http://www.inthesetimes.com/archives/tags/oregon/ In These Times features award-winning investigative reporting about corporate malfeasance and government wrongdoing, insightful analysis of national and international affairs, and sharp cultural criticism about events and ideas that matter. en-us Expression Engine jessica@inthesetimes.com seamus@inthesetimes.com Fri, 17 Oct 2008 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3995/signs_of_an_earthquake_in_oregon/ America's government-by-television means instantly memorable image is everything. Our electoral decisions pivot less on issues and positions than on caricature -- Dukakis peering out of a tank, Quayle misspelling potato, Kerry "looking French," as Republicans claimed. Rare is the iconography that represents deeper substance. Until now. As election day approaches, once-safe Republican senators like Elizabeth Dole (N.C.), Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Norm Coleman (Minn.) are struggling against Democrats who are using their economic conservatism to paint them as elitists. The criticism is working both because of the imminent recession and because these incumbents look the part. To paraphrase an attack on failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney, these pols don't remind voters of co-workers, but of bosses "who laid them off."… Oregon Senate economics Grace Lee Boggs