Does this guy realize that campaigning is about more than running obnoxious ads?

That he might actually have to do some town hall meetings where people could ask him questions and evaluate his ability to give responsive answers?

Alll those folks who show up at Wyden Town Hall meetings are going to elect this guy because national Republicans believe in him?

I like, but don't always agree with, our senior senator, but this Huffman guy is a serious right-wingie-dingie. Oregon can't let this happen. Huffman would be all kinds of dangerous as a senator. He created "Warlock", a non-profit law clinic for mining and timber interests? Like they don't have and spend enough money on their own lawyers? That's pretty twisted.

This explains why Huffman has been writing op-ed that simply repeat orthodox Republican talking points for months. You don't expect such drivel from serious academics. Sorry Prof. Huffman. You're no Wayne Morse.

I had him in law school-1976 to 1980- and he was a liberal at that point. Somewhere he did a flip flop. He's an embarassment.

Wow - I'm a Democrat, and I'm most likely supporting Wyden no matter who runs against him. I also don't know Mr. Huffman. But the last paragraph of this post, regarding his tenure as Dean, is really shameful. Until you have actual facts to support your vague allegations, you should not make statements like that. That's irresponsible "journalism." This is exactly why more people don't get into politics and public life.

If one were paranoid one might think he was hand selected by the Wyden camp to make Wyden look more progressive. This guy is right out of a comic book.

If one were paranoid one might think he was hand selected by the Wyden camp to make Wyden look more progressive. This guy is right out of a comic book.

"Rumors swirling around Dean's resignation from that post have also hit my radar this week."

That is the vague allegation: that there are "rumors swirling around Dean's resignation." A responsible journalist would not print such a speculative statement without being able to back it up with at least SOME facts or sources. This is exactly why blogs unfortunately will never be able to replace newspapers.

As I said, those journalists would never just state a rumor without being able to back it up with SOME facts or sources. I've never seen Jeff Mapes blindly write that there were "rumors" about someone's resignation without at the very least stating what the rumors are AND where he heard them. Please point me to a specific example where he has done that.

Another basic lesson: admit when you messed up.

Carla- it's pretty clear to me that you didn't broadcast, share, or write about something unconfirmed. That's being responsible! I read it as a 'stayed tuned.' till either there is confirmation, or you'd forget it if he scurries out of the limelight and into private life with the insect-icide lobby.

What you printed is an allegation. I was just using your defensive terminology to demonstrate that there isn't a distinction. Irresponsible is irresponsible.

Now you are backing down from your earlier argument: rather than arguing that you are being as responsible as Mapes and other journalists, you now are arguing that because you don't have the same resources, you don't have to maintain the same journalistic standards. That was pretty obvious from this post, but it's nice to see you admit it.

Calm down "Responsibility." Wyden and every other elected official gets an unbelievable amount of scrutiny and criticism - fair and unfair - with regularity on this and every other blog and most newspapers. If professor Huffman is really thinking about running, he is signing up for a much more invasive look into his history than what Carla may have heard about, and he and his family had best be ready for a potentially humiliating contest.

"Alll those folks who show up at Wyden Town Hall meetings"

That'd be kinda tough since Wyden holds most of them in NY. However, since it is election-time, he's due to make his once every 6-year swing thru Oregon.

Silly me, I thought this would be about issues, didn't take long for Ms Axtman to start on the innuendo: "Rumors swirling around Dean's resignation"

Who knows maybe she'll use the same standard with Sam Adams.

"That'd be kinda tough since Wyden holds most of them in NY"

Gee, I was invited to the one locally (couldn't go due to schedule as I recall--have been in previous years).

Recently on local CCTV I saw a town hall meeting in Corvallis.

Are you saying there is a Corvallis NY?

"Are you saying there is a Corvallis NY?"

No, I am saying that they happen about every six years which coincides with his election cycle. However, if you think NY needs 3 senators, OK.

"I'll write more about the rumor when I've finished my research"

What about the Wyden rumors that are circulating?

Paul and Responsibility: If you don't have the stomach for how politics is played in the US, I'd suggest you don't come to websites devoted to the "inside baseball" of politics.

These "wah wah wah, why won't you play nice" comments are beyond-the-pale ridiculous. Do you not pay attention? Decent Congressfolk spent last summer being called "worse than Hitler" and pinko-communists (among many other smears) for stuff they hadn't done yet! But Carla doing some research is some kind of felony?

