Oregon's 2nd congressional district: A problem of differentiation.

Five people have filed for the Democratic nomination for Oregon's 2nd congressional district.

Which one will emerge from the group?

Some of them are sharpening up their campaigns with new focus. For example:

Mary Doyle makes the blunt observation that the district's current congressman Cliff Bentz voted not to count Pennsylvania's electoral votes in 2020 and opposed the bipartisan infrastructure bill. She objects.

Peter Quince says "This war must end. Our president has entered us into a catastrophic war." He didn't need to say the Iran war. We know.

Patty Snow cites the fact that 70 percent of this congressional district's children rely on Medicaid for health care, but that Cliff Bentz voted in favor of the Reconciliation Bill, which would kick many of them off of it. 

At this point in their campaigns the candidates are looking at their draft Voters Pamphlet statements and deciding what to say. No one asked me for my advice, but here it is:

Be blunt. Be clear. Don't voice just anodyne sentiments.

--   Resist the temptation to say namby-pamby things that nearly everyone will agree with. If everyone would agree with your statement, don't say it. That is what you will be tempted to write. It only proves you are a blabbering politician filling space. 

--  Realize that almost no one knows you or will remember you or anything about you. You are a blur, flashing by voters' attention background. So try to give them something to remember you by.

--  Opposition and criticism is your friend. Disagreement defines your brand by showing what you are not. Orange juice isn't Coke or Pepsi, and it doesn't apologize for that or try to blunt the difference. 

--   Disappoint the "usual suspects" of Democratic interest groups by expressing your reservations about one of their positions. Pick one or more: labor unions, abortion advocates, environmental groups, trans-rights advocates, pro-immigration activists, NIMBY activists, gun opponents, health care activists, pro-Israel people, pro-Palestinian people, anti-war activists, wealth-tax activists. These interest groups understand themselves to be "the tip of the spear" in advocacy, extreme for the purpose of moving the policy goalposts. Go ahead and disappoint them and take their criticism and relish it. It will demonstrate that you have the courage of your convictions, which is more valuable than being perceived as a slave to orthodoxy. Plus, you might get noticed.

Who are these five candidates? All good people. Conscientious. All would represent Democrats well. I think the candidate who will emerge is the one who has a clear, sharp focus on something with some edge. Something mentally "sticky." Someone who says something where voters think, “Oh, that’s the one who said ______” Like Mamdani and the free bus rides. Or George McGovern and ending the Vietnam war.

Rebecca Mueller

From the beginning of her campaign website:

"I am Rebecca Mueller, and I am running to represent Oregon's 2nd US Congressional District.

My campaign is focusing on issues of healthcare, fair wages, environmental stewardship as well as thriving farming and small town economies; standing on values of human dignity, mutual respect, and the belief that hyper-partisan, professional politicians are not serving the interests of a balanced democracy.

We Are More Than This."

Patti Snow

From the beginning of her campaign website:

"From the attempt to squelch our right to Free Speech to the Repeal of Women’s Rights, the roll-back of Clean Air acts and changes to our Healthcare System that will leave millions without coverage, Cliff Bentz and Trump have ensured that we have plenty of battles to fight. All of these are important issues but there are several areas I consider my “North Star” priorities. These priorities include ensuring that hospitals in rural Oregon are kept open, that our school children and underprivileged citizens are fed, that the sick and elderly can afford healthcare and that our rights to live our lives according to our own beliefs are protected."

Dawn Rasmussen 

From the beginning of her campaign website:

"Oregonians are ready for decency, democracy, and down-to-earth leadership — values that have guided my life and will guide my work in Congress.

I’m not a career politician. I’m a working Oregonian who believes that Representative isn’t just a title — it’s a job description. It means showing up. Listening. Taking every voice — whether it agrees with me or not — seriously.

Oregon’s 2nd District deserves someone who represents people, not politics. That’s the kind of leadership I’m bringing to Washington."

Peter Quince 

 

From the beginning of his campaign website:

"Tikkun Olam

The North Star that guides me is Tikkun Olam, often translated as “Heal the World”. None of us can heal the entire world, but we can make better what’s within our reach and that, if all of us do that, we WILL heal the world.

Mission Statement

To restore representative government. Congress needs to reclaim the role assigned by our founding documents. I want to work to heal our democracy so these United States of America can again be a beacon of hope, prosperity, inclusiveness, and peace."

Mary Doyle

 

From the beginning of her campaign website:

"Leadership That Listens

For more than twenty years, I’ve worked in Oregon’s public schools; teaching, leading, and working directly with families. I’ve sat at kitchen tables, in classrooms, and in community meetings listening to real concerns about health care costs, water security, wildfires risks, and making ends meet.

Listening isn’t political for me, it’s personal.

That’s the leadership I’ll bring to Congress; grounded, accessible, and accountable to the people of Southern and Eastern Oregon."

 

Disclosure: I have made a campaign contribution to the one candidate in this group who made a serious request for a donation. 

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