The governor race drama in Oregon has added a new bizarre chapter. Tina Kotek's reelection campaign has released a list of progress on issues during her term as governor that she says are why she deserves to be given a second term. Kotek was clearly counting on nobody actually looking up the claims of progress because her list is pure fantasy. She claims positive progress on homelessness, affordability, education, public safety, environmental protection, and behavioral health, plus fighting back against Trump. Let's break that down. (All changes in ranking reflect the the 3 1/2+ years that Tina Kotek has been the governor)
Affordability: Oregon has dropped a spot to 45th
Education: Oregon has fallen a spot to 46th (high school graduation numbers have artificially increased due to Kotek dropping the competency tests as a graduation requirement because she claimed that minorities were being held back by holding them to the same standards as white students).
Public safety: Oregon has fallen from 41st to 48th and the department of corrections is currently at a $55 million dollar budget deficit.
Environmental protection: This is an area of contradiction. Rankings on environmental protection policies are ranked high (10th-14th), but Oregon is 46th in natural environment destruction. For Oregon, that translates as destruction by wildfires. That is actually a direct result of those same policies that were ranked well. The yearly average of the quantity of wildfire occurrence hasn't fluctuated much, but the amount of destroyed acreage has increased dramatically as environmentalist advocacy groups (All of whom endorsed Kotek due to her support for their proposals while Speaker) have successfully achieved legislation goals and legal challenges to stop proactive wildfire prevention/containment efforts. I can't give you comparative numbers on ranking, but 4.7 million acres of pristine forests burned during Kotek's stewardship compared to 1.7 million acres burned during the same amount of time before Kotek took office.
Behavioral health: Even though access to care has significantly improved from 21st to 7th, the overall ranking of behavioral health has remained consistently very poor (49th-51st among all ranking sources). So, I guess she can take credit for increasing access to care, but it's clearly not quality care if Oregon is still pretty much the worst in the country.
Homeless: I saved this for last because it's perhaps the most egregious lie Kotek put out. The day Tina Kotek took office, she declared a state of emergency on homelessness. 3 and a half years later, homeless numbers have INCREASED almost 19%.
Despite being the first openly lesbian governor, I have to say that she's got some seriously big balls to put out such an epically disingenuous list of supposed achievements that are so easily refuted.
🚨 BREAKING: In a disgusting move, OREGON Democrat officials are set to allocate over 2 TIMES as many funds for illegal alien healthcare than for state police
Illegals: $1.5B
Police: $717M
Oregon will pay millions to those who caught COVID-19 while incarcerated
Oregon, what the hell is this?
Listen up, you hardworking Oregonians grinding through sky high taxes, rampant homelessness on your streets, failing schools, and businesses fleeing your once beautiful state. Your Democrat governor Tina Kotek and the prison system just agreed to fork over $49 million of your money to the families of inmates who died of COVID and to over 5,000 prisoners who caught it behind bars. That’s right, convicts and their lawyers get a fat payout while you’re paying for gas, rent, and watching tent cities explode.
This is peak clown world. Let me list everything wrong with this disgrace,
Your tax dollars at work, for criminals. $49 million. That’s not chump change. That’s roads not fixed, classrooms not funded, wildfire prevention not happening, or actual crime victims getting nothing. But sure, let’s cut checks to people locked up for a reason. Oregon Justice Resource Center must be popping champagne.
“Healing and closure” my ass. Governor Kotek’s saccharine statement about “impacts and hardships” on “adults in custody” is vomit inducing. These aren’t vacationers at a resort who caught a cold. Prisons are Petri dishes by design, high density, people with serious criminal histories. COVID hit nursing homes, hospitals, factories, and every workplace too. Why do inmates get special victim status and a jackpot?
Zero personal responsibility. The lawsuit whines that the state didn’t “prioritize their medical care” for high risk inmates in 2020-2021. Newsflash, the entire planet was figuring out a novel virus on the fly. Prisons implemented lockdowns, masking, and transfers like everywhere else. But no, sue the state because life in custody isn’t risk free. Maybe don’t commit the crimes that put you there during a global pandemic?
Precedent for endless grifting. This signals to every ambulance chasing lawyer and activist group: Oregon prisons = easy money. Next up, lawsuits for bad food, uncomfortable beds, or “emotional distress” from missing Netflix. The corrections workforce was already stretched thin, per Kotek, but apparently the real victims wear orange jumpsuits.