Go back to Little League... you're not cut out for this game.

Laughing at pacnwjay for thinking he's part of the "Majors" by writing an anonymous post on a state blog.

Pictures say a thousand words. Let me get in my few on James Huffman's picture here.

Terrible optics. An atrocious bow tie and his hair.

First, lose the bow tie. Hire a personal makeover artist who can dress you in a way that does not convey old and stuffy. Old and stuffy may be good at dinner parties and on campus, but the average American who pays more attention to American Idol than News@8 will definitely take your bow tie into consideration when deciding who to vote for.

Second, if you are balding, then do yourself a favor and shave your head. You do not have to be Rico Suave, but understand that your peers who fill up a house to the point where you can smell the Vicks Vapor Rub from 2 miles away are not the only ones voting for your. My advice, ask your college age granddaughter how she would like a 50+ year old man to look if she thought about dating one.

Bowties are cute on little boys, clowns, and some TV weatherman.

Law Professors and Senators - not so much.

Pj's....

Nah... I was more A -- double A at best, before I retired from politics. Surely never Major League. But I didn't say that, did I?

And state blogs are fascinating.

You must be new to Oregon, Steve. Senator Wyden is well-known for doing a public town hall event in every one of Oregon's 36 counties every single year.

He does indeed. And then he votes against the interests of about 32 of those counties.

And I'm quite confident that Carla's going to stick to Carla facts. Or Kari facts. Like the Carla-Kari "facts" you used to smear Steve Doell.

http://www.blueoregon.com/2008/10/steve-doell-is.html

Another fine gentleman you can't stand.

What Carla wrote deserves every bit of ethical criticism she has received, regardless of of whether this is a blog or a newspaper:

At one time, Huffman was the Dean at the Lewis & Clark Law School from 1993-2006.

That's a "fact". No one disputes that.

Rumors swirling around Dean's resignation from that post have also hit my radar this week.

That's gossip. Gossip can be a fact, but that's irrelevant in company of people with intellectual and personal integrity. To meet any standard of ethical integrity if you are claiming to be anymore than a sleazy gossip, you have to state the source of the rumors. Unlike Carla, however, Kari didn't claim to be anymore than the sleazy gossip she is. So that's why the only criticism Kari (and Blue Oregon as an outlet) deserves is for being intellectually one brick short of a load in his defense of Carla.

More on that as research and sourcing bear fruit.

That's an intellectually and morally dishonest attempt to rationalize publishing sleazy gossip. Which is what makes Carla, and Kari for defending her, and Blue Oregon as a forum, the kind of people and forum most of us point to when talking amongst ourselves as what we really have to shun on the supposed progressive side of the political aisle.

The bottom line is that Carla invited an implicature in the way she phrased it so she, and Kari, could claim she didn't make a direct allegation. But in the way she worded it she clearly meant to be ominous and disparaging. We got it, and no amount of childish word-games can change that.

There are LOTS of reasons people can resign from being Dean, happens every academic year at most institutions. Some just want to return to the classroom, some just want to teach less, some just get tired of fighting with students (and other administrators) --- some of whom demonstrate the low mental and moral functioning of people like you and Carla --- who have their own agendas. Some just find out they aren't cut out to be a Dean or even a Department head. None of those are ominous, and whenever any such resignation happens, it's usually the aforementioned students and administrators who start spreading rumors for a host of reasons, but mainly because they just don't know the facts.

Maybe in the past there was a question of whether Kari, Carla, Jeff and the rest want themselves, and Blue Oregon, to be regarded as in the same class as right wing sleaze, or something that represents intellectual, moral, ethical, and personal integrity on the progressive side. Fortunately, Kari has had at least one small measure of integrity to make it clear:

This is a blog, not a newspaper. Nobody here went to J-School, and nobody here even pretends to abide by a professional journalistic code of any sort. So, let's not try and hold us up to that standard..

This guy Huffman may have skeletons, he may not. He may be a good candidate and he may not. He may be the cartoon of a right winger Carla tries to paint in her childish way. We'll have to see if Josh Kardon and Ron Wyden --- a guy you've thrown down for and you pays you money Kari --- decide to make this a sleazy campaign, something they are very accomplished at because of who they've embraced as their faithful base (a demographic which at core is quite apart from those of strong, working-class Democratic values).

