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The Republican inspired and condoned violence at the Oregon State Capitol yesterday was a long time in the making, and is a harbinger of what lay ahead. Here’s a thread on similar Oregon GOP protests from last summer that basically shut down state government. https://twitter.com/sethcotlar/status/1305526870033575936
The chair of my county’s GOP promoted and attended the violent protest in Salem yesterday. On FB they are now promising more of the same for the next time the legislature tries to meet. Their goal is to make Oregon ungovernable.
That same GOP county chair publicly the P**ud Buoys and was in DC for the recent pro-Trump rally and says they plan to be in DC on Jan 20. AFAIK, not a single figure in the Oregon GOP has denounced the armed attempts to disrupt the legislative sessions yesterday.
One of the organizations involved with both Timber Unity and the folks who tried to disrupt yesterday’s legislative session is Oregon Citizens Lobby, a longstanding right wing advocacy group. This GOP resistance does not come out of nowhere. https://twitter.com/sethcotlar/status/1144397968474165248
The violent event yesterday drew some hard core far right figures who’ve been up to this for years now, but it also drew in some “normies” and newbies who are just mad about Oregon’s Covid restrictions (which seem to be working, FWIW). https://twitter.com/sethcotlar/status/1328568696353263625
In 2018 the Oregon GOP invited Roger Stone to be their keynote speaker for their annual convention. This is who he hung out with after. https://twitter.com/sethcotlar/status/1326595822054592512
All of this matters because parties change over time. It remains to be seen what shape the Oregon GOP takes moving forward. What makes this especially interesting is that the Oregon GOP *used* to be known for its moderation and reasonableness. https://twitter.com/SethCotlar/status/1141844404237262848?s=20
You know why Oregon has universal mail-in voting? In part because the state GOP pushed for it in the 1990s, often *against* the wishes of the Oregon Democrats. (A Democratic governor *vetoed* a vote by mail bill in the 90s.)
Oregon's entire coastline is protected from private development. A Republican did that. Oregon pioneered a range of pro-environment policies in the 70s, almost all pushed by Republicans.
Oregon is also home to a federal courthouse named for longtime senator Mark Hatfield, who was a lifelong Republican who would be completely unviable as a statewide, GOP primary candidate today. https://twitter.com/SethCotlar/status/1058500108801605632?s=20
