Anna Staver

Statesman Journal

The Oregon Family Council is condemning Paul Evans, the Democratic candidate for House District 20, for co-writing a novel it described as misogynistic.

"The glorification of sexual and physical violence and abuse of women is unacceptable in any form," council spokeswoman Teresa Harke said in a statement. "The horrific abuse in Paul Evans' novel is hurtful and sends the wrong message to the members of this community. Today, I ask the organizations supporting his candidacy to send the right message to the community by denouncing the despicable content in this book."

The book is called Springtime in Babylon. It tells the story of a civil war soldier named David Alexander who discovers he is destined to fight an army of demon vampires led by Judas Iscariot.

The activities of those vampires are described in explicit detail throughout the book and include violent sexual acts, rape, orgies, incest and murder.

The Statesman Journal obtained excerpts from the novel, which can be viewed here. (Please be aware these passages contain violent and sexually graphic content.)

"That Paul Evans finds sexual violence against women entertaining disturbs me," House Republican Leader Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, said in a statement. "Paul Evans owes the community an explanation for writing and publishing a novel that illustrates such horrific abuse of women."

In a written statement to the Statesman Journal, Evans called the attack a "desperate new low" for his Republican opponent Kathy Goss.

The two are competing in a close race for the seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Vicki Berger,R-Salem.

"I understand Kathy's campaign is desperate because of the public's reaction to her repeated incredibly extreme statements," Evans wrote. "But this is really pathetic, and is exactly why people hate politics."

The Monmouth Democrat addressed how the book was written, but he didn't respond to the council's concern about its violent and sexually explicit content in his statement.

Evans said, Springtime in Babylon was a group writing project for some of the troops Evans was stationed with in Iraq between 2003 and 2006.

"These were young men and women stationed in Iraq in the middle of a war zone, putting their lives on the line for their country," Evans said. "We needed a way to keep their minds occupied between attacks, and several of them wanted to try writing a book."

Paul Evans' full response:

"In a campaign defined by desperation, this is a desperate new low. Kathy Goss can't talk about the issues, because she's shown that she's completely out of touch with the voters of this district. Her views are so extreme that she can't even debate the issues in public.

This latest stunt from the Goss campaign is a complete distraction. I'll continue to focus on talking to the voters of HD20 about investing in our local classrooms and building an economy that works for women and working families.

I understand Kathy's campaign is desperate because of the public's reaction to her repeated incredibly extreme statements. But this is really pathetic, and is exactly why people hate politics. If Kathy and her backers want to talk about this, and opposing the minimum wage, and suggesting that President Obama would support imposing Sharia law in America, I guess that's her choice. But voters deserve better.

The book was basically a group writing project for some of the troops I was leading as a way of keeping them distracted in between mortar attacks. These were young men and women stationed in Iraq in the middle of a war zone, putting their lives on the line for their country. We needed a way to keep their minds occupied between attacks, and several of them wanted to try writing a book. By the way, the goal was always to donate the proceeds—if there were any—to the USO.

It's not a surprise to see these kinds of campaign tactics from an extreme right-wing group like Oregon Family Council, but let's be clear, this is par for the course from the entire Goss campaign. These are the kinds of tactics that we've seen all along, and unfortunately we can probably expect them to continue."

Excerpts from the book: (Warning: The excerpts contain violent and sexually graphic content)