Bob Tiernan feasts on sour grapes

Carla Axtman

Shorter Bob Tiernan: All the newspapers and people in the electorate were just too stupid to see the shiny star that was Chris Dudley's campaign. We were all taken in by Kitzhaber, so here's a rehashing of the election just one more time. See where you went wrong, little people?

Oregon GOP Chair Bob Tiernan has a reputation for being cantankerous and inflammatory. While I'm reasonably certain these qualities make him a favorite among the right wing talk radio fan base, it's unlikely this will help grow or fix the Republican Party of Oregon. While Republicans enjoyed victories in Oregon on Election Day, they once again lost the Governorship. This loss seems particularly stinging for him as exemplified in Tiernan's whiny op-ed in today's Oregonian:

John Kitzhaber ran a campaign about experience, not ideas; a campaign about personality, not policy. He offered himself to voters as a steady manager, not a dynamic leader. Ironically, the supposed "celebrity" candidate, Chris Dudley, offered a far more specific and dramatic policy agenda than did the "policy wonk" former governor. Had Dudley won, there would be no question of his agenda the day after the election: cut state taxes on investments to spur business confidence and job growth, dramatically change and curtail how state employees are compensated, reform the state budget process -- even eliminating outdated programs like state-run liquor stores, and implementing innovative reforms in public education to boost teacher quality and student achievement. Because Dudley couldn't run on his government experience, he had to lay out a specific policy agenda -- and he did.

Kitzhaber, on the other hand, offered a more process-oriented agenda. A new state board to set policies and allocate funds for schools and universities comes to mind -- barely. Where Kitzhaber was specific, his promises strain credibility. He promised the "immediate" creation of "thousands" of jobs by using government debt to weatherize school buildings and by creating a new biomass industry in the state. I challenge the Oregon media, which overwhelming endorsed Kitzhaber, to hold him accountable now for how many jobs he creates weatherizing schools over his first six months in office.

Shorter Bob Tiernan: All the newspapers and people in the electorate were just too stupid to see the shiny star that was Chris Dudley's campaign. We were all taken in by Kitzhaber, so here's a rehashing of the election just one more time. See where you went wrong, little people?

Here's the thing, Bob: You lost. I expect that sucks a lot, especially because you believe that Dudley ran the better campaign. But it's done now. Time to figure out how to put the pieces back together again. After all, you're the one who tried to undermine your own sitting legislators' elections, because they weren't ideologically right-wing enough. You've got a lot of your own fence mending to do.

This isn't some kind of one way street, by the way. You want something out of this? Spit out those sour grapes and advise GOP legislators to come to Salem ready to get to work. Oregonians are in no mood for a bunch of obstructionist, right-wing crap. Show us that the Republican Party isn't just a bunch of fringe teabaggers who want to end government. Show us that you can actually craft good public policy and work with Democrats to get it passed.

Yes, losing sucks. But blaming the electorate for being too stupid or shallow to see your point of view isn't going to fix it. Face it. You live in a bluish-purple state. Grow up and start acting like a leader who can deal with it. Otherwise, you can likely expect those losses to keep piling up.

By Carla Axtman
Nov. 09, 2010

  • 11:30 a.m.
    Nov 9, '10
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    Maybe, Bob, voters understood Dudley's plan--tax cuts for wealthy, pay cuts for workers--and rejected it. Notice the closing of state liquor was rejected directly in WA; one assumes OR sentiment to be roughy similar.

    If I've never met the salesman at my door but he is selling Dyson vacuums, I might look past the risk I'm taking dealing with the unknown. If he's got the same crapass vac I already threw out as useless years ago, no sale. Perhaps Chris Dudley just didnt have the vac voters wanted.


  • 11:36 a.m.
    Nov 9, '10
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    Or alternately, and to continue my sucky metaphor (pun intended), perhaps people liked his vacuums but were scared that he'd never actually vacuumed a floor with one. Which of course would mean that Kitz ran exactly the right campaign, with a message that resonated with voters.

    Frankly, that's how I voted. I have low expectations for this term, but he'll do--and the other guy had no business claiming he was qualified to run the state. One guy ready, one not.