Upside down priorities. Oregon has thousands of overdose deaths, homeless veterans, elderly struggling, kids in failing schools, and businesses hammered by regulations and crime. Yet the state bends the knee to settle a civil rights suit for people who were already removed from society for harming Oregonians. The “more than 5,000” who got it? Most survived. The dead? Tragic, but prisons aren’t magic bubbles. Where’s the settlement for the law abiding families who lost loved ones to the criminals these inmates became?
Virtue signaling over competence. Democrats love this stuff, acknowledge “systemic” failures, pay out, pat themselves on the back for “healing.” Meanwhile, the underlying issues (recidivism, soft on crime policies, bloated government) get worse. This isn’t justice; it’s wealth transfer from producers to the protected class of the carceral grievance industry.
Oregonians didn’t sign up to subsidize a pandemic payout fund for felons while their quality of life tanks. This settlement is an insult another reminder that in blue state governance, the squeaky wheel (or the suing inmate) gets the grease, and the taxpayer gets the bill. Fire this up for recall or vote these clowns out. Enough. 🇺🇸 🐺
𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 “𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐁 ’𝐄𝐌” 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝟔𝟎 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐓
A woman on the Whatever Podcast just did what ten years of conservative pundits couldn’t — she buried the Trump “grab ’em” talking point with one question: “𝘏𝘰𝘸’𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨?”
The liberal girl across from her brought up the 2016 tape as proof Trump is unfit. Rachel Wilson didn’t flinch. She corrected the record first: “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩, 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.” Then she asked the only question that matters — “𝘏𝘰𝘸’𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨?”
The other woman’s response? “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨.” Not “it’s false.” Not “here’s why he’s incorrect.” Just — it’s a bad 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭. Wilson pressed: “𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.”
Then she went deeper than any talking head ever has on this subject. “𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩, 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴.”
The liberal’s last stand: “𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.” Translation — she couldn’t argue the facts, so she went to 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. Wilson’s answer shut it down completely: “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩.”
This is why the “grab ’em” tape lost its power. Not because people stopped caring about how things sound. Because a generation of women grew up, looked at the actual statement, and realized — it’s observationally accurate. The Women’s March was built on pretending Trump described assault. He described 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. And when a woman says that out loud on camera, the entire moral framework collapses.
𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡.
NEW: Oregon, this is why I’m running for governor. Yesterday, all 18 Oregon Democrat Senators voted to release illegal aliens who commit crimes back into our communities without notifying ICE.
We’re in a fight for our state. Oregon doesn’t need politics as usual, it needs a disruptor and a fighter.
Join me: https://t.co/vcaSCOt9XD
Gavin Newsom bizarrely says if the SAVE America Act is passed “we will lose this country.”
The overwhelming majority of Americans support commonsense voter ID laws.
Why are Democrats against ensuring only Americans are voting in American elections?
A few months ago, I testified before the Portland City Council to oppose revoking the ICE facility lease.
In the belly of the beast and surrounded by extremists who attack law enforcement, I stood FIRM for YOU, Oregon, and I’ll continue to do so unapologetically as your next governor.
They try to convince us that standing for the rule of law is “extreme.” It’s not. What’s extreme is the chaos they’ve allowed and the price our state has paid.
Oregonians are fed up, and I’ll never stop fighting for the forgotten people of this beautiful land.
@ORSecretaryRead What are you scared of? Why would you oppose presenting an ID to vote? You’re part of Oregon’s problem. Save Oregon people by overhauling our voting system.
Anti-ICE protesters in St. Helens, Oregon — happening now. 🐸
I’m a conservative. And today I chose to spend my Sunday in church with my daughter, throwing a chuck roast in the crockpot for family dinner, getting the house in order, doing laundry, grocery shopping for the week, and cleaning up the yard.
That feels like a win.
You can spend your Sunday standing in the cold shouting at cars. I’ll be building a home, raising my kids, and living real life.
👇 This is the cost of unchecked one-party rule in Salem: reality no longer matters. While families struggle to afford rent, groceries, and gas, those in charge insist Oregon is thriving. No honesty. No accountability. Just political spin—and higher taxes.
Remember when Oregon Democrats blame Trump for state budget problems — when THEY are in TOTAL control of the state budget:
DON’T BELIEVE THEM.
The budget challenge is not a money problem but a priorities one.