Mike Erickson: Hiding from the GOP?

By Sherrilynn Rawson of Oregon City, who describes herself as a "progressive Democrat, educator, wife, and mother of three."

Several weeks ago, I received an interesting e-mail from some fellow named Mike Erickson who seemed to be campaigning for something. Framed by green rolling hills and golden-leafed trees, the e-mail touted Erickson as "a new voice for Oregon" and asks me to visit his website to view his new television spot.

When I went to EricksonForCongress.org, I dutifully read his front page web letter. Apparently Erickson believes that Congress is "broken" and "needs to be fixed." Hey, me too! And it seems that he wants to make government "work for you and your family, rather than against you." Wow, what a coincidence-so do I! Apparently Mike also thinks that "gifts and trips from lobbyists to members of Congress and their staffs" are a problem as well. Yep. We both think that the culture of corruption that Delay fostered is terrible; that darned Republican-majority Congress is clearly doing a lousy job. On that ol' Mike and I agree.

Problem is, of course, that Erickson can hardly be considered to be running against the Republican Congress, since he is the Republican candidate running against Darlene Hooley (D- OR 5th). A vote for Erickson can't possibly be considered a repudiation of the Republican-dominated House, and he certainly knows this. Of course, you wouldn't know that Erickson is a Republican from his web site. There is no hint of party affiliation on his main page. He doesn't mention the fact that he's a Republican in his "Why I'm running" blurb, not in any of his "Issues" pages-not on his "Newsletter" page, nowhere. (You'd think he might want to mention his party affiliation on the "About Mike" page, at least.)

Clearly, Erickson has sensed the deep-seated resentment that this swing district has for the current Republican administration. It's a sentiment so strong, so powerful, that Erickson has apparently decided that his only hope in the race this fall is to attempt political jiu-jitsu and use the anti-Congress sentiment as a way to frame his race. It would be funny if it weren't so ironic. Here's a guy whose platform screams "REFORM" whose very candidacy would support keeping Hastert, Boehner, and Blunt right where they are. Erickson's party is the party that practically invented the K Street link between lobbyists and Congress. And Erickson knows darned well that running as a Republican this fall, even in a majority Republican district like Oregon's 5th, is the kiss of death. His only hope is to run against his own party-without actually explicitly mentioning that he is, you know, one of them.

Erickson has ramped up his campaign in the last several weeks, e-mailing and robo-polling voters in the district (I received a call from his campaign asking who I'd vote for, what I thought the most important issue in the election was, and if I was a woman); he's finally been forced to go negative and to mention his opponent by name, in a ham-handed attempt at attacking Hooley's committee attendance record; and he's put nearly a million dollars of his own money to his campaign in hopes of attracting enough interest to be taken seriously by the Republican National Committee. He's surely hoping that, if he looks like any sort of contender, the RNC will send a little financial love his way during this final home stretch of the campaign. After all, folks at the national level have often seen Oregon's 5th District as competitive in the past, and I'm sure the Republicans were hoping that Hooley would have looked more vulnerable by now in the majority-Republican district that she has successfully held for so long.

But running from your own albatross of a party affiliation can only work for so long. When Oregonians in the 5th District receive their ballots in the mail next month, they'll note that, unlike on his web page, Erickson will have a big, bold "R" printed next to his bio in the voter's pamphlet. And there will be no getting around his party affiliation on the ballot, where it will be printed, big as life, right next to his name. Try has he might, Erickson won't be able to run from the party where it matters the most.