But it will be most interesting to see if this guy has what it takes to make a race of it, and if Josh Kardon's and Ron Wyden's arrogance and betrayal of those strong, working-class Democratic values have caught up with them.

Scott in Damascus:

Bowties are cute on little boys, clowns, and some TV weatherman.

Law Professors and Senators - not so much.

How about Representatives?

Of course, there is also the Steve Job's look when appealing to the blogosphere and the Portland hipster community.

"Huffman is not a public official and is not subject to the same level of scrutiny."

The scrutiny doesn't start after Election Day. If Huffman aspires to become a public official he will legitimately be subjected to very intensive scrutiny; if he doesn't like that he should stay in the private sector.

He also has thrust himself into the public eye with his articles and with his role in advocacy organizations. He is fair game.

Maybe he resigned to 'spend more time with his family,' 'hike the Pacific Crest Trail,' or some such business. Anyway, I remember reading one of his pieces in The Oregonian a while back and found it amazingly logic-free for being authored by a law school professor.

The far right repubs will probably love him and vote for him but I don't see him gaining much traction with democrats and independents.

Anyway, I remember reading one of his pieces in The Oregonian a while back and found it amazingly logic-free for being authored by a law school professor.

Actually, based on that comment which consisted solely of snarking, one wonders if "The Unrepentant Liberal" would recognize a logical argument when carefully laid out. Logical arguments generally engage higher levels of the frontal cortex.

Clearly, digging for truth somehow offends your sensibilities.

No Carla, digging for truth doesn't. And you clearly are either completely clueless or dishonest, and I'm not judging which, if you maintain that a statement like this:

Rumors swirling around Dean's resignation from that post have also hit my radar this week. More on that as research and sourcing bear fruit.

connotes a dispassionate search for the truth. Which includes not making statements that either aren't known to be true, or which aren't sourced, but which clearly invite negative implicatures. Your statement is what it is. You can apologize for making an inartful statement if that is what you are saying, but you diminish your own credibility by claiming your statement has the dispassionate withholding of judgement that this statement has:

There are LOTS of reasons people can resign from being Dean, happens every academic year at most institutions. Some just want to return to the classroom, some just want to teach less, some just get tired of fighting with students (and other administrators) --- some of whom demonstrate the low mental and moral functioning of people like you and Carla --- who have their own agendas. Some just find out they aren't cut out to be a Dean or even a Department head. None of those are ominous, and whenever any such resignation happens, it's usually the aforementioned students and administrators who start spreading rumors for a host of reasons, but mainly because they just don't know the facts.

You could have even said they are rumors, but we don't know if those spreading them have a political or personal axe to grind so we don't believe anybody should give them any credibility. So far, nothing you've said indicates you feel that way, but instead wanted to set that hook that there is something juicy out there to discredit this guy with, at least in certain circles in which you and Kari want to be opinion leaders. We get it, that's we spend a lot of time apologizing for Blue Oregon amongst old-fashioned working-class Democrats.

Say, how do you like those pictures of Earl, "The Chameleon", Bluemenauer?

Huffman seems like a perfect representative for today's pathetic GOP. Speaking of pathetic, I understand Palin is currently the statistical leader for the 2012 GOP nomination.

Dear thanks for that; The article in question was his column arguing against the recent ballot measurers. I expected him, since he is highly educated and in the business of persuasion, to be more persuasive. Instead it was just a reciting of the tired, old conservative commandment :Thou shall not raise taxes, ever, no matter what the reason or circumstances forever and ever. Amen.

I expected better from him and felt The Oregonian could of devoted that space to someone who made a better argument for that side.

As for snark, I don't hold a candle to you.

Thanks for That:

That also stands for Earl - he really could use a new look.

1. I too disagree with Prof. Huffman on many of his political views. However, I knew Prof. Huffman from law school days. Unless he has undergone a complete personality change of late, I can say unequivocally that he is extremely intelligent, polite to a fault, keenly analytical and always welcoming of civil debate on his positions. I cannot honestly say all those things about Sen. Wyden, though I wish I could.

2. If people take pleasure in being snarky about candidates' attire and hairstyle, they should take a close look at a number of their own candidates. That should keep them entertained for quite a while.

It seems like every couple of months, when a local reporter is looking for a nutjob right-wing legal "opinion," they go to Mr. Huffman, ignoring the fact that he doesn't appear to have actually practiced law here.

