Quick Hits and Deep Thoughts: Energy Smart Edition
Kari Chisholm
- Friday, Jeff Duyck wrote a whiny letter to the Hillsboro Argus complaining about being bounced from the ballot. He whines that he didn't get a special session to "right this wrong" but doesn't explain exactly what could be done to fix it. The fact is that the Oregon Constitution requires that you live in the district a full year before the election. A special session - which can only pass laws, not amend the Constitution - won't fix that. I've been somewhat sympathetic to Duyck's predicament, but seriously: cut the whining.
- Wow. Somehow I missed this one. Over at Ridenbaugh Press, Randy Stapilus takes note of the massive growth in voter-registration numbers. If the Democrats simply won every Oregon House seat where registered D's outnumbered registered R's, we'd shoot up to a 39-21 majority.
- It seems that Gordon Smith won't be going to the GOP Convention in Minneapolis. Why? Because he's so very, very busy running for re-election and meeting with Oregonians. Here's what I want to know: will Gordon Smith be working in the Senate or campaigning in Oregon every single day between now and then? Here's hoping an enterprising reporter actually digs into his August schedule. Because if there's one thing we know about Gordon Smith, it's that he doesn't actually like meeting real Oregonians.
- Yesterday, Congressman Earl Blumenauer participated in a four-on-four debate between Democrats and Republicans on energy policy, hosted at Tulane University. It's worth watching the archived video - Earl doesn't pull any punches, and holds the Republicans accountable for the "colossal failure" of the Bush Administration's energy policy.
One of the differences between Democrats and Republicans is that we're actually serious about making it happen. ... We had to fight them to improve fuel efficiency for automobiles that were stagnant for 32 years. The difference is now they say they are in favor of it; but they have been voting against it for the last 12 years. We are going to do it. (54:45)
- Meanwhile, the Merkley campaign has posted the video of Jeff Merkley's short speech on energy independence at Netroots Nation. (Full disclosure: I volunteered to hold the video camera, so please forgive my wobbling!)
- And I finally got a chance to watch Al Gore's full speech on his 10-year energy plan. It's worth watching. I'm not sure if we can do it, but we'd sure as hell better try.
 |
More Recent Posts | |
Albert Kaufman |
|
Guest Column |
|
Kari Chisholm |
|
Kari Chisholm |
Final pre-census estimate: Oregon's getting a sixth congressional seat |
Albert Kaufman |
Polluted by Money - How corporate cash corrupted one of the greenest states in America |
Guest Column |
|
Albert Kaufman |
Our Democrat Representatives in Action - What's on your wish list? |
Kari Chisholm |
|
Guest Column |
|
Kari Chisholm |
|
connect with blueoregon
Jul 29, '08
Just think how much better the State would be with a super majority Democrat control. The whole State would be run as well as Portland. Our schools systems would get billions more in funding, everyone who needs it would have health care, our infrastructure would get funded,
our rural communities could be releived from their lost timber payments and everyone's carbon footprint would be less. Along with many other benefits.
8:20 a.m.
Jul 29, '08
I suspect, Steve, that you're trying to be sarcastic. You've entirely failed -- since that's basically true. (Except the timber payments thing, since that's a federal issue.)
With Democrats in charge last session, K-12 education got an 18% increase - a $6.245 billion budget. Higher ed got a 22% increase. 3200 more children in Head Start. The record is clear.
10:50 a.m.
Jul 29, '08
It's disingenuous for you to hand credit to the Democrats on that one, Kari. Education got an increase because the revenue allowed it, and because it had lost about 20% in previous sessions. It wasn't because of some magic in the Legislature. When you don't have to cut something else to give schools money, not even Republicans are against it. Turns out GOP families have schoolkids too.
11:03 a.m.
Jul 29, '08
Don't be silly, TJ. If it were up to the Republicans - if they had been in charge - they'd have given it all away in tax cuts.
11:04 a.m.
Jul 29, '08
And, btw, state revenues were plenty large in the late 1990s, and the Republicans were in charge, and they cut education funding left and right. The record is clear.
Jul 29, '08
Another quick hit: VoteVets.org just got involved with Richard Riggs' race against Vicki Berger in HD-20, where there's a Democratic registration advantage of 14,044 to 13,035.
Jul 29, '08
(HD-20 is in Marion County between Salem and Independence, if you're wondering.)
3:30 p.m.
Jul 29, '08
"And, btw, state revenues were plenty large in the late 1990s, and the Republicans were in charge, and they cut education funding left and right. The record is clear."
It has nothing to do with the inherent size of the revenue; as you say, not enough revenue OR 'too much' revenue are both reasons for the GOP to cut taxes. The issue with 2007 is that revenue jumped, after having dropped by almost the same amount in the two prior biennia. I give the state GOP credit for being might stupid, but ain't no way they were going to reject restoring those ed funds, post-Doonesbury.
5:11 p.m.
Jul 29, '08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPugAcQILRY
Ha ha ha!
5:41 p.m.
Jul 29, '08
That's pretty amazing about Smith. Maybe he should just become a NAO (non-affiliated officeholder, since Independent is now a party designation) and be done with it, if he's got to run that far away from being a Republican. He could caucus with Joe Lieberman if he got re-elected.
Jul 29, '08
The Smith thing is crazy. Who ever heard of a sitting US Senator not going to his party's convention? I can see not going to the State convention, since the Oregon Republican Party doesn't really exist anymore, but the National?
Most folks by now have probably seen Gordo's "green" ad, where he's all fuzzy and kind and the "R" word is nowhere to be found. I was especially taken aback by his claim that he's "fought for health care for working families." I nearly spit my coffee across the room.
It appears that the Senator bases that claim on the fact that he voted for SCHIP. Yes, that would be the SCHIP bill that W vetoed.
I wonder if the Republican Senator ever tried to use his influence with the Republican President to get him to drop his veto threat? What did he do to "fight" for SCHIP? (Perhaps someone from the Oregonian will ask him? Ha!!)
I guess when he says he "fought" for health care, he means he worried about it once in between putts.
John
Jul 30, '08
Oh Kari, You're so on the D message.
But you exposed a little sour note in the chorus.
"(Except the timber payments thing, since that's a federal issue.)"
Now that's funny. So you think it's the feds responsibility to remedy the loss of timber payments?
How convenient for Democrats.
I guess Oregon Democrats played no role in the loss of loggin that led to the payments and are all in favor of increased sustainable logging for rural Oregon now?
My point stands about Democrats running Oregon like Portland. But then your blog avoids discussing the many Portland problems. It's almost like they don't exist. :)
With education funding there's no evidence that extra money improved the system at all. In fact all it did was bolster the status quo which leaves our public schools schools near the bottom, nationaly, in many categories.
Recent decisions to drop the CIM but require the same benchmarks for graduation guarantees Oregon schools will be languishing right where they are for another couple decades.
We have all the same people doing all the same things with it all costing more money.
Great success story.
Of course there's nothing to be found here addressing the functioning of our school system.
<h2>But there's no doubt blues want the legislature to hand over more tax dollars to dso more of the same.</h2>