What are the current (and historical) political climates in Oregon?

December 4, 2007 4:01 PM

I need to learn as much about Oregon politics as I can in the next 12 hours or so.

Does have anyone have resources that can help me to learn about popular issues, current political climate, and history of Oregon politics? Links to blogs are helpful, but can be easily found on my own, so any more obscure recommendations would be great. Also anything on the urban/rural disconnect that I'm told is so strong in the state. Thanks in advance to the hive mind.

posted by MidAtlantic to law & government (6 comments total)

wikipedia has a good entry on oregon, and urban development/rural preservation in portland
posted by Salvatorparadise at 4:25 PM on December 4, 2007

Blue Oregon seems to be the biggest blog I hear about. There's also the Oregonian newspaper, of course.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 4:28 PM on December 4, 2007

Oy. More info from you would be better -- what's this for? -- but here are some of our big, identity-defining issues, off the top of my head and in no particular order. Note that most, if not all, relate to the rural/urban divide that really does define state politics. Portland Metro is a very heavy counterweight to rural sentiments, pulling the state leftward.

Physician Assisted Suicide is unique to Oregon, and though it certainly has its local opponents, we keep voting for it. You may recall that this prompted John Ashcroft to attempt prosecuting our docs for misuse of controlled substances. Ultimately, the Supreme Court sided with Oregon.

Medical Marijuana is available if your doctor prescribes it. There are the associated issues of growing, possession, the Feds, etc. I believe it's a pretty popular program, but I don't pay much attention to this issue.

Sales Tax is a hot-button issue. We have no sales tax (WA, on the other hand, has no income tax). People generally like not having a sales tax. It's one of those "third rail" issues. Taxes in general are hot, in a liberal vs conservative big govt vs small tax activism kind of way. Bill Sizemore is a name to conjure with on this issue.

Gay Marriage Civil Unions Domestic Partnerships will be recognized state-wide as of Jan 1 2008, and will convey the legal rights inherent in marriage upon both gay and straight couples who register. We had full-on gay marriage in Multnomah county for a few brief shining moments a while back thanks to an activist local government, and my god but it was a beautiful celebratory heart-warming surprise when it happened, but it didn't survive for long.

Land Use was a biggie of late (google-up "Measure 37") and we're still sorting that mess out. I am not qualified to give you a thumbnail sketch of all the ramifications, but it was/is/will continue to be a big deal, in a state that values environmentalism and sees government oversight as a means of restricting expansionist growth and overuse of resources.

Timber / Logging has been an issue in there parts since the 80s. See Spotted Owls and whatnot. It's less an issue now, but in part that's because those small former logging towns have either been receiving Federal subsidies to keep them quiet or they just went up in a poof of ghosttowniness.

I'm sure I'm forgetting things. We have the death penalty but don't use it much. We're not Texas. Most of the issues above are hashed out publicly through citizen-sponsored ballot initiatives, which is a defining aspect of state politics. Oh, all voting is done through vote-by-mail now. This saves us having to deal with the Diebold bullshit, and makes voting really convenient.
posted by mumkin at 4:56 PM on December 4, 2007

Oh, I suppose in the historical political personality sphere, Neil Goldschmidt, once mayor of Portland and then Governor of the state, is good to know about. The statutory rape thing really capped his career, as in put a cap in its ass. He was a man with an intricate power network, so politically, your proximity to him, and what you knew about his pederastic ways (and when you knew it) is important.

Bob Packwood would be another fallen Oregonian luminary to be aware of, but he's not nearly as exciting these days, with Goldschmidt to kick around.
posted by mumkin at 5:07 PM on December 4, 2007

So I do realize that the above are merely suggestions as to what you might want to focus your attention on... I really don't have much to offer in the way of awesome secret resources. It occurs to me, though, that the blog of one Jack Bogdanski has a general focus on legal and political issues and will definitely provide some local flavor. He's a prof at the Lewis & Clark law school. Unfortunately, it's a real general-purpose blog, so you'll have to wade through music and sports and food and other mundane things en route to land use &c. May or may not help you, depending on your need.
posted by mumkin at 6:19 PM on December 4, 2007

Land Use: In the 1970s Oregon was afraid that all its farms would be gobbled up by sprawling subdivisions. It passed a law that limited development to urban areas. Agricultural areas cannot be developed into (e.g.) subdivisions and shopping centers. One recent law tried to undo the restrictions (Measure 37). Another undid the undoing (Measure 49).

Controversy: Many farmers would much rather be developers than farmers. Many city folk in Portland-Salem-Eugene like the idea of farmers farming, even though they don't know how much it sucks. Thus, you have some people who hate the land use laws and others who think they're a model for the rest of the country. (Even though no one else has adopted our model in the 30+ years it's been in place.)

Issue: Bush.

Controversy: People in Portland-Salem-Eugene think he is only slightly to the left of Hitler and Mussolini. People in the rural areas (especially Eastern Oregon) can't believe he gave up on conservatism.

Issue: Medical marijuana.

No controversy. People in Portland-Salem-Eugene smoke weed. People in the rural areas grow it. Both urban and rural folks don't like government meddling in private affairs. The main difference is what folks consider private.
posted by GarageWine at 8:01 PM on December 4, 2007