Wow I have never seen so many agruments against a ballot measure before. I truly hope that Measure 48 fails. Today was my first day back at school and my AP History had to meet in the portable because there was no more room and we so many students that one girl had to sit in a chair with no desk and no place to put her stuff. It was so crowded that at least 4 times during the class we had to go outside becasue we had no room to move in the portable.

The Defend Oregon Coalition is working hard to defeat Ballot Measure 41 and 48 - both would take Oregon backwards and force deep cuts to schools, health care and other important services. To join the coalition and learn more about how you can join the fight, visit: www.defendoregon.org

Becca--are you related in any way to the wonderful former state rep. from S. Oregon?

Jimbo-- Question--since when has this stopped Oregon voters from voting 'yes' on such Measures?

Check out how well Sizemore and McIntire did in 2000 and every year since. CSE/Freedomworks measures don't count because those are out of state measures, but the local ones by Bill and Don haven't done well in recent years.

From the post: It is also interesting that neither Dick Armey's FreedomWorks nor Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform submitted statements in support of Measure 48.

So, if FW and ATR aren't serious enough to put statements in the voters pamphlet, is this a case of "we'll get it on the ballot and see what happens, but won't spend any more serious money on it"?

There is an old saying about the best way for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.

If AOI is opposing and

"long list of opponents, including many Oregon businesses, business organizations, civic organanizations, and others. Measure 48 proponents, on the other hand, were unable to muster the name of one Oregon business in support of Measure 48."

then who is actually campaigning for the measure? Do Bill and Don have such a large fan club they don't have to do the campaigning themselves? Which legislative candidates/ incumbents are supporting this measure?

Could it possibly be that the tide is turning? Any dollar that goes into campaigning for the measure can't go to legislative candidates or incumbents. In rural Polk County, there is a Libertarian running in Brian Boquist's district. What if that tips the race in favor of the Democratic candidate? And if the measure draws people who hate it to vote, how does that help the anti-taxers? Could this have been a huge miscaluculation?

Too constricting? Anything that helps restrict the growth of government I'm for. Vote yes on 48.

Yes on 48:

If the supporters of the measure were serious, they'e either say which cuts they advocate or else say "Yes on 48--cut all government services" and see if the voters agree.

That is not what I hear from the Measure 48 campaign. They want us to believe no bad thing will happen (just like the "mystery money " crowd who said no one would be hurt by the Measure 28 cuts, or that no one would be hurt by the Measure 30 cuts).

LT: Perhaps the M48 supporters aren't saying which cuts they advocate because they aren't pushing for any cuts? It's kinda like how when you advocate for a minimum wage increase, you don't prove how serious you are by discussing which small business owners you are going to shoot in the head.

PS. Have you stopped beating your wife?

SPEND Oregon is on the same side as Big Business?!?

When politics make strange bedfellows, it's a sign that the lobbyists have decided that their similarities are more important than their differences. When the insiders circle the wagons, it's a sign they are desperate to keep the voters (outsiders) out. The generous spending allowance under M48 isn't really the problem here. M48's provision for voter approval of overspending decisions drives the insiders nuts.

This is reminiscent of the good old days when SPEND Oregon would start talking about the "3-legged stool" ... and everyone knew who was about to get milked!

SPEND Oregon. Don't save it for a Rainy Day. SPEND it now!

Just vote NO on everything and we won't have to bother with it. If ti causes this much confusion and anxiety, it's not worth voting on.

Thanks, Eric, for the hundreth?, thousandth? repetition of your take on ballot measures. My suggestion for you: just say "no" to posting on BlueOregon.

And my take on AOI's opposition to M48:

Since Oregon big businesses pay so little state tax, why should their lobbying group support less state spending? It's no skin off their bottom lines. After all, business uses the public infrastructure they don't pay for.

Silence Dogood,

Claiming M48 is about a rainy day fund is like claiming slavery was about keeping Afro-Americans from getting lost in the woods.

Sorry Tom, but until there is a law prohibiting me from posting, I will keep posting.

Eric,

And most BlueOregon folks will continue to vote on ballot measures according to their merits, not your no-brain slogans.

AOI is representative of some, but certainly not all, of the business community. It will be interesting to see where the other groups come in on 48.

Silence Dogood, Claiming M48 is about a rainy day fund is like claiming slavery was about keeping Afro-Americans from getting lost in the woods.

Tom, this information comes directly from the SPEND Oregon website.

Question of the day: I looked the Rainy Day Amendment over and I can’t figure out why SPEND Oregon and the media are calling it "Colorado" or "TABOR." Answer: SPEND Oregon is using political propaganda because calling Measure 48 a "Rainy Day Amendment" simply polls better than calling it what it is: a constitutional amendment that allows a generous growth allowance to state government, sets aside $2.2 billion in Rainy Day Funds next biennium, and gives the voters final say on overspending decisions. Read the fine print. Nothing in Measure 48 says anything about Colorado or TABOR.

Silence Dogood,

Those seeking to hoodwink seldom state their intentions out loud in public.

Dave, Torridjoe and others - communication glitches caused us to miss the voters pamphlet deadline so we aren't listed among the business groups opposed to M48, but the Oregon Home Builders Association voted to oppose the measure as well. Just for the record.

How Jon has grown in office. Could it be that when a lobbyists' fingerprints have been on file at the Oregon Ethics Commission for long enough, the lobbyist finally becomes ... more "progressive"?

If you buy that, you may also be led to believe the fiction that lobbyists' influence is greatest with newly-elected lawmakers and that lobbyists' influence decreases as a lawmaker accumulates seniority. That long term relationships between lobbyists and legislators are harmful to their powers of persuasion.

That's what Jon asks you to believe in a Voters' Pamphlet argument against Measure 45 - or maybe that's another, different kind of "communications glitch".