Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

“End of suburbs” one of countless Republican Convention lies

The good news is, my brain survived -- watching part of the first night of the Republican National Convention. Yes, it came close to exploding at times (actually, many times), but I was able to press the "stop" button on my remote fast enough to avoid serious damage to my truth-loving neurons. The bad news is, just about everything else.  Given all the GOP talk about the Democratic Convention being too dismal and dark, with the Republican Convention going to be all Reagan'esque sunshine and positivity, I was thinking that maybe that actually would happen. Nope.  Fear and trembling before…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

Mary Trump reveals Trump’s pathologies in her compelling book

Sure, we all know what a pitiful human being Donald Trump is. Weak, a crybaby, narcissistic, egotistical, incapable of empathy -- to name but a few of his pathologies. But it took reading the book by his niece, Mary Trump, a Ph.D. psychologist, to make me fully appreciate how badly our country is being served by a president who is utterly incapable of meeting even the most basic demands of the office he holds. Last week Barack Obama made a right-on comment in his speech at the Democratic National Convention. Donald Trump hasn't grown into the job because he can't.…
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Posted in2020 election

Four reasons why I’m loving the 2020 Democratic National Convention

Via CNN, so far I've watched every minute of the two hour prime time broadcast of the Democratic National Convention. After two days of pleasurable viewing, I'm planning to do the same tonight and tomorrow. Being a political junkie who has watched every Democratic convention for as long as I can remember, I was prepared to be underwhelmed by this year's virtual/online format. Instead, I'm finding it way more inspiring than all of those previous in-person conventions. Here's four reasons why. Crisper. This online convention moves along with pleasing crispness. There's no dead time. Speeches are short. Last night I…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

Trump’s attack on Postal Service needs to backfire on him

With a 91% approval rating, the U.S. Postal Service is American's favorite government agency. So Trump's attacks on the USPS and mail-in voting should lead to a substantial backfire upon his already-depressed approval rating and re-election prospect. But this won't happen all by itself. Defenders of the Postal Service and mail-in voting have to apply maximum pressure, keeping this issue front and center in the minds of voters from now until election day. A few days ago I started following the American Postal Workers Union on Twitter -- @APWUnational. I seem to recall that they had something like 60,000 followers…
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Posted in2020 election

Denyc Boles killed water project funding she’s taking credit for

Republican State Senator Denyc Boles should make "Hypocrisy" her middle name. Locked in a close election fight with Democrat challenger Deb Patterson, Boles is bizarrely trying to take credit for $20 million in funding for water projects in Salem and Turner that she helped block back in February of this year when she and other Senate Republicans walked out of the legislature to stop a climate action bill. Here's the Boles press release, which I've branded Inaccurate, because it is. Oh my, Denyc Boles is so proud of her hard work to get the money for water system upgrades. Actually,…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Kamala Harris will be a great VP. Then, a great president.

At 1:14 pm today Joe Biden personally texted me with the news that he's chosen Kamala Harris as his running mate. Thank you, Joe! I appreciated being the first to know, along with the millions of other people who had recently texted FIRST to 30330. The news lifted my spirits for the rest of the day. Well, along with doing some marijuana shopping this afternoon. Along that line, Harris apparently now is in favor of marijuana legalization. Hopefully she can bring President Biden along on this issue. Not that I'm counting my presidential election chicken before it is hatched.  Even though…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

Trump’s dictatorial desire was on full display today

Driving home from grocery shopping this afternoon, I listened to CNN reporting on a protest near the White House against George Floyd's murder by a police officer that was happening at the same time Trump was getting ready to give a law-and-order speech in the Rose Garden. When I got home, I turned on the TV to learn what CNN was saying now -- after federal authorities cleared out the peaceful protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash-bang explosives half an hour before a Washington D.C. curfew was to go into effect. Here's a photo of what CNN was…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Negative campaigning didn’t work in Salem City Council races

I found a lot to like in how the four Salem City Council races on the May 19 ballot turned out. Progressives won three of them, and narrowly lost the fourth, even though the conservative candidates had a lot more money to spend -- thanks to contributions from business related PACs (political action committees).  Stapleton, Phillips, Oakes-Miller, and Nordyke were the progressive candidates. The * indicates who won. So the four progressive candidates raised $70,231 as of May 22, while the four conservative candidates raised a whopping $158,350, well over twice as much.  Yet three of the conservatives lost. And…
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Posted in2020 election City Council Progressive Salem

Salem Reporter gets it right: this is a progressive town

It's wrong to think that Salem is a conservative backwater stuck between two cool progressive cities to our north and south, Portland and Eugene. Sure, for a long time some have termed our town So-Lame. But if that moniker ever was deserved, it sure doesn't describe Salem now, either from a cultural or a political perspective. As I noted on May 20 in a post-election post, "Progressives dominate in three of four Salem City Council races," progressives have made a great comeback in Salem. Back in 2015 there was just one progressive on the City Council. Starting in 2018, there have…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Campaign finance facts about Salem City Council races in 2020

If you're interested in how much is being contributed to City Council races here in Salem, you're going to love the reports that Jim Scheppke sent me -- which I've shared below in the form of screenshots.  A post-election story in the Statesman Journal said that Councilor Tom Andersen is looking into the possibility of limiting spending on the races, which points to the relevance of these reports. For five positions that pay absolutely nothing to have more than $200,000 for political campaigns is alarming, said Salem City Councilor Tom Andersen.  "I think that's way too much of an influence of big money," he…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Progressives dominate in three of four Salem City Council races

