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missmorior · 5 years

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i was going somewhere with this fic and then totally forgot so here we are

\(ó wò)/

They weren’t the first to molt, and they thanked every star in the sky and every single higher being there was that they didn’t have to go through the terror of wondering what in the world was happening to them. That being said, it was still rightfully worrying when pieces of their shell began to crack and slough off. Knight tried their best to continue through it, to not let the odd time get them down. They had the sparring group to teach! They couldn’t let their siblings down when there were so many counting on them! Even if it was just one, they’d surely show! No one would be let down! It just..

The misshapen vessel huffed and gasped as they balanced themself with their nail, one leg buckled and refusing to work properly. The void within their shell felt restless, and it was leaking even more heavily from their broken horn than usual. Still they had to press forward! They were no more than a few paths away from the sparring ring, and surely their siblings would be just.. Just terribly disappointed if they didn’t show! Knight drew in a hissed breath and hobbled forward another step. Two, three- before their other leg buckled and they fell with a yelp. Their nail clattered away out of reach and oh no.. Mittens would be so very upset if they’d lost the nail she’d crafted for their practice. They promised to test it out!

That was how their siblings who rushed over found them, a trail of void behind them as they struggled to drag themself over to their dropped nail. Rook was the loudest of all, with the big one’s thunderous voidspeech ringing in their head with all the disappointment and worry fitting an elder clutchmate. “Rook- Rook quieter- ohhh my head…” They were scooped up in a familiar embrace as their elder sibling lifted them with the same ease as when they were newly hatched. They felt a lot like a hatchling if they were honest. Every joint ached and they felt restless but so very, very tired. Would.. Would Soul help? Oh why couldn’t they just focus a little more on the conversation around them? Surely their other siblings would know how best to deal with this. They sagged in Rook’s hold and let out a ragged sigh, letting the comfort lull them into a peaceful doze.

Only when the feeling of being lowered into a hot spring registered in their mind did they start paying attention again. Oh.. Right. Right, this had been created once the others had begun to molt and some had had a terrible time of it. The heat leeched right into their aching joints and felt like what they’d imagined heaven must. They’d have to get to work scrubbing off all the loose parts of their shell soon, already they could see new patches of white pseudo-armor peeking through the dull gray of the old shell, but.. For now they would rest. Rook wouldn’t let anything happen.

“Ah! The nail- from Mittens! Is it-?!” **Taken care of. Like you need to be, now rest.** “But-“ **Knight.** “Ohhhhhh… Fine.”

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

When her first molt hit it hadn’t been ideal. Then again molting was never truly ideal despite the necessity of it. It was just so messy! So.. Unsightly. As soon as shell began flaking she had to go through the process of removing her circlet and ensuring her clutch would keep away any prying eyes. The ones who had the sense to be discreet of course. Rook? Excellent at it. Knight? They lived to serve. Bishop and Rex? Not on her life would she ever tell those two! Pawn? … Eugh, probably out prodding at dead things or getting themself all dusty in the Archives again. Of course by now her routine was perfect! Just as she strove for, perfection in all things. The picture of poise as she let the two know she would be on her own and not to let anyone find her for the next day. She gathered only a silken satchel of what she knew she’d need most, and kept her head high as she retreated to a thorny part of the garden that only those able to fly could cross.

It was a tricky little path, discovered her second molt, but it led to a lovely clearing where light trickled down from above and there was plenty of space to sprawl out in.. In frankly an undignified manner to let her wings dry once they grew to a new size as well. Void made them dull and heavy right now, that was the worst part of the whole trip. Instead of gracefully flitting through the air, she had to hop from one clear patch to another, catching her breath as her wings sagged painfully behind her. Reine would’ve frowned if she could, but settled for stomping as she crossed the final threshold to her haven. Royalty never appeared anything less than untouchable! Unfazed! Elegant and poised even in the face of such adversity as a molt. She… Well, she could excuse this one failing of hers.