Leaving snark about a candidate's appearance aside, it is inconceivable to me to think that Prof. Huffman would find any sizable following here in Oregon. Just imagine being lectured by an egghead professor with the current Republican party line about being good little peons and forget about taxing the elites. I don't think so!

I'm just curious if he had anything to do with L&C's pioneering work in animal law. Seems pretty far from the policies he's espousing. I don't know why people try to reconcile lawyers' personalities with what they work for. It never computes. Bill Bennett's brother Bob was Clinton's personal attorney; Ann Richards worked tirelessly for big tobacco after leaving office; Ken Starr was responsible for the truth about our own Sen. Peckerwood coming out sans spin.

Very well put, Elizabeth, imho. Guess you didn't get the warning that you were in the snark zone . Should rename this "web log of the SS Cutty Snark".

I went to one of Wyden's town hall meetings. If Wyden is what we have representing us in Washington we have real problems. I'm open to hearing what ANYONE running against him has to say.

As was mentioned on the Rachel Maddow TV show last night, "There is no one in Washington who holds bipartisanship to be more important that Ron Wyden."

Except, maybe, Barack Obama.

So, fear not, Oregonians, if Wyden should happen to lose this, then Wyden could take out Merkley in 2014, and, then, once ensconced in the Senate, try desperately to find a way to work with the extreme ideologue who defeated him in 2010.

Along with Wyden's dubious record on health reform ("The Healthy Americans Act", which would have done away with public insurance and his having voted vor Medicare Part D, which is as much a giveaway as are the current plans), his terrible record on trade issues (don't know why any union would support him?), as his also being in the front rank of AIPAC-lackeys.

As "out there" as this challenger seems to be, I still will not vote for Wyden.

Whatever your bias against Sen. Wyden, Prof. Huffman isn't going to be palatable unless you're a fossilized conservative.

Of course Prof. Huffman is unpalatable, Ed.

We've just got to be able to do better than Wyden, considering Wyden's record.

I propose that Steve Novick take on Wyden in the Dem primary.

Give us something to vote for, please!

Welcome Huffman trolls. Good to have you here. Here are a few fun facts for you.

Wyden was the first senator from Oregon to hold town meetings in every country in Oregon EVERY YEAR. He has never missed one. When last they came through town, the paper said the number he had held was in the 500s.

Every poll I have seen since the late 90s has shown that Wyden is the most popular politician in the state. Everytime he has ticked me off (or another true BlueOregon fan), he has probably burnished his rep in those other 29 red counties one of you alluded to. Wyden is bizarrely popular in southern and eastern Oregon, moreso than any other Democrat I have ever seen. I doubt even Walden would beat him by more than a point or two in Jackson or Deschutes counties.

And here is one more fun fact for you - 66 and 67 passed overwhelmingly. Good luck against Wyden. I hope you spend many millions on the effort.

Carla, I thought about the Huffman departure from Lewis and Clark some more, and I actually hope this story line goes away. Unless he got canned for sexual harassment or theft, I don't know that anyone really cares. Still, if he can't take the heat, he should get running from this kitchen.

Here's hoping you feel better having vented, Stephen, but it was irrelevant to the thread. The implication that he would in any way be competitive with Sen. Wyden was repugnant.

Oh, yeah, I feel better for having vented. Thank you!

BTW, Ed, are you the arbiter of what is relevant in this chat room?

Sorry Stephen, but your ragging on Wyden is irrelevant to the viability of a run by Prof. Huffman irregardless of what I think of it.

I know prof Huffman and he is super nice and very sharp. One of the very best law school profs that I ever worked with. He would add an interesting twist to a campaign. A lot of people across the state would like him and vote for him.

"We need a commander-in-chief, not a professor of law standing at the lectern."

She said, standing at a lectern, lecturing the lemings.

Posted by: bradley | Feb 11, 2010 12:40:49 PM

Welcome Huffman trolls.

Who do you think was trolling for a reaction and not offering a bona fide opinion? I guess a troll is anyone that doesn't share your POV.

"my real pseudonym"

That pretty much says it all about blogs.

Having anonymous posters and having trolls who have little purpose besides disruption and condescension says nothing about the point of a blog, just something about how obstreperous we humans are.

