New Ads from Kulongoski, Saxton; but Saxton's misleads

Here's a quick round-up on the latest in the TV air war in the governor's race:

Governor Kulongoski has a new spot up - highlighting his fight against meth in Oregon. Check out the ad on Ted's site.

Ron Saxton's also got a spot up, focusing on illegal immigration. Download his ad (WMV).

Of course, the ad claims that Ted Kulongoski is somehow responsible for illegal immigrants voting in Oregon. The Secretary of State, who runs elections in Oregon, put out this statement (PDF) yesterday:

New television and radio ads from the Ron Saxton for Governor campaign are spreading false and unverified claims about non-citizens voting in Oregon. The records of the state Elections Division prove that this is an almost non-existent problem in Oregon.

“I looked at the past 15 years of general elections. Of the over 10 million votes cast in Oregon since 1991, only 10 people have met criteria that would warrant an investigation into their citizenship. Of those 10, only two were prosecuted,” said Secretary of State Bill Bradbury. “This ad is spreading inaccuracies and voters need to be aware of that.”

Discuss the ads.

  • (Show?)

    I have to say I got a really good laugh from his ad. This is the line I find really interesting:

    "There are 175,000 illegal aliens in Oregon with more pouring in, making illegal aliens Oregon's second largest city."

    Alright, so where is the city named "illegal aliens"?

  • Jim Ross (unverified)
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    It's a town called malice...

  • A.Y. Caramba (unverified)
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    Ron Saxton reveals the details that will save Oregon!

    Our beloved Republican candidate for Governor Ron Saxton has confounded the critics once again! Yes, the very critics who have been critical of his refusal to reveal the details of his plan to save Oregon. Yes! The critics are once again confounded. Ha!

    First of all, I say to the critics: “Ron Saxton is a high-powered corporate attorney who doesn’t need to show you any stinking details.” There, I said it. You should all try to get a real job, maybe somewhere else if you hate America so much.

    That being said, our beloved Republican candidate for Governor Ron Saxton has begun phase 2 of his campaign, which is ripe—even swollen, absolutely bursting—like a pomegranate—with details, the very details which will save Oregon and—by extension—all of America.

    Oregon voters already understand his plan to secure funding for the Oregon State Police by creating efficiencies in the prison food system, while simultaneously reducing energy consumption in prison kitchens. These are known facts.

    And Oregon voters also understand his proposal to end foreign word invasion of our beloved English language, by requiring all foreigners to speak English or get out. And to punish the America-hating librarians who put books written by foreigners in our beloved American public libraries, paid for by honest, hard-working property-owning English-speaking taxpayers.

    The critics have been hounding our beloved Republican candidate for Governor Ron Saxton for not providing the details of his plan to save Oregon’s schools, but these critics are now confounded. Ha! Yes!

    First of all, Ron Saxton has stated many times, over and over again, that he can find efficiencies that will save Oregon schools, just as he has solved the Oregon State Police funding problem by finding efficiencies in the prison system, and he has done this without even being Governor yet.

    In addition to the aforementioned efficiencies, which were found by our beloved Republican candidate for Governor Ron Saxton, Ron Saxton has determined that the Oregon Republican Party platform contains many details that—taken together as a whole—will combine to save our state and our beloved America, which is under assault from foreigners and Democrats and other vile persons.

    For your information, sections of the Oregon Republican Party platform are quoted below:

    “A. All legislation should be based upon the premise that progress in education can only be achieved if each component of change is based upon proven principles. To rebuild a sound educational system, we recognize: All educational authority flows from our Creator to parents who may in turn delegate, at their discretion, that authority to professional educators;”

    Ha! What can be more efficient than hiring the Creator and parents to teach our beloved Oregon children? What can be more efficient than using proven principles?

    ”C. History, especially the history of western civilization with its foundational Judeo-Christian values, provides essential experience from which to understand the nature of man as well as choose a future course of action.”

    Ha! And they say that Ron Saxton is too busy to care about history, but here are the details of his education plan—and you see that history is mentioned twice—in the same paragraph! Ha!

