OR-1: Running against Wu, Joel Haugen (R) considers switching parties
Kari Chisholm
In the May primary election, Joel Haugen won 70% of the vote for the Republican nomination in Oregon's First Congressional District. But now, it appears that he's considering withdrawing his nomination - and running as a nominee of the Independent Party of Oregon.
The landslide winner of the Republican primary in Oregon's 1st Congressional District says he might switch to the fledgling Independent Party of Oregon.Joel Haugen, a Scappoose business owner, said fellow Republicans have turned against him because he supports Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Previously, blogger Sal Peralta noted that Haugen had been barred from various GOP events:
Haugen has been barred from speaking at, or attending, the GOP nominating convention for Congressional District 1 this weekend. He also claims that he has been barred from attending Republican booths at fairs and festivals in Columbia and Yamhill Counties."He's not a Republican", said Fred Yauney, Chair of the Columbia County Republicans. "He's a Republican in name only", in response to questions about why Haugen was excluded from the nominating convention and not permitted to sit in the county booths.
The Nation magazine's blog has more:
Since his nomination, however, the progressive Republican who identifies with Republicans like former President Teddy Roosevelt and old-school Oregon Republican leaders such as former Governor Tom McCall and former Senator Mark Hatfield has been attacked and ostracized by members of his own party.Neal Lockhart, a veteran GOP activist in the district, recently informed Haugen that, "As a lifelong member of the Republican Party, I am stunned that you would actually think ... anybody that is a true Republican would even think of helping you."
"You are not a real Republican, you are a shill," Lockhart told Haugen. "You are exactly what I have warned everyone about. Please do us a favor, quit the party."
Wow. Apparently, even once you've won a Republican primary, you don't get to be a Republican candidate if you don't hew to the party orthodoxy.
How long will it be before these guys lose their legal major party status - like Canada's Conservative Party did in the 1990s?
Update: The following comment was posted by Sarah Tiedemann:
I'm Joel Haugen's campaign manager and would like to clarify that he is not changing his registration or rescinding the Republicans' nomination for Oregon's 1st Congressional District. With that said, he is enthusiastic about potentially receiving the support and endorsement of the Oregon Independent Party.I would also like to state that in no way is Joel attempting to demonize the Oregon Republican Party with his actions. In fact, we sympathize with the predicament this situation has created for GOP leadership. Joel is simply supporting issues and individuals he believes in, as he feels the nation's well-being takes precedent to that of the party.
 |
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
12:08 p.m.
Jul 25, '08
Joel Haugen may be the kind of story and candidate the Independent Party of Oregon needs to rebound after losing Mr. Frohnmayer.
Jul 25, '08
I worked the Democratic booth at the Columbia County fair last week, when Haugen came by and asked for an Obama bumper sticker (we had already sold out, unfortunately). I was a bit confused when he introduced himself, told me he was serious and gave me his card. It's a nice card; glossy, double sided, doesn't mention that he's a Republican and lists bullet points that are quite progressive (actually, I'd have to see what he means by "education reform" and "replace our broken tax system"). It doesn't surprise me that there's a rift, but why didn't he just challenge Wu in the primary as a Democrat? I know, I know-because he would have lost.
Jul 25, '08
Well -- so much for the big tent.
The Oregon GOP scratches its head and wonders why it loses statewide election after election. These occasional Beer-Hall Putschs may be a clue. They're going to turn themselves into a permanent minority party.
Will the GOP in District. 1 get to nominate a "real" republican if Haugen bolts? And wouldn't it be delightful for that new republican candidate to run third?
Jul 25, '08
I've met Haugen twice. The second time was last night at the opening of the Obama Washington County headquarters. He seems like a nice guy. Sincere. But, I fear, hopelessly naive about the political process.
The fact that he managed to sneak in and get the nomination of the GOP just shows how pathetic the Republican party is in CD1. It really is quite shocking considering how the Dem/Repub split is nearly 50-50 in Washington County.
(btw, he got a mixed reception. Someone people talked gladly with him. Others were not so amused to have the Republican candidate campaigning at an Obama event. Oh well.)
Jul 25, '08
Nice post. I'm glad we Dems don't do the same things as Republicans when it comes to Joe Lieberman.
1:37 p.m.
Jul 25, '08
The fact that he managed to sneak in...
Except that he didn't really sneak in at all. He got 70% of the vote!
2:35 p.m.
Jul 25, '08
Joel Haugen is a man of integrity and honor. He is a traditional progressive Republican. Oregon used to have a lot of them and there are a few left. I know him as a fellow vet who has worked against this awful war in Iraq from the begining.
2:43 p.m.
Jul 25, '08
Lieberman faces caucus rules that almost demand he be stripped of his Chairmanships. Is Joel badmouthing Republicans? That's all Joe does anymore.
