By Jacob Vandever 
[1]
With the Democratic Party being at a low point in their influence on the national stage, Oregon is in a unique position as one of the few states where Democrats still have a firm grip on the reigns of power. Come Inauguration Day, not only will there be folks taking to the streets to protest President Trump, but there will also be groups meeting across the state to discuss how to organize against the Trump Administration here in Oregon.
Just a few of the events scheduled this weekend in Portland include the “Anti-Betsy DeVos Walkout and Protest”, “Rise up and Resist Fascism”, Portland State’s “Student Walkout on Trump’s Inauguration”, and the “Inauguration Day Flag Burning Extravaganza”. These people won’t simply be marching through the streets and breaking windows, although that is almost guaranteed to happen, they will be exchanging contacts, signing people up for updates, and making plans on how Oregon can be ground zero in the fight against the Trump administration.
As we see massive changes in federal policy that are likely to come about from the new administration, it is entirely possible that Democratic officials in Oregon take the lead on resisting the Trump administration and in effect turning the state into the liberal bastion of “Fortress Oregon”. Before Donald Trump even took office we already saw the City of Portland double down on their “sanctuary” status in direct opposition to Donald Trump’s threat to cut federal funding to sanctuary cities. Undoubtedly Oregon’s resistance will not stop at immigration policy.
What happens when the Jordan Cove LNG project files [2] with a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that has Trump appointees? What happens if the administration makes moves to open up logging in Oregon? What happens if the Trump justice department decides to crack down on states who have legalized recreational marijuana? No doubt we will see significant pushback on the ground here in Oregon.
Already Congressman Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrader have stated that they will not be attending President Trump’s inauguration [3], which means more than 40 percent of Oregon’s entire Federal Delegation will not be attending the swearing-in of the President of the United States out of protest. Although Congressman Schrader couldn’t even be bothered to attend his own swearing-in [4], so maybe he just has something more important to do.
During the next four years, it will be important to have a counter-narrative running to the messages of those who would oppose the new President at all costs. When the Trump administration enacts policies that will be good for folks in Oregon, I doubt we can count on the media here to give those policies a fair hearing. When Present Trump takes actions that are not in line with conservative values, we should voice our concerns, but when President Trump makes changes that will help grow business and improve our communities we need to make sure that our fellow Oregonians know about it, otherwise I fear the dominant progressive narrative could lead to a backlash against Trump and Oregon Republicans come the 2018 election.
Stand on principle and make your voice heard loud and clear because undoubtedly the voice of the progressives will only get louder and louder over the next few years.