Through the tightly wound brambles was a small circular clearing, filled with creature comforts Reine had spirited away in the late hours to make sure she’d be as comfortable as possible while she dealt with a molt. Namely a massive pile of pillows that was stacked beneath a wide petaled flower, the name of which she never learned but its petals were sturdy enough to perch on even now, and a sturdy chest full of snacks that wouldn’t go bad before she went through them all. Maybe one of those Soul producing statues would be nice to have in here too the more she thought on it, the extra boost would help with how horrid she looked.

The princess wasted no time trudging over and flopping face first into the pillow nest, letting her wings fall limply to either side of her. For right now, she wanted a nap. That’s how this would go and she knew it, she’d just… Get over all this in time as she always did.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Pawn had thought at first that it was them having accidentally stepped on something fragile and accidentally broken it. The crack they’d heard was sudden and sharp. Something delicate breaking. They shook themself and continued forward, not seeing any broken shards around their feet. They’d been out on a trip with their sister Relic to collect more objects of curiosity to study. The Archive was running low on things relating to the early rise of Hallownest and particularly that of the knight class that’d evolved among the aristocracy- truly a shame if you asked them! It was such a fascinating subject, noting how nail design changed and which bugs were in what echelon of society as time progressed. They themself counted as royalty despite how little they interacted with the court- and don’t even get them started on the earlier civilizations! The arcane eggs? Fascinating! They’d already begun to peel the layers off the one they’d collected prior to begin unraveling the mysteries held with-

Crack!

…Again. Was it something in their bag? Pawn quickly rummaged in their satchel of artifacts, carefully going over each one to ensure they weren’t damaged. No, not one of those. There was a shard of white something on the ground this time though. Weird… They picked it up and turned it over in their hands, studying how.. Strangely familiar it was. Shell? Why would there be a piece of a vessel’s shell here? It wasn’t Relic’s- they could see her plainly but a short distance away, tearing at the burial shroud of some peasant bug whose tomb she’d opened. Their own? There was no reason for that to even be a possibility. If they were molting they’d have surely felt something more and there was no reason for their shell to break off p-

C R A C K !

-ieces. There was no doubt where the cracking was coming from now, as they fell to their knees trembling while the lower half of their face cracked painfully deep. Too deep. Dangerously so. Worse than Knight’s horn- they would be leaking void. Should be. Weren’t they? This couldn’t be molting, it was nothing like any of the other siblings had gone through. They were far, far behind the other in that aspect yes but still this wasn’t- this shouldn’t be-

*Relic.. I think.. I think I need help.* She perked up as they called out, and something about her immediate reaction after told them this was far worse than they were initially intending. They needed to get out of the ruins. Now. If something was so wrong with them- if this weird crack wasn’t leaking void like a wound should- no, no their arms too now. They itched. Pawn’s wings fluttered anxiously behind them as they rubbed at the dull carapace. A molt? No but how? This couldn’t be- the others would go- they- oh their shell a c h e d. Relic growled at them to stay put, apparently having figured out what was happening before they had, and they did as told. It would be okay.. Right? This was just part of the process and- and once their carapace had hardened once more (finally taller, the one good thing about this disaster) and their shell did- whatever the blighted thing was doing, they’d go back to the gardens. Find Mim or Panacea or- or any of their other siblings skilled at healing. None of the adults. Too dangerous. Too likely to expose themself with their trembling fear at the situation. They’d be okay. They’d be fine. This was.. This was meant to happen- they weren’t failed. It’d be fine.

It’s all they could tell themself as they clung to their sister and trembled as the cracking continued.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

The vessel once known as Rex, now Harlequin, had heard of molting from their siblings before they’d left to fulfill their destiny with the Grimm Troupe. They’d seen what happened to their clutchmates, how their other siblings as well handled it. It seemed… Like it was really something awful to deal with. They adored napping and having an excuse to lounge around and do nothing all day, but that was the point! All d a y. Once it was night time it was supposed to be fun! They wanted to be up and about! Especially now they’d connected with the Nightmare Heart they had more energy than ever and there was so, so much to do! Flames to collect, acts to try out, things to learn and- and- and-!

