Jeff Merkley Town Hall

Yesterday, Oregon's senator Jeff Merkley was making the rounds in the southern part of Oregon. He made an appearance at South Medford High School at a town hall last night. Some 400 people showed up, according to the media, but I think there were more people than that. Almost all of the questions had to do with health care and the danger President Trump poses to the country.


I was there, but I was not selected by the ticket lottery to ask a question. The event lasted about an hour.

I really like Merkley. Somebody suggested he run for president. I would support him if he did, but it appears his wife would not allow it, judging from the answer he gave.

According to this article, the estimate of the crowd was at least 1,100, which sounds about right, and the paper made a correction:

The meeting touched on a wide range of issues including the environment, immigration reform and health care, but Merkley drew standing ovations when he mentioned efforts to investigate the presidential campaign's ties to Russia and efforts to reign in the president's "authoritarianism" — citing examples such as the president's dismissal of reliable news sources, something he called "incompatible with our 'We the People' government."

Regarding the Russian investigation, Merkley told the crowd that the investigation hasn't yet shown a direct conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, but if such a link were found, it would be "treasonous conduct."

The Jordan Cove pipeline issue was a big one there, but I haven't been following it at all. I probably should be following the issue, though.