DeFazio won't run for Senate

[sandnsea]

:cry:

“I had my run at the Senate,” said DeFazio, referring to a failed 1995 primary bid against Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

“Given the fact I am chairing a very important subcommittee in the House that’s important to Oregon and the nation, and I am serving in the majority, I have no inclination to spend the next two years raising money for a tough Senate race to become a junior member of the Senate and not chair a committee,” DeFazio said.

http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20070105/NEWS/70105004

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

1. It's probably a smart move. I was always on

the fence as to whether or not I wanted him to take on gordo puke-puke, but now with Dems in control he's better off in the House. It was always a risky venture too. He represents a pretty red area & never had any trouble getting re-elected. Another Dem might not be able to pull it off & we could lose a seat in the House without a guarantee that he could unseat gordo puke-puke.

I'm still a bit disappointed though.

[sandnsea]

2. Not that red

As long as someone didn't make guns an issue, they'd do okay in this district. But I do think having him Chair committees in the House will be very beneficial and can see why he doesn't want to give that up. It's hard for me to understand how Wyden beat him in the first place, but maybe he knows the answer to that which has informed his decision in ways we'll never know. Maybe Jim Hill will run, I liked him really well too.

[stubtoe]

3. That would be cool.

Go Jim! I hope we will see a lot more of Mr. Hill in the future.

[GOB_312]

4. I agree with Jim

I voted for him in the primary, thought he was a great candidate. I'd like him to give it a run to go up against Smith but that will be hard to do, especially lately with him "acting" so antibush. Who knows though, a lot can happen in 2 years. If not the Senate then hopefully he'll be back with a little more experience and will go after the governorship again.

[stubtoe]

5. Hi GOB_312!

:hi:

Welcome to DU and the Oregon forum.

[Parche]

6. 2008

OK, so who do we get to defeat Smith in 2008??

We need an extremely WELL known DEM name in 2008

[Reader Rabbit]

8. Kitzhaber?

Would he be willing to run for Senate? I was thinking it would be great to see him run for President, but he's not too well-known outside of Oregon.

[depakid]

9. Kitz won't go to Washington

Though I agree, he'd make a great Senator or President.

[Reader Rabbit]

11. Rats! Why not?

Too many boneheads who don't get anything done? I can see how a straight shooter like Kitzhaber would be unwilling to put up with all the tripe and hypocrisy.

[MissB]

12. Probably because of his young son.

He shares custody with his ex, and his son attends school in Portland. It'd be hard to be as involved, I suppose.

[GOB_312]

13. thanks stubtoe!!

what's everybody think about steve novick? he seems to be interested... i just don't know a lot about him.

[Parche]

7. DEFAZIO ROCKS 19JAN2007

Did you see him on C-Span, he only had a minute speech, but he rocked!!!

[sandnsea]

10. I didn't

But I'm not surprised. He's always awesome. Still can't figure out how he lost to Wyden.

[Pastiche423]

14. Although I din't live in Oregon in 1995

I agree w/you. I've met them both in person (DeFazio many, many times) and it seems to me the seats should be reversed.

What I can't understand about both of them, is why din't they do something about the timber subsidy program. Or could they?

Curry County is about to go bankrupt and Coos County is headed that way.

[sandnsea]

15. I don't know

But read the first letter. There will be plenty who will say we should just increase logging to make up the difference, I guess that's the problem. Maybe they haven't been to the south coast in a while. I swear if they keep logging the way they have been, the dune problem will be solved because it'll be nothing but sand between me and you.

http://www.gtconnect.com/articles/2005/12/27/news/opinion/ztuelets.txt