Democrat State Rep. compares Senate GOP to terrorists

By Northwest Spotlight —

Oregon Democrats tempers are high after Senate Republicans walked out to prevent passage of devastating carbon tax legislation (HB 2020).

There have been dueling press releases, speeches, rallies, and plenty of social media posts.

State Rep. Paul Evans (D-Monmouth) took things to a new low by comparing Senate Republicans to terrorists.

Not that Sen Courtney asked me, but— my own military experience taught me the difference between respectful diplomacy and giving in to terrorists… negotiating with people who are not invested in shared outcomes… is a dangerous path. Today is a sad, tragic day for Oregon.

— Paul Evans (@PaulEvansOregon) June 25, 2019

Lest you think this is all some sort of misunderstanding, Willamette Week confirmed this interpretation.

“There is nothing that could bring me back to Salem and provide a vote to grant the super-majority quorum in light of their members comparing Republicans to terrorists,” Thatcher said in a statement.
State Rep. Paul Evans (D-Salem) did make that comparison today on Twitter.

Nigel Jaquiss for Willamette Week

Evans has yet to retract his comment, and doubled down on them later that same day.

Hey— evidently my comments appear to have offended one of the AWOL Senate Republicans… I’m not certain why they took offense, but, I hope they understand the impact of their dereliction of duty upon Oregon families. I’m sorry if my comments hit too close to home. https://t.co/eV23JuASZj

— Paul Evans (@PaulEvansOregon) June 26, 2019

I’m sorry if my comments hit too close to home.

Rep. Paul Evans on Twitter