HD-37: Flat on his back, a bloodied Chael Sonnen drops out

Kari Chisholm FacebookTwitterWebsite

HD-37: Flat on his back, a bloodied Chael Sonnen drops out

Chael Sonnen

Until Wednesday, Chael Sonnen was the Republican nominee in HD-37, running to fill the seat held now by Rep. Scott Bruun (R-West Linn) against the Democratic candidate Will Rasmussen.

He's also a professional cage fighter. (If you're feeling deja vu, it's not just you - this is the second election in a row that the GOPers have run a cage fighter for the legislature. Are they trying to tell us something?)

On Wednesday, Sonnen dropped out - and his spot will be filled by another GOP candidate.

What's interesting is the back story. Earlier on Wednesday, Willamette Week had declared Sonnen their "Rogue of the Week." Why? Because he lied to them - claiming that he didn't have a Twitter account, when in fact, he actually did.

And not only did he have a Twitter account, he was actively posting tweets -- with at least one note that was called "racist and xenophobic" by a writer at Huffington Post, Dedrick Muhammad:

Why would Sonnen post such a bizarre statement? Apparently, the coach of his upcoming opponent is Brazilian - and well, a certain amount of idiotic bravado goes with the turf.

Back to the lying part: When notified about this, WW reporter Nigel Jaquiss sent Sonnen a note (full email transcript here) asking about it. Sonnen's response?

Hi Nigel, I do not have a “twitter,” account.

Just one problem. On April 23rd, Sonnen gave a taped interview (ffwd to 45:40) in which he not only admitted that he had a Twitter account, but he spelled out the address for the audience:

Q: You’re on Twitter, right?

Sonnen: Yeah, I'm trying.

Q: Tell the people what your Twitter page is.

Sonnen: I believe it is "s-o-n-n-e-n-c-h"... "s-o-n-n-e-n-c-h"

And just like that, Chael Sonnen is out of the race for HD-37. (He's claiming, of course, that he dropped out this week for an entirely unrelated reason.) What a buffoon.

There's more at USA Today, Bleacher Report, West Linn Tidings, Oregonian, and Yahoo Sports.

By Kari Chisholm
June 17, 2010

  • 8:08 a.m.
    Jun 17, '10
    (Show?)

    It has been the culture of the GOP in recent years to admire violence, and to threaten it at political rallies, pack guns, threaten to assassinate the president, or overthrow the government with violence. So their metaphor for life and politics seems to be that it's a cage fight. It's no accident some call them the "Rethugs."

  •
    8:21 a.m.
    Jun 17, '10
    (Show?)

    Nigel Jaquiss does it again.

  •
    9:49 a.m.
    Jun 17, '10
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    Actually, he is a professional MMA fighter. Not all events are in cages, many are in boxing rings. Cages are preferred as they are significantly safer for the fighters.

  •
    9:52 a.m.
    Jun 17, '10
    (Show?)

    Aaron Crowley, mentioned in the Oregonlive article as a front runner to replace Chonen as candidate, will be a more formidable candidate than Chonen. He's not a cage fighter, for one thing. But he will have to answer for his views, he's a boilerplate right-winger.

    http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2008/09/oregon_republicans_like_mccain.html

  •
    9:58 a.m.
    Jun 17, '10
    (Show?)

    From Yahoo Sports:

    According to a statement released by Sonnen, he is dropping out of the race because of a legal issue.

    In the best interests of my district, I am resigning from my campaign for the Oregon House of Representatives. A 2006 legal issue has arisen that needs my immediate attention. I am not at liberty to disclose the details, but my name was involved in a real estate case that requires a ruling. If the ruling is adverse, I would be disqualified from running for office until 2011. So, given that possibility, I have chosen to withdraw my name as a candidate in 2010. I will continue to contribute to my community and ensure that we have a capable candidate to run for my district in November.

    In addition to being a fighter for the past eight years, Sonnen has also paid the bills by being a realtor.


    • 2:59 p.m.
      Jun 17, '10
      (Show?)

      Yeah, I mentioned that.

      (He's claiming, of course, that he dropped out this week for an entirely unrelated reason.)

      Whether he has a legal issue or not, it's simply not believable that the issue came up EXACTLY at the same time as piglet-gate.

  •
    12:00 p.m.
    Jun 17, '10
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    Hahah thanks kari. Im sure it's easy to hide behind your laptop while you sip a [--- homophobic nonsense deleted ---] at your local starbucks and type really loud so you feel important.

    I mean, i love how you have know nothing about MMA. You know nothing about the story you are writing. I mean you say "Apparently the coach of his upcoming opponent is brazilian..." Ed Soares is not his "coach" you idiot. Ed Soares is a manager. So please, do yourself a favor and NEVER MENTION ANYTHING RELATED TO MIXED MARTIAL ARTS EVER AGAIN. You will just keep making yourself look like an a**hole.

    •
      1:08 p.m.
      Jun 17, '10
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      These guys get a lot of head injuries I imagine- frontal lobe taken too many bangs.

      What is this garbage except Saturday Night Wrestling dressed up in 90's clothes?

      •
        1:38 p.m.
        Jun 17, '10
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        John:

        I don't know how you can suggest that MMA involves lots of frontal lobe injury. Just look at the sage and insightful comment by Dalton Jones, to prove the contrary. Or not.

        In the rocket scientist department, I suspect Mr. Sonnen did not realize he was lying to a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist.

    •
      2:17 p.m.
      Jun 17, '10
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      Ok I stopped reading after the Starbucks drink slur...

    •
      3:09 p.m.
      Jun 17, '10
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      Dalton,

      No one cares and Soares position isn't germane to the story anyway. Reread the post and maybe you'll understand. MMA is not the story. Sonnen dropping out of the race is the story.

    •
      3:47 p.m.
      Jun 17, '10
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      So please, do yourself a favor and NEVER MENTION ANYTHING RELATED TO MIXED MARTIAL ARTS EVER AGAIN. You will just keep making yourself look like an a**hole.

      You know, in a way Dalton's right. It's true that talking about MMA only makes a person look like an a**hole. ;)

    •
      12:12 p.m.
      Jun 18, '10
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      Thanks for those enlightening remarks. Wondering when MMA will start their own "Get out the [--- homophobic nonsense deleted ---] Vote" campaign?

    •
      5:53 p.m.
      Jun 18, '10
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      Remember... it's pants THEN shoes.

  •
    8:42 p.m.
    Jun 17, '10
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    Anyway, these comments were made by the "fake" chael sonnen....BAHAHAHAHA

  •
    8:49 p.m.
    Jun 17, '10
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    Anyway, in response to Mel's clever comment. Chael Sonnen fights mma right? Mma is the reason he is in contact with Soares and Silva right? He resigned becuase of these alleged comments about Soares right? So mma played no part in this story right?

    •
      5:58 p.m.
      Jun 18, '10
      (Show?)
      So mma played no part in this story right?

      Which is why the story never mentions MMA, because it isn't relevant. I know it must be hard for you to grasp, but you are furiously flinging spittle at the monitor over "defending"... well, what exactly I'm not sure.

  •
    10:02 p.m.
    Jun 17, '10
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    Why do i keep thinking of the phrase "a one-way ticket to palookaville"?

  •
    8:47 a.m.
    Jun 18, '10
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    http://theoregonpolitico.com/blog/2010/06/17/businessman-hopes-to-replace-ultimate-fighter-in-oregon-house-race/

  •
    10:55 a.m.
    Jun 18, '10
    (Show?)

    Oh, a just a note for the MMA novices commenting here, many fighters are at their most dangerous when the are "flat on their back."

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