Hooley to Face Rematch of '06
It looks like Rep. Darlene Hooley will be facing a rematch of her 2006 reelection campaign next year. Businessman Mike Erickson, who lost to Hooley in last year's election, is once again preparing to run as the Republican candidate for Oregon's 5th Congressional District, the Oregonian reports:
Erickson is assembling a team of policy and finance advisers and has hired Cary Evans as his general political consultant.The Oregon Republican Party is backing Erickson, which could bring national Republican funds for his campaign even before the primary.
"We're allowing them to come in and choose early," giving him "favored status" in the party, said Vance Day, Oregon Republican Party chairman.
The race could again shape up to be divisive and negative:
Neither party holds a commanding lead in registered voters. Republicans have a slight edge, but Hooley's name familiarity and time in office has dissuading Republicans better-known than Erickson from trying to unseat her.Hooley described the 2006 campaign as the most negative she has faced.
Erickson was backed by an independent campaign by some of the people that produced the divisive "Swift Boat" ads against 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, questioning aspects of his Vietnam service.
Read the rest. The outlook is not good for Oregon Republicans when the state and national parties are racing to support a candidate who lost his last match up with Hooley by over 13 11 percent of the vote.
Discuss.
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Sept. 17, 2007
Posted in in the news 2007. |
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1:12 p.m.
Sep 17, '07
Yawn. He ran an inept campaign last time, spent a bunch of money and got nowhere.
And I have to laugh--WHAT national Republican funds? If I recall right, the NRCC has about $2mil in hand so far, for the WHOLE HOUSE. Pathetic. Dems have 10x that much, literally.
But also note how the state GOP has no qualms about selecting a candidate and making them THE Republican candidate. DPO does not do that; kudos to them.
Sep 17, '07
Barring any unforeseen blunders, Hooley will win easily. Erickson spent record amounts of his own money last election and didn't even come close in a district that republicans really should win. This said I think that Hooley is way too calculated in her policy decisions in a district and election climate where she hold a commanding lead. Two things Congresswoman Hooley needs to do: 1)She needs to get her name on a global warming bill. She sits on the committee and subcommittee that will form this important legislation and she has yet to come out in support of anything. 2)She needs actually speak out against the war and a withdrawal plan. What are we waiting for? Her Clean the Willamette bill is great, but a little too fluffy and seems like calculated PR to keep her name in the papers on an issue that is not even hot button.
1:57 p.m.
Sep 17, '07
On behalf of Republicans, may I say that Tom is exactly right. Hooley has been playing it safe, holding onto a closely divided district with great success. She needs to spice things up, move solidly over to the left and give us a competitive race for a change.
Come on, Darlene. Quit trying to represent your constituents and provide us a little more entertainment value. After all, isn't that what democracy is all about?
Sep 17, '07
Hear, hear, Jack. By doing something about global warming and the Iraq war, Hooley would be ignoring the thirty percent of the electorate that would never vote for her. After all, isn't the rule of the minority what democracy's all about?
Sep 17, '07
In case you actually need the numbers, Jack, 70 percent of Americans think the government needs to do more about global warming, 86 percent think the Earth's headed for serious trouble if we don't do anything, and 64 percent want a 100% pullout from Iraq within a year.
Sep 17, '07
Amen Jack.
I love these voices from the far left: on the one hand, "Hooley will win easily" ; on the other hand, Hooley should do more to put her seat in jeopardy.
Why does praise from the base always have to be tempered with criticism?
The activist-left loves it when they hear folks like Obama talk about "a new kind of politics" that is not divisive and is more oriented toward problem-solving, but when they're shown an exemplar of that "new" kind of politics, they condemn it. Be more divisive, Darlene! Demagogue issues more! Do a better job alienating half of your constituents!
Darlene Hooley has done a damn good job in Congress representing her constituents and holding on to a seat that by all rights should be occupied by a Republican. She is well loved in her district and has worked hard to earn a broad base of support.
On second thought, maybe Tom is right. Maybe Hooley isn't good enough on environmental issues. After all, her League of Conservation Voters Score is only 92%. (It was 100% last year.) Why isn't it 150%?! Damn you Darlene! Why do you hate wildlife so much?! What did the polar bears ever do to you?!
And on the Iraq War -- it isn't enough that she actually voted against it and continues to speak out against it. I mean, she only has a statement condemning the war and the president at the very top of her congressional webpage. Why isn't it nailed to her forehead? It's not enough that she has already voted for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Why hasn't she flown out to Iraq to personally serve as a human shield in Anbar Province?!
Please.
3:04 p.m.
Sep 17, '07
Somehow, I think Darlene Hooley knows who her voters are and how to appeal them. Otherwise, she wouldn't have run up the winning margins she has in what statistically is the most competitive district in the state.
You guys remind me of all the Republicans I hear complain that Gordon Smith's problem is that he isn't conservative enough.
Sep 17, '07
Oh, and one more thing... let's not forget that she was the first person in the Oregon delegation to say that she will not take impeachment off the table.
But she wasn't the first person in the country to say it! Damn you Darlene! Why must you always give in to the radical right-wing agenda! You might as well call yourself Congresswoman Sean Hannity (R-Or.)!
Sep 17, '07
Misha,
Tom says get back to the books.
Sep 17, '07
SAVE DEMCRACY, VOTE FOR A DEMOCRAT!!
Unless the subject is consumption of alcohol, I don't quote the English, yet?
I thing the word that best describes Mike Erickson is "WANKER!"
Happy Thoughts;
Dan Grady
Sep 17, '07
Dan, there's a reason you have to reach back 80 years to try to make that argument. Democrats are not the party enforcing Puritanism on their neighbors today. Ever heard of Drinking Liberally?
