David Brownlow -- A Wild Ride in The Oregon Governor's Race

A WILD RIDE IN THE OREGON GOVERNOR'S RACE

By David Brownlow
August 30, 2006
NewsWithViews.com

What do the Oregon Republicans do when the utter bankruptcy of their failed record is finally exposed? They send in some hired goons to break the kneecaps of the only woman - and the only pro-life conservative - in the governor�s race. Fortunately for the good guys, Mary Starrett, the Constitution Party candidate for Oregon governor, is a fighter. This intelligent, articulate, former TV talk show host has done an amazing job not only of fending off the attacks, but of turning them to her advantage.

Ron Saxton, the Republican candidate for governor, is a committed leftist in every sense of the word � pro-abortion, pro-big government, pro-�civil� unions etc. He is running against Ted Kulongoski, the Democrat incumbent � another diehard leftist. Since the two of them agree on almost every issue, their face offs so far have been limited to, �You�re a jerk! Well, you�re a bigger jerk! No, you�re�� zzzzz�

With Mary Starrett�s entrance into the race, what started off looking like it was going to be one of the dullest governor races on record has turned into a virtual roller coaster ride!

Starrett�s campaign immediately attracted an unusual amount of media attention for a third (second) party candidate. This is in part because Saxton and Kulongoski are incredibly boring people. Also, it just so happens that this popular, smart lady is absolutely fabulous in front of a camera or microphone. So of course, the media has flocked to her.

When Mary Starrett came out of the gate fighting, exposing Ron Saxton�s conservatism as a total fraud � the �conservative� power brokers made it very clear that they did not appreciate anyone spoiling their fun. Their response was textbook political lunacy.

After Starrett�s continual pounding, some high paid genius at the Saxton campaign headquarters (they are still trying to deny they were behind this) decided that the easiest way to solve the problem was just to take Starrett out of the race. Sounded simple enough. They proceeded to dig up some arcane election procedural rules, and claimed that Starrett broke the rules and should be thrown off the ballot.

That Starrett had actually followed the rules seemed to mean very little to her attackers. In typical fashion, their real goal was to create fear, uncertainty and doubt around her campaign. At first pass, it sounded like their tactics were sheer brilliance.

However, they forgot to ask Mary Starrett, the hyper-telegenic media personality - with over 20 years of TV and radio experience - how she felt about their plans. What happened next was just unbelievable � something many of us can only chalk up to providence.

Once the story broke that Saxton had sent some hit men off to do a little political kneecapping, the media went into a frenzy � nearly all of which was in defense of Starrett. The charges being made against the Starrett candidacy were so baseless, so trite, that everyone immediately smelled a rat. The more Saxton denied he was behind the plot, the more it looked like he was � which only made him look like an even bigger weasel.

This has led to dozens of interviews, TV stories, articles, editorial commentaries and cartoons, and multiple days of page one stories and photos � most of which quoted Mary Starrett while she hammered away at the phony conservative credentials of the Republican candidate.

The underlying message of Starrett has been, �Conservatives � you made a mistake and picked the wrong candidate. I can help you fix it.�

If Starrett, in her wildest dreams, had tried to come up with an ingenious way to get her message of Life, Liberty, and Limited Government out to the people of Oregon, she could not have written a better script than the one Ron Saxton dropped into her lap. We are all still shaking our heads in disbelief.

The Oregon attorney general looked into the details of the bogus charges and figuratively threw the Republican bullies right out of his office, declaring the Mary Starrett candidacy intact. The next little suicidal trick of the Saxton camp is to go to before the most whacked out judge in the entire state (in an entire state full of whacked out judges!) to see what the courts can do. This too will fail.

We would love to be a fly on the wall of the Saxton campaign headquarters now, watching them with their faces, blackened by the political backfire, buried in their hands, muttering, �What were we thinking?�

Then, after all of this, the Republicans are now trying to keep Starrett out of the four debates that are scheduled. Of course, anyone who has seen Ron Saxton before a camera knows why. More importantly - for the bad guys - this would leave Ron TweedleDee and Ted TweedleDum alone to argue over which brand of socialism is going to be crammed down the throats of Oregonians.

We are not going to let that happen. With all the media attention, we are confidant Starrett will be in the debates � toolbox in hand. And when she is done taking apart Ron Saxton�s conservative credentials, we expect to see him left strewn all over the floor in small pieces. Stay tuned.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

To the American patriots: Whether you live in Oregon or not, we have a rare opportunity to take a chink out of the armor of those who have dumbed down the terms �pro-life� and �conservative� to the point where the words no longer have any meaning.

Mary has run her campaign on a shoestring budget, but there is a long way to go. A little help is all she needs to get her message out. Please send her the largest donation you can afford.

To the conservative Republicans: Your party picked the wrong candidate for governor. Saxton is a pro-abort, for crying out loud! Cut your losses now and get back to your roots of Life, Liberty and Limited Government. Check out Mary Starrett on the issues. You will discover that she is the only real conservative candidate running for governor.

Our job is to vote our conscience. The results are up to HIM. Fasten your seatbelts�this is going to be a wild ride.

Mary Starrett for Governor
P.O. Box 55
Wilsonville, Oregon, 97070
503-263-5052

Website: www.marystarrettforgovernor.com

E-Mail: marystar@marystarrettforgovernor.com

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David Brownlow, a regular columnist for NewsWithViews.com, is the Executive Director of Life Support, an Oregon based "No Abortion, No Excuses" anti-abortion organization that is focused on eliminating all government funded child-killing. David, an engineer, former Constitution Party candidate, and 25 year political activist, resides in Damascus, Oregon with his wife Suzanne and their four children.

Web-Site: www.lifesupportoregon.org

E-Mail: dave@lifesupportoregon.org

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That Starrett had actually followed the rules seemed to mean very little to her attackers. In typical fashion, their real goal was to create fear, uncertainty and doubt around her campaign.