Who knew there was still a statesman in the Republican party? Not me, for sure.
But there is! Oops, hold on, I am hearing that the subject-verb tense there is incorrect. That should have been WAS, not is.
His name is Cyrus Jvadi and he has had enough – he announced yesterday that he has left the Republican party and will be running for re-election as a Democrat. Sharing quite a bit of his substack here because what he said is righteous. There is more under most of the headings than I included here, so click on over if you want to read the whole thing.
I read about this in so many places yesterday that I don’t even know who to credit with the hat tip. But if you were the first person to link to this on Bj, let me know and I’ll add you. h/t Jackie
The Breaking Point: June
By the end of the long session in June, my patience had worn thin. Every priority for Oregon’s North Coast, nearly every single one, ran into opposition from my own party. Protecting Medicaid benefits for the nearly 60% of children in Tillamook and Clatsop counties? Opposed. Keeping rural hospitals afloat? Opposed. Preserving students’ access to books that reflect who they are? Opposed. Protecting the First Amendment rights of people different from ourselves? Opposed.
Not because the policies were flawed. But because helping me deliver for my district didn’t fit the Republican Party’s agenda.
The Outrage Olympics
But here’s the real point: I expected it. The fury wasn’t a surprise. It was a confirmation. For months now, the Republican Party’s message has been simple: we don’t care what the problem is, just vote no, or else.
And for me, that’s a problem. Because I didn’t run for office to be a rubber stamp. I ran to solve problems. To fill potholes. To keep hospitals open. To build housing families can actually afford. To keep our homes and neighborhoods safe.
Good policy doesn’t need a party label. It’s good because the problem is real and the solution works, not because one side decides to bless it.
Republicans I Know, the Party I Don’t
I know many Republicans who still share my values, but the party apparatus is headed somewhere else entirely.
It’s not about governing. It’s about burning things down. It’s about isolating minority communities when politically convenient. It’s about waving the Constitution when it helps your argument and ignoring it when it doesn’t.
That’s not conservative. That’s opportunistic. And it corrodes everything it touches.
Healthcare: The Provider Tax
Rural hospitals operate on a knife’s edge. With about 40% of patients on Medicaid, 40% on Medicare, and the rest uninsured or on commercial plans, losing even one stream of payment can mean closing an ER. Keeping hospitals and services in Tillamook, Seaside, and Astoria open and available required protecting those funds.
My caucus wanted a no vote. Why? Because they wanted to finish session without a single Republican supporting any tax, even a tax providers themselves supported to keep their doors open.
I voted yes. Almost all Republicans voted no. Democrats voted yes. They were willing to protect healthcare, even if it meant casting an unpopular vote.
Roads: Sliding Off the Mountain
So when the legislature debated a transportation package to fund repairs, the Republican caucus had already decided, back in January at a strategy meeting in Silverton, to oppose it. No matter what the bill contained. No matter what the need.
I voted yes. Every other Republican either voted no or stayed home. Democrats (minus one) voted yes. One Democrat, fighting cancer and weakened by treatment, fighting for her life, still wanted to come to the Capitol to cast her vote, because she understood what was at stake: keeping roads safe and preventing layoffs. She’s a hero. She knew that even a flawed package was better than letting our roads crumble while politicians argued about slogans.
He goes on. Other headings include:
- Housing, Police, and Tourists
- Books and Free Speech
- The Recall Crowd
- Enough is Enough
Why Switch?
After long talks with my family, trusted advisors, and many of you, I’ve made my decision: Yes, I’m switching to the Democratic Party.
Not because Democrats are perfect, they’re not. But they’re acting like a governing party. They’re willing to debate ideas on the merits. To defend constitutional principles. To protect minority rights. To do the unglamorous, often thankless work of actually fixing things.
Time after time this past session, it was Democrats who stepped up to support the priorities of the coast, even though I wore the other team’s jersey. It didn’t matter to them. What mattered was whether the policy worked. Meanwhile, Republicans fought against those priorities, against the basic needs of our district. And somewhere along the way, it became clear this wasn’t just a bad season or a passing fever. The Republican Party had chosen a different direction, a different set of values.