    “2.4.1 English shall be taught as the official language…. English education for non-English speaking students should be accomplished by immersion. We also encourage adult legal immigrants to learn English.”

    Ha! Immersion in prison! Efficiencies! Foreigners are criminals! Let them learn English in jail where they belong! Ron Saxton will stomp the nose of the camel, the nose that is peeking under the tent of our beloved America.

    ”2.4.3 Science curricula shall accommodate diverse theories of origins.”

    Ha! Ron Saxton will turn the tables on the kookoo balls who claim that Americans were descended from monkeys. Maybe foreigners were descended from monkeys, but that is not Oregon’s problem.

    ”2.10. We encourage the inclusion of voluntary firearms safety and hunting safety curricula as well as the support of rifle and other marksmanship clubs in government schools.

    Ha! Guns in schools! With proper safety and training! Provided by parents and the Creator! Ha! Is that enough detail for you? The critics are confounded.

    ”2.12 We support the abolition of the United States Department of Education and the Oregon Department of Education.”

    Yes! Abolish them! Abolish them all! Our beloved Republican Candidate for Governor will abolish them! And the US Postal Service! Abolish! Abolish them! Efficiency! Genius!

    ”2.13. We support privatization of non-educational support services now being performed by government school districts to foster cost effectiveness in such areas as transportation, school meals, etc.”

    Yes! As he has found efficiencies in the prison system, Ron Saxton has found similar efficiencies in schools. We spend too much money on buses and food in schools. Schools are for learning, and rifle practice.

    ”2.14. We stand opposed to state and federal funding of pre-schools including Head Start.”

    Yes! Ron Saxton will eliminate all funding for Head Start and other feel-good inefficient programs. Ron Saxton will fund only efficient programs, taught by parents and/or the Creator.

    Lastly, to those critics who have lambasted our beloved Republican Candidate for Governor Ron Saxton and the Republican Party platform for having no solution to the large size of classes in Oregon schools, I say “Ha!”

    Ron Saxton has also solved this problem, the one of large classes, with a very simple solution: drywall. Drywall, installed by prisoners. Not foreign-word-speaking prisoners, but efficient American English-speaking prisoners. Ha! You want smaller class sizes, Ron Saxton will build them.

  • sasha (unverified)
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    You mean Bill Bradbury looked into whether illegals were voting and found almost none?

    OK then, that settles it.

  • (Show?)

    I am deeply dissappointed in the way Kulongoski's campaign is being managed. Yesterday Saxton and Kulongoski spoke to the Medford Chamber at the Rogue Valley Country Club to a packed house. Each spoke seperately with Saxton on the program first. He was speaking to a "friendly" business oriented group who appaulded a few times and asked him 3 or 4 pro-Saxton questions. Several members of the Chamber left before Ted spoke. When Ted spoke it was a quiet reception with only one question asked. Ted stressed education and Saxton stressed illegal immigration. The columnist covering the speeches for the Medford Mail Tribune wrote this morning Ted gave a stump speech stressing his accomplishments while defending his record of the last four years. His delivery was energetic but it was clear he was playing defense not offense. He could have easily taken Saxton down in a town who's school buildings are crumbling and where libraries need funding. He could easily tie Saxton to Bush's coat tails.

    Ted's campaign team needs advance people who study the local concerns so he can speak to those specific issues when he's traveling through the state. His team needs to prepare talking points with Saxton's list of non-accomplishments and Saxton's lack of statewide experience. Ted's team needs several ad buys in the rural parts of the state because Saxton's illegal immigration ad is playing every half hour on cable and network stations in Southern Oregon. Lastly, Ted's team needs to contact Dems they know who will be in the audiences he speaks to before he speaks. Those Dems need to ask good questions instead of sitting mutely as Ted ends his remarks.

  • James Caird (unverified)
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    It's pretty obvious what the Republican party is trying to do here.

    Remember when Ronald RayGun kicked off his 1980 presidential campaign with a speech in the Mississippi town where three civil rights were workers were killed by the Klan? And he spoke about "states rights."

