Good for Macpherson. That said, did anybody not expect this?

The two also have very similar backgrounds: both were or are partners at Stoel Rives and both are or were in the state House.

At the risk of being brutal - Hardy Meyers, Bill Bradbury, Ted Kulongski... satisfied with climbing the dizzying heights of mediocrity and giving each other a hand up every rung of the horizontal ladder.

Larry,

I suggest you take a look at Hardy's 2004 campaign website, which is still up, to get a sense of some of the accomplishments of his first two terms.

A few of these accomplishments include: - Winning three cases for the state at the U.S. Supreme Court, including protecting the Death With Dignity Act from John Ashcroft's interference. - Fighting the drug companies in litigation, and securing millions in various settlements for the state. - Coordinating all of the state's law enforcement agencies with the federal government to ensure an effective response to a major incident, like a terrorist attack or natural disaster. - Creating the first computerized statewide system to track clandestine meth labs. - Bolstering the state's economic restitution efforts in crime cases as well as its response to sexual assaults, crime victims services and child support enforcement.

Kroger and Macpherson will be lucky if they can accomplish for this state half of what Hardy has done. Just because Hardy has not been very good at self-promotion doesn't mean he hasn't been a terrific AG.

Talk is cheap. Oregon is lucky to have had Hardy as its AG for the past three terms.

Hmmm.... Although I lean Kroger, I can't agree with the criticism of Hardy Myers. He's been a leader in a statewide effort to coordinate a survivor-centered approach to sexual assault response. He has been a strong advocate for attention and resources in this area, which, as an old white male lawyer, is a great thing for women, children, and men.

I wonder why he endorsed Macpherson, though. I did expect that he would stay out.

One concern is that Kroger, with his law enforcement background, might stand up better to Mannix, but since CD 5 opened up, perhaps Mannix is no longer interested in AG. Hmmm...

Rose, a lot of use expected Myers to endorse Macpherson, the two of them are relatively close. For example, they are from the same law firm.

Kiss of death.

Honestly, we need an AG who's got guts to go after the big boys, someone like Elliot Spitzer. Meyers has mainly sat on his duff or tagged onto other suits initiated by other states. I may have missed it, but just what significant accomplishments can Hardy point to in the last 3 years?

A. Rab.,

I don't understand why you keep saying that this endorsement was expected. Hardy almost never endorses in the primaries and I fully expected him to stay out of this one. I'm sure there were some pretty important factors that weighed against his usual decision (per his judicious temperament) to stay out of races like these.

Also, BooBoo, in addition to my post above, I would add two things:

1. Unlike New York, the Oregon AG does not have independent prosecutorial authority -- that authority is vested in locally elected District Attorneys. No AG in Oregon history has ever gone on a campaign to prosecute criminals, because they have all understood that under Oregon law that's not their main role. New York law is different.

2. Has anyone else noticed that Wall Street is actually a street within the State of New York? People act like the Oregon AG should be taking on white-collar criminals like Eliott Spitzer did. But we really don't have an epidemic of white-collar criminals in this state, because, unlike New York, Oregon isn't the finance capitol of the world.

As I said in my other post above, Hardy Myers has been a fantastic AG for this state. He's not very good at self-promotion, but he is very good at doing his job.

At the risk of being brutal - Hardy Meyers, Bill Bradbury, Ted Kulongski... satisfied with climbing the dizzying heights of mediocrity and giving each other a hand up every rung of the horizontal ladder.

Hallelujah!

No more aging Boomers - let's get someone in office with a little energy.

Kroger also supports marriage equality for gays and lesbians - while Macpherson (like Hardy) seems perfectly happy with the unequal status quo.

BTW, it's remarkable that Providence St. Vincent's recently refused to let a lesbian couple with a second class "domestic partnership" fill out the birth certificate form with the names of both parents - partly because Hardy's office is still fiddling...

From the Portland Mercury website: "There is currently no provision...for reporting domestic partnership as the relationship between a mother and her partner," (State Registrar Jennifer A.) Woodward writes. She adds that the Center for Health Statistics is "obtaining a legal opinion from the Department of Justice on the effect of [the domestic partnership law] related to reporting parents on the birth certificate."

Oregon BIll, I've got to respond to you. You are wrong about where Macpherson stands on Doemestic partnerships. He was one of the driving forces in the legisalture to pass the domestic partnership law, even though it was a politically unpopular stance to take. Your statement is just flat wrong. Macpherson is a huge supporter of civil rights, and unlike Kroger, has actually fought for them IN OUR STATE.
Misha has everything right. Hardy Meyers has done a fine job for our state within the constitutional confines of the job of Attorney General. Many of the platforms Kroger is running on would be much better accomplished in Congress or the state legisalture. Meyers endorsed Macpherson because, as someone with a deep understanding of the requirements of the position, he believes Macpherson is the best man for the job.

