Art Robinson Wins the Republican Congressional Nomination in Oregon District 4

Press Release

Republican voters of Oregon District 4 have chosen Dr. Art Robinson to represent them in the November 2010 Congressional race against Democrat Peter DeFazio. With 70% of votes counted as of 8:54 pm, Art currently has 80% of the total.

Sentiment in District 4 is running high against Mr. DeFazio, a 12-term incumbent career politician who has alienated voters by unpopular and controversial actions in favor of big government. "In this election, Pete DeFazio is more vulnerable than ever before -- due not only to the economic recession and massive deficit that he helped create, but also due to his failure to listen to the people of District 4 on medical care," said Robinson.

"It is time to reduce excessive taxation, roll back oppressive over-regulation, reign in government-sponsored litigation, and stop government over-spending. We must get big government off the back of the American worker, off the back of American industry, and off the back of American business. Only this can restore and preserve American exceptionalism," said Art.

Dr. Robinson has issued a formal challenge to Mr. DeFazio to join him in a series of debates in each of the seven counties of District 4; Benton, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Josephine, Lane, and Linn counties.

"The format chosen for these debates is very simple and direct" said Robinson. "Each of the seven debates is to be two hours long and have a candidate-to-candidate format with a time-keeper -- providing each speaker in turn with 3-minute timed intervals (20 intervals for each candidate). Only the candidates will speak. Use of each speaker's time is entirely at his discretion." Robinson said, "This format will provide voters with an un-filtered, un-choreographed, open dialogue on the critical issues facing our district and our nation -- a dialogue that they greatly need and want."
Full media and public access, recording, and viewing will be encouraged; however media and audience questions and statements will follow the formal debates at the conclusion of the candidate-only session.

Dr. Robinson said that he intends, through this debate challenge, to provide voters with factual comparisons between his policies and those of Mr. DeFazio and to provide Mr. DeFazio a much needed public forum in which to answer serious pending questions, including:

1. Why did Mr. DeFazio, after announcing that he would vote against the government takeover of American medical care, reverse his position just before the vote? Casting one of the four deciding votes, Mr. DeFazio voted to transfer $500 billion out of Medicare thus reducing medical care for elderly Americans; to create 159 new federal bureaucracies that will take over formerly private patient-doctor medical decisions, including permission for diagnostic procedures and medical treatment; and to place heavy new direct and indirect taxes on all Americans.

2. Why, after 23 years of Mr. DeFazio's representation, is District 4 unemployment 11.5% as compared with the Oregon average of 10.6% and national average of 9.7%, and why has the House of Representatives pursued policies that have resulted in these very high levels of unemployment?

While Mr. DeFazio has been very successful in courting national unions and other special interests that fund his political campaigns and has gathered pork barrel and earmark money to provide occasional political photo-ops in District 4, he has seriously neglected most of the timber, farming, manufacturing, business and service enterprises that provide jobs in District 4.

3. Why, after 23 years of Mr. DeFazio's representation, have he and his political friends in the "education" unions failed to improve the disastrous public school situation in Oregon? U. S. public school students score near the academic bottom in comparison with other developed countries, and, even in this uncompetitive environment, Oregon students rank 43rd out of 50 in U.S. public schools.

Outstanding teachers in Oregon schools are not able to teach effectively because more than half of school funds are wasted on unneeded bureaucracy and other non-teacher perks, while federal bureaucrats dictate curriculum and testing standards. This situation has caused millions of American parents, including many in Oregon, to withdraw their children from these schools and find alternative academic opportunities.
Dr. Robinson wants to return to the locally-controlled, teacher-friendly, high quality American public schools that he and his wife and their friends and colleagues attended -- schools that prepared him for admission to the California Institute of Technology and a distinguished career in science.
Unwilling to subject his own six children to the low quality, unionized, federally-controlled schools that Mr. DeFazio supports and has helped foster, Dr. Robinson himself provided their elementary education. Subsequently, all six obtained BS degrees in science -- five at Oregon public universities, with three of the six completing the usual four-year curricula in only two years. Three of these young adults have earned doctoral degrees in science and medicine, and the other three are now working toward doctoral degrees in nuclear engineering at Oregon State University.

4. Why, in this 2009-2010 election cycle, has Mr. DeFazio -- a career politician -- received 61% of his campaign funds as union payoffs and other special interest contributions, especially from unions and industries that he helps regulate in Washington? Dr. Robinson, by comparison -- without the lavish tax-funded congressional advantages used by Mr. DeFazio -- has received 100% of his contributions from private individuals, receiving more dollars from this source than has DeFazio.

This Republican nomination of Art Robinson has been made possible by the work of more than 500 volunteers who have put up signs, made telephone calls, arranged events, and done the many other things needed in a political campaign; by thousands of District 4 voters who have discussed this candidacy with their friends, neighbors, and families; and by the financial contributions of 1,300 private individuals.

On behalf of all of these people and on his own behalf, Dr. Robinson thanks the voters of District 4 and the people who are helping the campaign for making this nomination possible. We will all make certain that our future work justifies the confidence that you have placed in us.

The Robinson for Congress campaign is managed by Art's son, Noah Robinson -- who earned a PhD in chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, publishing his research work in several prestigious journals, including four papers in the Proceedings of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. While Portland political operatives think that District 4 voters will prefer their customary politics-as-usual, smear-the-opposition campaign, the Robinsons think that District 4 voters will instead prefer to hear the truth spoken by American scientists.

Source