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Richard Lamanna III | Copping An Address19 comments
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Ling Garden | No living wage.23 comments
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Jim Middaugh | Don’t hold back.5 comments
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[March 26th, 2008] Peace is a woman’s job, Jeannette Rankin famously said when she was Congress’ first female member and opposed U.S. involvement in World Wars I.
In 2008, Candy Neville—who’s running in Oregon’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate—is doing her part to make sure voters have candidates who think ending the Iraq war is everyone’s job.
Unfortunately, Neville’s efforts have been rejected by City Club of Portland , this week’s Rogue for barring Neville from the club’s upcoming debate focusing on the Senate primary. The rejection is both undemocratic and unnecessary.
City Club’s April 4 debate spotlights the Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate hoping to unseat Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.). There are six, including Neville. But the City Club has invited only Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley and activist Steve Novick.
“We want our debate to be as in-depth, substantive and useful to voters as possible,” says Wade Fickler, the club’s interim executive director. “In this case, we think there are two very clear front-runners.”
Neville says City Club debates are supposed to provide voters a public service. “In this election, it’s important that I be heard,” says Neville, the only woman among the six candidates. “If [voters] want to reject me, then reject me. If they want to elect me, then elect me. But don’t eliminate me.”
The Rogue Desk agrees with Neville. Merkley and Novick managed to contend with a third antiwar voice in an issues-centered debate earlier this month at the Eugene City Club, and Neville’s stress on arguably the campaign’s most substantive issue—the war—should earn her a City Club of Portland invite.
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The City Club is a pathetic joke populated by leftist sheeple. God forbid if an honest conservative came there to speak and spouted anything that goes against the LIEberal sheeple mantra.
Love ya, WillyWeek, but come on. There are two very obvious frontrunners in this race, and Neville is very clearly not one of them. Novick may have even been a fringe candidate last fall, but now it's looking like this primary will be really close. Between two candidates, not three.
What's Good For The Goose Is Good For The Gander?
"Starting Saturday, March 15, visitors to CandidatesGoneWild. com will be able to vote—just once—for the SEVEN candidates they would like to see onstage. The winners will be announced on April 10."
Ellmyer and E.PDXer have it exactly right. The purpose of the debate is for City Club members and the public to hear from candidates with a reasonable chance to be elected. It is not to provide a forum for those running whimsically, regardless of the issues they claim to champion. I'm sure Novick, and even Merkley, will provide plenty of criticism of Bush's war. What else but laziness explains WW's inability to come up with any true Rogue this week?
Have some of you lost all sense of curiosity? Are you really willing to allow the self-appointed "in crowd" to make your selections for you - without even checking things out? Beware of being trusting to the point of obedient.
Gee Candy, maybe they just don't want to hear a bunch of leftist, anti-war ravings.
There are people in this state that support the war.
Bravo for the city club!
Can you say early presidential race debates? Having 9 candidates on stage to "debate" was an absolute joke. There was no meaningful "debate" in any of those. The same would hold true with 6 candidate for the U.S. Senate race. Where is the public service in a waste of time where each "debater" basically gets to introduce themselves.
WWeek, get off your high horse. A meaningful debate is more useful than sound bites among a herd of candidates.
On OPB this morning, there was a story about Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick running to unseat Gordon Smith. No mention of the marginal, non-viable candidates. Which means that the City Club of Portland is in good company, and Willamette Week has next week's Rogue!
The difference between CGW and the City Club is there is a vote for CGW. The City Club just checks campaign contributions and picks the two top money raisers. Pretty good for a progressive outfit that supports public campaign financing, dontcha think?
Mr. Fickler and his puppy associates at City Club wouldn't know "in-depth, substantive and useful" to save their lives! Once a prestigious organization, the "Club" is now populated with sheep, not members, that come to hard left conclusions & only then commit to "research" that supports the established conclusion. I resigned my membership four years ago and when they called me to urge me to rejoin: I went into my 23 years at City Club, what the institutional memory required, strengths/weaknesses, etc. I waited for a response (absolute silence) and I hung up. Classy joint- NOT.