Discuss!
Professor Bigfoot
One hopes this is the first pebble in an avalanche.
Another Scott
Good, good. We need the support of everyone who isn’t a monster or a monster enabler.
I’m not going to nit-pick it or ask what took so long. I’m not the audience. It’s not about me. It’s about throwing the monsters and their enablers out of power. People like him can and must help us do that for us to succeed.
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@Professor Bigfoot: Funny, I had considered including that very thought in my post!
Professor Bigfoot
@WaterGirl: We should be so lucky.
I’m reminded of the old saw: “Second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience.”
Experience says there will be maybe two pebbles falling down that mountain; but Hope keeps whispering in our ears, “maybe…”
chemiclord
I can’t wait for the angry think pieces about how “this is the way that Republicans are taking over the Democratic Party and pushing the Overton Window inexorably to the right and we need to reject people like him if we’re ever going to have a progressive America…”
Nukular Biskits
Fake news ….
/s
Baud
@chemiclord:
Political realignments are a bitch.
Baud
Curious why this guy was a Republican in the first place.
Another Scott
Meanwhile, yet more attempts at punching down and demanding fealty by 47’s crew.
MarylandMatters.org:
As usual, there’s a history here. The CFC was created at least in part to get politics and on-the-job pressure out of charity donations. It started being set up under Eisenhower and was fully formed under Kennedy.
CFC is an extremely efficient way for people to voluntarily donate to their choice among thousands of charities. No federal money goes to it. The overhead costs are minuscule. This is apparently yet another attempt for 47 and his minions to punch down, and demand fealty, and make things worse unless you bend a knee and say, with tears in your eyes, Sir!!
Grr…
Here’s hoping that they step back and leave it alone, but I’m not optimistic…
Best wishes,
Scott.
p.a.
What about his district? Would he have been in deep $#i+ as a R this time around, so his shift could hurt the chances for a REAL Dem to take the seat?
Betty Cracker
Never heard of this state rep before today, but I know the coastal towns he mentions in his essay, and wow, they are incredibly beautiful places. I’ve looked for birds and explored tidal pools in those areas and would happily do so again. The starfish alone are worth the trip! I’m pleased to hear the folks (and critters) who live there will have better representation.
mrmoshpotato
@Baud:
Same.
chemiclord
@p.a.: Turns out it took 5 comments. What a world.
p.a.
RIP Ken Dryden.
His The Game is an excellent sportsball book.
Another Scott
Hmm….
But aren’t all humans annoying, sometimes in their own special way??
;-)
Best wishes,
Scott.
Geminid
@Baud: Dave Wiegel reposted a reporter who said that Cyrus Javadi was “Pro-Life,” so maybe he identified as Republican because his views on abortion.
The reporter said this could be stumbling block in next year’s Democratic primary. I expect it will be unless Javadi modifies his position
Ed. The reporter also characterized Javadi’s district as “purple.”
Jackie
I think I posted it first :-) I hope Rep. Cyrus Javadi is only the beginning!
Ten Bears
Most people in that corner of the state know which way the wind blows
Which cannot be said about much of the rest of the state …
Jackie
@p.a.: Do you consider John Cole a REAL Democrat? Because he started this blog as a REAL Republican.
Then he realized his party had left him, not the other way around.
Please give Rep. Cyrus Javadi the same courtesy.
Cliosfanboy
@Another Scott: When we worked for Uncle Sam, my wife and I used CFC every year. Some of the organizations on it were pretty iffy (the NRA? Really?), but most were not, and many small organizations doing good work were able to reach donors they otherwise would never have been able to. And donors who could not afford to give a lot could give a little bit, without the hassle of sending a check or using a charge card.
In sum: CFC worked great, helped people who needed it, and had very low costs. No wonder the republicans want to kill it.
Cliosfanboy
@Jackie: THANK YOU!!!!!
Ramalama
@p.a.: Speaking of sportsball books, have you ever read Red or Dead by David Peace? I don’t know diddley about soccer (‘football’) but loved this novel.