    "Illegal Aliens" are the Republicans' Western version of the Southern Strategy. Instead of pandering to their base's (not so) latent racist feelings toward blacks, they pander to their base's (not so) latent racist feelings toward hispanics.

    This is right out of the Lee Atwater playbook: You just replace "state's rights" with "illegal aliens," and you pander to people's most negative and divisive feelings.

    What would you expect from a party with leadership that protects a predatory pervert in order to maintain their own grasp on power?

  • Jon (unverified)
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    I find Bradbury's comments hard to beleive. Its illegal in Oregon for state officials or police to ask of a person's citizenship. So how would they know? The trail seems logical to me that since the state issues driver's licenses to illegals (because they cant ask), and voter registration is tied to getting a license, its very probable there are illegals voting.

  • (Show?)

    Jon, it's not at all very probable. Across the nation, the driver's license and photo ID are solutions to made up problems. There simply isn't any measurable fraud going on, on the part of undocumented aliens, and if Saxton is going to claim there is, he needs to prove it. He knows he can't, but that's not his point--he's just trotting out the standard Republican race-baiting.

    What a non-entity this guy is. He's got no shot in this election.

  • (Show?)

    He's got no shot in this election.

    Sorry, TJ, but there's a very real chance that Ron Saxton could become our governor.

    That's why folks need to go volunteer and donate to Ted Kulongoski. There's only five Saturdays left, and fewer than that before ballots arrive.

    The time is now.

  • JJones (unverified)
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    Ah yes, the entirely credible Mr. Bradbury (D) says that there is no election fraud, no illegal aliens voting. Then we MUST believe him, because he has no interest in taking down Ron Saxton or defending Ted Kulongoski. C'mon, that is the worst kind of political hackery and partisanship ever! I don't what is more sad: The fact that Bradbury actually thought that people would believe him or the fact that people do. As for illegal aliens receiving state services or driver's licenses, Jon brings up a good point which is quickly glossed over here: State officials are not allowed to ask if you are a citizen or not. Talk to DHS, they'll tell you they have no idea how many ILLEGAL immigrants receive health care because they can't ask them. They just provide them health care.

  • Anonymous (unverified)
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    Kulongkosi is getting his political butt kicked.

    It doesn't make a difference if what Saxton says are lies or white lies, Kulongkosi started advertising too late and has his pants down. He may be the more noble choice by keeping things positive, but Saxton is closing the gap fast.

    Who the hell is running the Gov's campaign?

  • (Show?)

    He's got no shot in this election.

    I wish I could predict elections. Okay, I wish I could accurately predict elections. They're very complex and may ride on factors as seemingly disconnected from the issues as gas prices or the weather (less so in vote-by-mail Oregon). I had an interesting conversation with a woman at work last week about the debate. As I wrote on Blue, I thought Ted did a great job, but she thought Saxton looked more professional and organized--and we're both fairly far left Dems. Even the perception of reality doesn't square.

    Saxton is making a cynical calculation in running the illegal immigrant ads. He is striking a nativist note to appeal to the 5% of voters who are eyeing Mary Starett's "values" cred. He is watching the same polls we are, and he's gotta figure a way to get that last five percent. Will it work? Hard to say, but I'm with Kari--his chance is substantially greater than "no."

  • (Show?)

    A.Y., that was beautiful. Steven Colbert could not have done better.

  • Phil Jones (unverified)
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    This could be real bad news for both Kulongoski and Bradbury. If more illegal voters are discovered in these days before the election, the resultant official investigation would cloud both Democrats.

    Let's hope this won't happen.

  • Jon (unverified)
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    Sorry, Torridjoe....I said it seems logical. That must be what tripped you up.

  • (Show?)

    It doesn't seem logical at all Jon, since it hasn't happened--anywhere. It's simply not an issue. You are asserting causality for which you can offer not a whit of support.

    Phill--"more" illegal voters? How about we start with one?

    JJones--why on earth should we believe YOU?

