My read of this tells me nothing happened.

He may have emotional whiplash from over reacting and a wild imagination but nothing in his piece signaled any racisim or that he was mistreated at all.
He may just be a Ben Westlund wanna be.

Interesting comment.

The comment about "Drivers licenses for Hispanics" was very poor. Obviously illegal immigrants (from any country) shouldn't be licensed, but someone was indeed insensitive.

Indeed.

I don't know about overtly racist (althought subtle racism is quite alive even in the activist community) but the comments were extremely jackass-ish. I feel bad for Robert.

So much for the new "moderate" Republican Party in Oregon. You know, the one that's "willing to compromise on an issue or two if that's what it takes." Maybe if we (I'm still a registered R) compromised on the rhetoric first, THEN we could work on the issues.

Say, on a related topic, did anyone read this new report from the Brookings Institution? (http://www.brook.edu/metro/pubs/20060307_frey.htm) Turns out Portland is the "whitest metro area in the west"! Wooohoo! ;)

Check out the table on page 23 - Appendix Table A. Share of Population by Race/Ethnicity, Large Metropolitan Areas, 2004. Go to the "West" section. There's Portland, topping out at 80% white. Whiter than SLC! (79%) Whiter than Boston! (79%) Whiter than Indianapolis or Columbus, OH!!! (both 79%)

As the table shows, we're not as white as we used to be (82% in 2000, 90% in 1990!) but we're still pretty darn white.

So, given that, it's not surprising we see some elements of subconcious racial insensitivity or subconcious denial that racial insensitivity exists.

I wonder what Lars would say about that...

re: Carl's 'overreacting' comment...

My brother tells a story that illustrates a point about this. He says he had never understood why Polish people had gotten so angry when the Polish jokes (they used to be little moron jokes, but I guess the PC police got after the joke tellers) were going around.

Then, one day he was enjoying a vacation on a cruise ship, when someone told an very non-complimentary Irish joke. "Suddenly, I wanted to punch him out!" he exclaims. That ruined his whole vacation, but he appreciated his new insight.

Now, Carl, if you are German, imagine how you would feel if the joke were on you - I know lots of anti-German jokes having lived in Switzerland back in the early sixties, but I'm sure some of them would cut you to the quick. The Swiss have no love for Germans at all. The Austrians, Dutch and French have anti-German jokes, too.

I respect his feelings on this subject, and I suspect you might hear some offending comments at a Democratic event as well, particularly if an emotional topic was discussed. Illegal immigration is one of those issues, but it is very important to look at the issue logically. On the vast whole, the people at Dorchester are good and sincere people who want to have fun and discuss issues seriously in the context of political debate.

My roommate in college was Polish and he relished in telling the funniest Polish jokes you ever heard. And when someone told a good Polish joke he hadn't heard, he laughed all the more. When you can laugh at jokes based on your heritage, it's a sign that you've arrived.

Didja here the one about Sven and Ole...? Sven and Ole were out fishing. Sven says to Ole, "Ole if you had one wish, anything at all, what would it be?" Ole says, "if I had but one wish, it would be that this whole lake would be nothing but Haaam's beer." And just like that, the water in the lake turned into Haaam's beer.

So Sven says to Ole, "Ole, why'd you wish for that?" And Ole says, "Well Sven, you said I could have one wish, anything I wanted." And Sven says, "Ya, but Ole, now we've got to peeess eeen da bote."

When people can tell ethnic jokes for their humor and not be worried about the PC police, we'll all be better off.

Carl and others-

Comments like this...
"He may have emotional whiplash from over reacting and a wild imagination but nothing in his piece signaled any racisim or that he was mistreated at all."

...make me want to vomit. If he attended the conference as a conservative, I hardly think his senses were bristling with a defensive sensitivity before the incidents happen. These were his people, and it completely caught him off guard. And to state an obvious point, you weren't there to witness how these points were delivered... it's not just what you say, it's how you say it. If this guy was offended, I don't see any reason to dismiss it.

Well, as another Hispanic, allow me to alleviate your concerns.

What Robert from Ask Orblogs didn't mentioned is that the person making the assinine comments was playing the character of "the unknown democrat comic." He had a bag over his head, and everything he said was offensive.

It was a skit to point out the rank hypocrisy of the left. It was not someone advocating a Republican platform position.

And it was funny!

That's the difference between conservatives and liberals... how many liberals does it take to change a light bulb?

THAT'S NOT FUNNY!

The GOP found a sense of humor? Laughing all the way to the bank doesn't count.

Gullyborg, what is the rank hypocrisy you speak of? Clue us in, buddy.

Hmmm... Senator Byrd?

And??