3:33 p.m.
Jul 25, '08
Bsed on the remarks here (especially John Calhoun's), I'm ver glad that I'm not in the First, 'cause I'd be really tempted to vote against Wu.
3:51 p.m.
Jul 25, '08
Matt,
There really is a difference with Joe Lieberman. Lieberman legitimately lost the Democratic nomination to Ned Lamont. He was not expelled from the party, he chose to leave it to compete to retain his senate seat drawing on the support of some Democrats plus independents and some Republicans, something I believe would not have been possible in Oregon.
If anything, there is greater similarity in the unwillingness of some DP officials to support Lamont once he won the nomination. But that similarity is small as well. No one in Connecticut was repudiated by their party after being nominated.
side noteTheodore Roosevelt hated being referred to as "Teddy" and never used that nickname willingly, preferring "T.R." I understand that this reference came from The Nation.end side note
This really does seem to represent a GOP degeneration in CD 1. As I recall Elizabeth Furse was always considered at least somewhat vulnerable, and David Wu's original run against Molly Bordonaro was close.
4:48 p.m.
Jul 25, '08
I too spoke with Haugen and his staff at the Washington County Obama HQ opening last night. He endorses and supports both Obama and Merkley. One of our aging hippie central committee members hates Wu so severely that he's voting for Haugen. I won't do that, even though I havn't got much respect for Wu, because once I split with the Republican party, I split for good and forever and I don't think it's ethical to vote outside the party (hint to those who cling to defeated primary election candidates).
I got exactly the same treatment from Oregon GOP when, in 2004, Jeff Mapes exposed me as refusing to support Bush for election. Within 72 hours I had been kicked out of 7 party offices and the position as ED of Oregon Mainstream Repubs. Danish TV actually interviewed me about all that.
Jul 25, '08
I'm Joel Haugen's campaign manager and would like to clarify that he is not changing his registration or rescinding the Republicans' nomination for Oregon's 1st Congressional District. With that said, he is enthusiastic about potentially receiving the support and endorsement of the Oregon Independent Party.
I would also like to state that in no way is Joel attempting to demonize the Oregon Republican Party with his actions. In fact, we sympathize with the predicament this situation has created for GOP leadership. Joel is simply supporting issues and individuals he believes in, as he feels the nation's well-being takes precedent to that of the party.
7:44 p.m.
Jul 25, '08
How dare Haugen go against the Republicans? sarcasm
From reading the two articles, it looks like the only reason the Republicans have their panties in an uproar is the fact that he supports Obama and his stances on healthcare and the war.
The funny thing is that the Oregon GOP won't even acknowledge they are shunning their own candidate (again this is the perception I'm getting from reading the articles).
Haugen doesn't sound that bad to me, but he shouldn't have run as a Republican in the first place. I'm not in the 1st CD, but it will be interesting to see what happens.
8:30 p.m.
Jul 25, '08
"With that said, he is enthusiastic about potentially receiving the support and endorsement of the Oregon Independent Party. "
With fusion, the IP could make it official and put Haugen on two (or more) lines. What if WFP endorsed him too (theoretically)? Too bad the elections officials dragged their feet and poormouthed it. I am unclear on Kate Brown's position on fusion, but she was in a position to get it through and it died there, so I dunno. Just struck by the situation here--the Republican who endorses the Democrat and gets the Independent nod.
Jul 26, '08
We shall have to wait and see if the Oregon Republican's actively promote and support an alternative candidate. Then the would be doing EXACTLY what the National Democratic Party did to Lieberman.
Would the DPO really be gracious and allow a democrat state candidate to continue should they openly support McCain? I know of no such interest, but it would make for a very interesting fall.
Jul 26, '08
Republicans, please keep up the good work of cutting off your nose to spite your face and shooting yourselves in the foot etc. The sooner you reach near extinction, the better.
I feel a Progressive breeze starting to blow through this country. Let's face it the last 28 years have been a disaster for this country. Reagan and Mao, two guys who got it really wrong. We have allot of cleaning up to do.
3:30 p.m.
Jul 26, '08
TorridJoe, Haugen has said that he is going to remain a Republican and that he accepts their nomination. However, that does not preclude him from also accepting the nomination of the Independent Party.
My understanding of the administrative rules adopted by the elections division is that if he is also given the Independent nomination he will be able to choose whether to appear on the ballot as an Independent or as a Republican.
Jul 26, '08
This is a serious question:
What exactly is Wu's offense here? He has voted against Bush 99% of the time, so why exactly are good progressives babbling about this?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that if Mark Hatfield or Teddy Roosevelt attempted to make it as a Democrat or Green today in Oregon, they wouldn't get 1% of the vote.