Geminid
@Jackie: When it comes to Republican elected officials, I supect Cyrus Javadi will prove an outlier. But Republican voters who think like him are much more plentiful, and Javadi might reflect a trend among them. These voters could make the difference in a number of Republican-held Congressional districts next year.
Javadi himself presents his district’s Democrats with an awkward problem. I assume they’ve been planning on beating him next year, so they might not be too enthusiastic about rallying behind him. But that’s what primaries are for.
I think Dems will hold on to that district now, with or without Javadi. Here I’m counting on the district’s Republicans to run a real jerk in his place, because that’s what they do.
Professor Bigfoot
@Jackie: well said.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@Baud: His parents are probably GOP. His neighbors are probably GOP. He probably had political mentors in his rural community who govern well. When your community is white, religious, and homogeneous, it’s easy to not to see the ugly parts of the party. There just aren’t as many opportunities, especially before Roe was overturned. But once you get out there, it gets harder and harder to ignore. It also gets harder to paint Democrats as radical, anti-religion, anti-business, anti-family communists who will just let criminals run wild because they foolishly tenderhearted, who will take money away from your family to give to slackers and crooks (and they always know someone getting benefits they think is unworthy). That’s how they see us. That’s what has to be overcome to bring them over to our side.
Sunshine Protester
I live in the Oregon House district immediately north of Javadi’s district. It’s rural & small town but it’s on the coast so there’s a larger % of folks dependent on tourism (& thus disinclined to reflexively fear outside influences), artists, retirees from cities, etc… so it leans Dem. Javadi’s district is similar but a little less so. Leans GOP.
The GOP here is everything Javadi says it is. No policy goals except fake populism. The big GOP movement in our districts is ‘Timber Unity’. It’s Tea-Party-revanchists, funded by rich libertarian mill-owners from the Portland-area, but says it wants to get ‘big government’ off farmers/loggers’ backs. Timber Unity got going in 2019, reacting to the Oregon Legislature’s attempt to tax carbon emissions (mostly from pulp/lumber mills, but also from gas taxes that could’ve hit working people). MAGA transplanted onto Timber Unity. It jams public meetings with loud, angry ‘don’t-tax-me’ folks. They drove the state rep in my district out of office by harassing her as an outsider (she’d moved here just a few years ago) & ridiculing her appearance… so much that she didn’t run for re-election & moved out of the district. Really ugly stuff labeling her as inbred & a dwarf.
A bunch of candidates used Timber Unity’s populist cred (& the know-how of veteran Oregon GOP politician Julie Parrish — who helped the mill-owners take control of Timber Unity from the populist co-founders) to get elected to county commissioner positions & the like during the pandemic. I expect Javadi will face a well-funded challenge from one of them.
newrepublic.com/article/167405/grassroots-anti-environmentalist-movement-grows-oregon
wweek.com/news/state/2019/08/07/truckers-and-loggers-started-a-rebellion-in-oregon-political-insider…
oregonlive.com/politics/2019/07/heres-who-put-money-behind-oregons-climate-walkout-and-protests.html
WereBear
NOW? Where has he been? My crown of laurel leaves remains in the fridge, I’ve returned the rented chariot, and sent the slave practicing to whisper in his ear on a three day weekend in NYC.
Anyway
@Baud: yep, and the name sounds Iranian.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Baud: Rural Oregon
However, we used to have some pretty good statewide Republican politicians a few generations ago.
wjca
The thing is, the Republican majority in the House is razor thin. Nice as an avalanche would be, a handful of pebbles could turn things around there.
Think of it as the triumph of reality iver despair.
Chief Oshkosh
@Another Scott: Hell is other people? Something like that.
Professor Bigfoot
@Formerly disgruntled in Oregon: I can’t decide if it was John McCain or Mitt Romney who was the last national Republican who was not an outright neo-Confederate.
But in any case, they are absolutely all neo-Confederates today.
Professor Bigfoot
@wjca: From your keyboard to God’s monitor.
wjca
Read the “I still believe in….” section of his post.
Where he’s from, those things are important. And many of them are not part of the Democratic Party’s image. Not saying that many, let alone most, Democrats oppose them. Just that the party’s priorities appear to be otherwise.
p.a.