  • 11:47 a.m.
    Nov 9, '10
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    Governor Kitzhaber offered very specific plans regarding education K-20. I am looking forward to educational reform which will begin with a complete change at the Oregon Department of Education.

    The Oregon Business Plan about to be released in December includes much of Kitzhaber's planning and ideas.

    I look forward to reform of State agencies as leaner more efficent departments complete with consolidation. I look forward to the elimination of several committees and state boards.

    Lastly, I look forward to negotiations with state and public school employees that recognize just how deep Oregon is in the hole.

    Unfortunately, I expect nothing but obstruction from the R's.


    • 12:06 p.m.
      Nov 9, '10
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      Paulie,

      I just wanted to point out that Kitzhaber had little to do with reinvigorating the Oregon Business Plan. Yes, he deserves credit for its inception many years ago, but it was basically defunct through the latter half of the 2000's.

      The Oregon Business Council has taken the lead on reshaping the plan, and they have visited nearly every community in Oregon to get feedback and suggestions on what should be in the plan. Both Kitzhaber and Dudley supported the revised plan, and as one who's been involved in the process, I hope the new legislature is willing to move it forward.


      • 3:58 p.m.
        Nov 9, '10
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        Heard the OBC presentation 2X. Duncan and Pat put on a good show.

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          6:06 p.m.
          Nov 9, '10
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          Unless the current Oregon Business Plan draft for the 2011 session has changed since late July, it has a very serious deficiency: it lacks an international dimension. See my blog post "Oregon Business Plan initiatives lack international dimensions" here or today's post on Dave Brooks' column in the NY Times here.

    •
      12:07 p.m.
      Nov 9, '10
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      With regards to the public employee negotiations, this I think was where the GOP argument was completely backwards. The gaps have to be closed, but the public employees know that Kitzhaber is not the enemy, and that any painful concessions that need to be made form the employee side, are arrived at because they really need to be done and not because of a ideological axe to grind against public employees.

      To paraphrase the old line, only Nixon could go to China. Likewise, I posit that only Kitzhaber can go to the unions.

      •
        3:22 p.m.
        Nov 9, '10
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        Let us not forget that in 1995 SEIU 503 struck over a huge cut in wages resulting from the passage of Measure 8 (I may have the number wrong) that eliminated the PERS pickup of retirement contributions that had been negotiated in lieu of a wage increase in the 80's. He has a very mixed relationship with unions. As always the working class seem to be faced with a choice of the lesser of two evils.

        We race to the bottom by taking dollars from workers. Even public workers.

        •
          3:24 p.m.
          Nov 9, '10
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          My point was, which do they think that Kitzhaber or Dudley has an axe to grind for unions?

          •
            8:22 p.m.
            Nov 9, '10
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            I doubt you'll find much love for Kitz in any public employee union. If he wants to build credibility he can translate into something, he needs to start with substantive health care reform. It's health care costs which are driving employee costs.

    •
      12:11 p.m.
      Nov 9, '10
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      I actually agree with your take. While it was never going to be an easy race for Kitzhaber (or Bradbury had he gotten the Dem nod) given the national economic dynamics, as a Democrat I thought Alley was a more dangerous candidate than Dudley vis-é-vis a Democratic win. I think Alley would have won (though I think Kitzhaber will be a better Governor than either Alley or Dudley would have been).

    •
      2:59 p.m.
      Nov 9, '10
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      I had an extensive conversation with a relative who knew Dud personally and his whole argument was that Dud is a great guy. I never could convince him that there's more to it than that.

    •
      3:03 p.m.
      Nov 9, '10
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      I really don't see how you view it that way. Alley would have been damn-near bullet proof regarding viewing/painting him as a "far-right Republican" given he was Kulongoski's chief of staff.

      He would have been able to run on experience, knowing the office, the challenge's the state faces, could not be painted as an extremist given the cover his working for the current Governor as chief of staff, etc.

      Democrats dodged a bullet by having the GOP shooting itself in the foot and not choosing Alley as their candidate.

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        3:48 p.m.
        Nov 9, '10
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        I agree. Alley was darn near a shoo in for the office. I still don't know why the dipsticks in the OrGOP chose Dudley. They had a chance to put in a moderate qualified candidate and they threw it away.

