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| Knute Buehler |
Shift right. Shift resentful. Shift tribal.
Trump, Trump, Trump.
Oregonians thought we understood Knute Buehler. He was the moderate face of the GOP, the GOP in the tradition of Mark Hatfield, Bob Packwood, Vic Atiyea, and David Frohnmeyer, people who had won statewide office.
Candidates like them talked of bipartisan cooperation and they won elections with moderate votes. They each faced criticism from the populist right within their party.
Knute Buehler was all that.
Knute Buehler was a two term State Representative from the Bend area, an orthopedic surgeon, and a candidate for Secretary of State in 2012 and then Governor in 2018, both times against Kate Brown. Buehler presented himself as a "different kind of Republican," a old school moderate who had not made the Trump shift. He said he was pro-choice and had always been pro-choice. He supported closing an abusive boyfriend loophole on guns. He said he believed climate science.
He said he was a problem-solver, not an ideologue. "We have experience in bringing people together in bipartisan fashion. For me to get elected in Bend, I have to form a robust coalition of not only Republicans, but independents and moderate Democrats," Buehler said in a TV interview before the 2018 election. His positions and message created "rumbling amongst the base" according to a fellow Republican Bill Post. Fellow Republicans called him a RINO (Republican in Name Only.)
Buehler lost both times.
He did well in the rural and solidly Republican 2nd District, and indeed statewide except for the greater Portland area, where he lost by an extraordinary 7-1 margin. He carried the unpopular Trump scent as part of the GOP brand, and it sunk him in Oregon's urban areas.
He said he was a problem-solver, not an ideologue. "We have experience in bringing people together in bipartisan fashion. For me to get elected in Bend, I have to form a robust coalition of not only Republicans, but independents and moderate Democrats," Buehler said in a TV interview before the 2018 election. His positions and message created "rumbling amongst the base" according to a fellow Republican Bill Post. Fellow Republicans called him a RINO (Republican in Name Only.)
Buehler lost both times.
That was then. This is now.
In his announcement for Congress in Oregon's most rural area, the 2nd Congressional District, Buehler spoke the language of right populism.
“Many Oregonians are tired of being disrespected or ignored by Portland liberals and elite D.C. politicians. In Congress, I will defend the values, rights and jobs threatened by the powerful arm of big government. I will be a conservative voice for the people and place I call home."
His two minute campaign video tells the story of his transition. He touches all the resentment points of the Trump message. We are being picked on. The liberals are attacking us. "I've heard our values disrespected and ignored," he says.
The enemies come fast:
Portland! Washington DC! Government! Regulation! Cap and Trade! Green New Deal! Takeover of health care! Portland Liberals! DC elites! Waste! Taxes! Gun regulations! Sanctuary cities! Big government! Partisan warfare! AOC! Bernie Sanders! Adam Schiff! Elizabeth Warren! Nancy Pelosi! Partisan impeachment to undo an election! Borders! National debt!
At the very end he turns positive. He will fight for "Oregon's traditional jobs in farming, ranching and timber" and the "enduring values that make America the greatest nation on earth: freedom, opportunity for all, and the rule of law."
He has photos of Trump at a rally, and another with him shaking the hands of border patrol people, with the words, "Secure the Border."
Buehler has the message of the right populist culture war, centering on the notion of disrespect. There is nothing about wages, income distribution, or economic populist distress. He says he wants a balanced budget, but does not address either the 2017 tax changes nor health care access. He speaks for traditional jobs, not technology, not broadband, not education, not college debt, not training, not new energy, not new jobs, not the future.
It is profoundly defensive.
The video does not stand up to close inspection, but it isn't intended to. It touches the points of resentment: rural Oregon is being picked on by Portland, elites, and liberals. There is little room to his right, except on the issue of abortion.
Buehler will not be persuasive to GOP opponents, who will consider him an insincere johnny-come-lately to the Trump party, but Buehler has staked his ground in Trump country and the past.
His two minute campaign video tells the story of his transition. He touches all the resentment points of the Trump message. We are being picked on. The liberals are attacking us. "I've heard our values disrespected and ignored," he says.
The enemies come fast:
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| Click: Bueller video |
Portland! Washington DC! Government! Regulation! Cap and Trade! Green New Deal! Takeover of health care! Portland Liberals! DC elites! Waste! Taxes! Gun regulations! Sanctuary cities! Big government! Partisan warfare! AOC! Bernie Sanders! Adam Schiff! Elizabeth Warren! Nancy Pelosi! Partisan impeachment to undo an election! Borders! National debt!
At the very end he turns positive. He will fight for "Oregon's traditional jobs in farming, ranching and timber" and the "enduring values that make America the greatest nation on earth: freedom, opportunity for all, and the rule of law."
He has photos of Trump at a rally, and another with him shaking the hands of border patrol people, with the words, "Secure the Border."
Buehler has the message of the right populist culture war, centering on the notion of disrespect. There is nothing about wages, income distribution, or economic populist distress. He says he wants a balanced budget, but does not address either the 2017 tax changes nor health care access. He speaks for traditional jobs, not technology, not broadband, not education, not college debt, not training, not new energy, not new jobs, not the future.
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| From the video |
It is profoundly defensive.
The video does not stand up to close inspection, but it isn't intended to. It touches the points of resentment: rural Oregon is being picked on by Portland, elites, and liberals. There is little room to his right, except on the issue of abortion.
Buehler will not be persuasive to GOP opponents, who will consider him an insincere johnny-come-lately to the Trump party, but Buehler has staked his ground in Trump country and the past.
3 comments:
Buehler won't get the GOP nomination. Cliff Bentz will. Buehler is a liberal republican, and republicans know it. They'll reject Knute. Cliff Bentz is the only conservative in this congressional race, which he'll win.
Intriguing that he infuses state politics with federal politics in his vid even invoking Kate Brown. Interesting to note he may be unclear on what the job of your congressmen really is.
If kissing Trump's ass is the way to the nomination you can be certain that
Knute Buehler will be first in line to be anointed after planting one on
Trump's shifty ass. Buehler is only the last of the unknown and unqualified
candidates put forth by the late Republican Party, a man who is elected, will
obey the wishes of those who put him there.
Bob Warren
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