@Jackie: Hey, I’m 10 yrs older than Cole & did the shift abt 10 yrs before him. I was more social con (Catholic upbringing🤢) than economic con (union family). But we’re not running for office.
N.B. I asked about his district. If it was +20 tRump then I’m all: welcome aboard! If it was +4, then I figure there are longtime Dem pols there who might have some thoughts on this guys switch. If the polls & economy continue current trends there could be a lot of “Saul on the road” folks. I think they deserve as much scrutiny as the Berniebro “Dems” get.
ETA posted before I saw #26.
Ruckus
@Baud:
I’m an old and have been a democrat since before I could vote because I saw that the republican party has had basically the same attitude for decades. And that is it’s money for us and screw everyone else. Not a great policy point for a country. You know that concept that we are all in this together…..
Now that attitude has gotten worse in the last bit because it seems they have been losing general support as they become more and more obvious, and openly saying the quiet parts out loud. Braking it down, basically it seems a not insignificant part of their party wants everything while not paying for anything. And that ain’t how the world works.
Geminid
@Sunshine Protester: Thank you for the on-the-ground reporting.
Now I’m curious: if you’d care to say, what do you think of your U.S. Representative? I’m interested generally in how Democrats view their Democratic Representatives, and I am trying to learn more about Pacific Northwest politics in particular.
Baud
@wjca:
Our image is whatever people want it to be.
WaterGirl
@Sunshine Protester: Wow, thanks for all that great information!
Sunshine Protester
@Geminid:
US Rep Suzanne Bonamici’s district includes a chunk of big-city (Portland/Beaverton) suburbs.
AFAIK she’s a generic goo-goo Dem who leans progressive & follows Wyden & Merkeley’s lead. Judging from her facebook posts & email updates, she gets out in the community more than most reps.
I’m not a good source though so you should ask someone else.
WereBear
As always, must reference Dying of Whiteness. Because the people the doctor talks about are killing themselves, slowly, and they know it.
But they can’t vote D. My take is that fear of hell — which works best when it’s vague! — is stronger than the fear of death.
Plus the usual cement head development in the white supremacy male, who will resist the black helicopter of the UN that has come to save them, and drown in the rising waters. Alone, because they are the “men’s loneliness epidemic” which corporate media promotes, and blames on women being so darn mean about things all of a sudden.
But I’m talking about the carefully placed — thank YOU, Electoral College! –razor thin wins with blitzes of social media. The people who wanted to “take back their vote” after they finally found out what “tariffs” were.
If the Newsom campaign on social media changes these minds, go at it. It is for their own good, and I mean that in the best possible way.
gene108
@wjca:
He’s an Oregon state representative in the Oregon state legislature. I believe Democrats already control the state legislature in Oregon.
Ruckus
@mrmoshpotato:
The current day republican party has seemingly gotten more and more money hungry over time. They see the millionaires and billionaires getting richer and want a piece of the action, and as they have no rational ideas how to do that, which means EARN IT, they likely feel they have to throw everyone else under the bus. Or tank it if they are hard core. And we have, because this is/was a productive country a lot of money flowing throughout the business world. Now of course we have over the years passed legislation that insures that while the rich get richer, the common folk benefit as well. Not to the same extent for sure but better. But now, and not all of a sudden either, the rich are getting even richer while the average working human gets less. Much/some of their income comes from screwing everyone not rich, even if some of the individuals are not on board. This country has grown population wise a lot in the lifetime of many. The money side has grown as well and seemingly grown more than the rest of us. And as many know greed is a human trait. Not a good one but it’s out there and can be a strong side of humans. Make $50K a year and you likely want more. Make $25K a year and you absolutely need more. Make $50 billion a year and greed will often easily take over. (The amount may not always be the same but the concept holds) Today money makes the
worldhumanity go round, and never forget that greed is a human trait.WereBear
@wjca: Some of them can read the landscape. They want to get elected, and that is the system working as it should.
The Republican party made it back after the Great Depression. I think that was a big mistake.
