DeFazio is an excellent --rural-- progressive

If the rest of the country were trending like  Oregon, we'd be OK in 2010.

If DeFazio did move on this year, I think we'd actually be OK in his district, because of the state of the OR GOP.

I know this follow-up is a bit O/T, but it's Oregon, from Kari's BlueOregon blog - http://www.blueoregon.com/2010...

This is a statement from the chair of the OR GOP - about two state House Rs who have been sufficiently bi-partisan to get Union support:

Tiernan released a statement urging the two to refuse any help from the public employee unions or to "consider removing themselves from the election for the Republican Party nominations for House Districts 57 and 58."

When I talked to Tiernan, he was more definite. "Based on everything they've done, they ought to get out of the party," he said flatly. "The unions coming to their aid is just more ratification of who they are and who is supporting them."

Districts 57 and 58 are towards Pendleton, in NE Oregon. In general, Eastern OR is nearly as R as Idaho. Don't know these districts in particular.

The current OR House is 36-24 D/R.

---

by: tietack @ Sat Mar 06, 2010 at 16:11:12 PM UTC

Here is a map of Oregon House districts

http://bluebook.state.or.us/st...

District 57 is a Democratic dead zone, period. I would imagine that if there was a really nasty GOP intraparty fight, we could pick up district 58, but nevertheless it probably leans somewhat strongly Republican.

---

by: gs @ Sat Mar 06, 2010 at 19:00:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The commute

Could someone familiar with the situation explain for a non-Oregonian why the DC-Springfield commute is particularly cumbersome, or rather why DeFazio hates it so?

---

by: RedefiningForm @ Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 17:34:33 PM UTC

Combo of flying and driving apparently

Someone in another thread I believe said you have to fly across the country to Portland and then take a two hour car ride down to Springfield.  Bleh.  That's like 6-8 hours Id guess in total from the time you leave one house to get to the other.

---

by: Andrew @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 03:33:06 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Let's calculate

Springfield - PDX = 2h
Parking + Shuttle = 1/2 h
Check in          = 1 h (before flight, probably more)
PDX-ORD (Example) = 4 h
Layover           = 1 h (probably more)
ORD-DCA           = 2 h
DCA - some DC apt = 1 h

So it's closer to 12h, house to house.

---

by: tietack @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 05:10:29 AM UTC

[ Parent ]