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Post-Show: Whither the Initiative Process?
This was, in some ways, two shows in one: a conversation about domestic partnerships and one about the initiative process. We'd actually intended to spend only the first third of the show on domestic partnerships, but there was such vehemence and passion on both sides of the issue that we made the decision on the fly to keep Jeana Frazzini and Marilyn Shannon on until the half-way point. (And we did manage to establish clearly that neither side is giving up.)
It meant that we didn't spend as much time as we'd hoped on the reverberations of Judge Mosman's ruling on the initiative process itself. It seems that there are enough reverberations -- on the air, on our site, in the ether -- that we'll definitely return to it, and most likely for a full hour.
A representative sampling is telling: UNHTroy wrote on our comment thread (in all caps but we'll forgive it for now), "BEWARE THE INITIATIVE PROCESS!" Our guest Herb Grey told us on his way out of the studio, "I think this ruling will only pour gas on the flames surrounding the initiative process." And our frequent commenter Bill Swindell wrote, in an even more sweeping criticism, "I almost always vote against initiatives, even if I agree with them in principle, because the implementation and unintended consequences are usually disastrous."
Whether we're talking about warning signs, disastrous consequences, or fueling the fire, we'll don our asbestos suit and wade in again.
What, in particular, are you focused on as we enter the 2008 initiative season?
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In my opinion, "party" is a rough generalization of what I stand for in the political process. I believe that most people who indentify with a party do not pay due; do not attend their meetings and have no idea of what the structure of the party is or how it is organized at the local level. Therefore, I believe political parties should pay Oregon for hosting their primary elections. If there is a state government primary it should be open to all who want to run.
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