Nick Kristof is screwing up.

Nick Kristof, the NY Times columnist, is making an amateur mistake.

I offer him advice he sorely needs: make some enemies.

Nick Kristof is a celebrity, at least among the people who read the New York Times and watch the serious Sunday shows on TV. He is famous, and I am not. Nevertheless I am going give campaign advice. Stop talking nice-nice mush. Stand for something. 

For Oregon. For what, specifically?

Kristof has a shot at being governor because there is a lot of restless feeling that we need a change. Portland is the epicenter of liberal protests and even Democrats are tired of it. The homeless encampments on sidewalks and median strips are miserable for the homeless and it degrades civic life for everyone. Outside the metro area, people feel the current Democratic administration is tone deaf and Portland-centric. A fresh face outsider is the best path to the governor’s office.

Message To Nick Kristof: 

Nick, you are new at this. I realize fully that your instinct is to say things people agree with. Point out obvious problems and say you are one of us. It is what you are doing now. Stop. You are also proving to people that you are a writer, not a governor.

Kristof sends me fundraising letters. I am a prime prospect. I am on the list of donors to Democratic candidates and I subscribe to the NY Times. I see what he says. He reminds me again today that he grew up in rural Oregon and that he loves the state. 

Peter, I’m running for governor for the same reason I became a journalist:

To turn the world’s attention to the most critical issues of our time, while doing everything I could to help the people I encountered during my work.  

And this, in an email earlier this week:

Parents with children struggling with homelessness because of an unfair system.

Families kicked out of their homes because our government has left them behind.

Disillusioned voters who desperately want leadership to do better.

Peter, I’m always going to be a listener. It’s who I am.

Mush, mush, mush. Worthless. Don't say we need a leader. Be the leader. I will leave to Kristof's intelligence and conscience to present his own policy ideas, but I will give examples of what would put Kristof on the map as a person willing to try solutions, not as a sensitive observer.

Example: Say that misery in timber country has taken place because forest environmentalists have erred in focusing on over-harvesting and not on fires. Say we need to cut way more trees. This would surely disappoint some people but would thrill others. The objections by some environmentalist are an essential feature, not a bug. Let them slam you, Nick. You can talk about timber-town despair, about the unhealthy smoke, and the CO2 from forest fires. Your opponents will say you are a timber beast. You can respond you care about both jobs and climate. You will win some and lose some. You will get your 40% of the Democratic vote, more than enough to win the primary. In the general election downstate timber towns will like what you say, and maybe you won't lose four to one the way Democrats do now.

Example: Say you want to buy Lloyds Center and turn it into a massive homeless shelter. Say you will clear the streets in 60 days. No more sleeping on public property. It is dangerous and unsanitary. Some people will object. What about the neighborhood impacts? Say you will concentrate police and social services attention right there. Some people will think, at last, a solution. Others will say it is cruel. You will say inaction is cruel. The criticism you would get is a feature. Dare to make some people angry and the public would realize you represent change, not dithering.  

Asking questions is safe. Try giving answers.

You don't like those two ideas? Fine. I did not expect unanimity. Your disagreement is a feature. See? Now you are engaged. At least now people would see a candidate for governor willing to break eggs for the omelet of a better Oregon. 

Nick, you can raise $100 million dollars and it won't get you elected if the money is spent telling people you have empathy. We know that. We want to know if you are a change agent. If you rouse up some opponents some Oregonians may think this Kristof guy is a Democrat willing to challenge some interest groups on left and right and get things done. That guy can win.

Be that guy, if you have it in you.