Nurse Amanda starts to lose her hearing
Portland's recently re-elected councilperson keeps insisting that she's going to bring "clean money" -- taxpayer financing of political campaigns -- back to Portland city government. She doesn't want to acknowledge that the city's voters have spoken on this subject, and said no. She doesn't want to deal with the fact that several of the taxpayer-funded candidates were bad jokes. She also apparently hasn't noticed that the U.S. Supreme Court has declared a public campaign finance system very much like Portland's now-dismantled "voter-owned" system to be unconstitutional.
It's stunning that the Nurse is beating this topic to death. She's the one who swore up and down that if it weren't for "clean money," she couldn't, and wouldn't, run for office. Then she went and did so, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of her and her husband's money to get re-elected. In other words, she lied. Given that reality, her flogging this subject is odd, to say the least.
Enjoy the next four years, Commissioner Fritz, because the taxpayers aren't going to buy you another four. And please, can you let us forget your hypocrisy? Don't keep reminding us.
| Posted at 11:28 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (13)
Fritz is so lucky she had to run against Nolan.
Posted by Garage Wine | January 23, 2013 11:35 AM
Welcome to Amerika, Jack: everybody else pays for whatever the elite thinks the entitled class deserves. You're on the wrong side of history, and entitlement spending.
Posted by Mister Tee | January 23, 2013 11:59 AM
Are you comparing this to Social Security? Wow. Check your meds.
Posted by Jack Bog | January 23, 2013 12:12 PM
Portland needs to get rid of the at large positions and elect people by districts that are small enough to walk.
Posted by Evergreen Libertarian | January 23, 2013 1:16 PM
That would be the same Supreme Court that showed its love for democracy with the Citizens United ruling, correct?
Given the choice, I'd take "voter-owned" over "corporate-owned."
Posted by Roger | January 23, 2013 1:33 PM
Social Security wasn't mentioned by me. And my meds are just fine, thank you. I think Social Security is the rare example of a government entitlement program that works (though it should be means tested).
I am referring to publicly funded political campaigns: Nurse Amanda feels entitled to publicly funded campaign money because she received it once previously and it beats writing checks on your own account.
Examples of entitlement spending that I find objectionable include Obamaphones, and gender reassignment surgery for inmates, and City of Portland wage subsidies for Little Lord Paulson.
I am also opposed to corporate entitlements: we shouldn't pay wind farmers not to generate electricity or pay cheese producers not to make cheese.
Posted by Mister Tee | January 23, 2013 1:38 PM
What is an "Obamaphone"? I don't listen to hate radio, so you'll have to clue me in.
Posted by Jack Bog | January 23, 2013 3:32 PM
My main objection to the public campaign financing system that Portland tried, other than spending money outside the purvue of the city charter, is that it is an incumbent insurance plan. The system sets up an even money race and, almost always, an incumbent has to be significantly outspent to be beaten.
Posted by Dave Lister | January 23, 2013 3:50 PM
I agree that Amanda is tone deaf on this issue. In terms of raising money for a political campaign limiting oneself to ridiculously low amounts like $50 per person is suicide. If she raised the limit to something like $200, and refused to accept union money, etc. she would still have a clean money campaign, and not be in a position of catering to the special interests. She wouldn't have had so much trouble with Nolan if she would have been more assertive in her counter-attacks.
Posted by Usual Kevin | January 23, 2013 4:00 PM
obamaphone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpAOwJvTOio
Posted by pdxjim | January 23, 2013 4:15 PM
Examples of entitlement spending that I find objectionable include Obamaphones,
There is a government program that provides assistance with cell phone bills for people who are under a certain income threshold. This program existed under President George W. Bush, but because some person was filmed calling it their "Obamaphone," the right now uses it as shorthand for wasteful government spending, even though it was, as previously mentioned, funded fully (with no Republican complaints, how strange) under Bush.
Posted by Dave J. | January 23, 2013 4:45 PM
several of the taxpayer-funded candidates were bad jokes
>>>>
As compared to the majority of corporate-sponsored candidates?
Posted by Mike Austin | January 24, 2013 4:26 PM
Tax money is different from corporate money. I don't have to pay for the corporate candidates to avoid losing my home.
Posted by Jack Bog | January 24, 2013 4:55 PM