Last night progressives were heartened by the results of four Salem City Council races -- even one in which the liberal candidate is narrowly behind. Spending on these races set a record, about $220,000, with most of the money coming from individuals and groups aligned with business interests. The Chamber of Commerce and builder/realtor PACs went all out to change the left-leaning political landscape of the City Council. And in the end, they ended up with at best, the same balance of power. As the image below that a friend sent me shows, the election started with a 6-3 progressive…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Thank you, Salem Mayor and City Council candidates

I've dusted off a blog post from May 2016. Changed the election day to what it is in 2020, May 19. Updated the names of the candidates. Otherwise, left it the same, because what I said back then on election day eve is what I also want to say today, with the election tomorrow. Thank you, candidates.  I offer a heartfelt Namas'cray to all of the Salem people running for Mayor and City Council seats in tomorrow's 2020 primary election. Thank you for being crazy enough to put in so much time, effort, and money seeking an office that pays…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Oregon Right to Life inserts itself in Salem City Council election

Oregon Right to Life has a nasty habit of sending out last-minute mailers in local elections that have nothing to do with abortion. Here they go again, with the mailer below urging a vote for Brad Nanke in the Ward 3 election for a Salem City Council seat. Supporters of Nanke claim that he is a "non-partisan" member of the council. Not true. Nanke is deeply conservative. Oregon Right to Life says he is "an advocate for the unborn."  Since I'm not aware that abortion has ever been discussed at a Salem City Council meeting, it's pretty damn clear that…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Three takeaways from SJ story about record City Council campaign spending

Here's what came to mind after I read today's excellent Statesman Journal story by Whitney Woodworth, "City Council campaign spending breaks records, $200K in contributions." (1) We need local newspapers. I'm a frequent critic of the Statesman Journal. In-depth reporting on local issues has been lacking for a number of years. But Woodworth's story made me feel better about Salem's daily print newspaper. Temporarily, at least.  Sure, five days ago I'd written about this same subject. Being a part-time unpaid blogger, though, limits what I can do compared to a full-time professional journalist. It was great to see the quotes…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Business PACs shower $66,468 on conservative Salem City Council candidates

Jim Scheppke, ace financial analyst of contributions to Salem City Council races, sent me an update on spending in the 2020 campaigns. As you can read below, the headlines are: Four business PACs (political action committees) have contributed $66,468 to conservative candidates. That's 39% of the total campaign contributions for all candidates of $170,977. Reid Sund, who faces Vanessa Nordyke in the Ward 7 race, has gotten a record-breaking $63,422 in contributions, only 10% of which is from contributions of $100 or less. Nordyke has gotten 29% of her $22,605 in contributions of $100 or less. Here's part of what…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Hit piece on Trevor Phillips gets facts horribly wrong

Now that its May, the nasty attack ads come out to play -- by people desperate to get conservative Salem City Council candidates elected in the May 19 primary (which usually results in an actual winner, if one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote). Case in point: this mailer from the "Jobs PAC" that contains several false statements about Trevor Phillips, who is shown in black and white to, I guess, distinguish him from the colorful Brad Nanke. Before I point out why this attack ad is so sleazy, let's do some digging into the Jobs PAC. Here's…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Here’s the Salem City Council candidates to vote for in May 2020

I've got my favorite City Council candidates. And I'm not shy about urging you to vote for them in the May 19, 2020 election. Today I made this online "lawn sign," leaving aside the fact there are no lawns in cyberspace. I also updated my Salem Can Do Better web page to reflect the newest thing people can do to improve our town: VOTE for Stapleton, Phillips, Oakes-Miller, and Nordyke. Check out the web page by clicking on the image below if you're not convinced, as I am, that these are the best candidates. On it I've got videos of each…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Special interest money propels Reid Sund campaign to record contributions

Reid Sund is running against Vanessa Nordyke for the Ward 7 Salem City Council seat. His campaign apparently has set a record for contributions to a city council candidate: $46,847. But there's a lot of room for debate about whether this record deserves applause or boos, since $18,000 has come from special interest PACs: $10,500 from the Oregon Association of Realtor's PAC and $7,500 from the Mid-Valley Affordable Housing Coalition, which is the political arm of the Marion-Polk Homebuilder's Association. After all, PACs (Political Action Committees) carefully choose which politicians they support financially. In my opinion, it isn't so much…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Crazy talk from Reid Sund and Jan Kailuweit about climate change

Two conservative Salem City Council candidates in the upcoming May 19 election have decidedly crazy ideas about idling cars and climate change.  Reid Sund (Ward 7) and Jan Kailuweit (Ward 1) are claiming that building a 3rd Bridge across the Willamette would be a big contributor to lowering greenhouse gas emissions in Salem. Yes, they say, it is one of the best solutions we have in our “tool kit” for fighting climate change. In this regard they have a lot in common with Donald Trump. They make stuff up that has no basis in fact and then they repeat it…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Salem, be wary of Citizens for a Livable Community

A few days ago I wrote "Fascinating facts about contributions to Salem City Council candidates." The compilation of contributions that I shared had Citizens for a Livable Community as a major donor to each of the conservative candidates: Jan Kailuweit, Brad Nanke, Jose Gonzalez, and Reid Sund. That got me to wondering, "What the heck is Citizens for a Livable Community?" I'd never heard of the group before. So who are those citizens with such a concern for making our community livable? And why are they only contributing to conservative candidates? Well, the answers to those questions point to why Oregon has…
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