The saga of Herman Baertschiger’s transformation from Republican political folk hero to the embodiment of a full-blooded RINO (Republican In Name Only) is a sad chapter in Oregon’s Republican history.
Baertschiger was once hailed as a leader in the Oregon Senate, especially when he led three political walkouts by Oregon Republicans to deny a quorum to unwanted legislation. “The most recent walkout to prevent a vote on the policy known as cap and trade effectively ended the 2020 legislative session before any significant legislation could pass,” reported OPB on March 9, 2020.
In January 2021, Mr. Baertschiger was sworn in as a Josephine County Commissioner. By February, he was elected Vice-Chairman of the Oregon Republican Central Committee, alongside Dallas Heard, who was elected Chairman of the same committee on the same day.
It was a long and difficult year for Mr. Heard. Republican party morale was at an all-time low. Pressures from the Central Committee and disgruntled Republican voters took a heavy toll on Dallas’s health, but his vice-chair, Baertschiger, continued to support him. In March, after much soul-searching, Mr. Heard resigned as Chair of the Oregon Republican Central Committee.
On March 11, 2022, Herman Baertschiger took over the reins and began to address the party’s concerns. It had been a tumultuous year, and emotions were running high. Many insiders believed Baertschiger was the right man for the job and looked forward to his leadership in helping to “right” the ship. They were to be severely disappointed.
Herman served for just 116 days before announcing his resignation, effective July 5, 2022. After the expected “honored to have served” tributes, Herman ended his resignation with a rather odd statement: “I look forward to seeing you again as a Republican.” In light of his subsequent actions, it remains unclear what that meant.
On September 27, 2022, Herman publicly endorsed former Democrat Betsy Johnson for Governor of Oregon. Johnson had recently changed her voter registration to “independent” to run for Governor. When questioned about his endorsement—an endorsement seldom questioned—Herman claimed that “inside information” projected her to win. However, when the dust settled and the votes were counted, Betsy Johnson received only 8% of the vote. That is the kind of return typically seen from serial losers.
Of course, citizens can vote for whomever they choose. However, leaders of the State Republican Central Committee are elected to support Republican candidates. There is no reasoning that exempts them from that obligation. Even though he had just resigned as Chair, Baertschiger was not an unfettered voter. If anything, he was even more obligated to support the party, having witnessed the state-wide fallout under Dallas Heard and taken an oath to help heal the wounds and restore Republican leadership. Instead, he delivered a crushing blow to the party. His enormous lack of integrity was stupefying.
Nine days later, on October 6, 2022, the Oregon Republican Central Executive Committee held an emergency meeting and censured Herman Baertschiger. The censure read, in part: “He is removed as an Ex Officio member of the ORP Executive Committee and no longer has the privilege to attend meetings. Moving forward, the Oregon Republican Party will dissolve any connection whatsoever with Herman Baertschiger.”
That, folks, is the real story of Oregon’s most notorious R.I.N.O.
Author: Nils Randrup
