Corvallis Gazette-Times endorses Gov Kulongoski
T.A. Barnhart
"Kulongoski has earned our trust" is the headline of the GT's endorsement of Gov Ted Kulongoski, and that's the gist:
Saxton is full of solutions to issues that pale compared to what faced Gov. Ted Kulongoski when he took office in January 2003: Soaring unemployment and hunger rates; a high-tech economy mired in that industry’s global slump and a $3 billion state budget deficit.We’re back from the brink on all of those things, and Kulongoski deserves some credit for that.
The GT was under-impressed with Saxton, stating that the more they listened to him, the more "double-talk" they heard. The governor, on the other hand, has demonstrated his commitment to what he believes with action, highlighted by his decision to attend the funerals of every Oregonian killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Ultimately, when we ask ourselves the question that Ronald Reagan asked voters in his 1980 campaign, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” we have to say that the answer for Oregon is “Yes.” Saxton may not be willing to give credit to Kulongoski for helping to make that possible, but we will, along with our endorsement.
Read the entire endorsement at the Gazette-Times.
 |
More Recent Posts | |
Albert Kaufman |
|
Guest Column |
|
Kari Chisholm |
|
Kari Chisholm |
Final pre-census estimate: Oregon's getting a sixth congressional seat |
Albert Kaufman |
Polluted by Money - How corporate cash corrupted one of the greenest states in America |
Guest Column |
|
Albert Kaufman |
Our Democrat Representatives in Action - What's on your wish list? |
Kari Chisholm |
|
Guest Column |
|
Kari Chisholm |
|
connect with blueoregon
9:43 a.m.
Oct 25, '06
Also endorsing Ted, a rather broad assortment of papers:
Oh, sorry, that last one is inaccurate. Should be "a majority of members of the Oregonian's ed board."
Oct 25, '06
Governor Kulongoski has been honorable and deserves respect for going to the funerals of our fallen heroes.
As to the contention, are we better off now than four years ago. In absolute terms, yes, we are not in recession. But is that due to Kulongoski's leadership or because the national economy has come back. Oregon always seems to be the first into a recession and last out of a recession. It's the old saw, "When the nation sneezes, Oregon catches a cold."
The question is: Are you satified with Governor kulongoski's leadership? Can we do better? We have a large and cumbersome government here in Oregon. Can we get more "bang for the buck"?
Has Governor Kulongoski demonstrated a style and actions, which suggest he will perform better than his last four years? The question is put forth because most of the newspaper endorsements Kulongoski has recieved are premised on the requirement that he perform better than he has.
So, again, what evidence can be pointed to which leads the voters of Oregon to believe he will perform better?
The Governorship is a performance job. It is not about good intentions!
Oct 25, '06
Using performance criteria Saxton's record on the Portland School board gives him an unquestionable "F." His ethical performance as a corporate attorney in the investigation before the State Bar ethics board, his ethical and possibly legal lapses as a "cherry farmer" employing the undocumented in substandard and unlicensed housing gives him also an "F."
10:14 a.m.
Oct 25, '06
the one thing we can do to give Kulo a real opportunity to do even better in the next four years is get rid of Minnis and her GOP anti-democracy majority in the House. with Minnis and Scott simply refusing to allow a democratic process to exist, the Legislature, and the Governor, had little to chance to address some of the state's most pressing issues. this makes the Gov's accomplishments all the more impressive. get rid of Minnis, restore the democratic process to the entire Legislature (the House allowing all members a chance to work on issues, the way the Dem-led Senate included the Republican minority), and Kulo will be able to take the kinds of actions the state needs.
i don't blame all of Ted's short-comings on Minnis, but getting rid of her will only bring good.
Oct 25, '06
je says "Oregon always seems to be the first into a recession and last out of a recession." Oregon is not the last out of this recession and it's directly because of Kulongoski's leadership. Kulongoski persuaded the legislature to enact a hefy transportation package that created family-wage jobs while repairing our roads, bridges, airports, and seaports. Kulongoski created the shovel-ready industrial lands base and personally urged companies like Google, Yahoo!, Genentech, and Amy's Kitchen to come to Oregon.
Oct 25, '06
Bill, I would suggest this election is a referendum on Governor Kulongoski's leadership.
As to Ron Saxton's time on the Portland School Board, remember the dynamics at play during his tenure. Saxton was one of five members and while true he was chairman his last two years, he was just one vote on a liberal board. To say his tenure was failed is to condenm the liberal culture which controlled the board and the political establishment in Portland during his time on the board. Ron Saxton, at the time, was credited with being able to work with the other members of the board in a collaborative fashion, and as opposed to being a lone wolf, voted with his fellow board members most of the time. So be careful where you throw your stones because it may turn out you are breaking glass on the liberal house.
When you can't defend your guy's record...Attack the other guy.
t.a., "...even better.." leadership? Did he walk the halls(attemp to persade legislators or twist arms?), work the levers, or most important, go to the people and persuade them his proposed solutions were the best course of action(the governor has the bully pulpit) to take?
Oct 25, '06
myranda, We are still 7th or 8th highest on the unemployment level. Are you satified with the pay scale for those jobs? "No governor has gotten more done." Is that accurate? Because that what his latest radio as says. Does that quote reflect reality?
11:10 a.m.
Oct 25, '06
je, i love the rhetorical questions. good tactic: avoid saying anything useful yourself while bringing my statements into doubt. a good ploy when you have no ammo in your gun.