      •
        7:41 p.m.
        Nov 9, '10
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        I disagree that Alley would have been "bullet-proof". His personal business failures would have dogged him and the way he ran his primary campaign (the 'walk across Oregon'..huh?) was a poor use of resources and got him very little earned media.

        He may have ultimately been better than Dudley, I don't know. But he was no sure thing.

        •
          8:39 p.m.
          Nov 9, '10
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          I believe you misread what I was saying about Alley being "bullet-proof". I was referring to Jeff's intimation that somehow Alley could be seen as a "far-right Republican" which is simply an untenable argument and is easily refuted by the fact that Alley was Kulongoski's CoS.

    •
      6:55 p.m.
      Nov 9, '10
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      Can you elaborate on what you mean by "I hope that sticks?"

    •
      4:26 p.m.
      Nov 10, '10
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      Sorry folks, I forgot to come back to the thread. I wasn't really comparing Dudley to Allen Alley here--rather to other far-right nominees we've seen over the years. The GOP was fortunate to have two moderates this year.

      (On Alley, though, a comment. It's not just a person's politics. A candidate needs to have personal appeal and charisma, and I'm not sure Alley meets that standard. If he had spent a few years as a politician, he might have overcome it, but he remained a low-profile guy with the personality of an accountant.)

      Now, to this: "Can you elaborate on what you mean by "I hope that sticks?"

      Yeah. The Oregon GOP has been plagued by members who administer purity tests. This means either they end up with unelectably far-right candidates, or their moderate draws a third-party spoiler. As a result, conventional wisdom now says Republicans can't win statewide election. I think Dudley exposed the faults there, but I hope no one in the GOP noticed. I hope they keep running ideological candidates, rather than non-scary moderates.

      •
        5:24 a.m.
        Nov 11, '10
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        Thanks; gotcha; agreed -- on probably every count. Interesting if Dudley's personal attractiveness could combine with Alley's intellectual acuity.

        If the GOP had two moderates, the tentacles of Goldschmidt still wrap around the Democrats, seems to me. The Imesen (sp.) appointment struck me as troublesome if not ominous.

        I'd like to see Kitzhaber become not just Dr. Rerun but Governor Reset, per Kulongoski's very late-hour panel and report.

        It's the fiscal realities and threatening tsunamis of Oregon that have led me to support Republicans rather than Democrats in state offices.

  •
    3:03 p.m.
    Nov 9, '10
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    Tiernan is the face and voice of the GOP in Oregon. That speaks volumes about that actual state of degradation of the GOP. Tiernan is the most thoroughly unlikable and untrustworthy person on the political scene in Oregon. He used to be my legislative Rep. until a thoroughly decent good man beat him and took his seat in the legislature, Richard Devlin.

  •
    6:52 p.m.
    Nov 9, '10
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    I thought it was a well-crafted piece -- not inflammatory, cantankerous OR whiny. Pretend you're reading it with no byline. You could disagree with the message without disagreeing most of all with the messenger, which is naught but ad hominem -- which is where your commentary starts and finishes, with little if any meat in the middle.

    •
      7:38 p.m.
      Nov 9, '10
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      "Well-crafted"? Seriously?

      This is an absolutely horrible message for anyone but the most ardent and angry conservative.

      It's also a telling portrait of a conservative who shows little concern about working with Oregonians who don't share his ideological point of view. Interesting that you find that to be "well-crafted".


      • 8:09 p.m.
        Nov 9, '10
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        I'm not an "ardent and angry conservative." Yes, seriously, I thought it was well-crafted.

        "As Republicans, we congratulate [Kitzhaber] on his victory. But the content-free nature of his campaign, the razor-thin outcome, and the new, evenly divided Legislature creates no governing mandate and offers few clues about Kitzhaber's policy agenda going forward. Indeed, in his acceptance speech in downtown Portland last week, Kitzhaber highlighted environmental protection and 'new investments' as his top priorities. That's a tone-deaf response to an election shaped by a stagnant economy, Oregon's year-long 10.6 percent unemployment rate and state budgets facing what outgoing Gov. Ted Kulongoski called a 'decade of deficits.'"

