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Betsy Johnson worries me. Her TV ads no doubt appeal to many people. To me they're trite and add up to nothing, but positioning herself as a no-nonsense independent who can bring both sides together could prove effective in a three-way race. Or she might drain more votes from the GOP candidate. Or maybe I'm just paranoid. Would Oregon really elect a Republican governor for the first time in 40 years?

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That is my worry Michael. I certainly hope not. And Betsy is a disaster. I just hope she takes more Republican votes than Democratic

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If she has an R in her campaign, no democrat would vote for her. We are not voting for ANY republican, anywhere.

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That's my feeling too. I haven't voted for any R for years.

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The problem is that were it not for Portland, Oregon would be a red state, and pretty damn red at that. Bundys and Bundy wannabes are popular in Oregon outside the Portland area and a few, small coastal communities. Similar analysis applies just about everywhere.

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Bend is now more D and Eugene of course. I would say if not for the population in the Willamette Valley more broadly.

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Yes, I think you're right about that. Also, Oregon is the fourth whitest blue state, arguably bluer than any of whiter blue states (Vermont, Maine, and Minnesota). Very blue for a state that's over 80% white. Almost enough to inspire some hope, eh?

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Yes...some hope despite the awful history here.

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Oh, I wouldn't say that. There are more little blue dots out here than you might think.

We travel the state each summer volunteering for Oregon State Parks and we find friends wherever we go. The loudmouths may have signs saying they want to move the border, but they aren't everywhere. From Sumpter, Oregon.

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Yes, many blue dots. Oregon is a great place. Probably the bluest state that’s over 80% white, but the blue power comes from the Portland, Eugene, and Salem areas, where over 70% of the people live. The blue dots are nice to find (the Republic of Ashland, for example, and many dots near the coast), but they are scattered in a sea of red (Medford, for example), and that red sea is dotted with a big contingent of serious loonies (Bundy wannabes and others carrying guns with 300-round magazines). It’s fantastic that blue voters are in charge, and it’s essential that they stay in charge because the loonies are exceedingly dangerous. I hope good-hearted Oregonians keep up the good work.

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Republicans do know how to message, albeit lies, lies, lies

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This is what worries me, the acceptance of the lie and it's uses in Republican elections campaigns. It now seems evident that the American public can't readily distinguish between lies and old fashioned spin.

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Republicans have always known how to message: I like Ike

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This is hard to read. I think she will draw more votes from Rs rather than Ds. At least that is my hope. The R candidate is not Vic Atiyah (sp?) either. I have a former R Marion County Commissioner as my next door neighbor and my bet is that he will vote D as he is totally disgusted with the R party.

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