Oregon's GOP Just Loves Timber Unity; It, In Turn, Loves QAnon, Proud Boys, 3 Percenters
On Thursday afternoon, the Democratic leadership that controls both houses of Oregon’s legislature conceded that their Republican colleagues who had staged a walkout were not going to return and decided to formally adjourn the current session. It was only the latest such confrontation taking place over the last year that has repeatedly brought the state’s politics to a standstill. Timber Unity, a right-wing group that was established last June and claims to represent a loose coalition of truckers and loggers, has received most of the credit for the walkouts by organizing its members to swarm the state capital, sometimes by the thousands, backing the recalcitrant legislators with logging trucks and tractors in tow.
A nine-day Republican standoff last summer over a climate bill only ended once Democratic Gov. Kate Brown deployed state police to round up lawmakers who had left the capital. Since then, Republican legislators who mostly represent rural areas have staged at least four other such boycotts—three with support from Timber Unity—taking advantage of a state constitutional provision that requires a two-thirds quorum in each house to conduct business. The bulk of the walkouts, including this week’s, were sparked by bills aimed at addressing climate change.
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To most Oregonians, Timber Unity’s success in thwarting climate legislation has been supported by its presentation as a grassroots, seemingly organic backlash by rural residents connected to logging, trucking, and farming—something like a Pacific Northwest version of France’s yellow-vest protests. Its website plays to that image, boasting that “we’re not just standing up for the men and women who work in our NW forests. Every one of us who is connected to working the land has a voice in #TimberUnity.” But the group has forged connections with corporate logging interests—state records show the largest donation to its PAC came from Andrew Miller, the CEO of Stimson Lumber—and even President Donald Trump. In July, its leaders were invited to attend a White House speech by the president on his environmental record, and this fall they participated in a listening session in Oregon with his campaign manager and daughter-in-law. In January, they were presented an award by the state’s Republican party. Mother Jones has reviewed screenshots of members’ posts to Timber Unity’s private Facebook group that were assembled by Sunshine and local advocacy groups for his report. They document a forum awash with violent threats, conspiracy theories, and sometimes racist messages that likely violate the platform’s terms of service.
Members have repeatedly posted about physically harming or even killing people with whom they disagree. “When you thought you hit a dog, but realize it’s just climate change protestors” read one meme shared in the group involving a picture of Robert Downey Jr. standing outside a stopped car expressing relief. Threats about using guns or hanging to target political opponents are common. We also reviewed posts making unambiguous threats to Gov. Brown’s life. Timber Unity’s supporters have used the group to spread conspiracy theories. In the last week, a post alleging “china/Oregon collusion to take over…timber and rural Oregon communities” accrued hundreds of likes and comments, including ones backing an “insurgency” in response or blaming coronavirus on Democrats and the Chinese. Messages have included hoaxes about George Soros, the liberal megadonor who is a frequent target of anti-semitic conspiracies, and misinformation about vaccinations and baseless claims of their harmful effects.
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https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/03/timber-unity-racism/