“Little one, you need to sit back down! If you keep bouncing all over the place you’ll be stuck bite-sized forever!"

Harlequin huffed, but sat back down as told by Divine. They had a comfortable pile of pillows in a tent they shared with the other initiates but still! It wasn’t fair! Their e v e r y t h i n g was so itchy and while there were stones to help with rubbing off the old, flaking parts of their carapace, it did nothing to help with the mix of void and flame within them. They were tired, like they wanted to do nothing but sleep for weeks and weeks but they also felt too big for their shell! They were just vibrating with energy and Divine had said it was supposed to go towards their body growing big and strong (like Flight? No, they probably wouldn't get that tall), but still! There was just so much! Practicing their magic would have been something easy but nooooooooo, that used Soul and they needed that.

Wasn’t even the worst part of it. Their fluffy collar, their most special thing that made them really really unique among their siblings, had completely shed itself over the past few hours. A pair of pillbug twins they’d befriended had given them a scarf to substitute for now, but they hoped it’d come back after the molt. They loved their ruff. Lots of troupe members had one too- even if it was just a projection of the Nightmare that they wrapped around themselves. It meant they belonged! Not really, but kind of! It meant they were special. That they were… They were supposed to be here. The vessel sighed, clutching the loose end of their borrowed scarf. It’d be okay… A soft chirr came from above them, and they hadn’t even noticed Divine had made her way over but they certainly appreciated her claw gently stroking their shell.

“It’ll be done soon and then you can go back to playing. You’ll be back to yourself in no time, fluff and all~” How did she-? “I pay attention of course! Now stop wriggling. Rest only!”

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Molting was stupid. It took too long and made them super sleepy. There were more important things to be doing! So what if they got all goopy afterwards and had to wait for their shell to harden again before it was ‘really definitely safe’ to be running around? Trouble count find them first and and THEN what good would it be, huh? Then they’d just be bored and unprepared for the unexpected! Besides, getting bigger wasn’t anywhere near as important as anyone made it seem. They like being little! They could get into all sorts of places while they’re little! They found all sorts of neat things in the places other, bigger siblings couldn’t get to and heard all the best gossip there! Growing up and getting big? So not worth it.

Like that little corner of the gardens where you had to wiggle through a gap between some walls, and then climb up the flowers to get to this ledge. It was suuuuuuper complicated but if you were little, then you could do it! If they got big? They’d lose their super duper favorite spot to watch the glowy flowers all light up across the garden at night!

Bishop flailed their limbs angrily, still too weak from having molted to be able to get up out of bed but certainly not too weak to not show their frustration. They’d already tried. Rook had picked them up and put them back.

Stupid Rook. Caring too much. It made them feel bad because Rook would get all worried and fussy and then the bigger vessel wouldn’t leave their side because said dummy thought that it was dangerous to try to run around while goopy. Now who was gonna go with Mini and do crime things? They were supposed to go do- some sort of crime thing. Crime things were fun. They didn’t really get why the stuff was really considered crime but whatever, it meant they got to go poke around in the back of Lummi’s shop and see if he had pretty new lifeblood flowers! Or! Or! New strings of- of- Reine was so snooty about what the crystals were that she helped string together for their cloak.. Whatever, it was pretty and looked like caramel and it was nice.

…dang it. Now they just wanted to get up again.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

There wasn’t anything that had them worried about molting. It was going to happen eventually, and they would have to rest when the time came, until they were fully recovered and ready to return to life as normal. The large vessel knew this, accepted it, and continued on with their life. While their clutch mates all agonized over the process, Pawn especially being distraught over Bishop having grown taller than them, Rook found it to be no more concerning than them needing to maintain their shield or having to water their bonsai. It was simply showing that time was passing, and the world was continuing to change.

