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Pals of Palin

Central Oregon's smallest precinct is rural and conservative

By Lily Raff / The Bulletin

Published: September 14. 2008 4:00AM PST

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of profiles of voter precincts throughout Central Oregon.

BROTHERS —

Residents of this small ranching community lined up squarely behind the Republican Party ticket in 2004, voting 19-0 for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

A lot has changed in four years.

This year, Deschutes County’s least-populated voter precinct is expected to cast another batch of votes for Republicans. But it won’t be a shutout. And don’t mistake those GOP votes for enthusiasm about John McCain.

This is Sarah Palin country.

Republican nominee McCain shocked national pundits when he tapped Palin — a moose-hunting former beauty queen who served as mayor of a town of 9,000 until being elected governor of Alaska less than two years ago — as his running mate.

But some Brothers residents don’t mind Palin’s inexperience. They say Palin is like them — tough, conservative and in tune with rural life.

“Until Mrs. Palin got in, there was no one who represented us,” said Patricia Martin, 52, who raises goats for meat on a rented expanse of desert near Brothers.

Precinct 23 is one of 52 geographic precincts in Deschutes County, the sagebrush-studded toe of the county’s boot. It has just 27 registered voters. Six of those voters are currently registered with the Democratic Party. But the last time a Democrat won this precinct was in 1976, when Jimmy Carter beat Gerald Ford, 10 votes to 9.

Cattle ranching is the primary occupation here. Temperatures reach the high 90s in the beating summer sun, then drop into the negative teens in the clear winter nights.

“If you don’t like the wind, you don’t want to live here,” Martin said. “If you don’t like the sand, you don’t want to live here.”

When an out-of-town relative said the air in Brothers is clean and crisp, Martin quipped, “Yeah, it’s because there’s no politics out here!”

Brothers residents said they talk to their neighbors about the weather and cattle prices. And when conversations do turn political, talk centers on Palin.

Martin, who is not affiliated with a political party, can’t help but smile when she hear’s the vice presidential candidate’s name.

“I love that thing she said about the pit bull and lipstick,” Martin said with a grin, referring to a joke Palin made in her speech at the Republican National Convention.

But Palin is not enough to make Martin overlook the seasoned politician on top of the Republican ticket.

“I haven’t paid attention to one dang thing on the TV because I have no intention of voting for either one of them,” Martin said of Obama and McCain.

Martin cast a ballot for Bush four years ago. This year, she plans to abstain from voting. Martin said she is tired of candidates slinging insults and accusations back and forth. When McCain or Obama appear on the television, she walks out of the room.

“Politicians, they are so focused on, ‘I’m gonna get you before you get me,’” she said.

Stephen Roth, a Republican, said he will vote for McCain and Palin because he wants more offshore oil drilling.

“Basically, Sarah Palin said ‘drill now,’ and that’s what I wanted to hear,” he said.

Roth is a farmer who raises cattle and grows alfalfa hay. He worries that Obama, if elected, might raise his taxes. Roth opposes abortion. And he opposes ethanol subsidies because they encourage farmers to grow fuel instead of food, driving up grocery prices.

“Both (candidates) say they want green, alternative energy. I’m for alternative energy, I’m just not for ethanol,” Roth said.

Russell Smith has lived in Brothers for two years but grew up in Dale, another tiny town in Eastern Oregon.

“I’ve been rural all my life,” he said.

Smith, who is not affiliated with a political party, said he’s waiting to hear more from both candidates before he decides how to vote. But right now he’s leaning toward Obama.

“It’s sad because I love her, too,” he said of Palin. “I’m a hunter and I’ve spent a lot of time in Alaska so I do like her background. But I’d like to hear more about her. … I’m really interested in her but she hasn’t said anything different since day one.”

Smith, an Oregon Department of Transportation employee, said he is particularly concerned about transportation infrastructure. He’s looking for a candidate with plans to improve the nation’s roads and bridges. So far, he said, Obama has spent more time talking about the issue.

“I’m not really a political individual, per se. Basically the person who speaks the best and talks about what I’d like to hear is how I favor it myself.”

Hettie Woodruff, a Republican, moved to Brothers three years ago to escape Bend’s high rent prices. She is unemployed, although she helps out at the only store in Brothers when the owners take a day off. She has no health insurance.

Woodruff isn’t thrilled with McCain but will vote for him because “he picked a good vice presidential candidate,” she said with a laugh.

Woodruff said she hopes the next president will work to lower gas prices, reduce unemployment and, most importantly, improve access to health care.

It costs a lot of money to fill up the tank to drive to Bend or Prineville for a doctor’s appointment. And it’s way too expensive, she said, to pay for those appointments out of pocket.

Rick Gorka, a Henderson, Nev.-based spokesman for the McCain campaign, said McCain plans to help offset health care costs by offering a direct refundable tax credit of up to $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families who pay for their own health insurance.

“That’s just like cash … and they get to choose the insurance provider that’s best for them,” Gorka said of the tax credit.

Sahar Wali, a Portland-based spokeswoman for the Obama campaign, said Obama plans to offer a national health insurance plan to every American who wants it. The monthly premium will depend on what each person or family can afford to pay.

“He would give every American access to affordable health care,” the spokeswoman said.

And as part of a larger plan to assist rural communities, Obama will help attract doctors and nurses to rural areas by offering a loan forgiveness program to health care providers who choose to work in underserved areas, Wali said.

“I think they both have a good plan,” Woodruff said of the candidates. “It’s how they implement it when they’re in office.”

Lily Raff can be reached at 541-617-7836 or lraff@bendbulletin.com.

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