Oregon Outpost

What the heck is an Independent Moderate Voter?

Robert Harris — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 20:38:22 +0000

The Democratic Party debates the value of being moderate or centrist versus liberal or progressive and which faction of their party should dominate. The national Republicans don’t even appear to have what people refer to as a moderate or centrist wing anymore. More voters are self identifying as Independent and moderate or centrist. They feel […]

BOLI Commissioner Hoyle’s innovative Pro Labor and Pro Industry Policy

Robert Harris — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 23:18:34 +0000

“Oregon lawmakers must take action to support businesses and workers as we continue to deal with the economic fallout from COVID-19. We must give our state’s workforce viable options to put food on the table. This is a measure that is pro-worker, pro-business, and good for Oregon’s economy and Istrongly encourage you to adopt this […]

2020 Independent Party of Oregon Nomination Process: Part 1

Robert Harris — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 00:26:55 +0000

This series of posts will explain my thought process and perhaps add some insights into how the Independent Party of Oregon has determined it’s nominations for the 2020 election. – Rob Harris, Co-Chair Independent Party of Oregon Member input. Party nominations are made by the nominating Caucus who are elected by Party members. In order […]

Party System Theory and a Seventh Party System

Robert Harris — Thu, 07 May 2020 22:20:58 +0000

A party system is a concept in comparative political science concerning the system of government by political parties in a democratic country. The idea is that political parties have basic similarities: they control the government, have a stable base of mass popular support, and create internal mechanisms for controlling funding, information and nominations.wikipedia There have […]

Independent Republican or Republican, Independent?

Robert Harris — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 19:38:28 +0000

The Niskanen Center is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that advocates environmentalism, immigration reform, civil liberties, and a national defense policy based on market principles. The center is named after William A. Niskanen, an economic adviser to President Ronald Reagan. The Center states that its “main audience is Washington insiders,”. It is generally considered a […]

Rethinking the nucleus for a viable third party

Robert Harris — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 20:01:12 +0000

It seems like when most reformers and new centrists think about how to locate a viable third party on the ideological spectrum, they start with the concept that it needs to be based on finding the goldilocks location of economic ideology. I also thought that putting off dealing with social issues would remove the “hot […]

A day without public defense attorneys

Robert Harris — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 23:02:51 +0000

The premise of a 2004 comedy called A Day Without a Mexican was that one morning a dense fog surrounded California and when it lifted 13 million people- all with Latinx surnames – had just disappeared. California fell into chaos, people couldn’t valet park their car, spouses weren’t in their beds in the morning, nanny’s […]

The Independent Brand: Good Government

Robert Harris — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 23:51:37 +0000

After qualifying as Oregon’s third major party for the 2016 and 2018 elections, The Independent Party will be relegated from major party to minor party for the 2020 elections. What does this mean strategically, politically and legally for the Independent Party? Background How a Minor Party becomes a Major Party. Simply put, a recognized political […]

The next Trumpian candidate

Robert Harris — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 18:44:52 +0000

Whether Donald Trump wins or loses in 2020 he has proven how to win with just a minority of votes nationwide. This blueprint, which he may have stumbled on by accident, will be refined by the next Republican candidate. And it could be very difficult for the Democrats to overcome. The next Trumpian candidate will […]

Why Big Business hates juries

Robert Harris — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 21:07:48 +0000

This week the Oregon Senate killed a bill that would have allowed juries to award full compensation to victims for the negligent acts of others. If you’re injured by another person and want to bring a lawsuit, current Oregon law caps your non economic damages to $500,000. That means if you or a loved one […]