When the time came, they made sure to let the younger vessels they’d been teaching in the ‘Fight Club’ know that they wouldn’t be able to teach for a day or two, and then wandered to go back to their place among their little garden.

They didn’t consider it hiding, like their sister would do for her molts, as they were in a very obvious place that they could often be found in. Nor were they trying to protect themself like some of the more nervous siblings did. They merely wanted something to keep themself busy while they wouldn’t be able to move as quickly as usual. Their shell felt itchy at first, and it was expected; feeling like their everything was a size too small. Rook took a deep breath in, and sat quietly. Accepted that this meant they were going to change. And breathed out.

#mori writes #qmau #will i ever get a proper tag for my kids?#maybe one day

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blastthechaos · 5 years

Text

Nonexistent - Prologue

>Start Game

New Game >Load Game

>Lincoln Loud

Play Time: 11 years

Last Saved: 5/11/2016

Game Progress: 1%

Life Progress: 5%

Level: 0

Loading...ERROR

Data corrupted

>Lincoln

PLay Time:

Last Saved:

Game Progress:

LIfe Progress:

Level:

Still wanna load?

>Yes No

Game loaded...

In a forest close to royal woods, animals were running around going on with their normal life.

a small white rabbit was going around his business before going back to his home with his family, but then he spotted something, a glowing light.

The rabbit got curious and decided to get close to it.

Lincoln woke up in a hospital bed.

He didn’t remember why exactly he was there, he had vague memories of what happened before, but he still retained his memories, so he guessed it was the event that brough him here that are absent.

The young albino looked around confused by his surroundings, mainly because...everything seemed negative now.

Literally, everything was like it was put through a negative filter.

Everything looked still, as if time itself stopped, no sound or anything, even the rain from outside looked completely still.

Then everything flickered for a bit before returning to normal.

Then he felt a sudden tiredness go through his whole body and a sharp pain through his head, he clutched it with his hand...and was shocked when it was photo negative for a bit before returning to normal.

“Wha?” Was the only response he could muster.

Nothing happened again for a bit, so he decided to ignore it, maybe he was hallucinating...he hoped, though maybe that’s worse...who knows really?

He continued to lay in the bed, he was recovering a bit for headache he received, plus he waited for someone to arrive and explain to him what happened.

He wondered if his family was here, worried about him.

Suddenly a doctor came to the room.

He looked surprised.

“You’re awake” Said the doctor eyeing him.

Lincoln was a bit uncomfortable by this, but shrugged it off.

“Yeah, how long was i out?”

“Well, for some hours”

“That’s good, at least i wasn’t knocked out for a very long time”

“Hn, so it’s everything ok?”

“Besides some headaches, yeah i’m fine”

“Well, we are gonna do you some check ups and then we allow you to go”

“Kay thanks”

“Just one question”

“Yah”

“Who are you?”

Lincoln was weirded out by that, he guessed it could be understandable the doctor may not know who he was, but he guessed his family...or whoever may sended him there, filled the people on who he was.

“Lincoln Loud, why?”

The doctor raised an eyebrow

“Loud eh? That's weird”

“Weird why?”

“Because the people who sended you here were also loud, yet they told me they don't know who you are or where are you from”

…

Lincoln ran a million of ways to make sense out of the situation.

Was he talking of different people? Did there was another family with the loud last name? Was this a prank?

If this was his family, why would they play a prank like this? Did everyone suddenly gained Luan's sense of humor in her worst days?

He kinda felt it was his family, since the latest memories before waking him in the hospital was with them.

Maybe the doctor was wrong and playing a prank?

He just didn't get it

“Excuse me? Where those people a family of mostly girls with blondes and brunettes with a black haired one”

“Yeah, that was them”

…

Maybe what happened earlier wasn't an hallucination, maybe it had something to do with what was going on right now.

“emmm...ok, I think there might be a misunderstanding or i'm worse than I thought, but I’m part of that family, like, the only son”

“They didn’t mention anything about a son”

“Ok ok” Lincoln was smiling, but it was clear that he looked like he was about to go into a mental breakdown.