    Kari, Jeff--I repeat: Saxton has no shot. He has a negative favorability rating, he can't seem to vault over the 40% threshhold, and he continues to trail Kulongoski by at least five in all scientific polling. He's run thousands of ads, and has only succeeded in turning some Kulo votes into "don't know" votes.

    Let's keep things in perspective, shall we? The three-poll rolling average shows Kulo at a consistent 47-48%...in a head to head race. Which means that Saxton--not subject in this poll to the reality of Mary Starrett and the Libertarian candidate--is being shown as doing better than he really is. Furthermore, even if Saxton were dragging down Ted's numbers (which Rasmussen shows he really isn't), he would need to build up his own numbers at some point. With his "strong disapproval" running at almost a quarter of the electorate, that ain't happening.

  • spicey (unverified)
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    A.Y. - thank you thank you! very fun. hope that gets passed around. Heck, it should be posted on the TK website/blog... very well done! and, unfortunately, probably very accurate.

  • Phil Jones (unverified)
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    Kulongoski just garnered thousands more votes for his reelection. All the illegal aliens in Oregon will vote against Saxton now that he's stated he'll deny them drivers licenses.

  • Anon_the_Bomb (unverified)
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    Torrid writes: "What a non-entity this guy is. He's got no shot in this election." and then adds: "Kari, Jeff--I repeat: Saxton has no shot."

    Well, the C&E reports that came out show he has as much cash or more than Kulo, and will get more as the race tightens.

    And Kulo (with massive Union support) barely squeeked by last time, against a more conservative, way under funded candidate.

    This time, Kulo has lost the 'massive' part of the Union support, and is up against a less conservative, much more well funded candidate.

    But Saxton has "no shot in this election. ...no shot"

    That is priceless!

  • Harry (unverified)
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    Saxton has no shot???

    From the mid-morning update at the Oregonian website:

    "The battle between Democratic incumbent Ted Kulongoski and Republican Ron Saxton is essentially a dead heat, according to a new survey by Portland pollster Mike Riley."

    Please pass the kool-aid!!! Or the doobie!!!

  • (Show?)

    Anon-- You keep your speculations about what Saxton can do with money (so far he's not accomplished much); I'll stick with the scientific numbers: Saxton has made few gains in the last 6 weeks, is viewed negatively by likely voters, and is behind even BEFORE you add in the minor party vote. In 2002 they totalled less than 5% of the vote; Starrett could get that all by herself in 2006. Now consider a depressed conservative electorate, and no significant conservative values issues on the initiative ballot.

    Is there a theoretical possibility Saxton can win? Of course. Is there a practical possibility? Is there a realistic possibility? The answer to both those questions has to be a firm No, based on the data.

  • (Show?)

    Harry-- Riley's polls have not shown much reliability in the past. As for this poll, look at the likely voter screen. It's a joke--anybody who didn't vote in two of Primary 06, General 04 and General 02, drops out of the poll. By default, if you typically only vote in general elections, and you've lived in Oregon less than 4 years, you don't count in Riley's poll. If you moved here within the last two years, you also get dropped immediately. That's a little absurd.

    I'll stick with repeated, scientifically robust polling, thank you.

  • Oscar (unverified)
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    Saxton's boys drank too much California cabernet before they dialed up this latest version of the Willie Horton strategy. Did he forget that his farmer buddies depend on illegal labor? Do they think they can win without any hispanic votes? And, it looks like he may have accomplished what Teddy never could, he's energized the progressive base. It looks like the worst Faustian bargain ever, he's sold his soul and guaranteed his demise in one foul stroke.

  • Bill R. (unverified)
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    Rasmussen's polls have much greater credibility than Riley. That said, Ted needs to get a whole lot more aggressive and really expose the record of Saxton so that he doesn't do to Oregon what he has done to the Portland School system.

  • LT (unverified)
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    If Ted ran an agressive campaign based on the fighting spirit of his State Central Comm. speech, I'd be happier. This campaign seems aimed at an undetermined "middle" which might be the reasons for newspapers saying the 3rd party candidates should be in debates because they have fresh perspectives.

