Considering the recent horrific tragedy in Texas, Clatsop County voters, especially Democrats, need to do some serious soul searching as they consider jumping onto the Betsy Brigade bandwagon.

Betsy Johnson has voted against giving school boards the authority to prohibit guns on school grounds, against restricting convicted stalkers from owning guns, against background checks on firearm transfers and she has voted to allow openly suicidal people access to guns.

The NRA gives her a 100% rating. Somewhere in the archives of the Daily Astorian is a picture of Betsy Johnson unbelievably smiling and holding a pink AR15 at a school fundraiser!

That’s just her record on guns.

A review of Johnson’s voting record also reveals votes that are anti-union, pro-fracking, against health care rights, against criminal justice citizen review committees, against efforts to address climate change, and against paid sick leave.

Early in her career she voted like a moderate Democrat. Now she always favors the wants and desires of big business and the gun lobby over the needs of Oregon’s citizens. Ask yourself why sweat shop billionaire Phil Knight is pumping big money into her war chest? Follow the money and connect the dots.

Don’t be fooled by her folksy populist persona and rhetoric. She is the living embodiment of the old Turkish proverb: “The forest was shrinking but the trees kept voting for the axe, for the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because her handle was made of wood she was one of them.”

Bill Graffius

Gearhart