Nicholas Kristof can't run for governor of Oregon

[no_hypocrisy]

What I don't understand is why he and his team didn't meticulously doublecheck for qualifications to run before he quit the Times. Residency is an obvious red flag.

[hlthe2b]

1. Maybe it is how various state laws are written; maybe it is how they are enforced, but

it certainly seems that some states will turn a blind eye to residency when it suits an empowered party. Herschel Walker comes to mind with his GA Governor run. So, maybe Kristof thought he might get that benefit?

[zaj]

2. I don't imagine there is a generous interpretation of this

Occam's razor says that anytime someone has a near zero relationship with a state for decades and suddenly decides to drop everything and run for the states highest leadership office...

... that decision is rooted in ego and power, and it will blow up in multiple different ways.

Someone genuine would move back years ago and do the work to build a foundation. And something like this would never remotely be an issue.

Someone parachuting in is only experiencing this kind of issue because they never did the work to become an authentic community leader.

If your relationship with the campaign is as impulsive and inauthentic as this, its not at all shocking that you overlook details.

This exact thing is happening now here Arizona, where some Peter Thiel ally has dropped into the state and it's running for US Senate against Kelly.

His name is Blake Masters and no one has ever heard of him before. He apparently went to high school here and went away, never to be heard from locally until he parachutes in expecting to save everyone here.

Kristof should stay in Oregon, become a leader in the community, and build a foundation for the next election.

If not, this was just about ego, narcissism, and power.

That's a terrible foundation to hold office.

[Hortensis]

5. In the case of anyone Thiel backs, it might just be about power, and

RW/libertarian extremism. Though no doubt Thiel himself has plenty of ego and may well be a sociopath. His abilities added to those of others trying to use tRump to gain great power scare me.

I viscerally dislike someone coming into a state and trying to foist himself on the people as their governor, also, no matter how qualified and committed that person might feel. It seems disrespectful, though Kristoff at least was raised in Oregon and came home and Masters also.

I wouldn't draw comparisons, though, between a Democrat and anyone Thiel would back, even simply that both want to run as outsiders, given what have to be extreme differences in mentation, morals, and motivations. Also simply to avoid the insult.

[zaj]

6. My point is that narcissism runs deep in powerful people, and...

...it's not a good look.

The idea that Oregon needed a New York Times columnist to come run the state, is a reflection of a deep cultural problem, and democrats aren't immune to it.

[Hortensis]

7. Well, narcissism is just one of many traits healthy people should

have and in normal amounts tend to be called something like good self esteem, confidence. High achievers tend to think extra well of themselves and their abilities, but not irrationally. In irrational amounts it becomes
bad and the term is no longer just a common insult but a clinical observation. Trump is an example of narcissistic.

Also -- and I think it's on point for trying to imagine if someone's self esteem is realistic or not -- it's normal for people who've spent years among others who routinely set high goals and pursue big achievements to do also.

I always prefer deep respect for the sovereignty of the people, and trying to just fly into the governor's mansion from NYC, so to speak, doesn't demonstrate that. But it doesn't mean it isn't there, and it doesn't have to reflect a "deep cultural problem." Moving to run for office, or running for office after moving, is certainly not particularly unusual.

And Kristoff is a native Oregonian who came home, not a Marylander or Arizonan who decided to run in Oregon as his best chance. I approve the court saying he'll have to wait for next time when he technically qualifies, though. We need limits, and his plane landed on the wrong side of the limit.

[zaj]

9. We can disagree, but this...

... discussion feels like a post-hoc rationale for defending an ally, rather than a principled stand.

If he sticks around, does the work to build a genuine foundation and shows a real commitment to the future of Oregon, then I'll stand corrected.

If this is the last Oregon hears of Kristof, then it's clear this might have really just been a vanity campaign for a weathy, powerful man who was drawn to a position of even more power.

Democrats need to double down on authenticity. They harm themselves to not understanding this, imo.

[Hortensis]

10. Well, Oregonans aside, you could decide on his authenticity

without waiting should you choose.

Here's a list I quickly grabbed of Kristoff's commentaries that were awarded the Pulitzer in 2006. As a commentator, he's put himself out there for many years.

The secret genocide archive
Day 141 of Bush's silence
A policy of rape
Never again, again?
What's to be done about Darfur?
When rapists walk free
Raped, kidnapped and silenced
The illiterate surgeon
Mr. Bush, this is pro-life?
Land of penny pinchers

That's only a fraction of the kind of work that reveals a great deal about a person, if not all of him. There's another Pulitzer also.

I don't know how this might affect your questions regarding his authenticity and possible propensity to vanity campaigns, but, also, he's also long identified as a "progressive." I suspect anti-Democratic progressives may not like him because, even though he's long been admired some of Sanders' views he's not strongly supported his presidential ambitions. Kristof's the achievement oriented, non-extremist, pro-Democrat kind of progressive.

[zaj]

11. There are 100,000 others in Oregon just like that.

And probably a dozen of them who would win a race to be Oregon governor. The politics aren't the unusual thing here to be called into question.

[Hortensis]

12. :) Oh, more than that. Over 1M Oregonians register Democrat,

a strong majority, and a lot more than that voted Democrat in 2020.

You spoke of doubting "authenticity," and it occurs to me that can be not just a way of expressing doubt of a politician's integrity but also of partisan rejection of anyone who has different views. Sort of a dog whistle. My liberal orientation is very "authentic," btw, so wired in it hasn't changed since elementary school, nor has my belief that progressism means commitment to achieving real progress for people who need it.

Kristof's views are so well established publicly that, whatever he can honestly be criticized for, that his professed views are not in line with his actual views is not really among them. Now, criticizing him for identifying progressive but supporting the Democratic Party to actually achieve progress would be valid because it's true. He's not an extremist.

[JHB]

3. I suspect it was for the usual reasons

Arrogance and not as sharp as they thought they were.

But also usual, he'll either get hired back by the NYT, or be handed some other sinecure on which to perch.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. Good.

[brooklynite]

8. He certainly hadn't checked before he asked my wife and I for money.