Rick Dancer is a Republican? Something tells me that he will be pulling a Jim Torrey very soon.

Rick Dancer is a Republican? Something tells me that he will be pulling a Jim Torrey very soon.

The Register-Guard does a good job of highlighting the fact that he is a Republican, which is something he NEVER once mentioned during his official announcement on KEZI.

Damned liberals in the media...now they wanna run for pub...er uh, er uh, sorry.

Note Vicki Walker's response in the Register-Guard article:

"I'm laughing. I"m sorry,"

Classy leader we have there.

Coyote, most telling will be how prominently (or not) he acknowledges his party affiliation in his mailings and his television advertisements--- that will be the best measure of how much he is running from being a Republican (or not).

As he is required by law to acknowledge his party affiliation in the voter pamphlet and ballot, that part is not left up to him so it is not a good measure of how willingly he associates with the party label.

So far, 0 for 1 counting his official announcement.

If memory serves me right I thought Rick used to be active in or with groups like the Oregon Christian Coalition. He spoke at one of their events or something. Can't find anything online about it and agian this is from memory a few years back so I am definitely not trying to purport it as true. Anyone else remember something like this? He is very much liked down in these parts and I can imagine him running on a very moderate platform but if the Dem's can find some dirt re:wingnuttery on his part it could definitely help our candidate.

Xavier.....laughter is the only possible reaction. No one outside of downtown Eugene has EVER heard of Mr. Dancer. I am sure he is a very nice fellow, but an unknown Republican running in a very Blue year has absolutely zero chance against a well-known Republican/Independent/Democrat such as Ben Westlund.

I believe that contested elections are important for the process, but no one in the political process will consider Mr. Dancer to be a "serious candidate" sorry, I giggled a little myself.

Ben Westlund is running for treasurer, you dumbass.

I, too, am embarrassed by Walker's response. It was just rude and it made her look bad, it makes Democrats look petty, and it is so unnecessary.

Rick's a personal friend of mine and, indeed, a man of a strong Christian faith...but FAR FAR FAR from a religious righter. In fact, our shared faiths (I am as blue and bleeding heart liberal as they come...) are one of the cornerstones of our friendship.

How 'bout we take a page from Obama at the debate last week and not turn this into "silly politics". Let's let Rick run his campaign, the Democratic candidates run theirs, and let's all use our heads and vote for whomever we think will do the best job for our state. Wow - what a concept.

Coyote, I'm sure that Rick will cozy up to lots of people in the Republican establishment and do the fundraising circuit too, as he needs their support to have a chance, but like I said, it will be most telling to see how prominently (or not) he mentions his party affiliation in his advertisements and mailings.

And it is also quite telling that you perceive the expectation that someone not hide their Republican party affiliation as mudslinging--- it shows just how poorly esteemed of a label it is.

Dancer might have more than a puncher's chance, especially if Vicki Walker is the Dem nominee. Neither is from the Portland area, so there isn't a big name familiarity advantage. Metzger, Brown, even Avakian are better known around the Portland Metro area, so Dancer will have some catching up to do against any of them.

However, he is very well respected throughout the areas that get KEZI, and he comes across as friendly, yet knowledgeable and serious. I wouldn't discount his chances out of hand.

KEZI operated as the candidate's political vehicle by agreeing to withhold the candidate's party affiliation. Dancer isn't alone in running from his party, though. Check out Gordon Smith's website. You have to go at least three pages deep to find the word "Republican," and even then it's only as a description of other people or part of the title of a group, never as a description of the senator himself. Compare that to "Democrat for Senate" written right into the logos of both Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick. Gordon Smith and Republicans everywhere are embarrassed to admit their party affiliation. (Don't worry, though, we know the truth.)

This seems like a campaign contribution to me. What's the value of all this TV to an announced candidate; pretty big number I'd guess. Does KEZI hold a license from the FCC?

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"Dancer led KEZI’s 11 p.m. news program Sunday with the announcement of his candidacy, and his departure from broadcasting. Later in the program, he aired a taped retrospective of some of the stories he has covered for the station, with a voiceover that hit on such themes as service to the community."

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See my blog posting written on Saturday before he actually announced, on this topic.

Rick is a really nice guy, and a genuine Christian (look at his blog to see what he has to say to the world. The man clearly has a following (I couldn't get through all the saccharine comments). This may be another "W" candidate (one who is a lot smarter than he looks, but allows others to think he's dumb as a post).