John Kroger can try and belittle the accomplishments of Hardy Myers or host as many DC political hack fundraisers as he wants, but at the end of the day Greg Macpherson is clearly the most qualified candidate for OREGON Attorney General.

Hi Kate -

Here are e-mailed statements directly from the two campaigns:

FROM JOHN KROGER: John believes in basic civil rights for all. He supports domestic partnerships as a first step towards equality, but he believes that only through same-sex marriage will we find true equality. Now that a same-sex marriage ban is on the books, as AG he has to defend it. It is not proper to pick and choose what laws he can enforce. But he will work hard to fight for equality and he won't sit by the sidelines when there are threats to basic individual rights.

FROM GREG MACPHERSON: This is in response to the email you sent recently to my Attorney General campaign. I am a strong supporter of equal rights for all Oregonians. I proved my commitment to equality last year when I helped lead the effort to pass Oregon's domestic partnership law and the extension of our nondiscrimination laws to sexual orientation. In fact, I carried Senate Bill 2 in a two hour debate on the House floor.

When a group that promoted Measure 36 tried to stop our domestic partnership statute, I actively opposed that effort. I discussed this issue in the January 10 edition of The Mac Report, my legislative newsletter. I set it out below after your email. I think it makes a powerful statement about my views on this issue.

Notably, John Kroger talks about marriage ("only through same-sex marriage will we find true equality") and states unequivocally that domestic partnerships are only a "first step."

Macpherson sounds like a nice guy, but he sticks to "domestic partnerships." Hardy Myers seems to like those partnerships, too (though he's not yet sure if "partners" should be allowed to sign their own child's birth certificate..!).

Kate, my boys have real Oregon birth certificates, listing both their parents' names (but only after two second parent adoptions).

I'm voting for the candidate who states unequivocally that my family deserves the same rights and benefits as his, from the get go... So far, that sounds like Kroger.

You are wrong about where Macpherson stands on Doemestic partnerships. He was one of the driving forces in the legisalture to pass the domestic partnership law

And Kate, I never questioned Macpherson's commitment to domestic partnerships. I just question his commitment to legal equality for my family and his. I know that many Oregonians believe that support for domestic partnerships is the same thing. But as you can hopefully see from the birth certificate issue - it's definitely not.

And where is Hardy Myers right now, anyway? Two Oregon moms were denied the right to fill out their new baby's birth certificate. This is a job for...the Attorney General!

Misha, I have a lot of respect for your political acumen, but the fact of the matter is that the local political cocktail chatter has been talking about Myers backing Macpherson since the summer (when this all kicked off), and people have been waiting for the formal endorsement to drop.

Furthermore, you are off about criminal prosecution. Oregon does not have the range of powers of New York, but there is a criminal prosecution section at the Oregon Department of Justice. It does a lot of work helping local DAs. In organized crime it is particularly important, which is why the DOJ is so essential for curbing the meth problem

Kate, you are wrong about Kroger’s agenda. Everything he is running on is a job that only the Oregon Attorney General can accomplish. Prosecuting polluters, disrupting organized crime, and enforcing consumer protection is not a legislative job. Kroger has not disparaged Myers; Kroger has his own ideas about what the Attorney General should do.

A. Rab.:

I think Misha is more correct on the criminal enforcement role in Oregon for the DOJ. The Oregon DOJ criminal division provides trial assistance to the DA and investigation support. That is a huge difference from NY (and Spitzer, now Cuomo) where they could decide to bring the case on their own without the DA's. The Oregon AG has a role, but Hardy's style and his more limited criminal enforcement powers do not provide for the big bang media that comes with being able to prosecute your own criminal case (and he quietly does a great job in his role).

I agreed with Misha that New York has a much more expansive law, however, the Oregon DOJ is not limited to only DA assistance. It should be noted, that in terms of criminal law, a lot of what Kroger talks about can be done through DA assistance, which is why his good relationship with DAs is important. However, the Oregon DOJ can take on criminal cases directly, it is just rare and requires the approval of the Governor (though it is my understanding that no Governor has ever denied a request). A lot of people assume that Kroger just wants to be a super DA, but this is simply not the case. He has never talked about expanding the powers of the AG, he has only talked about utilizing laws already on the books, and marshaling resources in ways that have not been done in a long time. Additionally, if you actually look at his website, or hear a speech, the meth issue is only part of his platform, he spends more time talking about environmental protection, consumer protection, and civil rights.