I have never voted Republican and never anticipate doing so; I will leave the Oregon Senator boxes unchecked. I’m disappointed in the United States continual military involvement or should I say escalation in the Middle East. Though Senator Wyden said he supports ending the wars his hands are tied as he says, and then he shows up at a Black Water funeral; I know what the Senator is real good at; vote counting at home and in the Senate that way he never has to take any of blame. I still think that most Oregonians want us out of the war but Senator Wyden for his reasons want them to continual.

When it comes to executive compensation, Huffman is exactly right - the blueoregon gang should indeed just "get over it," as long as federal taxpayers are paid back in full. After that, executive compensation is a matter for the shareholders of the company that pays it, not meddling do-gooders.

See... obstreperous!

Followup - He does indeed. And then he votes against the interests of about 32 of those counties.

Are you arguing that he should listen more to counties than he does to citizens? Not that counties can talk. Or have opinions.

If a majority of citizens like a policy he is promoting, but a majority of the counties are against it... should he drop it? I really hope thats not what you're saying.

"Posted by: Ed Bickford | Feb 11, 2010 3:33:07 PM

Having anonymous posters and having trolls who have little purpose besides disruption and condescension says nothing about the point of a blog, just something about how obstreperous we humans are."

Good monkey. Now go eat a banana and find a friend to tell you what you think.

Pat Ryan wrote:

Your allegation re Sen. Wyden's inattention to Oregon demonstrate either that you aren't actually paying attention to his constituent meeting schedule, or that you're being intellectually dishonest. ...

Hard to find a US senator who's more available to the public.

bradley wrote:

Wyden was the first senator from Oregon to hold town meetings in every country in Oregon EVERY YEAR. He has never missed one. When last they came through town, the paper said the number he had held was in the 500s.

I always say, just publicly rub the facts in their dishonest face: On the last go round, at the time of the most pitched battle over health care reform when it looked like Wyden was going to get his wettest dream of a mandate that we had to buy insurance from the private health insurance industry and no public option, he scheduled almost every one of his bogus town halls on weekdays in the middle of the work day, when it was very difficult for working people, the real Democratic base, to attend.

What he got, and some part of one was even televised because a family member in another state called me about it, were a few younger folks and a bunch of fawning retirees who my even older family members called miserable suck-ups in saltier language than even I will repeat here. (One privilege that comes with being way older having more life experience then a pathetic putz like Pat Ryan is very little censorship when you see a sorry a-hole in action.)

For my part, when I saw the schedule and called his office about it, the answer I got was in essence: We don't give a rat's behind what real working class Democrats who can't attend this meeting think, so f-off. Ron's accessible all right, to whoever he thinks will give him a vote, and that has little to do with standing up for working class people and Democratic values to get votes.

Alright, I guess I was being abstruse about Mr Wyden’s loyalties. If he does show up here once a year and politely grants audiences, does he really know what is going on in Oregon?

I mean he chose to mate with a rather successful New Yorker who has a residence in New York. He sires two children who go to school in New York. I am sure his wife gives him the download on how traffic, weather, taxes RE prices, etc. are in NY all the time. Needless to say after 12 years, the onslaught of lobbyists is probably torrential.

My allegation (not mere rumor) is that he knows what’s happening in NY and DC much better than in Oregon. I kinda thought our elected representatives should be representative of Oregon which would require specific knowledge of Oregon.

He’s been back there since 1980 and has become one of them and not us. Don’t we deserve: 1) Fresh thinking 2) Someone aware of what is going on in Oregon?

Merkley just got there and Novick is not sounding too bad. I mean even Gordon Smith had some stake in the future of Oregon and I don’t think Wyden is that way anymore.

Marx and Thanks, have you noticed that you have been dealt a pretty bad hand? You hate Wyden, presumably because he is not pure enough for you, and you are reduced to tossing wild allegations deep into Blue Oregon comments that no more than a dozen people will read. Your current choice seems to be to support a crazy right-winger to rid yourselves of your enemy, Wyden.

Marx, you're so obsessed you are attacking him over who he married and his 2 year-old kids. As for your charge that he doesn't know about Oregon, that's pretty solid horseshit. Not only does the guy know about the local issues affecting every county in the state, he is by far the most effective member of Oregon's congressional delegation. By way of evidence, here are a few recent Wyden home runs - Wyden's Secure Rural Schools law which saved my bacon and that of a lot of my friends, Wyden's Mt. Hood Wilderness, and his recent jaw-dropping eastside forest bill that produced an amazing fucking picture of a bunch of environmental activists and timber barons standing side by side in agreement. Good luck convincing Oregon this guy doesn't know or give a rip about Oregon.

