Oregon gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan is a Republican, so it would be a disaster if she won. Normally, you wouldn’t lose much sleep over that prospect in Oregon. President Joe Biden carried the state in 2020 by 16 points.
However, Drazan exuded confidence last week during a Fox News interview when she gloated over how the race was now classified as just “leans Democrat,” as if that has anything to do with her curdled mayonnaise campaign. One-time Democrat Betsy Johnson running as an independent is splitting the left-of-center vote. They should require Drazan to wear a “Go Betsy!” button whenever she’s on TV
Drazan shared more of her positive, uplifting message in a new campaign ad called “Rotten,” which is about how much Democrats suck.
DRAZAN: Career politicians are rotten to the core. That’s what my family used to say.
Drazan’s family sounds incredibly cynical. It’s like she was raised by characters in a 1940s film noir. Her childhood must have been surrounded by fog-drenched black-and-white cinematography. You almost feel sorry for her until you remember she’s a Republican and there are better ways to spend your time.
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Hero Centrist Betsy Johnson Might Just Stick Oregon With A Republican Governor
Democrats usually run ads about how their parents instilled in them a sense of civic duty and responsibility. Take this recent moving ad from Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock about his lovely mother. It’s as if Republicans don’t merely have different political policies. Increasingly, they seem like characters from a mirror universe where everyone is the evil twin.
Drazan’s ad just gets darker and more hard-boiled:
DRAZAN: … Powerful people only care about power. My opponents have held power for a generation, and they will say anything to keep the governor’s office in the hands of the Democrats for another decade of decline. They believe they are entitled to power, so they lie and distract and divide, but when something is this rotten, it’s time to throw it out.
Her ad, which is apparently not distracting or divisive itself, doesn’t explain how Johnson and Democratic nominee Tina Kotek lie, which is somewhat relevant information when smearing your opponents. No, her argument is seemingly that “career politicians” are all corrupt liars, except for her, even though she is currently also an elected politician. Maybe she thinks serving as the Republican leader in the state House of Representatives is a pastime and not an actual career. She dares suggest Oregon Democrats feel entitled to power when she’s pleading for votes like a child throwing a tantrum if a classmate won’t share a toy.
Oregon obviously can’t screw around and elect a Republican governor, no matter how much Drazan stamps her feet and says “give me!” Drazan’s communications director and self-proclaimed “burrito connoisseur” John Burke accused Wonkette of “hitting the panic button” as Drazan “gains momentum.” A Clout Research poll showed her with 33 percent of the vote to Kotek’s 32 percent and Johnson’s 21 percent. This is not a Republican revolution. It’s conservative “Democrat” sabotage.
Johnson voters might want a “non-woke” governor who’ll aggressively address crime and homelessness, but post-Roe, reproductive freedom is on the ballot. Drazan is an open forced-birther. The National Review raved about her dodge-and-weave response about abortion during a recent debate. We were less impressed:
DRAZAN: I’ve never shied away from my pro-life values. I haven’t. But you can’t really have it both ways. So the folks on the stage with me today are saying two things: That a woman’s right to choose is protected in Oregon — that it’s in Oregon statute, and they’re the ones that put it there — and they’re also saying that a woman’s right to choose is potentially at risk in Oregon if you elect a pro-life governor. Both of those things cannot be true without legislative action. Can’t be. So as I have stated previously, I will be a governor that follows the law. I will not bypass Oregon’s laws — I will actually enforce them uniformly, whether people in Portland like it or not. And at the same time, I am not hiding from my own values.
This is garbage, of course. Abortion rights and access are under attack, and Oregon needs a governor who will fight for them. Kate Brown joined Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a “West Coast offensive” for reproductive freedom.
A Gov. Drazan would not lift a finger to protect out-of-state refugees seeking an abortion. She would not devote funds to abortion rights providers so they could cope with increased demand. She certainly wouldn’t advocate against a national abortion ban. She glibly says she would “follow the law,” when thanks to right wing judges the “law” is closing in on the most vulnerable.
Drazan might end up performing worse than every Republican nominee since 1998, and if that’s enough somehow to put her in the governor’s office, she’ll have Betsy Johnson to thank.
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