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Death of the Oregon Republican Party? Politicos give post-election analysis at City Club

3:36 PM November 7th, 2008 by Mariah Summers
News / Politics |  Email This Post |

If Oregon’s Republican Party didn’t have enough trouble dealing with Tuesday’s election results, the after-election analysis by veteran Oregon political observers at Portland City Club on Friday offered little comfort.

The overwhelmingly liberal crowd at City Club’s weekly Friday forum heard an epitaph for the GOP from Dan Lavey, former Sen. Gordon Smith staffer.

“As a result of this election, I think the Republican Party in Oregon is dead,” Lavey said to applause. “And the efforts by Bill Sizemore have only succeeded at one thing, and that’s organizing the opposition.”

Long-time local pollster Tim Hibbitts agreed with Lavey’s take on the state of Republicans in Oregon. But he also pointed out that President-Elect Barack Obama’s victory margin was slimmer outside Multnomah County.

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8 Responses to “Death of the Oregon Republican Party? Politicos give post-election analysis at City Club”

1. rabblevox says:

   November 7, 2008 at 7:30 pm

   Let’s see, Greg Walden has a (seemingly) unbreakable chokehold on OR-2nd, geographically, the state is still 80% "red", and many of the red counties broke about 70/30 for McCain.

   It’s not the death of the repubs (silly f*in headline, btw)

   Instead, it’s maybe the most intense polarization and division this state has ever seen. Not to mention, California’s prop.#8 would have passed here as well.

   Fellow prog’s, our work has just begun.

   Reply
2. James says:

   November 7, 2008 at 7:33 pm

   Oregon’s Moderate Republican, the original maverick, has been dead for decades.

   Moderates have been frozen out, sneered at as RINOs (Republican In Name Only, snubbed a their clubby Dorchester Conference.

   At long last, gangrene took out the self-annointed Oregon GOP.

   Maybe moderates will be able to start over — stiff-arm the one-dimensional backers and pretenders who poisoned the brand. I’d like to think they will.

   The GOP is DEAD. LONG LIVE the GOP.

   Reply
3. live free or die says:

   November 7, 2008 at 8:48 pm

   Are we all that brain washed that we would vote only base on partisan believes? In the pasted Oregonians have portrayed themselves to independent thinkers. Yeah right, you vote for or against ballot measures that would limit the control or power of the government, you voted to raise taxes/ budget spending in a time of economic trouble and last but not least you reelected or elected politicians that have records of not representing the people and or have ever work for the people! Wake up! It is not about parties it is about our state, our country and our liberty. There is common ground in the in-between and it is call freedom.
   Join me in the march to restore the republic by demand accountability from the government, this is our country and it does not belong to big government or big business or any one beside the people of the United States of America.

   http://www.myspace.com/oregoniansforliberty

   Reply
4. JJ Gildersneeze says:

   November 8, 2008 at 9:03 am

   How short are our memories? Bush had 90% approval only a few short years ago. Those people didn’t just vaporize… they’re still here. Large numbers of them probably voted for Obama, but they’ll happily follow the next shiny object the media dangles in front of them. This "end of the Republicans" talk is nonsense.

   That said, I agree with James. The Republicans’ biggest problem is that they’ve spent two decades smearing anyone who varies even slightly from their agenda. They essentially purged people like Jeannette Hamby, Norma Paulus and Dave Frohnmeyer from the party, and now they’re realizing that you can’t win that way and you can’t govern that way.

   So they’ve made a shambles of the state, the country, and even their own party. But they’ll be back. Even now Gordon Smith is planning his run for Governor in two years, and don’t be surprised if he wins it.

   JJ

   Reply
5. bye bye says:

   November 8, 2008 at 3:34 pm

   Yes yes all those big empty counties with nobody in them voted for McCain. WOOOOOO!! Too bad dirt doesn’t vote.

   Reply
6. sk8boardgrind says:

   November 8, 2008 at 7:09 pm

   Currently I am living overseas in Asia I was happy to see that Oregon is living up to its true nature. You wouldn’t believe how often expats in my town of Ilsan in South Korea were talking about this race… Americans, Canadians, Australians, English, Irish and Kiwis. Oregon has lived up to it’s reputation!

   Reply
7. Matthew says:

   November 9, 2008 at 2:53 pm

   I’m all for a two party system. The GOP just shouldn’t be one of the parties. How about the Democrats and the Greens?

   Reply
8. Stephan Andrew brodhea says:

   November 10, 2008 at 12:23 pm

   Our Socialist Friend

   By Stephan Andrew Brodhead

   It was the evening of Wednesday November 5th 2008, and I was headed to Kyle

   Reply