Thanks for That, I saw the same televised town meeting as you and your family on CSPAN, because I was there. It was in Corvallis, there were hundreds of people there, and he had both fans and detractors of all ages asking him good questions. Heck, the head of the Republican Party in Benton County even got to ask him a teabagger question, which Wyden handled nicely. Plenty of people from the Democratic base got questions, as well.

Wyden has pissed me off from time to time, and I wish he had been for single payer (but I admit that it was a pipedream, politically), but the real question on the table is whether a guy who is pretty solidly progressive should be dumped for a Federalist Society right-winger whose politics closely resemble Sen. Sessions and Sen. Coburn, except that he is way smarter. I mostly love Wyden, and will have no trouble working for him, but any liberal who works for Huffman because Wyden has frustrated them has lost all perspective.

The alternative is that one of you people can challenge him in a primary. Lots of luck with that. Novick won't be an option. Every time I have heard Novick mention Wyden, he is hugely complimentary. One of my friends from Corvallis went to a Wyden fundraiser to try to talk some sense into him on single payer, and Novick was the host of the fundraiser!

He sires two children who go to school in New York. Wha?! They're two years old. They're not in school.

Out of all the important points Steve Marx made about Ron Wyden's lack of connection to (working) people in Oregon --- and he didn't even bring up the issue of his wife's labor problems with her working class employees --- that's the best a paid Wyden flak can come up with? You wonder why Blue Oregon and all of your best buds who write here have become an utter embarrassment to those of us liberal Democrats and liberal-leaning Independents outside the dysfunctional Portland metro area and the government buildings in Salem.

By the way Kari, my family members who have young children all put them in "day care" because they have to go to work. Where one's children are in day care is still in the spirit of the point Marx was saying about school. (Unless, of course, Ron and his wife are of a class now that they don't even have to drop their kids off at day care.) At the bottom line, as I read it, Marx only point was that Wyden has few ties anymore to working Democratic (or any) Oregonians.

It's hard to take seriously arguments by any Blue Oregon type he even cares about working people in Oregon in the face of the evidence of his recent town meeting schedule and his actions in the recent health care debate where he was really just interested in telling us we should think he's great because he wanted us to have a choice of which private health insurance company they would have to give their money. As just as you who does business with him proved by pulling a Republican trick of trying to shift attention using the tactic of focusing on a very literal interpretation of the point.

I don't know if Huffman will be able to connect with working Oregonians any better than Wyden actually does. I doubt it. But if the Democratic party here in Oregon really cared about working people here in Oregon --- or the Republican party, but I'm not too interested in them --- they wouldn't find it too hard to run a candidate who could beat him. If I were Wyden, though, I'd be a little bit concerned Gordon Smith might decide to settle a political score.

I'm with somebody else who above said they are not marking a box in that race. Doesn't really matter anymore anyway now that the Democrats just whine how powerless they are in the face of the merciless Republican super-minority. And since Ron is only interested in working with Republicans on all matter of issues just starting with health care and in cozying up to that slice of corporate America that find they get a little better return on their donations from Democrats.

"bradley" is such a knee jerk Dem. You can tell by the foaming hate for real progressives. Yeah, brad. We're here, we're proud, and we make you look stupid. Get used to the likes of Marx because you can't drown us out any longer. Oh, the other giveaway is that any questioning of the candidate is automatically support for the alternative non-choice. You really think Marx would vote for Huffman? He might well do, AFTER he's laid out his positions during the campaign. You really can't understand that, can you? Waiting until the facts come in and then letting the chips fall where they may. That's called intellectual integrity, and we've established- even have signed confessions- that it ain't real high on the Dem values list!

Posted by: Carla Axtman | Feb 12, 2010 7:35:21 AM

Wyden is probably the most available Senator in the US. The guy is here, in Oregon, doing town hall meetings in every county in the state, every year.

Classic Dem logic. Make it all comparative. True enough. On the absolute scale, "is he accessible the way you would want your rep to be", I have to say "no". I do a lot of letter writing, and when I can put a group together try to do a lot of visiting with reps, and I can tell you that it is almost impossible to do that with Wyden. Letter response is middle of the road- for Americans. Meanwhile, I regularly get meetings with MPs and know many of their staffers on a first name basis. And yes, they know they don't have to say word one to me. The fact remains that Wyden's daily meeting schedule revolves around campaign financing and not meeting the peeps. Yeah, he's better than most other Senators. Boy, aren't we lucky!

