On Saturday, June 14, 2025, the left’s destructive children in Oregon will gather in Portland for a “defiance rally.”  We will be coming home that day from a college graduation, and one of the routes takes us right through the center of Portland.  We are already planning to take another route that goes around the city.

This is the reality in Oregon.  First, recognize the stupidity, then plan a way around it.

We see so many articles about how Portland is emptying and dying.  People are moving out of Portland, and a large number are leaving Oregon altogether.  In the suburbs, we have businesses who were located in Portland’s central business district, now located outside Portland, and they seem to be thriving.  The concern for us now is seeing the foolish policies that destroyed Portland economically enacted in our suburban cities and towns.  If you question these city council members or county commissioners, you are told, Well, we got it right this time.  Trust us!

Every level in the Oregon government, from the state Legislature to village boards, is awash in debt and red ink.  Yet the Oregon elected politicians keep declaring themselves sanctuary cities, sanctuary counties, and sanctuary states.  Because of these declarations, federal funding will be held back, adding to Oregon’s debt problems.

Oregon is the prime example of where all of these Democrat led states like California, Washington, Colorado, and New York are headed.  Oregon is in a steep crash into financial problems and possible bankruptcy.  As the current Oregon legislative session moves towards closure, there are few proposals to fix the debt problems, except to keep raising taxes on the working folks.

Portland is now a place where businesses are discussing how to exit from the Democrat created wasteland of debt and regulation. According to some business analysts, 33 percent of the business locations in Portland are now empty.  Some of Portland’s most iconic business buildings are for sale, with few or no buyers.  Other states are advertising their generous tax plans and a lack of regulations, and Oregon businesses are listening and following the siren’s call out of state.

I wish there were some easy answers, but it seems that the only reason Oregon will change the way it votes and who leads it is when the pain is too much to ignore, and Oregon voters say, “Enough is enough!”

John Woods: Father, Husband, Conservative, Activist, Patriot, Veteran, Certified Action Range Shooter, Voting Delegate to the state Oregon Republican Party.

Image via Pixabay.