did Kari ever respond to the accusations on dailykos and elsewhere that a website was lifted? inquiring minds want to know. Thanks.

Face it, the guy's a total loose cannon...

I don't buy the "total" part of that statement and have reservations about "loose," but I like the "cannon" part. Just what the U.S. Senate needs.

Steve Novick has a penchant for making inflammatory comments.

I guess one person's "inflammatory" is another's candor.

"Face it, the guy's a total loose cannon that never appears happier than when he delivers an artfully phrased hit, regardless of the affect on the overall advancement of the progressive cause."

Excuse me? And what part of that sentence doesn't describe several of the regular contributors to this site who consider themselves and each other to be articulate, witty, sophisticated, knowledgeable, and so profoundly progressive that they are able to include or exclude others from the progressive movement on whim... one in particular whose existence I believe to be a myth while he apparent considers it to be mythic.

Merkley's ad will do what it does. If he wins it will make it much harder for many of us to vote for him in the G.E. If Novick wins it will assure Gordon Smith of at least more easy attack ad. Either way, it significantly increases the likelihood that Mr. Smith will return to Washington.

Kevin is right.

As I recall, in the 1992? US Senate primary (or maybe it was another Senate election) an E. Oregon paper wrote an editorial about Lonsdale titled HARRY LIES!

As I recall, the editorial was less accurate than the quotes from Novick (who has, after all, admitted that sometimes his language is over the top "in defense of principle").

It was discovered that as a public figure (major candidate) Lonsdale had absolutely no recourse other than for he and all his friends to express their anger about the editorial.

The tone of some Novick supporters for months has been "the world should see Steve the way we do!".

NEWS FLASH: Life is often unfair.

If 10 people (of any or no political affiliation) want to see the ad from 10 diff. points of view (incl. a child care worker seeing it as "just like we tell the kids, name calling can get you into trouble"), those 10 people have the right to those 10 different opinions.

Some of Novick's statements are hyperbolic, though I agree with his viewpoint on the issues in question.

Merkley's ad is hyperbolic, and I do not agree with his characterization of Novick. But, hey, It's political campaigning. Contributors don't give candidates big money to be polite and accurate.

"Some of Novick's statements are hyperbolic, though I agree with his viewpoint on the issues in question."

Tom, do you remember Ed Fadeley as St. Senate President?

I greatly agreed with Ed on some issues, and was always grateful for his efforts carrying a particular bill.

HOWEVER, some of his language made Novick's language sound tame.

The point here seems to be "Gee, you really walked into that one!".

I remember a statewide campaign a couple decades ago where one major debate was in Salem. 2 very bright candidates, both rather moderate. The debate was about even between the candidates UNTIL the Republican asked (or answered?) a question which opened the door for discussion of that person's voting record in the legislature.

All the Democrat had to do at that point was say, "Interesting you brought up that subject, because when we looked at your voting record, we found........."

There are statements Steve has made to small or large groups of people over the years in his various positions which are not in print because they were part of verbal communication, including quips heard in the course of discussion.

One of these back in a previous decade struck a friend of mine as particularly questionable--a remark about a whole group of people in a particular occupation. (As it is hearsay, I have no intention of repeating the actual remark.)

Here's the deal. For those who think Steve is the great outspoken savior of Oregon, I hope you are happy on election night.

However, just as Ed Fadeley lost 2 nominations in one year (a primary and a ballot vacancy replacement), my guess is that the ad only reinforces the thoughts of anyone who has ever borne the brunt of one of Steve's remarks.

I was at the statewide replacement convention where Ed Fadeley was competing against a couple other well known politicians to replace a candidate who had withdrawn after the primary. The nomination went to the young legislator of the bunch, although Ed Fadeley gave a dynamite speech which even his opponents admired.

Someone standing next to me described what was probably the main reason the young legislator won the nomination. This person said that they young legislator had personally called every voting delegate to the replacement convention and personally asked for their vote. "And, at some time in his life, Ed Fadeley has probably alienated everyone in this room."

And so it is with Steve. I didn't start out as a Merkley partisan. Quite the opposite--I took an 18 year old friend of mine to Marion Demoforum to hear Steve speak. I wanted to hear the impression of someone who had never heard of him before. And introduce a young person to politics.

What I'd like to know, now we are counting the days before the ballots are due is this: What sort of personal outreach did Stephanie, TJ, and the other partisans here do for their candidate? Or was blogging supposed to be all that was needed?

LT,

I do remember Fadeley, and, yes, his personality cost him. And Novick has said nasty things about people he disagrees with on political matters. But he was neither a candidate nor an elected official then. My guess is that Steve is smart enough to figure out how to be statesmanlike, or at least close enough to it for government work.

Again, I'm not endorsing in this primary. I think Merkley would be a much better senator than Smith. I will gladly support whoever wins the primary election.

I’m a huge Merkley supporter, already canvassed for him, but I have to admit not the best ad out there. The point it makes is very important I just wonder if it was the best way to deliver that point. I have talked to Steve at least 2 or 3 events, while volunteering for non Senate campaigns so he had no idea I was a Merkley supporter, and I got different reactions from him every time. He was either a nice guy who cracked some good jokes or he was in a really bad mood and to a degree a jerk. Add those things to his history of making insulting statements, you can argue about his intent but the result is clear, makes me kind of worry about the way he will approach the senate. Novick is a brilliant guy with some good ideas but I do worry about the manner in which he delivers his points and tries to get support. This senate race reminds me of my senior class president elections. There was a guy who spent all his campaign talking about how certain people failed to do their jobs and how he would change everything, his opponent was a girl who talked about inspiring people to work together to find solutions. The girl became president and the guy became vice president. The guy has really struggled to get anything done since people reminder the things he said about them. The girl, considering the limits of her power imposed by the school, has been quite effective and brings people together. I really see Novick as being that guy and the girl would be Obama who inspires people to come together. I don’t think Merkley is the most inspiring guy ever, but he has shown to be pretty good at bringing people together. For me the ability to bring people together was my litmus test in the US senate race.

