Green seems to be a member of a weird political cult. We need serious thinkers willing to do serious work to dig us out of the hole Portland is in. Not this overgrown toddler with no impulse control.
Ranked-choice voting was one of the worst things citizens here ever co-signed, and I wish people had more discernment in pretty much all matters in Portland. It is what has allowed the minority to speak for the majority and the DSA to infiltrate these positions. I only hope enough people are paying attention now.
It was designed to reward "minorities" from the ground up. The commission said so, explicitly, in writing, multiple times. How come no one was listening?
It goes without saying that I will not be voting for Mitch, but for many of the same reasons I will not be voting for any candidate that embraces Trump and MAGA policies. I see them as opposite extremes using similar tactics to accomplish opposing goals, neither of whcih have any respect for the democratic process. Both, to be successful must use deception and violence to gain control and both would have to use coercion to hold into power. MAGA and Trump are far more dangerous at this moment of time due their control over some key levers of power they can use to coerce majorities. Both the DSA and MAGA have well described objectives that are in plan sight; Maga their Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 and the DSA its newly disclosed platform. Both aim to be the "benevolent dictator" for their small constituencies. In my mind, both are recipes for disaster; a capitalistic oligopoly or a state run economy rife with corruption but low on liberties.
It is not surprising all all. The "perfect knowledge" required for functioning free markets have never really worked, but have been hopelessly compromised in late stage capitalism, allowing for this obscene concentration of wealth and opportunity and creating the legalized corruption we witness every day now. Climate Change is the perfect slow developing culprit, allowing one side to ignore it and the other to look foolish due to slow and difficult to read trend lines. We have ignored what science tells us because it will require some major changes and how we live our lives. You know how hard it is to change when bombarded with today's many opportunities. Just as the Pandemic redefined the "essential worker" and finally led to a process of wage adjustment, we are introduced to climate change's existential companion-Artificial Intelligence- who is rapidly threatening most high paying jobs.
So what do we do? Dig out some old isms; fascism, communism, racism, humanism and gravitate to those, as if new problems will not result in new isms. Instead of retreating to the center to look for common ground and rebuild the institutions that share sepate realities honestly and openly and that continue to grow and share knowledge, we are forming cliques and digging deeper at the extremes.
Anybody who believe they have the formula today to solve humanitity's problems, whci are really those experienced by every species on the planet, of have the solution for deploying superintelligence for good is crazy. Some new ism will emerge, if we are looking at solving the "right" problems (what will kill us if we don't) as a global society, learning to life more simply and quit competing for attention as individuals.
I thought Willamette Week’s City Council endorsements were quite good, and its assessments of Angelita Morillo and Mitch Green were spot-on. Both lack the professional comportment I expect from elected officials.
In ranked choice voting, Do not rank him AT ALL if you want him to lose. (Even if rank him last, that helps him.) Just rank others. You can rank from one to six. Only rank as many people as you like.
This piece is right that DSA is no ordinary political party. DSA is a political party in every way except the paperwork, and the details here show it.
Look at what it has. Dues-paying members. A national platform. A screening process for candidates. A label voters recognize. And once its people are in office, it expects them to vote as a bloc and report back to a standing committee. That's what a party is. If anything, it's more of a party than the Democrats or Republicans, who can't make their officeholders pledge to anything and don't pretend to.
So why not register? Mostly because it doesn't pay. A socialist party on the ballot would split the left vote and lose. Winning Democratic primaries works much better, and in Portland's council races there are no party labels anyway. Becoming a legal party would also mean the state runs your primaries and anyone registered can vote in them, which would end DSA's ability to choose who carries its name. Staying unregistered gives it more control over its candidates, not less.
None of that is wrong in itself. Organizing to win elections is what politics is. But voters deserve an honest description of it. When a councilor says DSA is just one more group that endorsed him, while he has privately promised to join its caucus and answer to its committee, that isn't an accurate description. DSA candidates should be judged the way any party's candidates are: by the party's program, not only by what the candidate says on camera.
Green seems to be a member of a weird political cult. We need serious thinkers willing to do serious work to dig us out of the hole Portland is in. Not this overgrown toddler with no impulse control.
Banning foie gras was his stand to clean up Portland...
I'm a lifelong socialist, and I'm not voting for any DSA candidate. They are a cult, in my opinion.
They do seem to be more about identity than socialism, but I wouldn't like to see 12 moderate councilors all singing from the same hymnbook either.
