Oregon and Colorado politics

Oregon was the least corrupt state over the last ten years.
[graph created by Lee Sigelman and John Sides, acquired via Ylesias]

Ok, I don't really think this is a perfect indicator of corruption since plenty of corrupt politicians never get caught (and arguably the most corrupt states are the ones where prosecuters and judges are bought and unwilling to charge or convict their partners in crime), but I expect that there is a positive correlation between corruption conviction and corruption, and this is probably the best data we are going to get. Regardless, this is yet another reason to love Oregon politics. Not only do opposing candidate each have better policies than anyone in other states--making it a joy to vote there--but those candidates are also honest (for politicians).

I seriously miss Oregon. Right now I'm in Colorado, where Senator Ken Salazar has just been tapped for Secretary of the Interior, which I think was one of Obama's few bad choices in his appointment picks. Salazar is on my shit list for being one of the biggest advocates for giving Joe Lieberman everything despite his being incompetent and essentially a Republican. Further, Salazar was a choice for interior that oil companies like, which is a terrible sign. The interior department is in terrible shape (remember that department officials were found to have been bribed with money sex and drugs by oil companies, and that they have been ignoring, distorting, and sabotaging scientists concerning energy, endangered species, etc.) and will need someone impeccable to rehabilitate it. Oh well. Actually, Salazar is generally good about environmental and interior issues (he stopped Bush and the oil companies from exploiting areas in Western states), except that he's for off-shore drilling and farm subsidies (he voted against a bill that would have reformed farm subsidies and used the saved money for conservation). The real reason Colorado sucks politically is the fact that Salazar is one of the best representatives we've had in my lifetime. The Republican most likely to run against his appointed successor is Tom Tancredo, the guy from the 2008 primaries who hates Mexicans so much that he wants to stop all legal immigration (on the bright side, CO is getting bluer and Tancredo has a very slim chance of winning). Colorado has had representatives who on national television told the black host that gay people aren't obviously different from good normal people the way blacks are. Also, Colorado is home to extremist conservatives (I have seen a yard sign that says 'Fight terrorism: vote Republican' and a billboard that says "Help end terrorism: get the US out of the UN' [which I desperately wanted to spray paint to change 'UN' to 'Iraq']). In particular, my hometown of Colorado Springs is the central location of James Dobson's Focus on the Family. Again, I miss Oregon.