WTFGhost
He didn’t mention the rights of migrants, and the wanton violation of the Fifth Amendment by the Trump administration, so, I’ll let him into the party, but I’m hoarding the good snacks until he leaves, then I’ll set them out.
WereBear
@Ruckus: Though it is the Criminal Mind.
Dr. Stanton Samenow wrote that this state of mind developed early and was pervasive through the person’s life. Even in circumstances where environmental factors contributed to a poor outcome.
Perhaps the R’s have done us a favor by gathering around this concept. Let’s us take a look at how many psychopaths are among the MAGA.
770,000
And we can bump that with the most successful ones leading the party, which is dominated by authoritarian males, and we have the higher number of 1.2%:
924,000
So I’m comfortably saying, thanks to some concentration effect, that there’s a million MAGA psychopaths out there.
Chief Oshkosh
@WereBear:
Gretchen
Driftglass and BlueGal at the Professional Left podcast remember the Bush-Off machine in 2009. Nobody would admit to voting for Bush or supporting the Iraq war – they were a brand-new political movement, the Tea Party. The media never noticed that it was the same people.
They warn that when we finally get rid of Trump, we’ll be swarmed with « I’m not a Republican. I’m an Independent Constitutional Conservative who Never Liked the Tweeting ». Sure, they’re welcome to join us, but lets not hand over the steering wheel to the people who drove us into this ditch in the first place. They can take a back seat until they prove that they’ve really seen the light.
Matt McIrvin
@Gretchen: Not only that, in part because liberal Democrats were more willing to own up to their part in it, the Iraq debacle mostly got pinned on THEM. By 2016, the rhetoric had basically made Iraq Hillary Clinton’s war. And Trump painted himself as a brave opponent of it all along (which he was not).
Gretchen
@Matt McIrvin: Good point. Same with Kamala vs. Trump. He said he’d raze the area for condos, she tried to do a nuanced take and was attacked for every slight deviation from what the left wanted. Now the people who were screaming at her before the election aren’t showing up at Trump rallies or screaming about Gaza. It’s like only Democrats have responsibility and agency, while Republicans can’t be faulted for following their ids.
Geminid
@Sunshine Protester: Thanks. That’s good to know.
There another Democrat whose district runs east from the Portland subirbs who interests me. That would be Janelle Bynum, who just flipped OR05. Demographically her district sounds somewhat like Bonamici’s (OR01). Like Bonamici, Bynum served in Oregon’s legislature before being elected to Congress.
And I follow a third Reprentative whose district is anchored in the Portland suburbs– Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez or as I call her, Notorious MGP. Perez represents Clark County across the Columbia River from Portland, and several rural/exurban counties to the north. Perez flipped WA03 in 2022. Her only prior elective experience before that was serving on the board of her local Soil and Water Conservation District.
Are you familiar with the Cascadia Advocate? They cover Oregon and Washington politics. Reporter/Editor Anthony Villaneuve has put together an interesting news site. That’s one way I follow Pacific Northwest politics, which seem both similar to and different from the politics in Virginia where I live.
Matt McIrvin
@Gretchen: I think that because of Murc’s Law, Democratic politicians need to do Cleek’s Law in reverse. Is there some aspect of a Republican policy that seems reasonable, that you might favor? Don’t. Just robotically oppose it. Find a reason to oppose it and pretend to believe it. Because if they actually have power, whatever it is, they’ll fuck it up and leave you holding the bag.
Matt
It’s totally because he lost a primary. Nothing that he describes as a “breaking point” is different from anything else the Republican Party has done for over a decade; either he’s a moron or a liar.
Geminid
@Baud:
While Javadi’s Wikipedia biography doesn’t speak to his religious affiliation, he might be an LDS Church member. At least his biography suggests that; Javadi was born in Provo, Utah and graduated from Brigham Young University. That could explain the “Pro-Life” stance attributed to him, as well as his and his wifes nine kids.
BobbyK
Don’t need any more former republicans in the Democratic party.
WaterGirl
@BobbyK: Then how do you propose to get to more Democrats? Because that is what we need. More people to vote for the Dems.
