Based on the comments I've seen on this website throughout the past week or so, I would consider a Hass run for governor in 2010 to be very ill-advised. I think it would be somewhat akin to political suicide.

Republicrats like Hass like to play the common sense "moderate" and accuse progressives of penalizing politicians for being "independent" when it's about being wrong.

@ Joshua:

Calling Hass a Republicrat betrays a spectacular misapprehension of the man's record. He has, in a couple of high profile instances, voted with the business community and against his caucus. He has done so far less frequently than many of his other colleagues, both when he was in the House AND now that he's in the Senate. His one TEMPORARY no vote on the tax package is the single blight on an otherwise true blue record this session. He's voted with the party 97.74% of the time, which is more than 6% higher than the average for his party (91.73%). He votes with the party more often than party stalwarts like Jackie Dingfelder and Suzanne Bonamici, both of whom are great members.

I don't agree with his behavior on the Corporate Tax Vote. I think it was a bad move and a terrible precedent. I think it shows he's more influenced by the Oregon Business Association than he ought to be. But calling him a Republicrat is absolutely ridiculous.

What is he independent of? The Democratic Party? His constituents? No one ever quite says what they mean when they say this. I could surmise the meaning when Gordon Smith said it because the GOP had lost a large degree of its credibility in the past election because of the many years of bad governance on the federal and state level. In Smith's case independence was an attempt to dissociate the candidate from his and his party's record.

Look I am all for Democrats that work with both business and individuals. My only issue is with Democrats who walk into an office with a good degree of help from their party and then disavow loyalty to it, which seems to be the one clear thing in his statement of independence. I find it especially disconcerting when it is done inartfully and without a clear intelligible plan, I mean even liberals need to be pragmatic right?

I'm sure Sen. Hass is a fine man and I don't know all of the sides to this story. I am sure I have only been availed to a small sliver of what is the reality of the situation. I will say though from where I stand it looks as though Sen. Hass in seeking statewide office may want to be a bit more deliberate and concerted as he moves on to bigger and better things.

Not only from his stunt vote but also from his very weak explanation of that vote here, I would be apt to be a very enthusiastic supporter of his primary foe(s). Hass did not acquit himself well.

I have been saying to friends for quite some time that I'd love to see an intelligent Gov. primary, the sort of open debate on issues we were denied in 2006 when Ted ran as the infallible incumbent and how dare anyone question his wisdom.

Questions for Mark if he ran:

Where has his leadership been on tax reform? His office is a floor away from Sen. Frank Morse of the Revenue Restructuring Task Force---what exactly did Mark do on tax reform. Did he buy into the "can't do kicker reform this session, too risky" mentality of those like Nolan? There was a cartoon about the Virginia Gov. primary "Deeds beat words"--play on the winner's name, rural legislator Deeds.

Kitzhaber, Courtney, DeFazio have had experience representing counties outside of the Portland Metro area. What does Mark know about the differences between the rest of the state and the Portland area?

What exactly did Sen. Education Comm. Chair Hass do which was more worthy of consideration than what House Education or Ways and Means Education Subcommittee did? Does he believe we need a new way of funding and supervising school districts? Or is he of the belief that the state appropriates school funding without oversight because that is "tradition"? Do top school district administrators (or any other public administrator) deserve a car allowance when frontline workers must take pay cuts?

Where does Mark stand on health care and many other issues discussed in this legislative session?

Frank Morse gave quite a speech the day of the tax vote on the things not done this session---he and Mark would both have made more impression as leaders had they made their speeches earlier and/or actions to show for their concerns.

What has Mark done to show he could handle an emergency as Gov. (from financial emergency to natural disaster) better than Kitzhaber, DeFazio, or Courtney?

Mark, you can be as independent as you wish. Independent politicians who can explain their views are great! But if you can't go before town hall meetings all over the state and answer the questions above or others from ordinary citizens, you don't have a chance. As a statewide candidate you would more likely get support for saying "Darned right I support/ oppose that because..." than for playing inside baseball political games.

In 1994, I saw Kitzhaber stand in front of a town hall meeting and answer every question asked with information, explanation, and wit. He didn't give up independence by doing that.

Gerat quote from Obama in Newsweek--does Mark agree or disagree with this quote?
The American people, I think, not only have a toleration but also a hunger for explanation and complexity, and a willingness to acknowledge hard problems," Obama said. "I think one of the biggest mistakes that is made in Washington is this notion you have to dumb down things for the public."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/197889/page/2

Mark, what have you done this year to satisfy what Pres. Obama calls "a hunger for explanation and complexity"? Do you think that would harm your independence, or is it about hard work and understanding people outside the capitol?

Any candidate whose supporters/staff think that courtesy/ customer service is not important because they are the good guys should remember that people have the right to choose the candidate who answers their questions.

And yes, if neighbors are discussing a commercial and one of them thinks it is stupid and not related to the office sought, no amount of money, endorsements, independence, or anything else is likely to win that neighbor's vote. Votes must be earned. Too many political insiders forget that.

Full disclosure: my firm built Mark Hass's website. I speak only for myself.

BoydHansen:

OK, based on his entire record using "Republicrat" was unwarranted. However, in many cases democratic legislation has been far too conservative and on that basis you could label many Dems Republicrats.

That said, I stand behind my point that when Democrats vote against good progressive legislation and progressives then hold them accountable for being wrong, they try to claim they are being punished for being independent which is pure spin.

BoydHansen:

One additional point: You can make the same argument about Joe Lieberman's voting record and we know how much of an impediment he has been to progress in recent years.

LT said: Frank Morse gave quite a speech the day of the tax vote on the things not done this session---he and Mark would both have made more impression as leaders had they made their speeches earlier and/or actions to show for their concerns.

Actually, Sen. Morse has frequently spoken out about the need for tax reform and particulary kicker reform. He has been one of the strongest advocates in the legislature for reforming the kicker to beef up the rainy day fund so we hopefully won't have to go through such volatile budget periods in the future.

Joshua is very annoying.

Joshua:

1) My problem is with the label, not the criticism. It's perfectly valid to criticize him for his vote. You agree that at this time the label is unwarranted, so I think that's all that needs to be said.

2) Lieberman's highest party line rating was 88%. His sponsorship analysis comes up "moderate independent" on GovTrack. I think it's hard to argue that Hass is in that league yet.

This is not news. It was debunked months ago. Hass is not interested in running for a statewide--he wants to get into lobbying.

oh man!

Thank god we have Cafe Today for all the hottest insider information!

Oregon politics was once a riddle wrapped in an enigma spinning in a whirlwind of doubt. No more, thanks to you, Cafe Today!

I purchased the ralph lauren polo t-shirt for my friend as a gift and he was SO excited he wore it the very next day. When I asked him about how many compliments he received he just grinned. Apparently everyone loved it!

While it's such a great shirt, just be such not to over wear it!

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