Why life long democrats in Oregon say they are ready to vote red

If Oregon does make a Republican governor, it will be because the other two candidates split the vote (with a big assist from the Nike guy)

 

I honestly haven’t looked in to this but a reasonable Republican who was moderate wouldn’t be a bad thing for Oregon. I imagine he is to the left of Florida democrats.

 

Like many states, once you leave the big cities (Portland) the folks are pretty conservative. A moderate Republican should do fine there.

 

Where do you find one of those these days?

 

So long as one doesn't care about the future right to vote.

Or education

Or climate change

Or the rights of marginalized groups

Or affordable health care

Or gun violence

Americans have always been willing to ignore the larger picture in favor of a single issue (e.g. abortion, drugs) to their own detriment.

 

What I said was a moderate reasonable republican isn’t a bad thing. I long to return to a time when there was the option of compromise.

 

I can see a good logical repub doing well. But not this new brand of conspiracy driven, crazy repub.

 

In ordinary times, yes! I considered myself a moderate republican most of my life.

Any Republican, at this time, is an existential treat to our democracy. The party's power base must be diminished across the board until the hate, authoritarian and election-denying platform is no longer the surest way to get elected.

 

In graphic form

 

They kicked them out of the GOP.

 

Thanksgiving dinner at Kinzinger’s house?

 

This is kind of where I am. If there ever a time I could vote for a “reasonable” Republican this is it- but voting for any Republican elevates the status of majority of crazies.

 

Good read. Glad to see some are finally waking up.

 

I can’t read the entire article, but I understand the frustrations of city dwellers in Oregon. However, I would ask this: Have the Republican candidates set forth in their platforms how they plan to deal with the problem of homelessness and mental illness in the world’s richest country? There are solutions, but there are two requirements for implementation: to care, and to have the courage to dedicate resources over the outrage sure to come from the right, including, ironically, evangelicals.

Matthew 25:31-40:
“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

 

Well, the Republican's age old approach to the drug problem is to put as many people in the demand and supply side in jail. trump's solution to homelessness is concentration camps. So their solutions are out there.

Both "solutions" involve hiding the problem from the typical voter.

 

There is a tendency for Homo sapiens to treat the "handicapped" - I can't think of a better word offhand - as other species do: to view them as a burden on the herd and to ignore and effectively ban them. I use "tendency" intentionally because there are millions of examples of empathy and kindness, of people stopping in their daily lives to give a helping hand.

Of course, some people are simply beyond help, such as the severely mentally ill. What do we do with those folks?

I wonder how homelessness and mental illness is treated in China, North Korea or Russia.

 

Most homeless are mentally I’ll and/or drug abusers. A disproportionate amount are veterans. The idea that they simply need “a hand up” is naive.

In cities in he east, they work hard to shelter people overnight and have laws surrounding homelessness. In the west there is a prevailing attitude that requiring homeless to shelter inhibits freedom, and also takes away from what they see as the real problem, lack of housing. Lack of housing is a problem but probably not the primary cause of the homelessness-drugs and mental illness are.

They aren’t doing anybody any favors by letting the homeless stay outside. At this point they are clearly incapable of taking care of themselves. At least if there is sheltering going on there are usually parallel efforts to identify those who need help and get them services.

 

Yes, this is true. However, you can’t discount the resentment many are feeling toward the current leadership with respect to homelessness. It’s anecdotal but last night one of my friends who votes Democrat down the ballot, for the first time ever, voted for a Republican in Drazan. The thought process runs like this: Drazan will use executive emergency powers to work on the homeless issue but her crazier ideas that can’t be addressed in this manner she’ll be handcuffed on by the legislature.

 

I certainly agree. The rest of your post is spot on. I have a mentally ill relative who was homeless in SF, but he is now in a hotel which was turned into a shelter, and he receives SSI/Medicaid. That's the best that can be done for him, but it's enough.

I would note that one of the few posters I block gave you his usual derogatory and dismissive come on man. Who knows why. He may be incapable of articulating why.