Oregon Republican Party Must Choose Sanity or Irrelevance

As a native of Portland, Ore., I often find myself defending my forlorn city against the derision of my fellow conservatives. Yes, the police force is often unwilling to enforce the most basic of our laws — but the food culture is just excellent. Sure, the mayor is an ineffectual toffee-nosed dweeb — but the Trail Blazers are going all the way next season. It’s true we have the worst homelessness problem in the nation — but have you visited the Rose Garden? (It’s beautiful this time of year.)

I love all of Oregon — from the towering mountain ranges to the Portland food trucks to the sleepy little beach towns scattered along the gray Pacific coast — but the state’s politics epitomize all of the problems with progressive governance. Our first-term Democratic governor is one of the most unpopular in the country, and we’re ranked as one of the worst states for everything from our taxes and regulations (business-killing) to our public-school system (abysmal). By any metric, our citizens seem genuinely unhappy with the current quality of governance. But there is a reason that Oregonians — unlike voters in deep-blue states such as Massachusetts and Maryland — have been consistently reluctant to try any Republican alternative to our one-party government: The Oregon GOP is insane.

About the Author

Nate Hochman

Nate Hochman was a staff writer at National Review.

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As a native of Portland, Ore., I often find myself defending my forlorn city against the derision of my fellow conservatives. Yes, the police force is often unwilling to enforce the most basic of our laws — but the food culture is just excellent. Sure, the mayor is an ineffectual toffee-nosed dweeb — but the Trail Blazers are going all the way next season. It’s true we have the worst homelessness problem in the nation — but have you visited the Rose Garden? (It’s beautiful this time of year.)

I love all of Oregon — from the towering mountain ranges to the Portland food trucks to the sleepy little beach towns scattered along the gray Pacific coast — but the state’s politics epitomize all of the problems with progressive governance. Our first-term Democratic governor is one of the most unpopular in the country, and we’re ranked as one of the worst states for everything from our taxes and regulations (business-killing) to our public-school system (abysmal). By any metric, our citizens seem genuinely unhappy with the current quality of governance. But there is a reason that Oregonians — unlike voters in deep-blue states such as Massachusetts and Maryland — have been consistently reluctant to try any Republican alternative to our one-party government: The Oregon GOP is insane.