Well - more power to him if he does, but I read the article at kos and it makes sense for Earl to stay in the house at this point seems to me.

I dig the national attention this race is getting. But it probably means a lot more visitors to this site, and we wouldn't want all these new folks to get the wrong impression of Oregonians, would be? Oregonians would never mix up "queue" and "cue."

;-)

Earl should run. He is the strongest candidate of the potential field that I have heard about here and elsewhere.

Kari get busy and lobby your butt off to get Earl to go for the Senate.

Hey, it sounds the same, maybe it's spelled the same. Kari, what skule did you attend?

Back to the post... "I guess he's short and has a wicked tongue. He's also a regular contributor at Blue Oregon."

So, which of those three descriptors qualify him for office? a) short b) wicked tongue c) BO contributor d) a and b e) b and c f) a and c g) a and b and c

Hey folks:

Flattering, but the job that really interests me -- and the one I am considering running for -- is Attorney General of Oregon. The issues I really care about are ones that impact us right here at home: meth, child abuse, child support enforcement, the environment. I think our next AG should tackle those issues aggressively.

As for the Senate, I have to admit I am a John Kitzhaber man, and I wish he would run, because I think he would win, and we need leadership on health care in Washington. But if that doesn't happen, then I think everyone should give Steve Novick a hard look. Steve is, quite simply, the smartest public policy expert in the state, bar none. If the last six years have proved anything at all, we need more brains -- and more principled courage -- in Washington. Steve is also a real hero in the environmental world: the Love Canal case was a very big deal. So if Steve runs, we ought to take it very seriously. No one thought Paul Wellstone was a serious candidate, but he ran a true grass roots campaign, fought bvery hard, and he won. That ought to be our model.

. No one thought Paul Wellstone was a serious candidate

Who is no one? Wellstone was a long shot, but he was an experienced statewide candidate with an established following.

he ran a true grass roots campaign, fought bvery hard, and he won.

He also had a brilliant paid media campaign. And he went over the top only after Rudy Boschwitz, his opponent, sent out a letter to synagogues the week before the election criticizing Wellstone for having married a non-Jew.

And that grassroots campaign didn't just happen in 1990, it was the result of over 20 years of helping build citizen movements and training their leaders.

Just to keep anything possible in perspective. Arne Carlson was elected governor of Minnesota that same year as a write-in candidate. He had been defeated in the Republican gubernatorial primary only two months earlier. Strange things happen, but its crazy to count on them.

Correct on both counts: I am not going to run for Senate, and we should not wait for Kitzhaber. We should draft Novick for Senate. And we should make sure we have a strong progressive running for every office.

Kos is eastcoast. I thought we were tired of east coasters runing our show. Not necessarily in our interests.

Thanks, Thomas W.

I think Ben Westlund would be a strong candidate.

How is it that the conventional wisdom says Earl is the strongest potential candidate? As much as I love him as my representative, how is he going to play outside of Multnomah County? Other than being prescient on Iraq, his issues are awfully damn urban.

Jeez, Novick is becoming a rock star in this state. He's all over the media and they all love him. Women think he's cute. I think the only guy who could beat him now in the primary is Ron Eachus (another short guy).

If only he can raise money.

"Novick is becoming a rock star in this state."

Dude, we must attend different concerts. I don't think he'll be packing the Jersey Lilly in Roseburg anytime soon.

Steve is a "rock star" to a select, insider crowd. Sort of like Brian Eno, I have a hard time seeing him stepping out front and gaining mass appeal. Doesn't mean he's not smart or funny or anything else.

Earl might not play well outside of pdx either, but at least he could get a billing and would have the funds to get heard...all the while carrying the metro areas very well.

As for Kroger (the topic of the post?)- he has my vote for any state wide office he choses to run for.

A voice from the wilds: I know who Earl is (sometimes I can spell his last name) and most people I know (not just Democrats - that'd be awfully select for here) know who Earl is.

I read BO and I barely know who Novick is. That's uphill alot.

Troubles with KOS? Kos is quoting Blue Oregon and Oregon regularly, so giving Kos say on Oregon Politics on this blog is the least Kari can do.

Not sure of the Novick-Rockstar comparison thing, but if he has a chance to win, he should definately run. The real question is, does he have enough following outside of the Portland Political Insider and Blue Oregon Crowd?

How about former Air Force General Tony McPeak of Lake Oswego? He'd pull votes from all over the state and across party lines.