Geminid
@Matt: Cyrus Javadi did not lose a primary. He’s won two out of two Republican primaries since he first ran for office in 2022.
Javadi might lose his first Democratic primary, but that will be up to 32nd District Democrats.
Gretchen
@WaterGirl: More Democrats is good. Letting them take over, like Rick Wilson and his ilk tried to do, after destroying their own party, isn’t.
You asked yesterday if Andy McCabe was still podcasting. He is, with Allison Gill of Mueller She Wrote. The podcast is called Unjustified, and comes out on Sunday’s. Tomorrow’s edition with Andy’s reaction to this week’s events should be interesting.
Jackie
@BobbyK:
No open armed welcoming? That sounds very undemocratic to me.
chemiclord
@Gretchen: If these refugee Republicans wind up taking power in the Democratic Party, then that should tell you that we have a problem with a shitty electorate more than anything.
Jackie
Media Censorship, here we come:
For some reason, I can’t link to this. You can find it on Ben Rothenberg’s substack Bounces
Sunshine Protester
@Geminid: MGP & I are both alums of Reed College — a leftie liberal-arts school — and she’s constantly discussed in the private online alum forum.
I agree w/the conventional wisdom — that MGP is doing what she has to do in a district that Trump won in all 3 elections. But MGP really loves to trash her own base… & that’s pissing off a lot of folks who volunteered for her in 2022.
From the interview w/Ezra Klein in May of this year: Marie tells us liberal protestors are protesting in order to be “glamorous and correct,” and because “it feels good to get flipped off by” someone who’s Republican-coded — and these self-indulgent libs care more about “a fuzzy animal” than fentanyl addicts.
From the same interview: when right-leaners become worked up about an issue involving the outside world, Gluesenkamp Perez recodes their anger as a kitchen-table concern:
“For a while I was getting a [expletive] ton of letters about Hunter Biden’s laptop from people who are mad he wasn’t being investigated. And I think it’s easy to dismiss that as silly. But if you lift up the hood on that, what a lot of those folks are saying is that they feel like there’s a legal system that works better for you if you have a different last name or you have the right lawyer.”
tommyspoon
Wow! I must confess my ignorance of this man. I live in Oregon (suburb of Portland) and have never heard of this guy. But this tracks with my experience of conservatives in this state. Most of the conservatives that I have come to know since I moved here in 2011 just want the government to keep the lights on and leave them alone.
One of my neighbors has a bumper sticker on his old Toyota pick up truck: “MAKE PORTLAND NORMAL”. I asked him about it one day, just in passing, because I thought it was funny. His reasons for putting it on his truck were born of his frustrations with the Port of Portland, where he has worked for a number of years. “I don’t mind taking care of the environment,” he said, “but business has to get done. We won’t have a port much longer if we are bound up in impact study after impact study.”
Now, I didn’t follow up on that specific issue, but my neighbor did not mention any frustration with or opposition to the overall “weird” culture that is Portland. Most conservative folks realize that it is a tourist draw and are content to leave it at that. I believe it was a Republican governor, Tom McCall, who famously said about tourism: “Come here! Spend your money! Leave!”
And that sums up Oregon conservatism pretty well.
Sunshine Protester
@Geminid: Sorry for the noob question… but is there a way to get notifications if someone replies to my comment?
Google’s AI overview says “Balloon Juice does not have a built-in notification system for comment replies. To see if someone has responded to you, you must manually go back to the article and check the comments.”
Geminid
@Sunshine Protester: Anthony Villaneuve of Cascadia Advocate has had some interesting things to say about Rep. Perez. He followed her first and second campaigns fairy closely. Villeneuve had a word for people and politicians like her, who combine more liberal and more libertarian elements in their political thinking: “bi-[something].”
I followed Villaneuve’s reporting on Perez because I follow the House generally and swing districts in particular. The contrast between her and Janelle Bynum interests me. The two Democrats both flipped Republican seats, but Bynum is a much more conventional Democrat, at least stylistically.
I noticed that Charles Gaba excludes Reps. Perez and Jared Golden from his fundraising lists even though both their seats are rated “Tossup.” That’s his right, but I think he should at least mention them and state why he won’t solicit money for them.
