Last week, WW scrutinized the unlikely candidacy of Carrick Flynn for Oregon’s new congressional seat. Flynn, 35, is mostly unknown to residents of his district—but they’ve been blanketed by TV commercials and mailers for Flynn funded by cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried. Flynn has introduced himself to few people outside of those ads. WW examined his candidacy, and obtained 25 minutes of his time for an interview. Here’s what our readers had to say:
Joe Downs, via Facebook: “Yeah, it’s totally normal for a 30-something who has lived here for months of his adult life to helicopter in with millions of dollars. Definitely don’t ask any questions.”
Kendall Horn, via wweek.com: “Reminds me of Chauncey the Gardener but with less people skills and appeal.”
Poppy Alexander, via Twitter: “Oregonians are proudly intense about your right to claim Oregon identity (just ask Nick Kristof or read the excellent essay from Leah Sottile on it). This FTX/Sam Bankman-Fried campaign to remotely own a section of the state as a crypto utopia is thus extra, extra weird.”
Steverino, via wweek.com: “Gee, how terrible he’s not on the party list of the government faithful.
“Looking at what D’s have done for Oregon, I think that’s a positive. WTH is so wrong about getting someone with new ideas since the old ones are not working real great?”
Elaine Lindberg, via Twitter: “I never got past the report that he’s only voted twice in 30 years—no matter where he lived.”
Baba Benji Ji, via Facebook: “Flynn does not give straight answers to any of the questions in this interview. He’s the kind of Democrat who will help maintain the balance of power in D.C. by losing the election.”
Michael M, via wweek.com: “This guy aggressively avoids the media for months, leaving the public with no choice but to make inferences based on the millions he’s getting from a few individuals from outside Oregon.
“Now he whines about being ‘misunderstood.’ “He has in no way demonstrated he is (1) qualified to serve Oregonians in D.C. or (2) trustworthy. A lack of transparency, for me, clearly makes a candidate unworthy of my vote—and my trust. Over and above a complete lack of experience.”
Uhoh Hotdog, via wweek.com: “WW is just mad the guy wouldn’t genuflect to their interview request. Not that WW is even distributed across the district in question. They are saying, without any evidence to back it up, that he will be subservient to his funder. What a wretched excuse for journalism.”
EastsideActivities, via wweek.com: “Can you imagine using your last question to go on about how self-sacrificial you are instead of how you want to serve the Oregonians of the 6th District? All this money, and he doesn’t seem to have had even the most basic messaging training. Which means he just doesn’t care as much as he insists. ‘I don’t like campaign finance’—that’s like saying, “I don’t like environmental.” It just doesn’t have even a rhetorical meaning. Taking big money, fine, it’s a long tradition enjoyed by both sides. But to not even dial in a platform? It’s just insulting to his would-be constituents.”
LETTERS to the editor must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. Letters must be 250 or fewer words. Submit to: PO Box 10770, Portland OR, 97296 Email: mzusman@wweek.com
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