Conservative Flight
The Great Adventure! ·
Oct 25, 2011 at 5:33pm
The good libs who run the city (and school board) of Portland often lament the fact that so many businesses and people have fled the city for the burbs. I wonder why that is happening?
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Oct '10
Re: Conservative Flight
Drive in downtown lately ? Or shop there ? Hmmmm. The list goes on.
Dec '10
Re: Conservative Flight
Oh my. That seems to have inspired a CoC violation in my thoughts.
Apr '11
Re: Conservative Flight
There are some things I don't miss about the City of Portland. The almost pathological left-leaning proclivities of the city council and county council never cease to create outrage from me. They seem to have such myopia about the problems they cause, but can afford to have it that way as they've chased most conservatives out of the city, and created a system where incumbents have an easy time getting re-elected each year.
I'm afraid Portland will have to collapse before people gain any wisdom at all.
Oct '10
Re: Conservative Flight
Agreed, the leaders are very myopic and changes are very slow in the making. There always seemed to be sombodies 50 year plan in the basement of City Hall. Complete with models that was worshipped by the club members. No deviations from the Grand Vision were allowed.
Dec '10
Re: Conservative Flight
So, here's a thought: why has Detroit completely collapsed while other liberal enclaves like Portland and Seattle are still doing ok? Is it the specific industries each city supports? Was it the unions more than the liberal politics that drove a stake through Detroit's heart?
Apr '11
Re: Conservative Flight
That's a good question, and I haven't a great answer. I'd hypothesize that because so much of Detroit's economics was centered around the auto industry, when that market crashed, so did Detroit. Portland, on the other hand, hasn't had the same economic focus.
Oct '10
Re: Conservative Flight
There a few factors that apply to both cities here. The industrial bases are varied and include large ports and argricultural exports. A really odd reality is that Portland is behind the rest of the country by some 10 years in these downward economic cycles. Not to say that does not have a catch up clause in it.
Detroit thought of itself as the be all and end all in its day with the Big 4. All the eggs in one basket and never adapted.
Portland also has growth boundaries that curtail unrestrained sprawl and growth.
Jul '10
Re: Conservative Flight
Race.
Aug '11
Re: Conservative Flight
Jimmy Carter
Race. · Oct 25 at 5:51pm
Bingo, Jimmy. You beat me to it. The beginning of the decline of Detroit can be dated to the election of Mayor Coleman Young. Young, by the way was a black union organizer with a vision of transforming Detroit. Sound familiar?
Edited on Oct 25, 2011 at 6:56pmJun '10
Re: Conservative Flight
I've been in Portland countless times on business. Other than hotel and food, the only things I have bought or ever will buy in Portland are books from Powell's, perhaps the best used bookstore in the universe. Yes, I know all its employees look like hippies, but whoever owns it knows about meeting customer needs and not letting politics get in the way sales (I've found rare conservative classics at Powell's).
Other than that, the place is turning into Detroit.
I worked for a large corporation that did business in most of the large cities of the west (except California). Portland, by any measure, was the most difficult place to do business. It made Seattle look like a bastion of conservatism.
Oct '10
Re: Conservative Flight
tabula rasa: I've been in Portland countless times on business. Other than hotel and food, the only things I have bought or ever will buy in Portland are books from Powell's, perhaps the best used bookstore in the universe. Yes, I know all its employees look like hippies, but whoever owns it knows about meeting customer needs and not letting politics get in the way sales (I've found rare conservative classics at Powell's).
Other than that, the place is turning into Detroit.
I worked for a large corporation that did business in most of the large cities of the west (except California). Portland, by any measure, was the most difficult place to do business. It made Seattle look like a bastion of conservatism. · Oct 25 at 7:03pm
Powell's is quite the place. The owner is a selfmade fellow and has fought union efforts for years. Union presence in a used bookstore was always a puzzle.
Portland is a closed environment when it comes to biz.
Perhaps an extension of the gangster and political control of years past.
Edited on Oct 25, 2011 at 7:22pmJun '10
Re: Conservative Flight
wilber forge
Powell's is quite the place. The owner is a selfmade fellow and has fought union efforts for years.
Edited on Oct 25 at 07:22 pm
I love the place even more knowing this. I'm bookstore junkie and have never seen a place as good as Powell's. The most user friendly bookstore I've ever seen.
Portland, as currently constituted politically, is likely to dry up and blow away. I pray that Powell's will be spared.
May '10
Re: Conservative Flight
I was named after the 70's era Portland Evening High School principal. I disavow any further links.
