A gun lobby sleeper cell?

[Mme. Defarge]

Oregon Independent gubernatorial candidate, Betsy Johnson, has run hard hitting TV ads about how she will solve all of our problems by using her experience in our state legislature to bring the two parties together to solve our most urgent problems. They are good, hard hitting ads with a strong centrist message.

When Tina Kotek won the Democratic nomination last week I worried that her strong liberal record as our House Speaker since 2013 might make her vulnerable to Johnson’s, perhaps broader, statewide appeal.

This evening, however, when questioned by the host of a local NBC affiliated news show, she doggedly tried to defend her unwavering pro-gun lobby voting record and dug in on her pro-gun lobby stance. Which, for me, begs the question of where her loyalties truly lie and why she’s running as an Independent candidate for Oregon’s governor.

[SergeStorms]

1. Good question.

I'm on the other side of country, but I'd like to know the answer to that question.

[barbaraann]

4. I think she's being run as a spoiler to get a pro-gun Republican elected Governor, because the Dems

have had a lock on the Governorship, no matter how much money Phil Knight donates to Republicans. Johnson was a Dem and became an independent to run for Governor.
The GOP Candidate, Christine Drazan, has an A rating from the NRA, just like Betsy Johnson.

[SergeStorms]

6. Thanks for all the information....

barbaraann.

Sounds like the typical republican strategy of breaking all the rules and then acting surprised if someone calls them on it.

Rules and laws are for Democrats to follow.

[barbaraann]

7. You're welcome!

And, yes, I certainly have noticed that rules and sometimes laws mean very little to R's.

[2naSalit]

2. It's almost ilke there's a switch...

That gets tripped whenever there's a mass shooting where the Rs go into "save the gunz" mode. Day before the shooting they almost make sense. Day of and thereafter, it's save the gunz.

[barbaraann]

3. She also ran into trouble with the crowd at TedxPortland lyesterday due to her pro-gun stance.

TEDxPortland organizers anger ticketholders, appear to break federal rules by giving NRA-backed politician Betsy Johnson a solo platform
The Oregonian
Updated: May. 28, 2022, 7:24 p.m. | Published: May. 28, 2022, 4:21 p.m.

...
The federal agency is clear that 501(c)3 nonprofits such as TEDxPortland must offer candidates equal time, writing, “If a candidate is invited to speak at an organization event in his or her capacity as a political candidate, the organization must take steps to ensure that it provides an equal opportunity to participate to all political candidates seeking the same office.”
...
In videos that Watson recorded and shared online, David Rae, the event’s organizer and emcee and the president of the nonprofit that puts on the event, told the audience that he and others decided to include Johnson just “two weeks ago” and indicated he admires and chose her for her “courage” and outspokenness.

He seemed not to realize the inherent political favor-playing of giving only one of the three major candidates for Oregon governor a platform. “It’s not a campaign” he said of Johnson’s speech during a time when she is spending millions on her campaign for governor.
...
In one of her most recent votes on gun safety legislation, in May 2021, Johnson joined six Republicans to vote no on a bill that, among other things, requires guns to be safely stored, either by placing them in a locked container or by using a trigger lock, and allows school boards to ban guns from school buildings and campuses.
...
https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2022/05/tedxportland-organizers-anger-ticketholders-break-federal-rules-by-giving-nra-backed-politician-betsy-johnson-a-surprise-platform.html

That's all I can post, but the entire article is worth reading.

[Mme. Defarge]

5. Just read it!

Thanks for posting, even though it’s preaching to the choir on this site. Nice to know she was booed at the event, and good for campaign rival, Tina Kotek.

[barbaraann]

8. You're welcome!

I think the landscape of Oregon politics was changed by Uvalde. I don't think she would have been heckled about guns a month ago, but I don't have any statistics to back that up.

[Mme. Defarge]

9. Unless this time is different,

people have short memories.

I have heard speculation that she would hurt the Republican candidate more than Kotek, but I have been worried all along with that she was the real target.

[barbaraann]

10. Well, the example of the last public execution in Owensboro, Ky can give us a little hope about

"breaking points." It was so horrific that it ended public executions in Kentucky and effectively in the US.

The telltale piece of the puzzle is how much money Phil Knight has donated to Johnson. He's desperate for an R Governor, mainly for tax purposes; but I think he got more than he bargained for this time. He lost a son in his thirties so perhaps there's a teensy tiny bit of empathy in his soul for the Uvalde victims' families.

[Mme. Defarge]

11. I say

boycott Nike!

[barbaraann]

12. The company donates to both Dems and R's, so that is a little bit tricky.

I think it's sad how Nike has supercommercialized sports.

[quakerboy]

13. What's tricky?

I dont want my money turned around to support Republicans, and I don't want my money being turned around to try and buy Democrats either

[barbaraann]

14. Good points! Of course we need to get as much money out of elections as we can.

I just don't think Nike is one of the worst of the worst like the companies here:
https://donegood.co/blogs/news/boycott-trump-companies-to-avoid
Honestly, I'm not sporty and have never bought anything from Nike, but I do buy a lot of shipping products and NEVER buy from Uline.

I think we can also give Nike SOME credit for its continued support of Colin Kaepernick.