I don't live in Wu's district and don't know much about him, outside of generally following the votes of all of our congress members.
6:05 p.m.
Jul 26, '08
Confused, I think you are totally confused if you believe that a politician of Hatfield's stature and positions would not well over 1 percent of the Democratic vote today. Gordon Smith is going to draw upwards of 15-20 percent of the Democratic vote in the November election, and that's probably not a winning number for him.
As to why this is an important story...
This could be the first time in the modern era where a congressional candidate favors the nomination of a minor political party over that of one of the major parties.
Joel Haugen is a much bigger threat to the GOP's status quo than he is to David Wu. He campaigned on getting out of Iraq, energy independence, and universal health care in the Republican primary and handily beat the social conservative's candidate.
His 70 percent win in the GOP primary is an indicator that the party's orthodoxy is badly out of step with Republican voters, at least in CD1.
10:16 p.m.
Jul 26, '08
Kurt,
You are dead wrong about the CT primary. It was a grassroots rebellion by in-state DP activists against Lieberman's ultra-militarism. There were organized interests that supported it, e.g. I think MoveOn.org did, but the National Democratic Party supported Lieberman even when Lamont was leading in the polls and was much criticized for doing so by Lamont backers.
Jul 27, '08
I bet he's seeking to drop his Republican party affiliation simply because he knows he'll lose with an 'R' after his name?
The timing is a little too perfect for me.
Jul 27, '08
Oregon Independent might be right, but I was talking about Hatfield running in a Democratic primary. Hatfield has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Iraq War and two-time supporter of George W. Bush. He orchestrated the salvage rider which made all environmental laws disappear to allow the unchecked cutting of hundreds of thousands of acres of Oregon forests. And there were the two (known) violations of Senate ethics rules, the last of which drove him from office.
But none of this answers my main question: What, precisely, are the charges against David Wu that would cause good liberals, like me, to consider opposing him?
I did a bit of research since yesterday and still can't find much, except for the Medicare drug benefit vote.
Jul 27, '08
Confused, I don't think David Wu's voting record is what's necessarily suspect. He's made some bad calls with the Bankruptcy Reform Bill, Medicare, and his position on our relations with Cuba, but by and large he's got a solid voting record.
The big problem is that you also don't see him pushing the envelope-- he's on the better end of a status quo that's not working. Wu won't likely be someone to push dramatic energy reform through Congress, and he's not going to try to gut our tax system and do something completely different like Haugen. Between energy, the economy, and foreign affairs, we've gotten ourselves into quite a precarious situation in this country, and we need leaders who are willing to stir the pot, and to be bold.
12:41 p.m.
Jul 27, '08
Except that he didn't really sneak in at all. He got 70% of the vote!
I know that Dems always worry about the GOP/Dem split in CD1/Washington County. But I've been living in the district for over 30 years and the only GOPers who ever seem to be truly competitive with Dems at the CD/County level have been relative moderates. The Bruce and Charles Starrs may have better name recognition outside the District but they simply have not been competitive.
Haugen's 70% doesn't surprise me at all. True, hard-core conservatives only have isolated, relatively small pockets of strength in the District - such as in Cornelius. The relative weakness of those pockets is demonstrated by the decision by Hannah to go with Duyck for HD29 rather than Rilling, who is Mayor of Cornelius.
Jul 27, '08
we need leaders who are willing to stir the pot, and to be bold.
What, this one-minute speech wasn't bold enough for you? It didn't stir the pot enough for you?
8:17 p.m.
Jul 27, '08
Haugen's 70% doesn't surprise me at all. True, hard-core conservatives only have isolated, relatively small pockets of strength in the District - such as in Cornelius. The relative weakness of those pockets is demonstrated by the decision by Hannah to go with Duyck for HD29 rather than Rilling, who is Mayor of Cornelius.
That's exactly the point Haugen is trying to make as well, I think. His candidacy puts the GOP in the uncomfortable position of rejecting either the moderates that they need to get elected, or the base they need to get elected.
12:00 a.m.
Jul 28, '08
Confused, wow, I had no idea about Hatfield and Iraq, I thought at first you might be confusing Hatfield with Packwood, but you are right.
Jul 30, '08
Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Kari. Honestly, I'd never heard of this guy before you brought it up...but as a new resident of CD1 and someone who has been more than a little disappointed by Wu...I'm intrigued. Your party ideology is holier than thou argument disgusts me...that's what people like Ted Picollo and 'Rinowatch' promote and I sure as hell don't subscribe to their line of thinking. If you can get him to say that he'd vote for a Speaker Boehner then I might undervote...but for now, he sounds like he may be an alternative to "Congressman Klingon" Wu (for whom I just can't shake off the Stanford sexual harassment issue).