“Maybe whatever happened to me affected me more than i thought, i guess, yeah that be it, haha” He was nervous at this point.

He should probably go see his family to make things clear, but he didn’t want to arise suspictions to the doctor.

“So how long will those checks up take?”

“Perhaps a few hours, maybe more, do you have an adult that takes care of you?”

Lincoln had to lie, since whatever it’s going on with his family means there’s a chance they deny being related to him.

“Eh, no”

The doctor gave him a look.

“So you been alone? You don’t look like it”

“Appearances can be deceiving”

The doctor thought about it for a second before seemingly accepting it.

The check ups took some while, since for some reason everything turned photo negative a few times and time slowed down or flat out stopped, then Lincoln would feel tired afterwards, he also had to lie a few times during it to avoid making people in the hospital think he’s crazy.

After leaving, Lincoln gave a good look at himself, the clothes (which are is usual outfit) are a little charred and thorn in places, he should probably find something new to wear soon, he suddenly got the urge of making a change of outfit, for some reason.

He tried wracking his brain to try and remember more about the incident that led him into the hospital.

The last thing he remembered was Lisa and...something.

“Figures she had something to do with this”

He looked at his surroundings and did a few stretchs.

“Well, time to find out what’s going on”

Select a difficulty

-Wanna go for a walk in the park? (Easy)

>-Lincoln's usual life (Normal)

-Strode through hell (Hard) may change stuff in the story and game

HUB:Royal Woods

Now were at the first hub world and what you could call the tutorial level.

Lincoln can move left and right, crouch and look up with the analog stick/D pad depending on your preference, can jump although not very far with the jump button (A/X), throw a two hit combo with the physical attack (spoiler) button (X/SQUARE), block with the block button (R2/RT), accelerate with the dash/boost button (L1/LB), taunt by pressing the analog stick and use items/weapons with the object button (Y/TRIANGLE).

This isn’t all he can do but were getting ahead of ourselves.

At the start you go around exploring Royal Woods, talking to the people who always give you responses in the likes of:

“Who are you? I never see you around here and i’m sure I remember seeing some of your hair color”

“Leave kiddo, i don’t know your game but I can assure you I never saw you in your entire life”

“Never heard of you”

“Nope, haven’t seen you around until now, then again you’re probably such a loser from just looking at you i’ll probably don’t even bother to remember you”

And so and so forth.

This causes Lincoln to panic a bit, as his sprite changes to a more distressed one, though not full out there.

As you check around Royal Woods, you’ll notice some particular structures that can while you can’t do anything with it, they look and feel like they could be interacted with it, if you do Lincoln will react like this.

“...I check this later after i sort this out”

Afterwards you continue to wander around Royal Woods, eventually you’re gonna come to another section of this hub:Franklin Avenue.

Once there you’ll eventually arrive at the loud house.

Lincoln walked into the loud house visibly shaken, at the start he had a hard time believing it but now after having talked to people it just furthered his fears that everyone had forgotten him, still, he needed to see if his family remembered him.

He knocked on the door, he did it a bit hard since the ruckus from inside make it hard to listen to.

He patiently waited until someone opened the door.

It was his sister Lori.

“Hi” He said.

The way she looked him all but confirmed his fears, it wasn’t the look you give to family, even the ones you’re annoyed with.

It was the look you give some stranger you don’t want to deal with.

“Hi...eh, who are you? Never see you around here” She said while eyeing him.

...You could listen to Lincoln’s heart rate going at 700 MPH

“I am...Lincoln, just Lincoln, I was wondering if you had a brother?”

“...No, i don’t have a brother and never had, this family doesn’t have a boy”

...And now you can listen to Lincoln’s heart shattering in a billion pieces.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah I am, why do you care anyways? You weirdo”

“No, no, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, i kinda made a mistake, I’m sorry, I’ll take my leave”

“Yeah, whatever, bye” She closed the door.

…

With no idea of what to do now, Lincoln wanders off.