He was the president of the Eugene City Club last year (a swing to the right for the organization) and is always willing to MC charitable events. So the man knows how to use the media.

It's just too bad that his politics don't reflect what seems to be in his heart -- I guess you got to get to people while they're young.

If Alan T. or others think it's laughable that Rick Dancer has a chance of winning, that's fine. I laugh at different things though, like when someone thinks they know who a "serious candidate" is but then says Ben Westlund is running for the same office.

None of us really know anything about Dancer's politics. Frankly, I've always thought his work on KEZI was a little sappy (and as George Seldes indicated, I thought his Sunday night announcement might have been over the line), and I usually watch a different station. As Pete Forsyth indicated, it's a stretch for Dancer to compare himself to Tom McCall ... but Salem is filled with many former TV and print journalists, and Dancer is as respected in his industry as they were.

For an elected official and candidate for office to treat it as a joke right out of the gate, that's tacky. If Vicki Walker were to mount a third-party run for president, she wouldn't have a chance, but Barack Obama (to use him as an example) wouldn't say he was laughing. When Ralph Nader announced his candidacy on Sunday, Obama didn't say he was laughing. (And like it not, Nader's chance of winning is probably more far-fetched than Dancer's.) Obama and others are great LEADERS, Walker is just a politician. And for that, if it's Dancer and Walker, the choice is easily Dancer.

Looks like the press is starting to pick up on how Dancer is distancing himself from the GOP, even at his announcement:

"when Dancer kicked off his campaign for secretary of state Monday, he played down his ties to the GOP"

http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2008/02/republicans_finally_get_a_stat.html

This, of course, highlights what Dancer and the GOP fear most--- having to run under the banner of Republicanism--- which is exactly what will be their downfall.

As a former State Senator, Lane County Commissioner and former candidate for Governor, I've been interviewed by Rick Dancer many times. He's very informed and is a Christian and also a Republican. Since the SOS race is mostly about who can raise the most money, I wouldn't count Dancer out, as he is almost certain to win the Republican nomination for SOS on May 20. Even though the Oregon Republican party doesn't have much money, their donors are very well off and they will be looking for a candidate that looks good, sounds good, will espouse their views and values and is running against a Democrat with limited funding. Part of reason we need "voter owned" elections is to address this candidate's appeal: he's got big money behind him.

Val's right, you can't believe everything you read.

That then begs the question, why believe what Val writes? Well, I have no reason not to believe her account of Walker's response. However, you can't believe everything you hear either, and based on my past experiences with Walker (I also live in her district) and newspaper reporters, I'm not inclined to believe that her response to Val was entirely truthful.

Oh great...RickDancer.com was taken down while I was in the middle of sending praise his way. Can they do that? Rick, we don't want censorship by those seeking the second highest office in the state. Shame, shame!

Rick, You are born to be a leader in any capacity you set for yourself. .You most definitely would be a breath of fresh air in the political world. .I think anything negative being tossed your way is just a way to try and break you down. .The Rick my family knows and loves is very strong, balanced and intelligent. .You are also gifted with a natural love and desire to help people. .This is your arena. . .keep riding on!!!

Good questions for any Sec. of State candidate:

All aspects of campaign finance, incl. pass throughs

Open Primary

Knowledge of the elections process

Doing the public's work in public

Running a well organized office

"Ricky, Ricky, You're So Fine, You're so fine" (you've lost your mind) "Hey, Ricky!"

I apologize for that last nonsense. I guess I had not much to say.

Would one of you political wonks out there please speculate for me on why Rick Dancer might not file as a Republican candidate today, but rather wait until August 26? After all, he seems to have the full faith and support of the state GOP, and ought to appear on the November ballot as one. Does anyone know if he is a registered Independent?

I think that politics as we know it are changing. I don't care as much about experience politically or who has the right Harvard degree. I want someone for the people and for truth and for what is right. Rick is my candidate.

<h2>And for those taking time out of their day to write negative things, you are who holds no water for a voter like myself. You or your opinion, due to the way you think it is right to communicate. Whatever you say doesn't matter because if you are capable of low blows (if they could even be) than your character is shining through and I would never follow someone with those standards of communication. Never. I think this is why Hillary will ultimately lose. She is too rude in her comments and will never get our country anywhere with character like that.</h2>