The U.S. has become very divided along the political lines of Democrats and Republicans or liberal and conservative, respectively – also denoted by their political markings of blue (D) or red (R). Some states are decidedly one or the other, while some are called battleground states that could go either way.
It seems Oregon has become decidedly in the blue liberal camp, which is to the dismay of all the native Oregonians who are decidedly more conservative, coming from loggers, trappers, farmers, fishermen, and outdoors people in general. Most of the liberal influence has come from people who have moved here from other states in the last few decades, like our past two governors for instance.
The question I’m asking in good faith is if Oregon ever has a chance to be conservative again, or is the state going to be liberal now forever, relatively speaking? Looking at the past list of Oregon Governors, we have had 17 Democrats, 19 Republicans, and 1 Independent. Of course, most of these Democrats were much different than the current modern political party, while the Republicans have likely changed considerably too; remember, the Republican party was just beginning when Oregon began its statehood in the Union in 1859.
The important factor to point out is that Oregon has had Democratic governors since 1987; there have been 6 different Democratic governors including the current one for a total of 36 years. Victor Atiyeh was the last Republican Governor of Oregon.
The last election for the governor was very close, maybe the closest Oregon will ever get to electing a conservative candidate again.
The Oregon House and Senate are both run by a Democratic majority as well. Essentially, with the largest voting blocks being large liberal cities, the chances of Oregon ever having a conservative government at the state level is very unlikely. This is why the Greater Idaho Movement is so popular with the conservative counties in Eastern Oregon.
What this means, in reality, is we are following the lead of California, likely the most liberal state and place in the entire world. This means Oregonians can look forward to consistent legislation every year for gun control, global warming regulations, LGBTQ-friendly laws, soft-on-crime legislation, more taxes for social services, liberal drug laws, liberal District Attorneys, liberal abortion laws, restrictions on parental rights, and other legislation supporting liberal agendas.
While this seems great for liberal Oregonians, the state’s conservatives are slowly losing hope in Oregon ever recovering from what they consider destructive liberal agendas. Unfortunately, the writing may be on the wall already, that Oregon has become a decidedly blue state following California’s lead into the political abyss.
The question then becomes, what are we going to do about it? Some say we should stay and remain a conservative voice, and fight for what is right, while others are leaving, saying they don’t want to support and pay taxes for a government that is contrary to their beliefs and values.
While conservative Oregonians are now faced with this question, we all probably agree that it would be nice to live in a state where we feel supported and where we can pay taxes to a government that shares our values. On the other hand, staying in Oregon on the liberal California path is a sure way to ruin in due time – are conservatives willing to be ruled by liberals and ultimately ruined in the end? That is the question conservatives really must ask themselves as our beloved state has been taken over by Democrat liberals and will most likely never return to conservative values, as the last 36 years have shown.
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