        I would call that provocative but hardly inflammatory and certainly not whiny. Actually, start to finish I thought the piece was (surprisingly) well-crafted. I can't but wonder if your preconceptions are obscuring your view. (Which would be fair enough in a commentary that discounted the messenger AND his message.)

        Pretend you're not an insider or political junkie; you know little to nothing about the players or the parties. In my opinion this is a fair piece of commentary, even a bit pandering at the start. And frankly, every voter should start the day after every election with the notion of holding elected officials accountable for the promises they have made.

        •
          7:29 a.m.
          Nov 10, '10
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          You're too a pretty poor sales job on this one, Sally.

          Tiernan went on and on during the campaign about how Kitzhaber's ideas and plans were all wrong. Now he's saying that Kitz had no plans and that Dudley was all kinds of plans and we voters were just too stupid to see that.

          It's all just so ridiculous. Its certainly your right to defend it, but what you've written so far isn't bolstering your case.

      •
        11:52 p.m.
        Nov 9, '10
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        "ardent and angry"

        Well, that's Bob Tiernan in a nutshell.

  •
    9:37 p.m.
    Nov 9, '10
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    Man, what does Tiernan consider 'specifics' when it comes to policy or plans? Dudley had various "plans" but they mostly amounted to attacking Kitz. There was no substance behind his plans and Dud couldn't respond to questions because he had no clue.

    Greg, you are correct on the ballot measure in '95.

    And the "urban legend" that the unions have him in their back pockets is totally false. He has made it clear he expects them to make more sacrifices but respects the work they do every day to take care of Oregonians. He's not demonizing them and is instead, inviting them to the table to help find solutions to the mess we're in but they did not create. State workers are an easy target. Everyone wants them to take care of the roads, make sure kids are educated, make sure their communities are safe, make sure there's a safety net but want state workers that make "Walmart" wages and benefits. A race to the bottom hurts us all.

  •
    6:01 a.m.
    Nov 10, '10
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    Please, the various right-wing notables of Lake Oswego -- Bobby T., Dudley and for a while even Bill O'Riley lived there (true story) do not reflect the community as a whole. This is a community that assigns Siddhartha and The Great Gatsby in H.S.. Further, just because your parents may be raging republicans, that does not guarantee you will be. My old home town has many strong democrats living there. Go Pacers!

  •
    1:38 p.m.
    Nov 10, '10
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    Yes, as Carla Axtman posted, losing does suck and "blaming the electorate for being too shallow or stupid doesn't fix it."

    I'm not sure how to fix it. And, considering the national results of the election (especially in the Rust Belt and Oklahoma- Oklahoma, home of the 40-point victory for a state initiative which decried Sharia law, as if this statement has any bearing on the future of that state!), I am confident to say that a very large percentage of the U.S. public is, indeed, shallow and stupid!

    And speaking of shallow, what the heck is with Obamaji traipsing around India, making all these references to the Mahatma, whilst on the same day his drones killed many unknown people in Pakistan? And the purposes of his trip are to sell military hardware to the Indian government and advance the trading interests of major U.S. industrialists? And then he goes to Indonesia and, after a twelve-year, justified lapse in support, renews U.S. ties and support to the infamous Indonesian Red Berets, a reknowned, brutal vehicle of state repression?

    I wish Obamaji would cease insulting the Mahatma by mentioning his name while carrying out all these policies.

    And I'd say the people who still like Obama are shallow and stupid, just not as much as the Tea-Partiers.

  •
    1:41 p.m.
    Nov 10, '10
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    www.allannairn.com

    Read all about US involvement with the Indonesian Red Berets (Kopassus), and how Obama has just renewed aid and involvement, after a twelve-year lapse!

  •
    2:46 p.m.
    Nov 10, '10
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    I score the article as half true. Kitz's plans are short on specifics. And as Tiernan says, when governments try to create a new industry, as with Kitz's biomass idea, things usually go wrong. He's right in citing the "fiasco" of BETC as an example. But Dudley's plans, admirably specific as Tiernan says, boiled down to tax breaks and cheap labor for the rich as a baseline for everything else. Tiernan doesn't want to acknowledge that voters noticed. And now he claims that repubs want "compromise." Or is that really capitulation, as with repubs in congress?

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