Candidates Go Wacky at CGW Redux, TONIGHT

It's that time again! As if Goobernor Ted and Ron Saxton haven't embarassed themselves enough in one form or another these last few months, Bus Project, Willamette Week (and Pabst...Blue Ribbon!) will work to finish the job tonight at Roseland Theater, West 6th and Burnside.

On the off chance that somebody other than mainlining political junkies amped on the biannual elections high are reading LO today, here's more incentive to convince you: Portland's favorite Amazonian rocker chick with a penchant for partial nudity on stage, Storm Large, will be doing something! What is it? Who cares! She could clip her toenails and recite Keats in backwards pig Latin for all it matters to me--just do it in a ratty Lumberjaxx T, leather skirt and ball-crushing heels.

Carla and I went to the Election Primary version earlier this year, featuring Portland City Council candidates. Despite the goofy format--electoral hopefuls are subjected to all manner of mild humiliation in addition to tough questioning of a serious and not-so-serious nature--I found the process rather illuminating. Erik Sten is unflappable and knows exactly how to play the CGW game, Ginny Burdick never had any shot, Dave Lister never did either but blows a mean mouth-harp, Ted Wheeler couldn't be more vanilla if he lived at Baskin-Robbins (and that kind of non-controversy is what we wanted for Commissioner), and Diane Linn had lots of supporters--all of whom apparently could fit into Roseland.

I'm curious to see whether the raised stakes of a statewide office will put more pressure on Kulo and Saxton to keep themselves under (boring) control, but I figure that since the gig is in the heart of Little Beruit and not Medford or La Grande, they'll feel free to let it hang out a little bit. And hopefully Storm will let as much hang out as the Fire Marshal allows, so how can you lose? If you see me and you're not having fun, I'll buy you a Pabst, and that should adjust your mood. You can't beat the price, and maybe they won't have swept up all the spliff-butts left over from the Spearhead shows this weekend. Chase away the Mondays, make your final, unique assessments on what kind of people your goobernatorial candidates really are, and treat politics like the festival of human folly that it is.