Dear Mr. Conger,
Please stop knocking on doors. You agitate my dogs when you do so. Surprisingly, some of us like to sleep in on the weekends. Please stop using paper door hangers to promote yourself. You talk about wanting a “Green revolution” for Oregon yet you are wasting paper products on doorknobs to promote yourself (interestingly enough, they are not printed on recycled paper.) Are you riding your bicycle around town while you promote yourself or are you being shuttled around in a gas-powered vehicle? If so, is it a hybrid or electrical vehicle? I would guess you’re an SUV man.
Shockingly enough, there is this amazing invention called the internets (some people like to call it the interwebz) where you can reach out to millions of people without sucking oil from the earth or cutting down trees to print flyers. I did visit your website (that is a lovely celery green background you have) and found absolutely no sense of public forum or community. You do have a nice little banner for a Facebook link that is “Coming Soon.” While I know the 20 minutes it takes to set up a Facebook group is a lot of time, maybe it is worth getting the hamsters turning their wheels a little faster to make sure that happens. Do you Twitter? Release Podcasts? Maybe hold online conversations? All great things to look into and again, don’t mess up the environment that you seem to care about.
And while I am at it, I wanted to learn more about what you stand for so I read through your whole site to learn more. What did I learn? Not much. I understand that you are probably still sorting some of this out, but I care about specific issues, not just abstract fluff.
For example:
“I am a strong believer in our state’s power to leverage innovative new technologies in renewable energy to create new jobs and a cleaner environment. A “Green” revolution in cost competitive renewable energy is coming no matter what we decide here in Oregon. But the question we must ask is “Will Oregon lead the way or follow along behind?” We can and should be at the forefront of developing renewable energy technology. This will be a major priority for me and is an area where I will work across party lines to find opportunities and sensible solutions.”
Give some specifics! Does wind energy float your boat? Are you hot and bothered by solar energy? Do you have a deep dark desire for more dams and hydroelectric contraptions messing with our rivers and watersheds? You say something, but really you say nothing.
At the risk of sounding cliche, think outside the box. Paper fliers on doorknobs and disturbing my Saturday morning rest don’t impress me. Say something bold. Heck, say something specific. Show us what you are made of. Right now all I see is fluff and someone talking the talk, but not walking the walk.
Michael Christensen
This article appears in Apr 1-7, 2010.
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Out of curiosity, does his campaign literature mention party affiliation? Nothing about it on his website, although it is possible to find it elsewhere.
This seems to be the new ‘style’ of electioneering–running away from party affiliation and speaking in generalities that are unoffensive to garner the largest number of votes. After the election, the paths the elected officials follow is pretty much determined by their party when it comes to actual voting.
This isn’t something Conger invented–it’s been around for a while. My problem with it is: since post election voting will be determined by the party they belong to, why not be upfront about it–whether democrat or republican.
Dear Mr. Conger,
Quit waking me up on Saturday mornings. Think about the Weimaraners!
It looks like his website has received a little tender loving care this last week. However, I did notice that the lawn signs he is placing in the local neighborhood are made of plastic. While there is a very small chance they are made from recycled plastic, I would guess they are not. Again, if Mr. Conger really does have “Green” roots why is he using plastic lawn signs (they could have at least been made from some sort of water resistant paper product) and non-recycled paper door-hangers. I know these are small details but if he can’t even get those right, how are we suppose to trust him on huge details with even greater consequence?
As for his political affiliation, I haven’t seen note of it yet. He does have Republican hair though for what it is worth.
Interwebz? Pardon me Mr. Christensen, but are you a 14 year old girl? I have only heard my 14 year old daughter refer to the internet as the Interwebz. You have much to say about Mr. Conger yet you’re speaking like a giggly teenager and posting comments on the “interwebz” from your dog. Perhaps anyone who reads the above letter should consider the source and take it with a grain of salt because you are either extremely immature or you have mental issues.
Dear Jschmitt35,
With all due respect, and I mean all due respect, I had no idea you recently received that new experimental surgery to have your ability to sense humor removed. Since you were not able to sense the tone in my letter on your own I will help you by providing a dictionary entry to clarify my use of “interwebz”.
sat·ire
? ?/?sæta??r/ [sat-ahyuhr]
– noun
1. the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
2. a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.
3. a literary genre comprising such compositions.
For the humorless out there or perhaps even those who have absolutely no concept of pop culture or modern media… interwebz is an offshoot of “internets” which was coined by President George Bush on October 8th, 2004. You can Google “interwebz” all you want but I am pretty sure you will come up with more ties to modern pop humor of the tech variety than you will 14 year old girls comedy.
As for the accusation of me being a 14 year old girl, I will neither confirm nor deny these charges (giggle giggle). I will however confirm having deep-seated “mental issues”. I have severe mental issues regarding hypocrisy (you can look that word up too as needed). When I sense blatant and unmitigated hypocrisy coming from a would-be politician who is positioning himself as being “Green” yet not identifying himself as the Republican he is or the clear lack of true “Green” values from the very genesis of his campaign, I do indeed feel a little crazy. Looks like you got me there. Kudos to you.
Michale Christensen I happen to WALK door to door for Jason Conger and believe me it works like a charm, People like one on one conversations. And we never start until 10 in the morning, so I cant help it if you don’t have a job, have all night benders or are just lazy I’ll bet the vast majority of good folks are up by then. so sorry bra.
Ralph, sorry that your job is knocking door to door for Jason Conger on SATURDAY. I think a good portion of working Americans do not work on the weekends and enjoy sleeping in. Rude.