I agree, but I don't think that's the likely choice we're facing in Portland.
It is important to get the word out NOT TO RANK HIM AT ALL, when voting.
You make an Extremely Important point! His name should have no votes cast.
Thank you Allan, for this important public service announcement!
Thank you, Allan. Our city needs honest citizens who respect our police. Mitch Green will not get a designation on my ballot.
Sohhh-claism... Sohhh-cialism. It's better to shovel money at billionaires than give 50 cents to someone who might not deserve it.
Ranked-choice voting was one of the worst things citizens here ever co-signed, and I wish people had more discernment in pretty much all matters in Portland. It is what has allowed the minority to speak for the majority and the DSA to infiltrate these positions. I only hope enough people are paying attention now.
It was designed to reward "minorities" from the ground up. The commission said so, explicitly, in writing, multiple times. How come no one was listening?
It goes without saying that I will not be voting for Mitch, but for many of the same reasons I will not be voting for any candidate that embraces Trump and MAGA policies. I see them as opposite extremes using similar tactics to accomplish opposing goals, neither of whcih have any respect for the democratic process. Both, to be successful must use deception and violence to gain control and both would have to use coercion to hold into power. MAGA and Trump are far more dangerous at this moment of time due their control over some key levers of power they can use to coerce majorities. Both the DSA and MAGA have well described objectives that are in plan sight; Maga their Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 and the DSA its newly disclosed platform. Both aim to be the "benevolent dictator" for their small constituencies. In my mind, both are recipes for disaster; a capitalistic oligopoly or a state run economy rife with corruption but low on liberties.
It is not surprising all all. The "perfect knowledge" required for functioning free markets have never really worked, but have been hopelessly compromised in late stage capitalism, allowing for this obscene concentration of wealth and opportunity and creating the legalized corruption we witness every day now. Climate Change is the perfect slow developing culprit, allowing one side to ignore it and the other to look foolish due to slow and difficult to read trend lines. We have ignored what science tells us because it will require some major changes and how we live our lives. You know how hard it is to change when bombarded with today's many opportunities. Just as the Pandemic redefined the "essential worker" and finally led to a process of wage adjustment, we are introduced to climate change's existential companion-Artificial Intelligence- who is rapidly threatening most high paying jobs.
So what do we do? Dig out some old isms; fascism, communism, racism, humanism and gravitate to those, as if new problems will not result in new isms. Instead of retreating to the center to look for common ground and rebuild the institutions that share sepate realities honestly and openly and that continue to grow and share knowledge, we are forming cliques and digging deeper at the extremes.
Anybody who believe they have the formula today to solve humanitity's problems, whci are really those experienced by every species on the planet, of have the solution for deploying superintelligence for good is crazy. Some new ism will emerge, if we are looking at solving the "right" problems (what will kill us if we don't) as a global society, learning to life more simply and quit competing for attention as individuals.
My evening rant. Don't rank Mitch.
Excuse the typos
Thank you for this important commentary.
I thought Willamette Week’s City Council endorsements were quite good, and its assessments of Angelita Morillo and Mitch Green were spot-on. Both lack the professional comportment I expect from elected officials.
Which is exactly what their supporters want.
In ranked choice voting, Do not rank him AT ALL if you want him to lose. (Even if rank him last, that helps him.) Just rank others. You can rank from one to six. Only rank as many people as you like.
This piece is right that DSA is no ordinary political party. DSA is a political party in every way except the paperwork, and the details here show it.
Look at what it has. Dues-paying members. A national platform. A screening process for candidates. A label voters recognize. And once its people are in office, it expects them to vote as a bloc and report back to a standing committee. That's what a party is. If anything, it's more of a party than the Democrats or Republicans, who can't make their officeholders pledge to anything and don't pretend to.
So why not register? Mostly because it doesn't pay. A socialist party on the ballot would split the left vote and lose. Winning Democratic primaries works much better, and in Portland's council races there are no party labels anyway. Becoming a legal party would also mean the state runs your primaries and anyone registered can vote in them, which would end DSA's ability to choose who carries its name. Staying unregistered gives it more control over its candidates, not less.
None of that is wrong in itself. Organizing to win elections is what politics is. But voters deserve an honest description of it. When a councilor says DSA is just one more group that endorsed him, while he has privately promised to join its caucus and answer to its committee, that isn't an accurate description. DSA candidates should be judged the way any party's candidates are: by the party's program, not only by what the candidate says on camera.
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