Meanwhile at the loud house.

“Hey Lori, who was that?” Asked Luna.

“Just some nobody,it’s not big deal”

Level:Royal Woods Forest

At this point it’s dark and still a little rainy, Lincoln is there wandering around with a...defeated look on his face.

“What I’m gonna do now?...Thanks a lot Lisa” He mutters.

“Then again, i’m the idiot who said yes to her...what did she do anyways? I think it had something to do with a machine”

Then he spotted a glowing light on the forest.

“What’s that?”

Then you gotta go check it out.

This is a small stroll, nothing important but just walk forward.

When you arrive you notice that what looks like a energy ball is causing this light.

Lincoln stared at it.

“Should i touch it? What if something bad happens...then again, it’s not like I have stuff to lose anyways”

Once you get close to it you’re given the option to interact with it, once yo do, this happens.

The glowing ball of light rises up and immediately goes inside of Lincoln, making him scream in agony as he becomes a glowing yellow light that soon turns orange.

Then the shining stops and that leaves Lincoln who falls unconscious to the ground, though his white hair now has orange stripes on it.

Now my friend, is when the game starts.

Game Saved...

Lincoln taunts as normal:

"Moron"

"Come and get me"

"What? Scared?"

"Want a piece of me?"

Lincoln idle animations as normal:

Crosses his arms and taps his foot annoyed.

Points to his wrist as if there was a watch there condescendingly.

Starts dancing a little.

Falls asleep while standing up.

Lays on the ground while trying not to fall asleep.

Looks around and up outta boredom.

Stretches a little.

Yawns.

#The Loud House #TLH #Loud House #Lincoln Loud #Superhero AU #Nonexistent #Fanfic #Fanfiction #TLH Fanfiction #AU

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adambstingus · 7 years

Text

Jeff Merkley isn’t on the 2020 radar — and that might be part of the plan

Portland, Oregon (CNN)He sat in a German brewpub in Southeast Portland for more than an hour without being recognized.

Wearing Levi’s, boots, and a light-blue dress shirt, he ate a Reuben sandwich and chatted up the waitress. While looking at the menu, he quipped that it was “criminal” to use words like “notes” as in “lovely banana-fruity notes” in the beer descriptions.

It wasn’t until the waitress ran his credit card and brought back the check that she realized she’d been serving one of Oregon’s two US senators.

“Sen. Merkley, oh my gosh,” she said, as she handed him his receipt. “I’m star struck. I didn’t have context for your face. I’m so proud that you represent us.”

Jeff Merkley, the soft-spoken Democrat, has a way of sneaking up on people, both in casual settings and more formally in his political career. He may not be the most bombastic personality in the room, but he’s managed to maneuver his way from a blue-collar neighborhood in Portland where he still lives to the Oregon House to the US Senate, without losing a race.

And as 2020 approaches, he might be quietly mounting a bid to run for president in what will likely be a crowded Democratic primary.

“If Jeff doesn’t feel that there is a strong progressive voice in the race, it would motivate him to get in,” said a source close to the senator. “He’s committed to making sure Democrats have a progressive choice.”

Merkley, 60, has seen his profile rise in the past year, in part because he was the only senator to endorse Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary, but also because of his biting attacks against President Donald Trump.

How realistic are Sanders’ promises? Supporter Sen. Merkley responds

He’s not up for re-election until 2020, and he plans to hit the trail for colleagues fighting to keep their seats in the midterm elections, a move that will further raise his name recognition.

Asked at the brewpub if he was interested in a presidential bid, the senator said his mind is “completely in the 2018 battle” but acknowledged a lot of Democrats will be angling to take on Trump. He alluded to the old joke that every senator wakes up in the morning and sees a future president in the mirror.

“Right now, every elected Democrat in the nation knows they’d be a better president than Donald Trump,” he said.