@Sunshine Protester: No, you pretty much have to follow a thread to see responses. I’m used to it, but I’m a fast reader and I skim some comments. I hope you keep commenting though.
Matt McIrvin
@tommyspoon: Online I see a lot of people in the PNW who have this comically exaggerated fear of Portland as a deadly crime hellhole. People will say they’re visiting the region and they’ll give them these warnings to stay well away from Portland to avoid getting killed by all the murderers on the loose. It seems more outsize than the fear of other cities, especially cities similar to Portland.
WaterGirl
@Gretchen:
Oh, thank you so much for that information!
WaterGirl
@Sunshine Protester: Again, awesome information!
WaterGirl
@Sunshine Protester: If you are on a PC computer, then just do Ctrl-F and type “sunshine” and it will take you to all your comments and replies.
If you’re on a Mac computer, it’s Cmd-F to do the same thing.
Not sure on a phone.
RaflW
@Another Scott: Republicans a few years ago: “We should encourage private charity, churches and such to fil gaps and meet needs, not using government funds.”
Republicans now “Starve. Die. We don’t care, we’re keeping all the money. Don’t even us these tools to organize charitable giving.”
Eyeroller
@Sunshine Protester: This is an old-school blog, from the glory days of blogs circa 1998-2010. So no option for notifications. Implementing that (including the ability to opt out, which would be essential for most of us) would actually cost some money and may not be easy with the platform they use.
I’d like some way to see threaded comments because scrolling and clicking back and forth to follow a conversation annoys me, but I am outvoted in that so I put up with it.
tommyspoon
@Matt McIrvin: Oh yeah! And what’s funny is that I’m a Washington, DC, native! I’m used to hearing from other people what a hell-hole my hometown is!
Portland. Is. Just. Fine.
As a matter of fact, I’m going into Portland in an hour or so to celebrate a friend’s birthday! And it’s in one of the “bad parts” of town.
I’ll report back when I return. Assuming I return… ;-)
The Lodger
@Formerly disgruntled in Oregon: Unfortunately, Mark Hatfield is dead.
Sunshine Protester
@Eyeroller: Thanks. I’ve been (mostly) lurking since 2008. Cole wears his heart on his sleeve & unlike most blogmeisters, admits how little he knows. Hard not to like.
Plus I was Nat Guard infantry when Cole was a tanker & my political path somewhat follows his (I was a low-info centrist until Bush’s wars of choice radicalized me).
Sunshine Protester
@WaterGirl: Hah! Thanks. I’ve used macs since 1987 but am still learning stuff most folks picked up Week 1.
Sunshine Protester
@Geminid: She doesn’t need any $ from Gaba. The one political operative I know (Seattle Dem centrist who hates progressives) can’t shut up about MGP. Money rained down on her last cycle.
Despite my progressive lean, I like her. That doesn’t mean I have to like that she took $190K from AIPAC.
Geminid
@Sunshine Protester: Sure, Rep. Perez doesn’t need the money. But I think there are people who only know about these close races through Gaba, and might not know there are two tossup districts he’s leaving out. He may believe Perez and Golden don’t deserve money, but I believe his audience deserves to know about them.
Like I said, it’s Gaba’s right because it’s his platform. But if he wants to blacklist Democrats who do not meet his standards, I think he ought to say so and I’ve told him that.
Paul in KY
@Baud: Probably anti-choice or district is very, very GQP and he had to run as one to plausibly have chance of winning and getting in to legislature.
Paul in KY
@Anyway: Sorta wish his name was ‘Josiah Chivington’ or something like that. However, he’s a good dude and God bless him!
Paul in KY
@Gretchen: The media was paid not to notice. Our side (IMO) did a poor job of making Tea Party = Some Ole GQP.
Paul in KY
@Matt McIrvin: Agree!
Paul in KY
@Sunshine Protester: Yes. You log back in to Balloon Juice and go back to the thread and then scroll down from your comment to see if anyone has commented on it.
Edit: Just learned the CTRL-F thing! Wow! Isn’t the 21st Century awesome!