I had not planned to publish another Oregon political news roundup but a few stories in today’s news cry out for me to make them known to the blogosphere. They are:
1. Matt Wingard’s troubles deepen-The State Legislative candidate’s (R) child abuse issues may be worse than previously thought.
2. Oregon Dems blast the bailout.
3. Oregon Dems surge in registration in OR-5.
Cross-posted from Loaded Orygun: http://www.loadedorygun.net/sh…
Matt Wingard’s Troubles Deepen:
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/a_political_ad_notes_wilsonvil.html.
As reported yesterday, the Oregon D’s have launched an ad critical of State Rep. candidate (and interim incumbent) Matt Wingard (R-Wilsonville) regarding his 2002 conviction for misdemeanor assault for attacking his then 7-year old son with a screwdriver. However, the story does not end there. According to filings made over custody of the child in 2004 (Wingard and the child’s mother never married), the child’s mother claims that this incident was “part of a history of abusive behavior by Wingard, including slapping that left bruises.” This begs the question of how the Republicans can really claim to be family first if they can’t even pick a candidate who takes care of their own family.
Oregon Dems Blast the Bailout:
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/defazio_urges_congress_to_go_s.html
Led by longtime OR Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR4), Oregon Democrats stood up against Henry Paulson’s $700B bailout plan in unison. As Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said, “Unless we address the underlying faults in the system that brought us to this financial abyss in the first place, we may simply be building the world’s largest bridge to nowhere.” By contrast, Gordon Smith couldn’t seem to make up his mind, stating that “We’re looking at a bad option and potentially worse options.” This is perhaps further proof of how out of touch Gordon Smith is, not surprising given his substantial wealth and strong record as a Bush clone. Still, I am proud to say that Oregon Democrats stand united against this giveaway.
Oregon Dems Surge in Registration in OR-5
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/democratic_registration_surges.html
Oregon’s fifth congressional district has never been considered safe for the Democrats. Since first taking office, retiring Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-OR) had never won with even as much as 60% of the vote and always faced a registration disadvantage. Well, that is no longer true as the Democrats now hold an edge of about 20k in the district, which combined with the myriad problems of Republican candidate Mike Erickson, should give Schrader a relatively easy win.
Let me know what you think.
This is gonna be fun…