New Video: Saxton Versus Saxton

Ron isn't just another talking head, he's a powerful and poignant debater, ready to crush his opponents with his laser sharp logic. And now he takes on his greatest foe - himself. Enjoy!

» October 18, 2006 - Filed in Saxton vs. Saxton

Saxton's New Love Affair with the O

In his continued grasping, Saxton just launched a new media barrage touting the O ed board's newfound love for tax cuts for the rich and flat funding for education.

For a response, we got to the Ronster himself.

» October 18, 2006 - Filed in Saxton vs. Saxton

KGW - Saxton Dodging Tax Questions

After a month of statewide ads bashing Governor Kulongoski on taxes, Saxton is now ducking tax questions of his own - specifically the question of the local school levy in Portland.

As KGW reports, Saxton is refusing to take a position on the measure. How he squares this with his pledge to "oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes" is unclear. But what is clear is that Saxton continues to say whatever he think it will take to get him elected.

» October 6, 2006 - Filed in Saxton vs. Saxton

Those Statements (On the Kicker) Are No Longer Operative

Saxton was in Roseburg yesterday attacking the Governor's plan to use the estimated 60% tax credit corporations will receive under the Kicker law to create a rainy day fund:

He also blasted Kulongoski for wanting to keep the income tax kicker, money refunded to individual taxpayers and businesses when tax revenues beat predictions.

Yet twice in the last week his campaign staff has told the Oregonian Saxton supports using the corporate kicker for a rainy day fund (here and here).

We were a little confused at how Saxton could continue talking out of both sides of his mouth on the issue, but then we listened again to Ron's appearance on Lars Larson last Friday where Lars pushed him on this very question. Here's the exchange:

LARSON: What is your plan to deal with Oregon’s projected 1.3 billion dollar surplus. Give it back to the taxpayers or keep it and spend it on government?

SAXTON: Give it back to the taxpayers, 100 percent. You’re exactly right not to trust what you read in the Oregonian all the time and they got this one wrong.

LARSON: So how is it that they said that you had a plan to hang on to some of both the personal kicker and the corporate kicker and to build some sort of rainy day fund?

SAXTON: Well I’m not sure how they got that. They didn’t talk to me. They talked to some others in the campaign but I’ve been very clear. The kicker is the law of the state it belongs to the people and the money gets returned. It’s that simple.

LARSON: Ok so in other words what your staffers told the Oregonian was not your position at all?

SAXTON: Well I’m not sure how much…other news accounts seem to have it correct so I’m not sure what got said where.

[..]

LARSON: …the fish wrapper [the Oregonian] is right in front of me I haven’t yet wrapped the remains of my lunch sandwich in it. "Saxton who has repeatedly said he opposes any cut in the personal corporate tax kickers said. He is now open to diverting some of that money into a rainy day fund." You didn’t tell the Oregonian that?

SAXTON: I did not speak to them, my staff may have, I don’t know whether my staff said something but my position clearly has been it needs to be returned.

Of course that line would be a little more credible if Ron's campaign manager hadn't directly contradicted him in the Oregonian's follow-up story the next day.

But it raises a larger question: if Saxton is going to start disavowing statements made by his staff, how can we trust anything his campaign says?

» September 7, 2006 - 3 comments - Filed in Saxton vs. Saxton

Saxton Flip Flops on the Kicker (Again)

Today's Oregonian reports that Saxton has reversed positions on what he think we should do with unanticipated revenues under the Kicker law:

Saxton, who has repeatedly said he opposes any cut in the personal or corporate tax kickers, said he is now open to diverting some of that money into a rainy day fund.

Creating a state savings account is Saxton's priority, and he is open to using some, but not all, of the kicker to create an account to cushion state spending in a downturn, said his campaign spokeswoman, Angela Wilhelms.

"He wants to have a conversation about all the various options out there, and looking at the kicker is one of those discussions," she said.

While it's nice that Ron is coming into agreement with Governor Kulongoski on the importance of using additional revenues for a Rainy Day Fund, too bad that he's continuing to speak out of both sides of his mouth while he's doing it.

His press release from yesterday (already buried on his website), tries to have it both ways - attacking the Governor for suggesting we need to revisit the kicker, then suggesting we do need to revisit the kicker.

And he's still running a radio attack ad stating a proposal to divert some of the kicker is a "tax increase." We're interested in how he is going to square his new position on the kicker with his pledge to right-wing buddies to oppose any and all tax increases.

Of course, Saxton's twists and turns on the kicker are nothing new.

