Walden Gets Official Challenger--and It's Not Scott Silver
On BlueOregon just a bit ago:
Based on Butcher's self-description as an avid sportsman who believes in the 2nd Amendment, is a construction contractor and longtime resident of very red Baker City, he sounds a bit like Montana's Brian Schweitzer. Not to say that all Dems have to do to win is put a rural businessman/outdoorsman on the ticket--but it sure helps. Without comparing profiles, if you asked me who had the better shot in the Second District--an environmentalist from Bend or a contractor from Baker--there's no question it'd be Butcher.
And since Butcher's candidacy appears formal, we can officially scratch OR-2 off the "uncontested seat" list. Woot!
--Update, 12AM:
As the comments indicate, Silver has also filed (which he neglected to tell me during our email exchange since then). There are also additional prospectives near or considering filing. So it looks like a healthy primary leading to a robust opponent for Walden. Democrats have already won the battle, IMO. One less gimme seat in Congress is one more headache for the GOP.
--TJ
From Chuck's press release:
The reason for Mr. Butcher’s candidacy is that he does not believe that Rep. Walden’s voting record demonstrates anything like a concern for the best interests of Oregon’s Second Congressional District.
Rep. Walden has consistently supported the interests of the very wealthy and large corporations while ignoring the impact on the average resident of the district. He supports tax policies that benefit those interests while driving up record deficits and seeks to mitigate those deficits on the backs of the poor and blue collar workers.
Rep. Walden supports the infringement of the Bill of Rights for the perceived security of the Patriot Act while claiming to support the Bill of Rights. He blindly supports a policy in Iraq which is demonstrably a failure, politically and militarily, costing lives and American capital for a debatable outcome.
Rep. Walden feeds voraciously at the lobbyist’s trough.
Based on Butcher's self-description as an avid sportsman who believes in the 2nd Amendment, is a construction contractor and longtime resident of very red Baker City, he sounds a bit like Montana's Brian Schweitzer. Not to say that all Dems have to do to win is put a rural businessman/outdoorsman on the ticket--but it sure helps. Without comparing profiles, if you asked me who had the better shot in the Second District--an environmentalist from Bend or a contractor from Baker--there's no question it'd be Butcher.
And since Butcher's candidacy appears formal, we can officially scratch OR-2 off the "uncontested seat" list. Woot!
--Update, 12AM:
As the comments indicate, Silver has also filed (which he neglected to tell me during our email exchange since then). There are also additional prospectives near or considering filing. So it looks like a healthy primary leading to a robust opponent for Walden. Democrats have already won the battle, IMO. One less gimme seat in Congress is one more headache for the GOP.
--TJ
posted by Anonymous at 3:05 PM
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