“And I’m not just talking the House and the Senate, I’m talking every city council member, mayor, and county commissioner knows that they would be a better president,” he continued. “So I’m sure we’ll have many people sharing their thoughts and considering participating in the effort to make sure Donald Trump’s damage to this country is limited to this four year period.”

Merkley having a moment

Indeed, the progressive lane alone could have some stiff competition. Potential contenders include Sanders again, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota — three household names in Democratic politics and three of Merkley’s good friends in the Senate.

Merkley has neither the charisma nor the attention-grabbing flare of any of them, but one Democratic Senate aide argued voters may be looking for a softer style in 2020. “After four years of Trump, that could be a huge asset.”

The senator, now in his second-term, has been actively working with progressive groups and building a reputation as a leading voice in the grassroots movement.

“I would say he has a rising national profile,” said Sarah Badawi, co-leader of legislative affairs work with the Warren-aligned Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “Obviously, he’s well-known on the West Coast, but whenever something is happening on a progressive issue, Jeff Merkley is not far behind. People are recognizing that and more and more are coming to see him as a leading champion on the Hill.”

Badawi described him as being “at the tip of the spear” when it comes to progressive rallying cries like the public option in the health care debate, debt-free college, and the expansion of social security benefits.

Merkley was one of several Democrats who spoke last month at a daylong event hosted by the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, which was widely seen as the first big cattle call for the 2020 Democratic primary.

Standing out among Trump critics

He made national headlines when he launched a 15-hour plus talkathon on the Senate floor against the nomination of Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court earlier this year, something he joked was “more uncomfortable” than the Ironman triathlon he completed last year.

Senator: SCOTUS nominee is far extreme right

Also on the Senate floor, he got national attention when he backed up Warren in February after she was censured for reading a 1986 letter from Coretta Scott King against the then-nomination of Jeff Sessions to a federal court. In support of Warren, Merkley came to the floor that night to read the same letter.

Despite his gentle demeanor, he’s become one of the fiercest critics of Trump and his administration in the Senate, particularly when it comes to anything related to White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, whom Merkley early on labeled a “white supremacist.”

And after the stabbings in May of three men — two fatally — who came to the defense of a pair of African-American teenage girls on a light-rail train in Portland, Merkley told CNN he felt Trump was responsible for a larger wave of violence and hate crimes in the country.

He voted “no” against 18 of 22 Trump Cabinet and other top administration nominees, tying with Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California. The only senators who voted against more nominees were Warren, Sanders and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York.

And the left-leaning magazine The Nation named him “the most valuable senator” in its 2016 Progressive Honor Roll, calling him an “essential opposition leader” who “knows how the Senate works and pulls no punches when it comes to taking on racism, sexism, economic inequality, climate change, and Trumpism.”

A history of long shots

Jeff Mapes, a senior political reporter for Oregon Public Broadcasting, noted that even though Merkley lacks charisma, the senator has a long history of defying expectations.

“The guy does have a lot of ambition, and he is somebody who is willing to take long shots,” said Mapes, who has covered Merkley for years.

Merkley was born in Myrtle Creek, Oregon, where his father worked as a mechanic at a lumber mill. The first in his family to attend college, he muses that he ended up at Stanford almost by “pure accident,” saying he applied to elite schools at the last minute simply because his vice principal gave him the names of schools and told him apply.

“So I showed up on Stanford’s campus not knowing a damn thing about the school,” he said.

He went on to get a graduate degree at Princeton and got a job as an analyst at the Pentagon and in the Congressional Budget Office. He then returned to Oregon to head up the Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Portland and also served as president of the World Affairs Council there.

In 1998, he ran for the Oregon House of Representatives. An article in Portland Monthly describes Merkley’s state house bid as an unlikely endeavor, with no staff or polling in a crowded four-way primary. Merkley, the article said, would jog from house to house, asking people to put his campaign sign in their yards since political signs were banned on bigger streets, even though his opponents didn’t follow those rules.

Merkley won.

During his next four terms in the Oregon House, he would work to help Democrats win the majority. They found victory in that pursuit in 2006, and soon after that, Merkley became Speaker.