In 2003 he agreed with the Governor’s proposal to create a rainy day fund during a commentary on KATU in which he said, "Tie the kicker law to growth of actual revenues, and establish a rainy day fund that softens the blow in times of declining tax revenues."

And in a commentary two days later, he stated:

There are currently several proposals to redefine under what conditions the current kicker law would trigger. Other suggestions would divide revenues in excess of the economist's projections between rainy day funds, kicker refunds and spending restrictions. Almost any of these would be better than the current law.

But that, of course, was before Saxton was running for Governor. In June, he told KGW, "I don't support any change to the kicker." [6/2/06]

We can only wonder what he'll say next to try to get elected. Stay tuned!

» September 1, 2006 - 0 comments - Filed in Saxton vs. Saxton

Saxton Plays Dumb to Pander on Gorge Casino

In his ongoing strategy of showing political courage through ignorance, Saxton is now declaring that he opposes building a tribal casino in the Columbia River Gorge. A nice position, but totally irrelevant to the current debate over the proposed Warm Springs casino.

As the Dalles Chronicle reported last week:

Saxton says he does not support the idea of putting a casino anywhere in the gorge, but says he can’t say if he would have signed off on the Cascade Locks casino if he had won in 2002.

It's too bad that Ron won't give Oregon voters a straight answer on controversy of the day: should the Warm Springs tribe be allowed to build in Cascade Locks or should they be forced to pursue construction on their land in Hood River? As the Oregonian editorial board wrote last year:

Every self-appointed defender of the gorge ought to understand the potential consequences of stopping the casino at Cascade Locks. It will prompt the Warm Springs to pursue a casino on a prominent headland near Hood River in the middle of the most beautiful stretch of the gorge.

Most experts on Indian gaming law believe the Warm Springs can legally build a casino on their long-owned hillside land near Hood River. Gov. Ted Kulongoski recognized that the state faced an either-or choice -- Hood River or a compromise site at Cascade Locks.

What is really sad is that Saxton acknowleged these realities when he ran for Governor in 2002. Appearing at the Annual Conference of the Association of Oregon Counties in November 2001, Saxton endorsed exploring alternatives to Hood River for the proposed casino:

"On the Indian Gaming very very quickly ... when you talk about the one in the gorge, without taking specific example here, the commitment to these have to take to historic Indian lands, often leads to some pretty, I think, absurd transportation issues, absurd land use issues. So I think there has to be some flexibility to look at these, not to move them where people don’t want them, not to cause more problems, not to build more than anybody has a right to build. But I’m not going to say absolutely you can’t put any of these except in historic lands."

Despite Saxton's claims he is the same candidate as 2002, he keeps misrepresenting the issues in the election to pander to voters.

» August 28, 2006 - 0 comments - Filed in Saxton vs. Saxton

Saxton's First Ad Hits the Airwaves.... Ugh.

Back in July, Ron Saxton said, "You show what kind of governor you're going to be by what kind of campaign you run."

That's right, Ron.

And what kind of campaign is Saxton running? Short on substance, full of hot air, and nothing but attack. Watch his first TV ad, which is on the attack, but absent of substance.

Ron apparently wants to know what Ted's done for Oregon. We'll tell ya, Ron:

Governor Kulongoski balanced the state budget despite a $3 billion deficit. He helped create more than 100,000 new jobs - putting Oregonians back to work at family-wage incomes. He ended the decade-long gridlock in the legislature to pass an overdue transportation package to fix our roads and bridges and help move people, commerce and goods across the state.

'Nuff said.

» August 25, 2006 - 1 comments - Filed in Saxton vs. Saxton

Ron Dodges Immigration Position Just Like He Dodged TABOR

You may remember the recent controversy about an Oregon GOP Party resolution proposing that the children of undocumented immigrants should be denied citizenship ... and how Ronnie has been doing his darndest to back pedal from the hardline immigration policy he took during the primary.

But try as he might to deny it, the truth is Ron is relying on the same GOP folks to get him elected. Just this past Thursday, Ron was in Wasco County at an event hosted by county party chair Jim Lehmn who wrote the same radioactive resolution.

Here at SaxtonWatch, we'd like to comment on Ron's reliance on someone like Lehman to advance his campaign, but the fact is that we're not sure where he stands on the issue. Just a couple of weeks ago, he said, "I really think immigration is an adult issue...I'm entirely focused on the adult issue."

But then again, this is the same guy who won the GOP primary running ads decrying the cost of public education for the children of immigrants.

So which is it, Ron? Can you really neatly divide adults and children, or is this simply more political posturing to get yourself elected?