Sorry Pat, but the trolls such as you cite didn't come here for rational debate, just disruption and condescension. Some are undoubtedly paid to do so. (e. g.: William Tare Fox)

No matter how many trolls blather here, it won't change the fact that Prof. Huffman would be a pathetic loser as a candidate.

Can we get back to the substantive issues of why we should all be alarmed at this prospect? In addition to his fervent promotion of BM37, my clearest policy association of Dean Huffman is the good friend of his he brought to lecture at the law school, who advocated for unlimited "private" money in elections. See http://legacy.lclark.edu/cgi-bin/shownews.cgi?news_item=1045335120.0 and Prof. Priest's full argument here, http://www.aei.org/article/15905. Seems like Dean Huffman saw the Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United and decided now was his time.

While Prof. Huffman's views on law may be alarming, the prospect of him being elevated to Senator is so distant as to provoke no more than vague unease.

Why do these discussions always descend to the Middle School level?

Me, a knee-jerk dem? To a point. I would never help a person win office who will vote with the Republicans over 50% of the time, so in that way I am knee-jerk. But I will never allow my party affiliation to censor my beliefs, desires, or frustrations. I have agreed with Wyden over 90% of the time and he is exceptionally effective. He is also one of the most empathetic members of congress I have ever met. That makes my choice simpler than yours, clearly.

This guy has NO chance. Oregon needs to get rid of Greg I always vote NO Walden from Central Oregon! He is worthless.

It will be very difficult for anyone to defeat Ron Wyden. Ron Wyden has been outstanding for Oregon. He keeps his eye on fiscal policy, protects the environment, cares for Senior issues, works for rural Oregon, understands sound forest management, protects the State and works to perserve jobs. I do not think Mr. Huffman could begin to create an argument to replace Ron Wyden

Stick to your guns, Karla. The rumors have swirled around Huffman's resignation since it happened. No one in the MSM has bothered to look into them. I'm eager to hear what you learn. Responsibility is a troll and a baiter. Responsibility is not.

Carla Axtman posted: "He's (Wyden) extremely easy to approach and get answers from."

Well, I've been trying for a couple of years to get Sen. Wyden to answer a question as to what, under international law (4th Geneva Conventions & UN Res, 242 & 338), is the status of East Jerusalem and the West Bank?

Wyden provided me a form letter that said, "based on my travels there, I think most people on both sides want peace."

Is that an answer to my question?

Just got called by the Rassmusen Poll. One of those touch tone polls ("if you are a man, press 1, if you are a woman, press 2" said the recorded voice.

Didn't take long to figure out it was a poll for Huffman to test strength. Rate your opinion of Huffman and your opinion of Wyden. Do you believe tax cuts create jobs? etc.

Might be something to follow up on.

I am glad to know that I am not the only one disappointed by the idea that Huffman stepped down from L@C because of some sort of issue or that he was really canned. The idea is preposterous. I am a Democrat and have voted so for many years, but I believe it is unfortunate that people suggest such grossly unsupported things. There is no point in using such a rumor as an argument against Huffman if it is not proven. There is no point in even bringing it up, for after all, its a rumor! Such talk shows a certain amount of immaturity that really stems from not knowing much about the guy, so he is attacked on a personal level straight from the guy, an unfortunate habit that Oregon liberals have developed. He is a reasonably well known conservative, but is barely a public figure. We do not know all the facets of Huffman. It is not everywhere that one would find such gross personal attacks on a possible senate candidate without proof. Although, BlueOregon has ALSO developed this reputation. Take, for instance, the ignoble article above. It is silly and almost funny.

There is such a thing as a liberal web sight, that is not so infected with wild bias. I search for them, being a liberal who wishes to debate issues, not personal life. Until we know more about Huffman, it is irresponsible to attack him as such. It will make us seem foolish later on.

On top of it all, the truth of these rumors is non-existent. He would not still be teaching at the school if he had secretly been canned from deanship. That doesn't happen. The only reason that is plausible for pressuring him to step down, for he did raise more money for the school per year than any other dean, is that the school did not agree with his politics. They have thrown a fit in a past about his public views on certain measures.

In any case, please wait until you can actually put together an argument against Huffman that is not laughable.

