Oregon governor race

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Oregon: Let's hope Republican and (really right-wing) unaffiliated gov. candidate can assure Democrat Tina Kotek wins

Hopefully Betsy Johnson (U/A) and Christine Drazan ( R ) will split the conservative vote so Tina Kotek (D) will win the Oregon governor race which will be between the three candidates. Their positions on transgender athletics in public shcools tells a lot about them. It shows the kinds of voters they are trying to attract.

This is from Wilamette Week:

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Christine Drazan ( R )

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We need to respect the dignity of every individual, but that does not mean we should accept that biological males competing in women’s sports is fair or appropriate. Women have fought for—and earned— respect and support for themselves in sports and have made incredible gains in doing so. We must defend that progress and stand up for fairness.

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Betsy Johnson (unaffiliated)

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I don’t believe it’s fair to force female athletes to compete against biological men. Sports should be about fair competition, not social engineering.

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Tina Kotek (D)

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I believe in supporting all children to be their authentic selves. Unfortunately, some politicians are racing to stigmatize vulnerable trans kids in order to divide people and distract us from real issues. When we talk about our trans community, we should be talking about how to prevent assaults on trans people, especially trans women of color, who are more likely to be assaulted. While other politicians work to bring harm to the LGBTQ+ community, I’m going to focus on the work that matters: ensuring all Oregonians are safe and protected.

From her ads I see that Betsy Johnson wants voters to believe she can bring Democrats and Republicans together to get Oregon's problems, like homelessness, resolved.

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Lots of luck with this.

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If Johnson believes she can do this she's engaging in wishful thinking and deluding herself, though it's quite possible this is just a political ploy to get votes form naive voters. In her ad about homelessness she says that she agrees with Democrats about approaching the problem with compassion but then says she will eliminate tent encampments without saying how she's going do this, and worse from my perspective she goes on to say she agrees with the Republicans that homeless people should take personal responsibility.

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Here's her most recent ad.

Here’s her ad about how she says she’ll solve the homelessness problem:

In the latter, it is the height of ignorance about the reasons people end up homeless, including mental illness and substance abuse as well as poverty, that individuals end up homeless. This is classic Republican "they should pull themselves up by their bootstraps" rhetoric which for decades has been used to try to derail social programs.

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These are Republican Drazen’s positions including her oposition to mask mandates. Here’s her view on solving the homeless problem:

“As Governor, I will address the root causes of homelessness – addiction, mental health, and affordability – and work with our nonprofits, the faith community, and local governments to get people off the streets. We must help those looking for assistance. And when people commit criminal behavior, I will ensure they are prosecuted instead of given a pass. We cannot continue to enable this any longer.” 

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As if non-profits and faith communities aren't doing whatever they can with little significant success. Also, she manages to demonize homeless people by suggesting with the word “when” that many of them are criminals who are getting a pass. This is reminiscent of Trump’s comment “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. […] They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people” 

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 No surprises here.

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Compare Tina Kotek’s priorities and positions.

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Update, Wednesday, May 25, 2022 · 6:01:48 PM +00:00 · 

And then there’s this (emphasis added)

“Former State Senator Johnson will not tell Oregonians about her positions against the environment and the fight against climate change, her working to thwart common-sense gun safety measures, her attacking the interests and well-being of working families and more,” said Debby Garman, a Hillsboro resident who is listed as the committee’s director. “We believe that for democracy to work, it is vital that voters have the facts. Over the course of the election, we will work to provide those facts to Oregon voters.”

from Democrat-backed committee plans to highlight Betsy Johnson’s conservative record in Oregon