A co-worker who considers himself a "motivated" registered Tea-party member is often amazed at how often we agree on some of the foolishness being foisted upon us. The carpetbaggers can't count on divide and conquer. Neither the left nor the right appreciate thieves.

Eventually my friend quit trying to rattle me with the birth certificate stuff and calling the Prez "Barry" when I admitted we called Bush 43 "Dubya." And that if they have as much fun with their scavenger hunt for birth documents as we had looking for AWOL stuff, well....)

Thank you Jack for stating so well what is going on here in a nutshell.

Well said Jack and clinamen!

Oregonian's Zing apparently doesn't know her demographics-"Teabaggers", "Conservatives", huh???

The majority of those behind M336 are demos if she wants to label. In fact the petitioners are demos.

What is really interesting is that the O reported that those behind the Clackamas Co. Sellwood Bridge initiative and vote against license fees were the evil Conservatives and Teabaggers. If she'd reviewed the election results there were more demos who voted for the measure. It is getting to be more "name calling" than analysis by the O and Pols/Bureaucrats.

Like Jack says, citizens of all strips are beginning to figure things out with a common sense basis.

Insulting and condescending, as usual. The press talks to the city staff who talk to the chamber of commerce who buzz in the ears of the mayor and city council. Add to all of that the heavy hand of Metro and all the PSU-trained urban planners, and no matter how many "stakeholder" events they schedule, we are always late to the party. Decisions were made about our city, county, state and country long before any ordinary citizen gets wind of the foul, suffocating stench.

Judie Hammerstad is wrong. Lake Oswegans are concerned about FISCAL RESPONSIBLITY in government, and as you can see, they just refuse to see it as anything but a tax revolt. By right-wing Republicans no less. Isn't that what one does to their oposition, give them a lable and dismiss them instead of trying to understand another point of view?

These politicians and planners (forget the money folks right now) become inflated with their sense of importance and begin to believe THEIR "visions" for OUR future are superior to our own. The politicians and beaurocrats are so seduced by flattery and mutual regard that they really do believe they are special, or that they have special knowledge that insulates and elevates them from public opinion. Perhaps they have counted on the silent, complacent and unaware masses to follow their lead, times have changed.

Our leaders are not fearless - they quiver at the thought of citizen-led measures, people standing out in the rain or going door to door getting signatures on petitions. What they can't control, they fear. These are the ones to keep out of office. And I don't care if they are left, right, or ambidextrous. Big O, (WW, Tribune, etc.) listen up and quit being divisive. Do not simply parrot easily digestible political mythology that plays on our fear of what we don't understand.

Hear hear. Your best summary of the situation yet.

Good comments Nolo. The Fourth Estate becomes the Fourth Branch when she is so cozy with her sources at City Hall that their 'spin' becomes her story.

She lists "roots" of frustration: " lingering effects of the stagnant economy, high unemployment and economic pressures. " The writer doesn't bother to deny that they are present factors in our local economies...but then gives no credibility that they are indeed really valid reasons to oppose spending public money for the primary benefit of private developers and construction firms!

The planners and those who like to talk about building LEED platinum public buildings really do regard the citizens as boobs who just don't know what THEY (of course) know to be THE better way.

Heck, I'd like to build myself a super energy efficient everything too with solar panels on top to boot - but then there IS the little problem of paying for it. But that's MY problem.

But not when a city official is spending public money - then iit's their DESIRE to build a certain KIND of project or building that determines the budget and the bonds to pay the developers and construction firms.

I teach my children that there is no loss of dignity in saying "that might be nice, but do we really NEED that?" Isn't that which we can AFFORD what we should plan to build? Shouldn't budget come BEFORE the design?

Has the O story blatantly misrepresented facts verifiable by public record?

If so, it has sank to the lowest of the low and should be called out online. Publishers have a responsibility not to publish lies.

There are probably no misstated facts, but the whole piece is a spin article that gets it wrong.

The reporter is so young that she doesn't even know what she doesn't know. She is clueless on the topic.

A real reporter would have tried to figure out why the county was in such a panic over the voter initiative. Why did they rush a new measure onto the ballot in such a hurry? A real reporter would have poked at that issue a little bit. Even a cub reporter should have been able to uncover the big lie behind the county's measure.

It is a worthless article that will do more harm than good.

Lee,

I wouldn't go that far.

Certainly the chief petitioner for the 3-386 measure was Democrat former mayor of Oregon City and John Williams & the other John Van Huizen, Vice President of the Peace Officers's union & Retired Deputy Sheriff. And the Democrat leaning Firefighter's union was the biggest contributor to the initiative. However, no other Democrat appartus has been involved. Many rank and file Democrats signed the fee & UR petitions, voted against the fee & recognize the right way to vote now.
But the Sellwood Bridge referndum was advanced by primarily conservatives.
The vote turnout was more Democrats than Republicans. NOT more Democrats voting against the fee.

Indeed citizens of all strips are beginning to figure things out with a common sense basis.
IMO Tuesday will be another screaming demonstration of everyone having had enough of it.

As liberal spin pieces by young journalists go, I didn't find Zheng's piece to be particularly egregious. The obligatory Glenn Beck tie-in is not wholly spurious, though it certainly does not tell the whole story. I can affirm that it is conservatives and Tea Partiers in Clackamas that are driving this rebellion, and it's a testimony to efficacy of their positions that many from across the aisle are in agreement.

But I do understand progressive ire at being lumped in with Beck and company. It would be as if a conservative writer managed to spin an article in such a way as to tie somebody like George Soros to a cause being championed by a mix of liberals and conservatives. The righty-tightys would blanch at the association.

If it matters to Oregonians, it's in The Oregonian - and what they're telling you is generally not true.

I am a registered Democrat, have voted so for fifty years and contributed regularly to candidates. The foolish enactment of Clackamas County's counter-productive tree ordinance and the high-handed enforcement of Lake Oswego's equally bad one has caused me to lose confidence in the officials responsible. I regret I planted so many trees. I regret I voted for these people.

Nothing to do with being conservative or liberal.

No kidding. I am a registered left wing democrat and the URA's are becomming total scams. I read that article, has nothing to do with being right winger only with being aware of what is going on.