Oregon Bill,

Here are e-mailed statements directly from the two campaigns:

When a group that promoted Measure 36 tried to stop our domestic partnership statute, I actively opposed that effort. I discussed this issue in the January 10 edition of The Mac Report, my legislative newsletter. I set it out below after your email. I think it makes a powerful statement about my views on this issue.

It looks to me that Kroger had a staffer craft his response and Macpherson took the time to respond himself. No matter where both stands, you have to respect the fact that Macpherson took the time and care to respond personally to an e-mail. I know I do.

you have to respect the fact that Macpherson took the time and care to respond personally to an e-mail.

Hi Ben -

Yes, I think it's great, too.

But I'm a real, live, married (in Canada) Portland dad with two boys, and this "domestic partnership" approach that Macpherson and Hardy seem to confuse with actual equality doesn't even put the parents' names on their baby's birth certificate.

Meanwhile, Kroger's staff tells me that marriage should be offered every human family, including his and mine and Greg's (and Hardy's). Domestic partnership is only a first step. Sounds about right to me. Style matters. Substance, too!

Oregon Bill- It seems like you may be imprinting your own thoughts onto Krogers response. Kroger's response states that although he personally believes in marriage for all, he acknowledges that in our constitution marriage is defined as "between a man and a woman," and that Kroger would have to enforce that if he becomes Attorney General.

Both candidates are clearly in favor of equal rights for ALL Oregonians, and I think we are beginning to split hairs. However, Macpherson is the one who has actually done something to bring Oregon closer to providing those rights by fighting for the domestic partnership law and expanding anti-discrimination law. Macpherson published an op-ed in the Lake Oswego review and devoted an entire newsletter to the issue. If you ask me, Macpherson has been more vocal about his support for gay-rights than Kroger. But more importantly, Macpherson's actions have demonstrated his commitment to equal rights (to the extent that current Oregon law allows), and his willingness to fight for what he believes to be right in the face of serious opposition. I prefer action over feel-good rhetoric. But clearly we differ.

I prefer action over feel-good rhetoric. But clearly we differ.

Hi Kate -

Not on that score, we don't.

In fact, we have a real inequality issue requiring action from the current Oregon Attorney General on the issue of domestic partnerships before us RIGHT NOW - two women with a domestic partnership were denied the legal right to fill out their newborn's birth certificate at Providence St. Vincent last week...

Domestic partnerships are not marriage - and do not represent equality under the law. * They do not fulfill the Oregon constitutional guarantee of equal protection. *

Kroger's response clearly acknowledges this inequality. Macpherson ignores the fact that domestic partnerships leave my family at a distinct legal disadvantage relative to his, and I'm not sure he gets it. Does Hardy? Where is the sitting AG on this birth certificate issue before him right now? Sitting?

"Notably, John Kroger talks about marriage ("only through same-sex marriage will we find true equality") and states unequivocally that domestic partnerships are only a '"first step."'"

This actually is typical of a pattern of deceitfulness that runs through Kroger's entire campaign literature and amongst the arguments of his supporters.

Kroger knows there is no chance that same-sex marriage will even be seriously re-visited in the next session, and perhaps the session after that. So this is no more than a throw-away line consciously intended to dupe the gullible: As a group, prosecutors are quite comfortable telling bald-faced lies to accomplish their prosecutorial goals, and the courts have confirmed that this dubious character trait is actually acceptable amongt those who choose that profession --- which is why anyone who claims to have a problem with lying pols should never vote for a prosecutor.

If Kroger actually had any conviction in what he said in his note, he'd put his political career on the line by agressively criticizing opponents for same-sex "marriage" as being morally defective. He would also say that we should have sex-blind civil unions and pledge to use the AG's office to aggressively fight for that.

If Kroger actually had any conviction in what he said in his note, he'd put his political career on the line by agressively criticizing opponents for same-sex "marriage"...He would also say that we should have sex-blind civil unions and pledge to use the AG's office to aggressively fight for that.

Hi KL - That sounds great! But neither candidate says that.

*** But Kroger's campaign does say that domestic partnerships are only a first step, and that "only through same sex marriage will we find true equality."

In contrast, Macpherson never mentions marriage, or points out the inadequacy of domestic partnerships. To him (and apparently to Hardy, his celebrity endorser), domestic parternship IS equality. Or equality enough.

(though it doesn't even permit two parents to sign their own baby's birth certificate)

Bill, it is interesting you raise that point, in eQualityGiving.org's (a LGBT rights group) endorsement of Kroger, they actually said "You cannot be 'almost for equality.' To have an Attorney General who thinks that every person should be equal in front of the law is a most important characteristic."

KL ("No on Kroger," "They Are Not Democrats," etc.), we were all wondering if you have moved on, I see that is a no.