We're really out there.
State Representative Jeff Kropf (R-Sublimity) -- who recently dropped out of his campaign in order to keep his radio show -- had this to say about BlueOregon on KXL:
"You want to have a good laugh, go look at BlueOregon.com, because those people are really out there."
Nice to have you visit, Jeff. Come back again.
(Hat tip to Pete Forsyth, who gave us the heads up.)
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July 30, 2006
Posted in open discussion. |
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connect with blueoregon
11:29 a.m.
Jul 30, '06
This just goes to show the power of self-denial and echo-chamber politics.
BlueOregon is a site whose posters largely represent the majority view of voters in the State (except, perhaps, for a few tricky initiatives with hidden consequences most voters aren't deeply involved enough to understand).
Check the election results over the past 10 years if you don't believe me.
That Mr. Kropf thinks we're "out there" only goes to show how detached from reality he - and most members of the Republican establishment everywhere in the U.S. - are.
Now I'm just to dying to hear from him about all the flowers and candy being thrown at us in Iraq. In fact, I'd suggest he go over there and walk unarmed through a Sunni or Shi'ite neighborhood waving a large American flag so that he can get some more.
Or maybe that's a little too much reality for him.
12:22 p.m.
Jul 30, '06
Hasso Herring, conservative editor of the Albany Herald-Democrat (i love the tongue-in-cheek name of that paper) had this to say about Kropf:
a mild rebuke, but Kropf won't be missed by anyone in the Legislature -- how could he? he had such a crappy attendance record. he's clearly got an expanded view of himself as a media personality, but HD17 is fortunate he does. now they have a chance to pay attention to Dan Thackaberry, the Democratic candidate, a real rancher as well as public official. Dan's not a clown, but a serious citizen who can be trusted to do his job. hopefully, the voters of HD17 will think about their votes and not vote R just because they always vote R.
happy trails, Kropf. you've done your district the greatest service you could.
1:12 p.m.
Jul 30, '06
BlueOregon's a lot like Oregon--different out here, but the people seem to like it that way.
Jul 30, '06
The vile rubbish O’Reilly, Larson, and Savage spew daily on KXL only serves to reveal the neo-cons as the race baiting bullies they are. Kropf has made his choice to put in with the bigots and professional malcontents on Reich-wing radio, and he can live with it. I, for one, am glad he’s not longer going to represent Oregon in any capacity whatsoever.
Jul 30, '06
How nice of Jeff to point his listeners this way.
I attended a political event Sat. and the hot topic was all about Jeff leaving the race. A bunch of people said with in my earshot that Jeff left the race to cover up something he didn’t want to have revealed during the campaign. Most felt that Jeff knew that with his terrible voting and attendance record and Dan Thackaberry out walking and in every parade in Marion and Linn County the end of Jeff’s lame political career was at hand. Why stay and get beat up when your going to loose anyway? A few thought that Jeff’s ego was so big that he was imagining himself replacing O’Reilly.
Personally I think Kropt will enjoy a cameo on the “Fear Factor” where a contestant/viewer will have to stay in a locked room with Jeff dressed as Elvis while he sings his House Floor testimony from the last 6 years.
Jul 30, '06
Typical Republican Party pandoring. When they don't have a factual or logical leg to stand on, they resort to name calling -- even when such name calling is as benign as "out there."
Put a few shot of alcohol in them like Mel Gibson and the real venom starts to flow. Next thing you know, he'll be blaming BLUEoregon on the Jews because the Star of David is typically depicted with the color blue. That should mobilize the Evangelical Doomsday Cultists to action!
Jul 30, '06
Yes out there and far from mainstream.
I'll guess at least 75% of regular blueO's would like to see the initiative system gone. Along with the kicker, M37, M5, M11, charter schools, double majority, traditional marriage, subdivisions, property rights, on and on and on.
Of course you view these as a few pesky annoyances but that's part of what makes you out there.
I especially enjoy your mind reading of the neocons.
Quite a talent!
Jul 30, '06
Let's be honest, you may not like Jeff Kropfs politics but you KNOW he is an honest man. I can't for one second believe you would even insinuate that he had something to hide from the upcoming election campaign. I would hope that you would have some self respect and respect for your fellow liberals and not be a typical name caller and bomb thrower... I disagree with Vicki Walker as much as you do Jeff Kropf but I promise you won't see me be so tactless to her...Amy Rabon
Jul 31, '06
Kropf and Larson have been milking KXL for free campaign self-promotion and to deter potential political opponents for years. It is a legitimate campaign funding and fairness issue that ought to result in jail time.
The Ethics Commission and the Attorney General's office also ought to be looking into Kropf-Larson doing their KXL promotions from the floor of the House during floor debate. (Maybe they already are, which leads us to the real reason for his withdrawal) This was perhaps the most outrageous ethical lapse during the 2005 session, and you had to be there to know about it.