» August 24, 2006 - 2 comments - Filed in Saxton vs. Saxton

Saxton Ducks Taking A Position on Portland School Levy

In another entry in Ron's profiles in courage, we learned in yesterday's Portland Tribune that he supports the new Portland schools levy being on the ballot, but has no actual position on whether voters should approve it:

On the local option property tax, he said he supports the fact that it is on the ballot for voters to decide but doesn’t want to take a position on it.

Sounds familiar, right?

» August 23, 2006 - 0 comments - Filed in Saxton vs. Saxton

Saxton Now Would be "Happy" to Implement TABOR

After repeatedly ducking Victoria Taft's show, Ron made an appearance Friday evening where he continued his tradition of singing TABOR's praises on right-wing radio and distancing himself from it with the mainstream media.

Asked whether he actually thinks a TABOR-style spending limit is a good idea (as he did in the GOP primary), Saxton continued to filibuster the question. But when Taft pushed on what he'd do as Governor if TABOR was approved, he went back to mouthing platitudes about the measure - just as he did on Lars Larson:

SAXTON: I will happily – I’ll be by far the best governor to implement it [TABOR].

Saxton went on to later claim he can effectively run the state, no matter what level of funding is actually available:

I can manage it [state government] on the money available and if the money available is reduced in some way, I can manage it on that money.

Although it's nice to know he has no qualms about a multibillion dollar cut to the state budget, it begs the larger question - how long will Ron keep talking out of both sides of his mouth before no one believes anything he says?

» August 15, 2006 - 2 comments - Filed in Saxton vs. Saxton

Saxton Executes the Extremely Challenging Political Quadruple Lutz, Taking Every Possible Position on TABOR

Another day, another position from Ron on TABOR.

During the Primary, Saxton Liked the Proposal

March 14 AP Debate –Supports General Concept of Spending Limits. “Now the kind of measure that was asked, which was a more general question, should we do something to control spending, absolutely we ought to have the kind of caps that deal with stabilizing this.” [AP Debate at Willamette U, 3/14/06]

April 2 Appearance on Outlook Portland – Not Ready to Endorse It, but Looks Reasonable. “It looks to me to be a more reasonable plan. I’m not ready to endorse it, but it looks more reasonable than the Colorado plan.” [WB’s Outlook Portland, 4/2/06]

April 30 Statesman Journal – Explicitly Says He Supports the Measure. “If the initiative you are referring to is the 'Rainy Day Initiative,' I support it.” [Statesman Journal, 4/30/06]

But Now that He's Not Appealing to His Right-Wing Base, He's Ducking and Weaving

July 14 ONPA Debate – Won’t Be Campaigning For It or Against It. “I do support the concept of a spending limit. The one that’s on the ballot in particular, I’m not out campaigning for or against it, and I don’t intend to be campaigning for or against any measure. Certainly not until we see which ones are actually on the ballot.” [Welches ONPA Debate, 7/14/06]

July 14 (Later that Day) – Supports the Measure. “After the debate, Saxton did not take questions, but his campaign manager, Felix Schein, said Saxton supports the ballot measure, but believes it is imperfect.” [Oregonian Blog, 7/14/06]

July 19 Oregonian – Backs off Supporting the Measure. “His campaign manager, Felix Schein, said later that Saxton supports the proposed measure but finds it "imperfect." Then, in a follow-up interview, Schein backed off again, saying Saxton wants to see if the initiative makes the ballot before commenting on it.” [Oregonian, 7/19/06]

July 31 AP – Now Needs More Time to Study the Proposal. “His campaign spokesman, Felix Schein, said Monday that Saxton remains ‘in favor of the concept of a spending limit.’ But, he added, the candidate wanted more time to study the proposed measure before staking out a public position.” [AP, 7/31/06]

August 3 Lars Larson – Praises it, While Declaring He Will Neither Support Nor Oppose It. “I encourage voters to carefully look at this because it’s a thoughtful measure that sets out an approach on how to measure the growth, how to set aside money for a rainy day. The principles of it are very good. … I’m not going to be endorsing this measure, I’m not going to opposing it publicly. … I will be happy to implement it and be the Governor that’s there to do it.” [Lars Larson NW Show, 8/3/06]

August 4 Declare He Will Not Support TABOR, Leaving Unsaid Whether He Opposes It. “I will not be supporting Initiative 6 [TABOR].” [Saxton for Governor Release, 8/4/06]

After six months, Saxton has taken every side of the measure – leaving us with the same question: Which way will Ron Saxton vote on Measure 48?