Saxton is yet another empty suit the Rs drag out in the hopes they might finally trick Oregon's voters. it can work at the local level (Andy Olson HD15) but the only way to work statewide is spend millions telling lies. that's not an attack; it's what Saxton's done.
Oct 25, '06
t.a., The questions are not rhetorical, I'd like you to answer if you can. Your answers would edify the readers, and you know most of the readers are sympathetic to your point of view anyway, so whats to lose?
To answer your positive critique of Governor Kulongoski's term, here.
Most of his plans revolve around more money, not how to reform the system, in other words, the status quo is fine.
His plans for more money have mostly fallen on deaf ears. When asked in debate: What if you can't get more money, what is your plan B? Kulongoski's response: I don't have a plan B, because, well...I just know I'll convince voters to raise taxes...So again I ask a hard non-rhetorical question: What evidence do you have that Kulongoski will convince voters to raise taxes? Even if Democrats do gain control of the House, the voters still have the final say over taxes. So, infact your excuses for Kulongoski about his failures are not solved by, quote,"getting rid of Minnis." How simplistic, t.a., you know better than that.
Oct 25, '06
Speaking of the debates, the silliest thing Saxton said last night was, "When did politics become what side are you on?"
When was it ever anything else?
But for a lot of us out here, Kulongoski's campaign sign slogan, "You know whose side he's on," doesn't include ours.
The most provocative thing Saxton said was that Measure 41 would lower taxes for the working and lower classes. He cited the virtually flat income tax that Oregon now assesses.
In any other debate, one would think a "flat tax" would garner scorn from Democrats. This is a serious lack -- not just in the state, but in the party, a party that has come to be seen by many as serving bureaucrats and the comfortable and ignoring anyone else lest it be to create another agency to "serve" (and cost) them.
I will be voting for that measure.
And Saxton.
12:11 p.m.
Oct 25, '06
getting rid of Minnis as Speaker is the single most important thing we can do to fix Oregon. you need look no further than her dictatorial, anti-democratic burying of SB1000 to know this is true. she & Scott used their committee chair minions to bury many other pieces of legislation they opposed but knew would likely pass.
how many initiatives might Ted have simply shelved knowing that with Minnis as Speaker, they were doa? given the vindictive manner she & Scott work, why take that risk? with Merkley as Speaker, Ted (and the rest of the House) can finally address problems in a way that gives everyone a voice. yes, the Democrats are likely to prevail, but it won't be the steamrolling of the Minnis/Scott era; we're much more likely to return to the Golden Age of the Kitz/Katz Leg.
12:32 p.m.
Oct 25, '06
je
Saxton is "The Man With No Plan". Read the Corvallis Gazette-Times endorsement carefully. The editorial is critical of Saxton because, "He often doesn't address the real issues behind voter's questions. This engenders distrust, that is why he hasn't persuaded us he would be a better governor than Kulongoski who has led Oregon through four tough years."
More from the GT:
"We get more double-talk when Saxton proposes taking on the Teacher's Unions and yet boosting teacher's pay. Fundamental economics, if not common sense and history, suggest that such a course would trigger endless rounds of court battles at taxpayer expense. It's hard to see how this will improve schools."
What is Saxton's biggest acheivment so far? He led Oregon's largest public school system for 2 years as the Board Chair. It is common knowledge PPS's are viewed by many as the most mismanaged school district in our state.
What we have here is a puppet candidate propped up by a fancy campaign staff with most of the money supporting his campaign from out of state special interest groups. His newly minted Republican make over is thin on any real specifics and thick with imagined cost savings. Maybe somebody needs to remind Saxton that our state lost 25% of the General Fund during the recession. We are just now, under Kulongoski's leadership, almost back to the breaking even point. If Saxton is elected, this state has only one way to go...backwards!
Oct 25, '06
t.a., A couple of comments. One, the issue of civil unions is not about spending more money and raising taxes, at least directly. so that answer is non-responsive to my questions. But while I do understand Kulongoski did support the bill, I didn't hear him go tooth and nail, hammer and tong during the session to get that passed. So even on an issue important to Democrats he did not display leadership.
Second, ooh, poor Ted, sooo disspirited, it,s not even worth the effort to try and lead. t.a., what are his supporters supposed to make of that? If only...if only people wouldn't be sooo mean to Ted, those big bad playground bullies threatening to take Ted's lunch money away, "Mommy, please don't make me go out to the playground, Scott and Minnis just play too rough!" Yes, that's my definition of leadership, he, he.
Politics isn't for the faint of heart...It's a rough business.
"...[T]he Golden Age of the Kitz/Katz Leg." Ha ha, my goodness, you are looking through rose colored glasses.
Oct 25, '06
paulie, I'll be quick, I think my welcome is wearing thin. I guess Saxton should just roll over for the OEA. See, my above post on Ron Saxton's school board tenure. Did spending go down 25%? Or was that number based on how much the government would have liked to have spent, but didn't get the chance because of the recession?
3:08 p.m.
Oct 25, '06
And the winner of the Most Disingenuous & Stupid sleight-of-hand 'Question' Award goes to.. (drum roll) ...je!
Revenue had dropped close to 25% on a year-over-year basis compared the previous cycle as Ted came into office because of the Bush recession, the budget and PERS had to be cut to balance... your craptacular yet mint condition gold-standard of GOP talking points as lame attempt at distraction about the fabled "what 'they' wanted to spend" is pathetic irrelevant drivel though done deftly. Cling to your 'tax and spend' fantasies about Democrats, which has become a bette noire for the right-wing, if it makes you feel better but like the GOP on every substantive issue, it is does not even begin to approach reality.
Oct 25, '06