'Turd Blossom' blooms in Bend

Karl Rove, nicknamed "Turd Blossom" by his longtime boss George W. Bush, spoke in Bend Friday night to a packed house for a new, local political action committee called Oregon Reagan PAC.

Apparently, more than 1,000 paid $50 each to hear the pearls of wisdom from one of the most effective and slimiest political operatives ever.

Rove had been in Central Oregon before with Bush on 2004 campaign.

It is interesting to note the strong pull that Republicans in Central Oregon have to bring in such "luminaries." While Deschutes County is still Republican and conservative, the city of Bend has more registered Democrats and is more liberal than the rest of the county.

Rove was brought to Bend for Tim Knoop, a former state representative from Bend and now vice chairman of Deschutes County Republicans.

Knoop told that daily newspaper that he formed the PAC in response to Oregonians voting for tax increases in January. Actually, Knoop is going to use his now expanded war chest to back the Republican challenger against our current state Rep. Judy Stiegler, who was a strong supporter of both measures. While the measures were trounced in Deschutes County, the margin of defeat in Bend was much narrower. The ultra-rich areas of town voted overwhelmingly against the measures. See previous post.

Stiegler is the first Democrat elected to a state post from these parts in more than 20 years. Her hold is tenuous since independents represent the biggest voting bloc. With anger as a campaign motif, Republicans hope to lure the independents their way.

It is fitting that Knoop brought Rove to Bend since Knoop is also an aggressive, mud-slinging political operative. The Stiegler camp should prepare for a dirty campaign and respond in kind.

Republicans have shown in recent decades how low they can go to win votes. Conversely, Democrats have campaigned like wimps.

It'll help that Stiegler's husband, longtime District Attorney Mike Dugan has deep ties to the Democratic establishment in Oregon. He's also running against a challenger and former employee, Patrick Flaherty, in the non-partisan race.

While Flaherty was quick to attack Dugan for his support of the tax measures, Dugan was unafraid to slam back. Dugan cited a 2000 audit that painted Flaherty in a negative light.

Dugan told the local daily that, "(Flaherty) was abrasive to the police agencies. Most of the police agencies didn't give him very high marks."

Kudos to Dugan for establishing a campaign style that is combative and aggressive. That's what what you want in a D.A. and also in a candidate.

Let's hope that other Democrats running for office, particularly Dugan's wife, take that cue. Hit back and hit hard.

The last thing we need from Bend is another ineffective Republican office-holder.