Oregon Shuffle

With a mid-term resignation of a US Congressman, there is normally a domino effect. State legislators are prime candidates for filling the void, which often triggers yet another special election for the state seat.

Not so in Oregon.

Unlike most states, Oregon normally fills mid-term vacancies in the state legislature by appointment. That means a hand-picked party member gets the seat. And that means the new legislator will be an incumbent by the time the next general election rolls around.

Gerrymandered districts are the norm for most states. That means the primary elections are the only races that might be competitive. We may not have any real choice with the resignation of Congressman Wu.

Fortunately, the elections resulting from Congressman Wu's exit won't be the only time the deck gets shuffled. There will be a few open seats, and a few competitive primary races.

That's where we need to focus our efforts. Spring will be here soon, and we'll be ready.

Repeal Machine Basics

The Repeal Machine is a tool that activist use to repeal the mandatory helmet law. It accomplishes this by steadily building a legislative majority, district by district. To do this, it relies on three basic steps:

1. Find out candidates' positions on mandatory helmet laws
2. Find out which few races are the most competitive
3. Mobilize campaign volunteers where we have the greatest impact

All essential tasks are provided in the Repeal Machine Handbook, which is an interactive step-by-step guide. Each Handbook task takes you progressively one step closer to repeal. There is no wasted effort, and each completed task builds a solid foundation for the next.

With the Repeal Machine, success doesn't depend on changing our opponent's minds about the helmet law. Instead, it creates a "critical mass" of like-minded activists who can focus on getting results. In turn, the Machine simply rewards or punishes legislators based on where they stand on the helmet law.

In addition to being effective, the Machine is also efficient, so it doesn't require a mass biker uprising, either. The more competitive a targeted race is, the smaller the number of activists needed. The outcome is therefore determined completely by our network of activists, and unhindered by our opponents' propaganda. So once in motion, no one can stop the Machine or undo its results.

The first step is also the easiest. Click on the red  SUBSCRIBE  button so we can notify you about important races near you. For more information, please contact me at Ride2Repeal@gmail.com.