Arthur Robinson is a pretty smart guy, though, and he lives in Oregon.
Jun '10
Re: Conservative Flight
tabula rasa
wilber forge
Powell's is quite the place. The owner is a selfmade fellow and has fought union efforts for years.
Edited on Oct 25 at 07:22 pm
I love the place even more knowing this. I'm bookstore junkie and have never seen a place as good as Powell's. The most user friendly bookstore I've ever seen.
Portland, as currently constituted politically, is likely to dry up and blow away. I pray that Powell's will be spared. · Oct 25 at 8:13pm
I'd say the story of Powell's is a little more complicated than that. For years, Michael Powell was a vocal lib pandering to every lefty cause that existed. Then, the union issue came up and he fought it tooth and nail. The irony meter was pegged to 11 in those days. Meanwhile, I can't live without Powell's bookstore. It's simply a magnificent bookstore.
Oct '10
Re: Conservative Flight
tabula rasa
wilber forge
Powell's is quite the place. The owner is a selfmade fellow and has fought union efforts for years.
Edited on Oct 25 at 07:22 pm
I love the place even more knowing this. I'm bookstore junkie and have never seen a place as good as Powell's. The most user friendly bookstore I've ever seen.
Portland, as currently constituted politically, is likely to dry up and blow away. I pray that Powell's will be spared. · Oct 25 at 8:13pm
Powells is an icon that will likely survive. Portland always seemed to be a glass half full kinda place and self isolated. Could always look forward to changes. Maybe a reason to visit again.... Visit, not reside.
Oct '10
Re: Conservative Flight
Dave Molinari
tabula rasa
wilber forge
Powell's is quite the place. The owner is a selfmade fellow and has fought union efforts for years.
Edited on Oct 25 at 07:22 pm
I love the place even more knowing this. I'm bookstore junkie and have never seen a place as good as Powell's. The most user friendly bookstore I've ever seen.
Portland, as currently constituted politically, is likely to dry up and blow away. I pray that Powell's will be spared. · Oct 25 at 8:13pm
I'd say the story of Powell's is a little more complicated than that. For years, Michael Powell was a vocal lib pandering to every lefty cause that existed. Then, the union issue came up and he fought it tooth and nail. The irony meter was pegged to 11 in those days. Meanwhile, I can't live without Powell's bookstore. It's simply a magnificent bookstore. · Oct 25 at 8:20pm
Did enjoy the irony meter there. Odd how a Lib can justify a cause, until it reaches into the personal realm of the pocketbook.
Oct '10
Re: Conservative Flight
Never been to Portland (OR) so I have no opinion about it to share. My question is, why is it offensive or off-putting to allow anti-war protestors the same access to students as military recruiters? I generally despise the former and get choked up in the presence of the latter, but the story linked in this thread's main post doesn't sound particularly anti-military or offensive to the military. So what's the philosophical (or whatever) beef?
May '10
Re: Conservative Flight
My mother's side of the family are Oregonians, many from Portland, so I have a very soft spot for the city (Powell's is a treasure), and the state of Oregon as well.
That said, there is only so much politically-correct bilge that ordinary people busy living their own lives can stomach. One eventually tires of being harangued by self-satisfied know-it-alls - after a while it's easier to de-camp to where the air breathes more freely.
One of he problems with "progressivism" is its nasty Puritanical streak that has no room for indifference. "The personal is political" is nonsense to most people. Giving equal time to the anti-war crowd in the schools is just another assault on peoples' preference to be left alone. Against the war? Fine. Just leave my kids out of it, please.
Edited on Oct 26, 2011 at 5:39amMay '10
Re: Conservative Flight
No progressive good turn goes unpunished. If your first response is to make a moral equivalence between the Armed Forces, and Anti-War groups, then don't be surprised if people vote with their feet.
Whenever the green policies of the city are presented, I would want the same equal representation for anti global warming proponents. Every recycling enforcement with a presentation of landfill facts, for each renewable energy plant an equitable requirement for clean nuclear energy. Each Al Gore with a Lord Lawson,...
To quote the cited article "It’s really a matter of fairness”.
Oct '10
Re: Conservative Flight
Where did anyone make a moral equivalence between the Armed Forces and Anti-War groups? Affording Skinheads the opportunity to gather (a constitutional right) doesn't put them on a moral footing with the local veterans' group marching in a parade. That's how we get sentiments like "I despise your views but will fight to the death, if necessary, to protect your right to say them."