Jayne Carroll: In the weeds or smoking them...tough to tell.

One of the reasons that the Republican Party of Oregon finds itself in dire straits is that Oregonians are no longer buying their schtick. We've watched right-wing, government hating folks get elected to the legislature both at the state and federal level (and don't even get me started on W), and frankly, their inability to do anything having to do with actual governance and leadership has shown us that they don't belong there.

And let's not forget their messengers. Those vile-mouthed, hate-spewing, rhetorically vomitous creatures whose sole job is to tear down good government and everything that goes with it.

Enter Jayne Carroll. Ms. Carroll has a radio program out of Hillsboro, aired in an afternoon drive slot. I tried to stream her show this afternoon but had trouble with the feed. So maybe one day soon when I need my ears to bleed, I'll tune in while driving.

The Hillsboro Argus newspaper has also seen fit to give her a column. Her latest screed virtually drips with venom toward Secretary of State Bill Bradbury:

What has the man, who has used his almost eight years as secretary of state to benefit his political party and agenda at all costs, done this time?

Bradbury has removed the Republican legislative nominee for House District 29, Forest Grove businessman Jeff Duyck, from the ballot. Duyck was considered a strong candidate to defeat Democrat incumbent Chuck Riley in November. District 29 covers downtown Hillsboro, Forest Grove and Cornelius.

Duyck lives just southwest of Forest Grove on the dividing line between House Districts 26 and 29. For almost a decade, the Washington County Elections Office had assigned Duyck to District 29. He won the district's Republican nomination in the May primary; Bradbury's office certified his victory.

On June 12, a Forest Grove woman filed a complaint with Bradbury questioning Duyck's eligibility to run. She contended that while the majority of Duyck's property is in District 29, his house on the same property is not.

Bradbury's operatives reviewed the claim with Washington County; they all concluded that Duyck legally resided in District 26. Last week, Bradbury officially stripped Jeff Duyck of his Republican nomination and notified party officials that they had until Aug. 26 to find a replacement.

Isn't that convenient? With the Republicans threatening to win back a bare majority of the Oregon House, one of their most promising candidates is struck down by a Democratic secretary of state.

I'm curious if Jayne wrote this column while her head was firmly implanted where the sun don't shine. The ignorance displayed by this woman is alarming to the point of being appalling.

First of all, Duyck's house is outside the boundary for the district. The Constitution in Oregon is crystal clear on this issue. A person must live in the district for at least one year before representing that district in the Oregon House. Even if Bradbury had allowed Duyck to stay on the ballot, it would have been illegal for him to serve in the legislature for that district.

As far as the GOP/Duyck "threatening to win back a bare majority", Carroll is in la-la land. Duyck was a decent candidate, but hardly a shoo-in. In fact, Duyck's candidacy was extremely hampered by two things: 1. Running against a multi-term incumbent who is well-liked in his district 2. An Independent Party candidate who was spurned by the GOP, ready to suck lots of votes away from Duyck.

Not to mention the fact that polling around Oregon shows that the Republicans are likely to LOSE seats in districts that have been traditional strongholds for them. So rather than gaining back a slim majority, they're more likely to slip even further into the minority.

The Argus should seriously reconsider having this woman in their paper. Its irresponsible and frankly silly to keep someone who writes this kind of ignorant garbage on the payroll.