Everyone knew that Kropf was streaming live to the Larson show and, in fact, was speaking right past the House members and directly to his/Larson's radio audience.
Check out the DVD of the House floor session on July 20, 2005 (Order DVD from Legislative Media (503) 986-1195) or listen to the archived audio at leg.state.or.us). The bill # is HB 2485, the meth package.
Believe me, the DVD is the best way to go. You will want to see this clown in action on the House floor in his Hawaiian shirt, pontificating to the KXL audience. The performance should be preserved for all time, long after Kropf has faded into well-deserved oblivion.
Kropf even said he was going to cast his vote on the meth package according to the will of the people who called into his radio show (which was actually the Larson show). Kropf had been missing floor votes and committee hearings all week while subbing for Larson, but came into the Capitol to score some radio points on the meth package.
Lobbyists opposed to the bill and its pseudoephedrine prescription requirement were crawling all over the Capitol that week and that day.
Could it be that these same interests were also Kropf campaign contributors and/or advertisers on KXL? Only the AG or the Ethics Commission or the DA will be able to tell.
The fact is that House leadership knew Kropf/Larson were milking the floor session live and never said a word about it. Sooner or later, this was going to catch up with them, and now that their "safe" seats don't look so safe or so cheap, no one wanted to be saddled with a Kropf during re-election time.
As for his future plans, the word is that he worked his way into a fat package with a biofuels company. The value of that might be diminished if he is the subject of an ivestigation.
The DVD is the way to go....
Jul 31, '06
Jeff Kropf's legislative "service" was largely about one thing: promoting Jeff Kropf.
His disrespect for the institution was illustrated by his constant grandstanding and his silly stunts (including singing) on the floor of the House.
Spew radio is a perfect fit for this guy.
Jul 31, '06
"Hasso Herring, conservative editor of the Albany Herald-Democrat (i love the tongue-in-cheek name of that paper) had this to say about Kropf:"
I'm pretty sure it is the Democrat-Herald.
3:21 p.m.
Jul 31, '06
Interesting discussion. I want to reply on both the verbal jab, and the more substantive comments by anon.
First, to Steven M, R. Murphy, Chuck P.:
Let's not go overboard. It's possible I'm the only one who heard this remark on its show, so let me give a little more context:
Kropf mentioned the speculative comments about there being something sinister under the surface (about his withdrawal.) He offered a very credible (IMHO) explanation, pretty much identical to the Statesman-Journal's analysis, that compensating Thackaberry for 6 hours a week (not 3, as a BlueOregon commenter said) going back to February would be financially crippling for the station. (Personally, I'm inclined to believe that story. While it's possible there's more to it, I don't see any reason for extreme skepticism. What future would the guy have in radio if he put his station out over a million dollars?
Then he mentioned the post about his "hair dye" job, and then he sai the folks at BlueOregon were "out there." Overgeneralization? Sure. But not much more than a playful jab, and a lot less nasty than what was coming at him.
Anon:
Interesting post. I have no idea what kind of laws govern broadcasting from the House floor, so if there's really a legal (or House ethics) issue here, I can't comment on it.
I listened to the testimony in question (here's a link to the audio file; the Meth package is introduced by Wayne Krieger about 29 minutes in, and Kropf's speech begins about 44 minutes into the audio.)
I found nothing objectionable about what he said, and though I am not an expert on the legislation, I'm actually inclined to agree with him. He objected to the legislation on the grounds that (1) requiring a prescription for ephedrin/pseudo ephedrin is overkill (causing undue inconvenience to those who legitimately need it), and (2) that would not solve the problem.
You might disagree with the justification, but this speech was a far cry from mindlessly buckling to lobbyists. Prima facie, his position makes sense; if you disagree, let's hear your argument.
I feel that any complicity in the Minnis roadblock is a strike against a legislator, and Kropf's strong support of TABOR is pretty disturbing. But beyond that, I have yet to see any evidence that Kropf serves in bad faith. (R. Murphy, I don't think that broadcasting on the same station as a bunch of idiots qualifies; his show was not cut from the same cloth.)
On his show in general:
Given the lack of local-oriented talk radio, I am glad he's on. KPOJ has only one local show (Hartman), and he spends a whole lot of time on national/international issues, plus he's new to the state. Larson is a tool, utterly worthless. Can't think of anybody else worth mentioning, all those I've heard over the years are pretty bad.
Based the show I heard, Kropf takes a populist tone and a local view, is polite to his callers, admits when he doesn't know the details of an issue. He cops to his ideological views, accepts opposing points of view.
From what I've heard, I don't agree with the guy's politics one bit. But I don't like the fact that my little quote has resulted in a lot of uninformed name-calling and character-questioning. I don't see a basis for it.
Jul 31, '06