The plot thickens, as they say.

I have a feeling there will be plenty of good news to go around in Nov.

It is Brad Fudge.

Thanks for the information -- I'm glad that Minnis has another challenger.

I would not call a libertarian "to the right" of Minnis. I think the libertarian is considerably more "liberal" than the theocratic-leaning Minnis.

Libertarians share many "progressive" goals, including full civil rights for gays (most libertarians) and legalization of drugs.

Finally, BlueOregon picked up on this story (sorry about my off-topic link to this story in the Billy Dalto thread).

House 49 hammered down Measure 30 (income tax hike), while handily passing M36 (marriage) and M37 (property rights). At least two of those topics (taxation and personal property rights) fit right into the Libertarian platform.

For those H49 moderates to conservatives who have tired of Karen Minnis, but cannot bring themselves to vote for Rob Brading, then this Republican in Libertarian clothing will give them an alternative. And by so doing, hand the election to Brading, who may have won it outright, anyway.

There are only 216 registered Libertarians in that district. But if Fudge manages to pull 1200-1500 votes, that will likely tip the election to Brading. But unlike Brading, who has lived in the district, this guy appears to be another Tina Kotek, who moved into the district after losing in another.

Now, if only one of those 97 Pacific Greenies in Wood Village chose to run, we could have some real fun ...

• Wes

Steve,

I never said that Fudge, or any Libertarian, was "to the right" of Minnis--only that one of her challengers is from the right side of the political spectrum.

We do have a tendency to see all challengers coming from the outside, and the incumbent in the middle, however. If the new challenger was from, say, the Constitution Party, we could likely call them "to the right" of Minnis. But you're right, Libertarians are progressive on a numer of social issues, and we often find ourselves in agreement with them.

According to the Oregonian:

"After the 2004 primary, Fudge switched to the Democratic Party, then turned independent. Thursday, he filed as a Libertarian."

Gotta give him credit, however. For a guy who just moved into the district, he can appeal to nearly everyone, drawing on his (brief) experience as a Republican, Democrat, Independent, and now Libertarian.

Hell, maybe if we wait a couple weeks, Fudge will file as a Greenie (right after he switches from the Constitution Party).

• Wes

CM

I had no idea that Libertarians and Conservatives are...both Conservatives! It seems that article also stated that Fudge (not Ridge) was also a Democrat. So could we also say that voters have a choice of 2 liberals?

Pete

Good call on the fiscal restraint. Although there is a fairly large group of big Government Democrats (Oregon) that will fight it every step of the way.

The guy deserves some love for using the name FudgePac.

Humorous.

My understanding is that, in the true spirit of the Libertarian philosopy, Brad Fudge's move to Fairview had little if anything to do with Karen Minnis, and most if not everything to do with a new business venture he's located there. I believe he has new business renting storage condos for RV's and such.

In reading past articles about him, it appears he's fiscally conservative and suspicious of government. He should prove to be a viable choice for voters in HD 49 who don't like Minnis' kowtowing to wealthy corporate interests, who would never vote for a Democrat, yet who want someone who favors a market-based approach to fiscal matters.

Fudge, unlike Minnis, is a very successful businessperson and entrepreneur. Let's hope he gets enough media coverage to give the voters the opportunity to hear from the Libertarian in this race.

as interesting, exciting, and just darned makes me feel good, this news is, I'd suggest we all continue to take this race very seriously. Fudge could melt, or be eated.

btw, my take on Libertarians, like the ones who seem to be running our Fed. Gov't right now, is that they are not in line with progressive values at all. One or two, maybe.

but their sense that there are endless resources, and that the planet can hold endless amounts of people, just so far out of whack with my thinking about the planet that I usually don't find much in common with Libertarians at all. I'd be very careful there.

Check out the Cato Institute's website if you have any doubt.

anyway, thanks for this news. I'm still walking this district in the Fall. They still have a few big trees left, and Fall evenings in Gresham - can you say great Mexican food? Can you say suburbs... mmmmm, don't want to miss that!

Brad Fudge is indeed running, and I'd agree with those who say that you can't actually classify Libertarians as conservative or on the right. I used to be a free-speech, anti-war Democrat, years ago. Then I heard an actual Libertarian say, "The American people should be able to pursue their own peaceful lives without interference from government". Having come of age during Lyndon Johnson's Viet Nam War, then living through Nixon, a choice in which people like those, um, gentlemen didn't have quite so much power appealed (and still appeals) to me.

I'd disagree with the characterizations of our environmentalism. I find that I have to moderate my own beliefs, because I believe that you don't have the right to put even one molecule of your waste into the air I breathe or the water I drink.

Cato is what we call small-l libertarian: think of them as more from the "libertarian" wing of the Republican party. Saying that they speak for big-L Libertarians would be a lot like using Joe Lieberman as an example of a progressive.

Any hint that the Bushies are anything like libertarian comes from a place of ignorance. That's not a bash, I use ignorance reasonably precisely here. We're for less government power over the individual. To join the party, you have to certify that you are against the initiation of force. Read that last sentence again, and try to think of someone in the Bush administration (or family) who could sign that statement.

Anyway, as some noted, Brad Fudge will get votes from those who don't want the government to control either their social or economic lives. Granted, HD49 is not a great place for gay rights (btw, in convention, the LP of Oregon unanimously opposed measure 36, and then voted to make opposing it our #1 priority in that election, over the dozen or so measures on the ballot. I personally wrote the argument against), but I'm betting that there are a good enough number of people who want to be left alone in their economic lives but also don't want to vote for intolerance and bigotry and fundamentalist social mores.

Naturally, the Fudge campaign will be accepting donations. Give those who vote for lower taxes and more personal freedom an option: if all they have is a choice between lower taxes or more personal choice, too many will choose lower taxes because it affects them personally.

Brad Fudge has been, over the last two years, a Republican, a Democrat, an Independent, and now a Libertarian. Before I decide whether or not to vote for him, I'd like to have some assurance that he'll stay put in one camp for more than a few months.

I'd consider him in the future. But not for this race.

Spicey writes: "btw, my take on Libertarians, like the ones who seem to be running our Fed. Gov't right now, is that they are not in line with progressive values at all. One or two, maybe. "

Those morons who are running your federal government are not Libertarians.

There are plenty of Libertarians who consider themselves "progressive", if by progressive you mean to improve people's lives. They tend to believe that by opening what today are closed markets many people will be able to improve their lives. Think of it this way. When the government deprives you of a book, an act we call censorship,and the ideas in it are you better off? Probably not.
But when the government deprives you of a service by outlawing something, like snout houses, that's suppossed to help us. In one case that is condemned. In the other that's okay. M.W.

The speculation on the Troutdale Street is that Brad Fudge, who happens to be a good friend of House district 49 Democrat candidate Rob Brading, was encouraged to run as a third candidate for district 49 in an attempt to drain votes from incumbent Karen Minnis.

I've also been told by Chamber members that Fudge, who was recently elected as the new President of the West Columbia Gorge Chamber of Commerce, failed let the Chamber know he was jumping into the district 49 race.