From the Oregonian:

Money wants the lead. Money thinks it’s the story. After all, money — much of it from unions that bank on the predictable to smother reform — greased Kate Brown’s slide into the secretary of state’s office and rescued Jeff Merkley in the Senate primary. In just about every race except attorney general, victory went to the man or woman who spent the most money.

“I never think money is the whole story,” said Jefferson Smith of the Bus Project, “but it’s a pretty big tie-breaker.”

Perhaps. But you can have the money angle. I witnessed two things much more intriguing on election night at the Benson Hotel, and much more encouraging for the future of Oregon politics: the coalition in the penthouse suites and the concession speech on the ballroom stage.

The coalition was the work of John Kroger, who rolled over Greg Macpherson and into the AG’s office. Kroger didn’t have that vaunted endorsement from all the lawyers milling around at the Department of Justice, but the partiers celebrating with him on the 14th floor included Brent Foster of Columbia Riverkeeper, the Teamsters’ Lynn Lehrbach, Steve Doell of Crime Victims United, liberal activist Greg Kafoury, and a platoon of twentysomething staffers.

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