Also, Misha and Jack, someone who's winning 13% margins has some room to make some bold votes. (And the observation that impeachment hasn't yet been stripped from our constitution doesn't count.)
Sep 17, '07
Sorry Dan, I thought you were being sarcastic with your all-caps enthusiasm. Nevermind.
Sep 17, '07
james x, be careful what you wish for as you just might get it. with a 13% margin, the "bold" move she could make may well be in the opposite direction from what you would like to see.
Sep 17, '07
Refer to above. Voting for withdrawal or for doing something about global warming is only nominally "bold." Voting the other way is what would put Hooley in the minority.
Sep 17, '07
As a Republican? Is he sure?
Last time he had blue and white signs, and refused to identify himself on his signage or on his website as a Republican.
I mean, I understand why - but talk about shameless and slimy.
5:26 p.m.
Sep 17, '07
Shameless and slimy. That pretty much sums up Mike Erickson right there. And it ain't because of his lawn signs.
5:34 p.m.
Sep 17, '07
And for a serious thought:
I'm a little troubled by the idea that underlies James X. comments (someone who's winning 13% margins has some room to make some bold votes)... which we've heard around here before about Darlene Hooley.
It's the notion that somewhere, deep inside, she's got "real opinions" that she's hiding, or moderating, or keeping from the voters.
Isn't it possible that Darlene Hooley is giving the voters of the 5th District her absolute dead-level best -- votes informed by her conscience, her experience, and her study of the issues?
I've known Darlene personally for over a decade now, after working on her first congressional campaign in 1996, and I'm not sure I've ever met a less "political" politician. Scheming to conceal the real Darlene? That's laughable to anyone that knows her.
I don't often agree with Jack Roberts, but Darlene Hooley is a perfect fit for her district - and an authentic one. The woman who once taught junior high phys. ed. in Gervais (I think that's right) knows this district intuitively. And she doesn't much have to think about it, it runs in her blood.
Have I agreed with every vote she's cast over the last decade? Nope. But I've never doubted for a minute that every vote from Congresswoman Hooley is an authentic one.
Maybe it's easier to imagine conspiracy theories and complex political strategems than to imagine that someone you like and respect just plain disagrees with you, but that doesn't mean it's the correct answer.
6:01 p.m.
Sep 17, '07
Please of please, I hope the already cash-strapped National Republican Congressional Committee throws money into the race, money they can't spend elsewhere. Seems the GOPers learned nothing from the Minis debacle (on the legislature level) or from the millions they wasted trying to win in New Jersey (at the US Senate level) when they lost Montana and Virginia by less than 20,000 votes between the two races.
Here's hoping they are using THE math formulas that Rove came up with in 2006. If they are sinking money into trying to replace Hooley, it seems they are are using the same fantasy math that Rove had in the weeks before the "thumpin' ".
Sep 17, '07
"70 percent of Americans think the government needs to do more about global warming, 86 percent think the Earth's headed for serious trouble if we don't do anything, and 64 percent want a 100% pullout from Iraq within a year."
These "Americans" you reference are a brilliant lot, aren't they? Allow me to pull a statistic from my own ass. At least 50% of Americans are vacant, ill informed dolts who are far more concerned with the lives of celebrities and mindless entertainment than they are about science or the workings of their own government. Telling me that 70% of the general population believes something doesn't mean much when the largest sampling represents the opinions of fools.
6:05 p.m.
Sep 17, '07
Should read:
Preview is your freind Mitch
6:07 p.m.
Sep 17, '07
True, after all 30% still support Bush.
Sep 17, '07
Erickson trashed himself good the last time out. And he has a record that will once again be brought to the light of day. In this instance it will be to Darlene's advantage to know this is her opponent. And no doubt the DCCC will supporting her in every respect. He impressed everyone as the king of sleaze in 2004. His support for Bush and his war, his pushing the privatization of social security, his opposition to increases in the minimum wage, his opposition to universal health care will be an even greater hit with the working class of this district.
6:26 p.m.
Sep 17, '07
From the proofreader's desk:
The second link in the original post is busted, and Hooley won 54% to ~43%, so all you talking about a 13% margin are a little off.
6:41 p.m.
Sep 17, '07
What Kari said about Darlene Hooley. She's no flaming radical, but she is authentic, sincere, and real, and that's obviously more than good enough for her constituents, who keep reelecting her. I'm a fan, personally.
Sep 17, '07
I've known Darlene since she was in the legislature. She may not be the darling of everyone on BO, but she is authentic. There were those in 1996 who thought she won while the previous candidate lost because she never strayed beyond "that's our Darlene"---the person her old friends had known for a long time.
As I recall, she was once a school teacher. At the end of her recent Salem town hall meeting, she thanked everyone in the audience who respectfully let others say what they came to say. That may not be someone flashy, but is there anything wrong with reliable public servant who quietly gets things done? If you ever know a veteran who needs help dealing with government programs, it would be hard to find a better advocate than the Hooley staff.
Is that boring, or is that getting the job done in a diverse district (mid-valley to coast)?
Erickson obviously didn't realize that as he didn't even include veterans on his campaign website during a time when lots of people know someone in the active duty military, Guard or Reserve. Did he really think "vote Republican because we are good and they are bad" would be enough to win an election and depose an incumbent?
Sep 17, '07
Has anyone heard if Sid Leiken is going to challenge Peter DeFazio? That was a pretty hot rumor for a while.
8:46 p.m.
Sep 17, '07
Thanks, Pete. I've fixed that in the original post.
8:57 p.m.
Sep 17, '07
Has anyone heard if Sid Leiken is going to challenge Peter DeFazio? That was a pretty hot rumor for a while.
He is not. It's unlikely DeFazio will have a serious opponent this election.
Sep 18, '07