R-G: Don't dismiss Steve Novick
Eugene's Register-Guard editorialized on Sunday about Democrats' work to secure a candidate to run against Senator Gordon Smith:
DeFazio's decision leaves the Democrats looking for a candidate. In the absence of some other big name, they shouldn't be too quick to dismiss the chances that Steve Novick, who filed to run last Wednesday, can mount a credible challenge to Smith. Novick has never held elective office, but he has a long and impressive record in the trenches of labor and progressive politics. Novick is well-prepared, by experience and temperament, to conduct an insurgent campaign with results that could surprise many Oregonians, including Smith.
Read the rest. Discuss.
Meanwhile, head on over to Steve Novick for U.S. Senate to learn more.
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April 23, 2007
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connect with blueoregon
1:39 p.m.
Apr 23, '07
It will be interesting to see if the Democratic establishment here in the state embraces a Novick candidacy. That will be instrumental in helping him introduce himself statewide. As the R-G piece notes, has a long and impressive record in the trenches of labor and progressive politics. He also has the intellect and policy understanding to handle the job. He also has the personality to engage people.
The question is, can their be enough of of a critical mass of early support to get him the resources to introduce himself to the larger electorate?
I have been willing to do my part and hope others join me in doing so. Does that mean I against someone like Earl getting into the ring? Absolutely not. But even if Earl doesn't decide to run, Novick is more than capable to be a good Senator, but also to take the fight to Smith. Either candiate would be heads above Smith in being a good Senator for Oregon.
1:42 p.m.
Apr 23, '07
Ugh.
Should read:
It is definitely Monday. (wry grin)
Apr 23, '07
Let's be honest here. Steve Novick is certainly a good soldier on our side, but we're talking about a race for the United States Senate. Candidates become seasoned by being candidates and no amount of work as an operative can prepare someone like Novick for being one. That'd be a consideration even if he were running for the legislature. He's talking about running on the biggest statewide stage in Oregon. Hell, there'd be no way to have a primary debate if Jefferson Smith got in because you wouldn't be able to fit both of their egos into the room.
Also, let's be honest about something else. Candidates are judged, for better or worse, by some very shallow factors. Gordon Smith is liked because he seems nice and is an attractive man. I don't care how self-depricating Novick is about his height and his hook, the voters of Oregon aren't going to elect a 4' 9" version of (albeit with hair) to be their US Senator. It's simply inconceivable...
Apr 23, '07
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
8:53 p.m.
Apr 23, '07
Steve Novick's candidacy will stand or fall not on his personal physique, but on whether his natural constituency (working people) steps up to support him. He's smart, charismatic, and fearless; works hard, embodies the iconic progressive values, has a fierce grasp of the issues, and makes people laugh.
We're not casting a soap opera Senator here - we're choosing which human being best represents us and our values.
Especially in a venue called "Blue Oregon," it's hard to understand all the naysaying.
Apr 23, '07
I didn't know much about Steve Novick until last week, but I have been impressed with what I've learned about him since. We are lucky to have him as a candidate in our primary.
Some people seem concerned that Novick would have a hard time beating Smith. If that's true, that's all the more reason we should be giving him our support. I see on that Novick has only had 13 contributions on ActBlue. If we all made even a small contribution, it would help get his campaign going.
We can dream about having a "better candidate" enter the race, but it doesn't seem to be happening. Let's help the person who is willing to run! As far as I am concerned, the "better candidate" is the one that doesn't have to be cajoled to run.
Reguarding Novick's physical appearance, I am confident that Oregonians are sophisticated enough to overlook physical appearance when choosing a senator.
Apr 24, '07
Nobody knows who Steve Novick is. Everybody knows who Gordon Smith is. If a Democrat is going to beat Smith - it needs to be someone with a lot more name recognition.
6:50 a.m.
Apr 24, '07
someone with a lot more name recognition.
Are you being ironic, Frank, after having appropriated my name?
I would really appreciate you using something a little less generic than "Frank" so's I can feel comfortable people do not think you are me, and your opinions mine. Fair enough?
Nobody knows who Steve Novick is.
Nobody knew who Obama was, either. Things change. And not having a l-o-n-g record of "public service" can be an advantage, as unfair as that may be.
Apr 24, '07
The name is Inigo Montoya, not Indigo - and inconceivable sounds pretty dead on in this case.
Let's face it if people with name recognition couldn't beat Smith in the past then somebody with little experience will find this race impossible.
I think Americans in general may be waking up to the fact that electing politicians who don't have experience is a bad idea. How will we make that point in this state if our candidate doesn't have experience to point to in their list of qualifications for the job.
I know from personal experience talking to Oregonians in Washington County, they care a LOT about experience. Just because we know that Smith has a poor voting record doesn't mean that the average Oregonian hasn't been getting just enough information to believe that Smith has been standing up to the Bush Administration.
It doesn't matter that this is a crock, they will believe it unless we can point to somebody else who is better. We can't just give them any option we have to be the best option or we will not win. Now if the only alternative is somebody they have never heard of, who has no experience for us to point to, how can we convince them to vote for our candidate. My neighbors don't usually vote against people, they vote for people - so telling them who is bad does us absolutely no good.
In a Presidential Election year, I also find it inconceivable that Dems in this state are going to spend their resources on a long shot without recognition over other campaigns. It is hard enough to get volunteers for Oregon campaigns in a Presidential Election year, how do we get them to do it for somebody they don't know and/or care about.
9:56 a.m.
Apr 24, '07
I see on that Novick has only had 13 contributions on ActBlue
Actually, as of last night he had 72. The one you linked to is only one of the fundraising pages. To see all of the fundraising efforts combined, use this link.
It's been exciting watching the number of donations increase over the past several days.
And for disclosure... I only build the web site, I don't speak for the campaign.
9:57 a.m.
Apr 24, '07
I might phrase the challenge differently.
We have 18 months of lead time.
During that time, what can we do to engage and inform Oregon voters about a great candidate that they SHOULD know about?
Apr 24, '07
Thanks for the link, Jenni. I'm glad to see that I underestimated the number of donations.
Hopefully, we can see that number continue to grow.
I'm not sure why we are having a debate about Novick's prospects of beating Smith. It's not like we can force a candidate with a better chance of beating Smith to enter the race. We can sit around and lament DeFazio's decision to stay in the House, or we can take positive action to help Novick beat Smith. (By the way, such efforts don't necessarily trade off with efforts to retake the White House.)
I agree with Stephanie V. If you don't think Novick has the name recognition or funds to beat Smith, you have eighteen months to help fix that.
10:59 a.m.
Apr 24, '07
Not a problem. It's a link I check at least daily right now to see how things are going.
I do get tired of people saying a candidate doesn't have a chance because of things like name recognition or money. Both of those are things we can all help fix.
• You can donate your time, money, services, etc. (in-kind donations are very important to a campaign!).
• You can host a coffee, house party, etc. with the candidate. You don't have to raise money -- it can be all about introducing the candidate to the people.
• You can get the candidate to come to your county dems meeting, to your local DFO/Dems/Etc. Meetup, and more.
• You can tell everyone you know about the candidate. Talk about them. Tell them who the candidate is and why you are personally supporting them.
<h2>There are a lot of ways we can all help a candidate to solve the name recognition or money divide. Those are two things that should never get in the way of someone who would do a great job at holding the office.</h2>