin' hundred, y'all in my rearview mirror racin'/Where y'all at? Where y'all at? Where y'all at?"
An audiobook of Climate Bogeyman: The Criminal Insanity of the Global Warming/Climate Change Hoax by M.S. King
One reader's review tells us it's "Excellent—and funny, too!"
"Walmart Yodeling Kid [Trap Remix]"
This is apparently Sen. Dennis Lithicum's song of choice when he's speeding down the highway with reckless abandon, a cigarette dangling from his lips and a wistful glint in his eye.
"Welcome to My Life" by Simple Plan
"Do you ever want to run away?/Do you lock yourself in your room?/With the radio on turned up so loud/That no one hears you screaming?"
Just a shit-ton of Lars Larson.
As @OregonGovBrown begins a Republican hunt to find lawmakers who won't vote her way, will OSP have to get tags for this kind of hunt or are GOPers considered "varmints" (covered by a standard hunting license) in a blue state? Modern rifle or bow only? https://t.co/UUz5uCkGPi
— Lars Larson (@LarsLarsonShow) June 20, 2019