Check these upcoming events:

Marion County Republicans First Wednesday Breakfast
Special Speaker: State Rep. Vic Gilliam (Dist. 18 - Silverton, Mollala)
Wednesday, 04 August — 7:00am — Events at Copper Hill, 3170 Commercial St. SE, Salem

Valley Pachyderms Luncheon
Special speaker: State Sen. Jackie Winters (Dist 10 - Salem, Monmouth)
Thursday, 19 August — Noon — Scottish Rite Center, 4090 Commercial St. SE, Salem

Capital City Republican Women Annual Picnic
Thursday, 19 August — 6:00pm — Diana Evans' home, Madrona St. S, Salem

Conservative & Republican Hot Links

Oregon's HOT Race for Governor

Two recent polls show Republican Chris Dudley and Democrat John Kitzhaber virtually or actually tied while one shows Dudley ahead. Rasmussen Reports, released the results of their most recent telephone polling on Monday, 21 June. It showed Dudley with a 2-point lead (47%-45%); with a margin of error of 4% and a confidence level of 95%, we are talking a virtual tie.
Also released on Monday, Oregon pollster Tim Hibbitts released results of polling showing both candidates with 41% of the vote. According to OPB, Hibbitts does not believe the numbers will move much between now and Election Day, "unless one of the two candidates makes a serious mistake".
A third poll, conducted earlier in the month for KATU-TV (Portland) by SurveyUSA, showed Dudley with a strong lead at 47%-40%; most significantly, Kitzhaber led only among younger voters, considered by SurveyUSA to be least reliable.

Campaign 2010 — How will you get involved?

2010 is shaping up to be a great year for Republicans. Terrific people have stepped forward to be candidates; they are working hard through the summer to reach voters with a positive message and a clear idea for how we can return to greatness. But they cannot succeed alone. You did your part to select who you throught were the best candidates in May. Now you need to follow through and get involved. Find our new section on the 2010 campaign under the News and Events menu (news from incumbents can be found under Newsletters) to learn the latest from the campaign trail. Sign up to receive their e-mail newsletters, follow them on Facebook and / or Twitter, or link to their campaign web site from our link pages; above all, do all you can to expand their reach to all parts of their districts and / or Marion County. Don't wake up on Nov. 3 wishing you had done that something more that could have put your candidate into office.

What They're Saying

On ObamaCare —
Phillip Klein:  In order to protect the new national health care law from legal challenges, the Obama administration has been forced to argue that the individual mandate represents a tax — even though Obama himself argued the exact opposite while campaigning to pass the legislation. Read the entire article
Kerri Houston Toloczko:  Oregon's state-controlled care includes an official list that dictates what treatments will be covered based on annual budget constraints. If your disease is above the treatment line, you are covered. Below the line — you're not. However, patients being denied treatment often receive an additional note in their denial letters — the system telling them it will pay for "physician aid in dying." Oregon won't help you live, but it will help you die. Read the entire article
Jeff Anderson:  Unfortunately (from the perspective of ObamaCare supporters), a steady stream of revelations of previously undiscovered horrors buried in the bowels of ObamaCare appears to have more than negated any gains that the administration might otherwise have made. Read the entire article

On The Great (Partisan) Divide —
Charles Kesler:  [Obama] longs to be another FDR, building a New New Deal for the 21^st century, dictating the politics of his age, and enshrining the Democrats as the new majority party for several decades to come. Read the entire article
Honorable Stephen Markman:  Proponents of a "21^st century constitution" or "living constitution" aim to transform our nation's supreme law beyond recognition — and with a minimum of public attention and debate. Indeed, if there is a overarching theme to what they wish to achieve, it is the diminishment of the democratic and representative processes of American government. Read the entire article
George Will:Today, government finds the limitless power of dispensing not in [James] Madison's Constitution of limited government, but in [Woodrow] Wilson's theory that the Constitution actually frees government from limitations. The liberating — for government — idea is that the Constitution is a "living", evolving document. Read the entire article

On Foreign Policy —
Andrew McCarthy:  It has become fashionable these days to invoke the "rule of law" as if it means the rule of lawyers — and particular, the rule of judges. But that has never been the term's meaning. In the U.S., the rule of law is embodied in the Constitution and resides in the statutes, treaties, rules, and regulations adopted pursuant to the Constitution. The rule of law does not refer either to judges or to elected officials, who are themselves servants of the Constitution. Read the entire article
Mort Zuckerman:  America right now appears to be unreliable to traditional friends, compliant to rivals, and weak to enemies. One renowned Asian leader stated recently at a private dinner in the United States, "We in Asia are convinced that Obama is not strong enough to confront his opponents, but we fear that he is not strong enough to support his friends." Read the entire article