    Keating and Morely in the Sunday Oregonian had some really intelligent ideas. Too bad Ted never mentions any of them. Even "I agree with Keating that..." or "while I disagree with Morely on some things, what he said about..." would be a good idea about now. If Ted aims too much at the undefined "middle", people who read that Sunday Oregonian might just choose to vote 3rd party.

  • anonamous (unverified)
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    I have just had my first viewing of your website and am astounded by the negativity and glaringly snide remarks. All of this is coupled within the same posts accusing Rox Saxton of a negative campaign. Why is it that we are unable to focus on facts and issues as adults? Must we act like bully children in the school yard?

    I would like to know what is wrong with requiring all citizenship canadates to have a working knowledge of English. What is wrong with demanding that the laws of this country be enforced? Laws are not made to be broken...or simply ignored. By allowing guest workers, our beloved neighbors could live and work here without having to look over their sholders, worrying about deportation. If "guests" are not working, they should return home. If an Oregon farmer believes this will not harm the farmers, who are we to say it will?

    As a parent who spent 12 years homeschooling my two youngest children, who are now 17 and 18 and in college with the older one being a homeowner, I must speak in defense of parents ability to teach. Not only do my reluctant learners excel in the basic three R's (especially compared to their publicly schooled peers), as well as the "extras" such as music, art, history, science, PE, etc., they also function extremely well socially. Personally, I would certainly hope that non-homeschooling parents are also teaching their children. Parenting is very much a teaching role.

    This does not mean I do not believe our teachers are unable to do their jobs. On the contrary, one of my older children, who I did not homeschool, is a very gifted teacher. She deserves all the respect and support we can give her and others like her. But we must remember that support comes in many forms. Simply throwing more money at the situation is not always the answer. Obviously, it has not been working in the case of Oregon's public schools.

    I suggest rather than critisizing, demeaning, and displaying blatent partisianship we embrace the positive plans and recommendations by all canidates, while rejecting without malice those which are unworthy of consideration. Let us not embarrass ourselves by our acts and reactions. This method would not only be an excellent role-model but may tell all of our politicians we expect the best, not just politics as usual.

  • JB Eads (unverified)
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    If "Illegal Aliens" is the second largest Oregon city, "Bullshitville Junction" has gotta be a close third.

  • Granny (unverified)
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    How many of you have worked for the state in Salem? Have you seen state of Oregon statistics?
    Do you know how many thousands we are paying out to illegals for the benefit called "CAWEM"?
    Please, phone your state offices. Ask questions about where your taxes go.
    The most important places you can call are Department of Human Service and Corrections.

  • Dave Aldrich (unverified)
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    Saxton's proposals contain many ideas that either are unrealistic, can't work, or are undoable, but his overall thrust is to privatize government services and to increase the wealth of the most wealthy, even if it takes lies and misrepresentation to do so. A good indication of this is his persistent claim that the estate tax prevents "businesses [from being] passed from one generation to the next. This is a particularly problematic issue for agricultural families."

    No advocate of the elimination of the estate tax has ever been able to produce one actual case of this happening, but repeal of the estate tax will accomplish one thing: it will allow the enormous wealth of the very few extremely wealthy to be passed on to heirs, creating a new aristocracy while further reducing much-needed state revenue.

    Another example of his blind bias favoring the few most wealthy among us is his promise to "capital gains tax, encouraging business investment in Oregon".

    Study after study reported by the Oregonian have shown that businesses are not deterred from investing in Oregon because of taxation (because taxes are a very small part of business expenses) but by a poor educational system. But Saxton's "analysis" falsely assumes that a reduction of capital gains taxes really would affect businesses most. In fact capital gains taxes affect wealthy investors, and wealthy investors tend to invest capital gains and capital gains tax savings back into their investments and not in starting a business, or in the financing of existing businesses.

    <h2>Saxton is a corporate man, interested in giving corporations and the powerful, priviledged wealthy more power and wealth, and that is exactly what Oregonians DON'T need.</h2>
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