The Lesson of Oregon: People are willing to pay for good government.

[Joanne98]

Corporate media propagandists spewed so much hot air about the supposed lessons of the Massachusetts special election that it's a surprise global warming wasn't measurably impacted. But don't expect much analysis about the lessons of the Oregon special election.

Turkana's diary :: :: It's not only that corporate media types think of Oregon as a small and distant land, it's more that the results of the Oregon special election don't fit the media's concocted narrative. But while there are countless ways to interpret the results of a personality-drive Senate campaign, Oregon was about issues, and the results tell us a lot about the mood of the voters, on the issues. And despite an economy that is still staggering, and despite an unemployment rate that's a full point above the terrible national rate, Oregon voters, by a significant margin, chose to raise taxes to ensure government services. That's the lesson, and it needs to be emphasized: voters will willingly raise taxes to pay for government services.

So much media spin is about the failures of government. Not only the failures of particular political parties and particular politicians, but of government itself. It's an insidious underlying theme. Promoting it is one of the defining motives of the Republican Party. And it's no wonder Republicans do such a lousy job of governing, given that they don't even believe in the role of government to serve the people. To siphon the people's money into the coffers of their corporate owners, sure, but not to help improve people's lives. The latter is the Democratic Party's job. That's why the more we prove the value of government, the better Democrats do, electorally. While the Republicans try to frame it as Big Government vs. Small Government, it really should be about Good Government vs. Bad Government. This is the large picture that so many are missing. This is the forest that's always endangered by the buzz saws bearing down on the trees.

Continued>>>
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/27/830882/-The-Lesson-of-Oregon:-People-are-willing-to-pay-for-good-government.

[pinto]

1. Kick

:kick:

[jotsy]

2. One reason I love living here.

DU is as msm as I get, but no, I wouldn't expect national news coverage will delve too deeply into this departure from their scripted dialog.

[depakid]

3. You can bet the farm there would have been huge coverage of the narrowest loss...

[stubtoe]

7. Don't you know it!

This means: Schoolkids 1 Corporate welfare 0

Schoolkids don't own the media.

[cilla4progress]

4. Right fricken on --

This is the meme that needs to get out - that WE need to get out (since for some damn reason the Dems and Obama's admin hasn't figure out how to...). We keep hearing about "government takeovers" of health, automobile and banking industries...stated through spitting lips. Why aren't we hearing equally "CORPORATE takeover"? Do we want CORPORATE takeovers (I know, I know - we already have them..). But that is the choice. If I were a Repub I would be awfully proud of myself that the Dems haven't fixed on this opposing meme. I don't know. Seems pretty clearcut to me. (All you have to do is use STATISTICS - e.g., rich getting richer / poor getting poorer; corporate tax rates; etc.)

WHY CAN'T THE DEM PARTY FIGURE THIS OUT? I know progressives spout this, but it sure doesn't seem to get into the loudest mouthpieces. I'm afraid tonight Obama will only be speaking to the choir.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. I've lived here about 5 years now and I love it

this vote is a perfect example of why I love it.

[stubtoe]

8. Important to remember that Portland is not the entire state.

Safe to say that without Portland, these measures would have failed. The rural counties predictably voted No on both measures. The counts are barely even, here in Marion County and the mid-Valley.

It's the usual breakout of Portland and the university towns (and a couple of coastal counties) versus the hard-core conservative/libertarian rural areas.

If you look at a political map, Oregon looks mostly red, with a few blue areas. We're very Balkanized.

Be Very Thankful you live in Portland! :)

[cascadiance]

9. You could say the same about California without L.A. and the Bay Area too...

There's nothing unique about Oregon in that respect. And Portland is a helluva a lot smaller than San Diego, and still is more progressive and thoughtful about the way it votes. I've lived in both cities the last decade and I should know.

[depakid]

11. Some of the rural areas were surprisingly close

and when you look at the map, there's quite the disparity between the "vacant" counties- and the rural counties with at least a few sizable towns.

A trend that bodes well for future statewide measures (when we can now expect out of state money to pour in like water over a breaching dam).

[Cleita]

6. No sales tax either. Oregonians manage to cover their government

services without a regressive sales tax. Also, it's against the law to pump your own gas. This is a law I love because I detest pumping my own gas, yet in Oregon gas is still cheaper than CA and other states who make you pump your own. See folks government for the people and by the people is possible. Oregon has proved it.

[cascadiance]

10. Though we still need to regulate benzene content in gasoline here better than CA!...

http://www.toxicsblog.org/portland-metro-benzene-levels

I'd like to worry less about cancer here than in California... Even though California has its on problems with MTBE.

I also do like not having regressive sales taxes here too.

And mass transit is great.

I challenge folk to find ways of taking trips to the airport on round trip for around $5 and not having to pay for parking by using TriMet buses and trains here, compared to other cities where you'd spend a fortune on either parking or on shuttle transportation for each trip.