» August 4, 2006 - 2 comments - Filed in Saxton vs. Saxton

Update - Saxton Continues Waffling on TABOR & Immigration in Latest Lars Appearance

After ducking the Lars Larson show for the past two days, Ron made an appearance today - though he only succeeded in digging a larger hole for himself.

On Monday, Saxton's campaign told the Eugene Register Guard Ron would take a position on the TABOR ballot measure this Friday.

Republican nominee Ron Saxton - whose campaign previously had said he backed the measure - is now undecided. Campaign manager Felix Schein said Saxton supports the concept of a spending limit and would announce his position Friday on this particular version. "No spin now. We are, very candidly, on the fence," Schein said of the Saxton campaign's attempt to make a decision whether to back the measure.

But today Lars put the question to Ronnie and he did what he does best: waffle.

SAXTON: What I want to tell you is that I'm not going to be endorsing this measure, I'm not going to oppose it publicly.

Lars opened the discussion by asking about Ron's refusal to take a position on a recent state GOP resolution about the children of undocumented immigrants.

Ron continued to spin, saying, "What I want to do as governor, what I want to campaign on in the next few months is the parents," ignoring again his statements to the contrary from the primary. But Lars pushed him, leading Ron to take this clear stand on the issue:

SAXTON: Today am I ready to make this a major issue or come out on it? No. I’m ready to say let’s look at it.

LARS: But you’d be willing to look at it as governor? You’d be willing to explore the legal issues as governor?

SAXTON:Absolutely.

So, Ron's willing to look at it. Good to know.

» August 3, 2006 - 1 comments - Filed in Saxton vs. Saxton

Ron: The Immigration Debate Isn't About Kids ... Unless They Try To Go To School

As today's Oregonian reports, Ron is doing the Saxton Shuffle to distance himself from a mean-spirited state GOP resolution that targets the children of undocumented immigrants.

"I really think immigration is an adult issue," he told the O. "I'm entirely focused on the adult issue."

But Ron was singing a different tune in the primary when he was trying to appeal to the extremist elements of the Republican Party. When asked during a March 14 debate at Willamette University, "Should we as a community provide education to the children of illegal immigrants?" Ron responded:

I believe we should not be offering services to those here illegally.

» July 30, 2006 - 1 comments - Filed in Saxton vs. Saxton

Ron Spins Into the Ground on Payday Loans

While the Governor continues to take the lead in stopping exploitative payday loans, Ron continues to waffle on what he'd do to protect working Oregonians.

In the primary, Ron famously declared he opposed regulating the loans that can come with an over 500 percent annual interest rate "because I like the market being able to work here." As Steve Duin wrote, he had put himself "to the right of the Corleone family." [WB's Outlook Portland, 4/2/06; Oregonian, 5/18/06 ]

But while the Governor has signed legislation limiting the rates that can be charged and is vowing to close loopholes for title loans, Ron is now waffling - saying that he won't try to change the law but doesn't know whether he supports additional reforms or not:

Ron Saxton, the Republican challenger for governor, won't try to change the Legislature's payday loan reform law, said Felix Schein, his campaign spokesman. Saxton has not determined whether he would take further action.

It must be hard for Oregon voters to know what Ron would do when he doesn't seem to know himself. And even harder for them to take him at his word when he keeps changing his story.

» July 28, 2006 - 2 comments - Filed in Saxton vs. Saxton

What will Ron do about TABOR?

Over at BlueOregon, they're taking notice of the "funky chicken dance" that Ron Saxton is doing on TABOR -- the spending limit measure that will wreck Oregon's economy:

Of course, that puts GOP gubernatorial nominee Ron Saxton in a tough spot. On the one hand, with right-wing anti-tax supporters, he's gotta support TABOR - or risk disillusioning them or shoving them to anti-tax candidate Mary Starrett. On the other, he doesn't want to get elected governor - and then be forced to preside over massive spending cuts.

So, he dances the funky chicken - trying to signal support without coming right out and saying it; trying to signal caution without coming right out and saying it.

The Oregonian wrote about Ron Saxton's wiggling and waffling too:

"I support the concept of a spending limit," he said during last week's debate with Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat running for re-election. But Saxton wouldn't say whether he supports the one that Oregon voters may be asked to decide. After the debate, he refused to answer questions seeking to clarify his stand.

His campaign manager, Felix Schein, said later that Saxton supports the proposed measure but finds it "imperfect." Then, in a follow-up interview, Schein backed off again, saying Saxton wants to see if the initiative makes the ballot before commenting on it.

» July 20, 2006 - 1 comments - Filed in Saxton vs. Saxton