Boosted by his political wins, Merkley set his eyes on another challenge and successfully unseated Republican Gordon Smith from the US Senate in 2008.

“His history is being willing to take gambles like that,” Mapes said.

His time as senator

Since being in the Senate, Merkley has risen to a low-level leadership position as chief deputy whip in the Democratic caucus. He sits on four committees: Budget, Appropriations, Foreign Relations, and Environment and Public Works.

Democratic leadership aides describe Merkley as a smart, under-the-radar senator who has his pulse on the grassroots movement. “He’s quiet but doesn’t have to be loud to make his point heard,” one top Democratic aide said.

Frustrated by Republican obstructionism when Democrats held control of the Senate, Merkley became a big backer of filibuster reform, calling to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to advance legislation and nominees. He also wanted to restore the tradition of a talking filibuster, where senators had to literally stand on the floor and keep talking to hold up key votes. Merkley did however blast Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s recent move to remove the 60-vote threshold for Supreme Court nominees as a “dark deed,” which led critics to accuse him of hypocrisy.

Legislatively, Merkley also put himself on the map with his push to get breastfeeding rights included in Obamacare, and he’s continued to introduce legislation to expand those rights to cover salaried workers. That initiative mimics a law he got passed in Oregon in 2007.

He authored provisions against predatory mortgages in the Dodd-Frank bill, and was active on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which the Senate passed in 2013 when Democrats still had control of the Congress; the legislation prohibited employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Furthermore, Merkley is adamant about legislation he co-introduced that would aim for 100% renewable energy use by 2050 to fight climate change.

A day in Portland

Merkley might seem tranquil in comparison to some larger-than-life politicians, but he’s nonetheless engaged and smiles often — as exemplified during a recent day he spent in his home state.

He answered one question about his record for 17 minutes at the brewpub, growing more animated as time went on and speaking loud enough to drown out Lionel Richie’s “Don’t Stop,” which was playing in the background.

While on tours of a vinyl record factory and a knife factory in the Portland area, he was inquisitive, asking detailed questions about the products and recalling his own time working in a factory as a young man.

He next spoke to a group of locally elected officials sitting in a circle of chairs. Hunched over in his seat, he offered assurances that Trump’s budget, which had just been announced days earlier, wouldn’t end up as “dramatic” as proposed and spoke as fluently about questions over public lands and timber issues as he did about appropriations.

At a town hall in Clackamas, Oregon, he fielded questions from constituents for an hour, then spent another 45 minutes talking one-on-one with people afterward.

One Washington-based Democratic strategist, who asked not to be named in order to speak freely, argued it’s going to be a challenge for Merkley to turn up the heat if he runs for president, noting the range of other potential contenders includes some who have celebrity status like Sen. Cory Booker or billionaire Mark Cuban.

“You’re going to have to have a really loud voice to cut through a crowded field,” the strategist said.

What he lacks in volume, however, could be made up for with his blue collar appeal, his supporters argue.

“When I think about Jeff, I think of someone who has a unique ability to channel a lot of what Bernie Sanders’ supporters are looking for in a candidate, while also having a unique ability to speak to Trump supporters, as well,” said a former Merkley staffer, who also asked not to be named. “He doesn’t have to fake it to speak to the concerns of working class voters, because that’s who he is.”

Blythe Nordbye, a voter who attended Merkley’s town hall, was intrigued at the idea when asked how she felt about a potential Merkley White House bid. “I’d have to think about that,” she said as she began to seemingly think out loud. “He’s got experience. He’s got good principles. He doesn’t represent money, he represents people.”

Still, voters at the town hall were quick to point out that it’s very early to start talking about possible 2020 candidates.

“I hesitate to start floating names,” said Margy Lowe of Rhododendron, Oregon. “They become lightning rods.”

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/2017/09/18/jeff-merkley-isnt-on-the-2020-radar-and-that-might-be-part-of-the-plan/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/165461217432

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jimdsmith34 · 7 years