I don't know whether he got fired as Dean, but I do know that the law school sent out apologies to alumni for Huffman having used the term Dean when he wasn't in order to do something, maybe make his credentials look better? I know many of us complained. They came out and said that he spoke for himself, not the law school.

Note the total lack of links in the last paragraph. It should not be written about in such a suggestive manner unless at least a shred of evidence can be presented.

To introduce a possible candidate, in Huffman, to BlueOregon in such a way is disgraceful and lacks class. I doubt I will even consider voting for Huffman, unless the Wyden campaign attacks Huffman as you have.

I doubt I will even consider voting for Huffman, unless the Wyden campaign attacks Huffman as you have.

That makes sense.

@ theresa Kohlhoff

I remember when that happened. Huffman wrote a letter and put his name and title on it in an issue campaign a few years ago, which was perceived by some as the law school endorsing his view. I can't honestly remember which ballot measure it was, though I want to say it was either on the side of anti-labor or anti-environmental. Again, this is my vague recollection. I was a law student at LC at the time (full disclosure: Huff was Dean during my 1L and a prof during my 2 & 3L years) and I remember getting the campaign mailer with him on it, being appalled, and then getting a subsequent letter from the college.

Found it: http://hinessight.blogs.com/hinessight/2007/10/misleading-no-o.html

It was a No on 49 mailer, which was ironic because the Yes on 49 campaign was practically staffed with environmental law students from the school at the time.

NEDC is doing some good coverage on Facebook about Huffman's environmental quotes. Here is one entry:

Jim Huffman quote of the day: “Assuming greenhouse gas emissions will cause significant climatic change, it doesn't necessarily follow that emissions must be reduced. Adaptation may be preferable.” Tell that to the polar bears.

He's talking to humans and really doesn't care about bears, does he? The speciesism of that crowd is getting more obvious.

But even for the most widely invasive, adaptable species of mammal, that doesn't hold water. With 40% of the Sechelles' GDP going towards buying a new homeland, water rising, and the acidification of the oceans caused by CO2 dissolving into sea water eating away at the coral foundation of their country, just how would he suggest they adapt?

I can think of only one way. If I were the President of the Seychelles, I would seriously look at how much it would cost to waste leading deniers compared to the costs of mitigating the daily effects. We're entering a period when big oil will switch sides, but the far right will continue to drag its collective feet, adding years and years to the timetable.

Read part of the socialist article. It amazed me that those in the Democratic party allow these far left wingers to control and dictate to the rest what is right and wrong. It was the push of the liberals in this group that caused 66/67 to pass this year and those of us who have worked to rebuild Oregon business are already suffering. I paid corporate taxes for my small company, started last year without stimulus socialist money. We lost money this first year and yet because of these new liberal taxes, we lost even more to the state. WHO DO YOU PEOPLE THINK pays salaries and creates jobs? Right now, I am losing out to a Chicago based (sound familiar?) company because they are lowballing my prices. Try to do the right thing, start a company, create a quality product, reduce shipping costs and the net result is the local people don't care. We have sold our country overseas for a lower price and because we "don't want to do that job" and the result is that socialist politicians are controlling this country. I do not even know who Carla is, don't really care. From her article, I would surmise she is a far left socialist with NO concept of what it really means to be an American. She,along with the rest that follow this thinking, have no concept of the danger to our way of life. The federal government is taking over our day to day lives as a result of these actions and from people not willing to stand up and defend it from this terrorist group. Yes, terrorist because just as surely terrorist destroyed the twin towers, these people are doing the same thing, corrupting and tearing this country down from within. The Communist said that this would happen 60 + years ago and they, unfortunately, appear to be right.
I'll vote for just about anybody to rid ourselves from socialist representatives that care more for the "party" than they do their country.
And no Carla, I am NO a Republican nor a Tea Party member but given all this, I may become a Republican. Idiots. You guys are whining about grammar? Jeez, even our own governor has lousy grammar but I don't see an uproar about that, except from a few people that are offended by poor grammar. I hear it all the time and have finally come to terms that if so called educated individuals choose to show their lack of education or is it a poor education system here, I just don't react. I do keep an eye on that person though.

In the last year, we have had 1) a weaker economy 2) embarrassing actions by our President, Vice President, Speaker of the House and Senate and a recurring idiocy by Mr Al Gore. You remember him, the guy who invented the internet?

God help us from fools.