If Merkley were to win the primary, he is rapidly losing future donations and perhaps one hundred hours of Community TV (Comcast cable) candidate coverage by his negative attacks on Steve Novick. Bye Bye Jeff...head back to state government.

"But all the faux outrage from some Novick supporters over Merkley's campaign daring to point this out, that it's somehow a distortion, is just a little too much for me."

I'm glad you said "some" because I haven't expressed outrage over Merkley's campaign. In fact, I don't mind Merkley, really. He just bores me, that's all. Accordingly, I don't see any reason to believe that he'll wake this State out of its pro-Smith slumber.

Apparently, most of the newspapers in Oregon agree with me that Novick is the more exciting candidate. Merkley probably realizes that as well, which is why he has decided to make this campaign a referendum on Novick more than anything else.

Very well. We'll see if most of the Democrats in Oregon like Steve or are afraid of him.

Stephanie, indeed you have personally introduced Steve to people you know---more power to you. Politics would be better if everyone put that much personal effort into involving those they know.

Has everyone you have introduced to Steve become an avid fan of the campaign? Or, like my 18 year old friend, have you gotten reactions like "Nice guy but...."?

My point is that for all the talk here, most people are not aware of this campaign or this ad. Not surprising--my experience with friends who are not political junkies is that to ask the question, "Did you see that political TV commercial that was on last night?" is often to get the answer, "Have been so busy I haven't seen any TV in over a week!".

Many people's daily routines are demanding to the point that they make jokes about using their spare time to do laundry.

I have politically active friends who are supporting Steve, and who are supporting Jeff. I have no idea how it will come out. From watching Candy Neville, I would not be surprised to see her do quite well.

"But he was neither a candidate nor an elected official then. My guess is that Steve is smart enough to figure out how to be statesmanlike, or at least close enough to it for government work."

Tom, that is the point. There were those of us who were willing to give Steve the benefit of the doubt at the beginning, even though we had been stung by some of his remarks in the past. BUT benefit of the doubt means, "give me a reason to support you", NOT, "I'll support you unless you give me reason to do otherwise".

My guess is that there are people who don't have faith (defined as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen") in Novick's ability to be "statesmanlike" if nominated. For how long did Steve have the link to the "flammable pants" comment on his old website front page? Parents trying to get their kids to choose to use polite language would be impressed by something like that because.....?

Would Steve be able to do town hall meetings across the state and answer questions as diplomatically as Wyden does when he does town hall meetings?

Esp. if Steve was startled by a question, something like a recovering alcoholic who was offended by the beer ad, a military family member who wondered why veterans were just part of the issue link mentioning "the war.... and our armed forces" rather than being a separate topic, *someone who thought a 2003 legislative resolution had no part in a 2008 federal election, or someone who had inherited a family farm and was a great fan of Darlene Hooley?

Now, I know there are those who love Steve's bluntness and find Jeff boring. They have the right to that opinion.

But those of us who have been around a long time, and lived through Fadeley (and Ruth McFarland) using language which cost them votes, have the right to take a "proof is in the pudding" attitude towards Steve.

If Steve wins by more than 51%, makes a very gracious victory speech, and apologizes (in private if not publicly) to people who took offense to his various remarks, then he would deserve to be a successful candidate in the November election.

However, if Steve were stupid enough to take the approach of the Bruggere campaign ("we won the primary, so no Democrat should ever again ask a question, just get in line and support the nominee"), it will not be the fault of those who voted for a candidate other than Steve if Gordon won another term.

Bottom line: I saw the To Tell The Truth Novick ad again on TV last night.

If someone listens closely to all the descriptions done by the tall men in the ad and asks, "OK, and that is better than the experience of being Speaker of the House because.....?", they have that right. The only way to win over such voters is to say, "It prepares him better to be US Senator than being Speaker of the House because.......", and hope undecided voters agree.

If there are still more than 20% undecided voters, my guess is those voters will be talking amongst people they know, reading the voters pamphlet, etc. rather than relying on blogs, websites, etc. Esp. in areas of the state where Portlanders seem like very different people than the folks in the local community.

I simply don't understand why Novick's so-called "hyperbolic" statements are such a big issue. Frankly, I am often sick to my stomach at the spineless positioning of Democrats. If they were more principled, outspoken, and courageous people we wouldn't be in a war in Iraq, we would be impeaching Bush, Guantanamo would probably be closed, and Israel's system of illegal settlements wouldn't be expanding. In short, the Bush agenda would have had stiff and principled opposition.

Given the state of affairs, some "hyperbole" is well deserved. Having met Novick for the first time in person last night, I found a thoughtful, principled, critical thinking and considerate person, passionate to make the world a better place. If he has a cranky side, so what, I'm cranky too. Cranky is good. And the Democratic party is full of functionaries that value opinion polls over principles.

Coincidentally, I received a thank you note for a donation I made to INDN's list, the "Indigenous Democratic Network" which helps get Indians elected to office. On of the founders of INDN's list, Kalyn Free, hand wrote a couple of post it notes, which said the following:

"I worked with Steve Novick, one of your US Senate Candidates for 8 years at the US Department of Justice -He is without a doubt, the most talented, passionate, and dedicated public servant I have ever known. I count him as one of my dearest friends. I will be in Portland for his Primary election. If you are not committed to Merkley, I hope you will vote for and support Novick, all the best, Kalyn"

www.indnslist.org

TJ- You may certainly quote me. Thank you for the consideration. PM