Two more Oregon superdelegates for Obama
Two more superdelegates announced their endorsement of Barack Obama tonight, as the primary season came to an end.
Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, in a statement:
Oregon Secretary of State and Democratic superdelegate Bill Bradbury Tuesday endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president. Bradbury said he admires and respects Sen. Hillary Clinton but feels Obama would be the best choice for the Democrats in 2008. “This has been a difficult personal decision for me because of my friendship and admiration for both Hillary and Bill Clinton,” Bradbury said. “We have been fortunate to have two enormously skilled Democratic candidates this year. Sen. Clinton has run a tremendous campaign and I am confident she will remain a leader in the U.S. Senate and the country."“Our challenge now is to defeat the Republicans in the fall and that will accomplish us working together. Sen. Obama has the vision and commitment to bring people together. This country needs a lot of repair and Sen. Obama will be well-suited to accomplish that.”
DPO Vice-Chair Frank Dixon, in a statement:
I am announcing my decision as one of Oregon’s 12 automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention to support U.S. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois for President of the United States.I have waited until the end of this race to announce my decision out of respect for Senator Hillary Clinton, her campaign staff and passionate supporters who have made this closely contested primary an historic contest. No primary has drawn this kind of interest and participation from so many voters in so many states.
In my view both candidates are capable of winning the election and becoming a great President. I can find no compelling reason not to represent the voters of Oregon, who overwhelmingly chose Senator Obama. I do find many reasons to help bring this Primary contest to a conclusion so that the Democratic Party may now focus on unity and the hard work necessary to elect our federal and state candidates.
Join the Democratic Party of Oregon if you want to bring change to Washington, D.C. and strengthen our majorities in Salem. The DPO will be the hub for the presidential campaign in Oregon. I hope you will work alongside me to turn Senator Obama into President Obama.
Obama now leads 9-2 among Oregon superdelegates - and has received the endorsement of all six superdelegates to declare after Oregon's primary election. The only remaining undeclared superdelegate is Senator Ron Wyden.
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Jun 3, '08
Wyden is still on the fence? What an impressive display of leadership! Why is he popular again?
11:24 p.m.
Jun 3, '08
Because he's a masterful Senator, Mike. He knows what is important, what's not, and where not to burn bridges with a colleague who clearly has some emotional issues bordering on pathology. Still, it's a vote. And he'll need every one he can get to push his health care bill through.
1:28 a.m.
Jun 4, '08
Like Tester doesn't have any relationships to protect? He was out there after the polls closed, endorsing the will of his voters. I'll grant that Senators seem to naturally be the most reticent of the supers, but I don't think he's more masterful for waiting than those Senators who have already endorsed.
Jun 4, '08
To call him 'Masterful' makes it sound like he's the 2nd coming of LbJ. Merely competent is probably a better description of Wyden - and still far better than the words I'd use to describe Oregon's embarrassment, Gordon Smith.
Would a 'masterful' Senator vote to approve John Robert's nomination to the Supreme Court? Even I knew Roberts was pretending to be more moderate than he actually was. Wyden sits on the Intelligence committee. Has he managed to squeeze any information out of the Administration about their various criminal offenses? He doesn't seem to have. If he was 'masterful', you'd think he'd be leading a charge against them.
Given Wyden's reluctance to get off the fence, I'd say he's emblematic of what's still wrong with the Democratic party. He's timid when we need bold leaders.
2:17 a.m.
Jun 4, '08
There's a difference between undecided and undeclared.
Jun 4, '08
" I am confident she will remain a leader in the U.S. Senate and the country"
No VP slot for the smartest woman in the world?
Jun 4, '08
Well, Reid, Pelosi, and Dean have asked all remaining undeclared superdelegates to declare by the end of this Friday. I hope Sen. Wyden will comply in an effort for party unity instead of holding out like a prima dona. One more week is not going to ease Hillary Clinton's disappointment by much. We all have to go through that grieving process at sometime in our lives, and it's not a question of being let down easy. And if Sen. Wyden wants to cast his vote for her, so be it. Get it over with.
8:59 a.m.
Jun 4, '08
Mike: Would a 'masterful' Senator vote to approve John Robert's nomination to the Supreme Court?
Certainly, if he knows opposition won't do anything. Roberts is a right wing hack. But as the President gets to nominate to the Supreme Court, we weren't going to get anything else but a right wing hack. And anyone who thinks otherwise - or that the Senate was going to just constantly block all of Bush's nominees - needs to take a course in overcoming personal petulance as it applies to politics. Get in line right behind Ralph Nader and HRC.
Jun 4, '08
Steven,
Even as a protest vote, couldn't Wyden have voted against Roberts?
Sorry - it was obvious to me and I'm not even a professional politician.
tell Wyden to stop reading the polls for everything. Americans/Oregonians are hungry for a progressive hero. we just need someone to get off the fence (or floor, as the case may be) and stand up.
as apparently Wyden endorsed Obama earlier? A real paragon of courage Wyden is...
BTW, I'm active in my local party and have contributed to Edwards, Kucinich, Dodd & Obama so frankly speaking, the HRC/Nader comment is uncalled for.
I just want someone who'll pick themselves up off the floor and will take a stand. Obviously, Smith the-Loser won't do it, but I don't think it's out-of-bounds to ask Wyden to do it.
1:51 p.m.
Jun 4, '08
The problem, Mike, is that Senate rules are set up to discourage protest votes. The overwhelming reliance on unanimous consent means that if you start issuing protest votes against me, I can do the same to you. This goes all the way back to the way our Founding Fathers set up the place. It is, for example, one reason why Senators have staggered 6 year terms. It's specifically designed that way so that they can be a little less responsive to momentary public whims.
Again, Senator Wyden is working on a massive health care reform bill. To pass, it's nearly certain he'll need some Republican defections. Those GOP senators are going to have to go back to their own Republican constituents and defend supporting a Democrat's health care bill. The last thing they're going to want to hear is "Why are you supporting this Democrat who opposed even a reasonable [from a Republican's perspective] supreme court pick?"
In politics, and especially the Senate, you have to know when to fight, and know when to engage in a little civility. Senator Wyden is very very good at this, which is why he's not only the most popular politician in Oregon, but how he's managed to get a spot on Ways and Means - unprecedented for a western Senator at his seniority level.
9:43 a.m.
Jun 6, '08