Senate '08: Superstar Supporters Edition (part one)
Kari Chisholm
- In the debate Thursday, Gordon Smith mentioned the longshore workers and seemed to suggest that they might be supportive of him. Well, they're pissed:
- Speaking of the debate, Todd Beeton at MyDD notes one particular moment of strength from Merkley:
When asked about bucking his party, Merkley responded that he was against the war, against the bailout and against retroactive immunity for telecom companies. It's an interesting answer because basically what he's saying is "you know all those Democrats who caved on those fundamentally non-progressive votes... I won't cave. I'm not that guy."
- Three great Merkley events in three days:
Sunday: The Decemberists' Colin Meloy and Pink Martini's Thomas Lauderdale & China Forbes will headline a rockin' show for Jeff Merkley at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland at 7 p.m. $25 at the door.
Monday: In Medford, Merkley will once again face off with Gordon Smith - this time on KOBI. There's a pre-debate rally and debate watch party. Details here.
Tuesday: Russ Feingold is coming! Russ Feingold is coming! He'll be at a rally in Eugene at UO's Erb Memoral Union on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. I saw him fire up a crowd at the Lucky Lab in Portland in 1998 - don't miss him.
- Speaking of Feingold, he told WW why it's time for Gordon Smith to retire:
Q: Without employing any slogans or Democratic talking points, can you give me one good reason why Gordon Smith shouldn’t return to the Senate for a third term?
A: Gordon Smith really isn’t an ally for progressive causes. Occasionally, he’ll throw us a good vote. But even when he realized the Iraq war was basically morally bankrupt and said so on the floor of the Senate, he continued to vote against the legislation that would have brought our troops home. He doesn’t live up to these allegedly heartfelt statements that he makes. He just keeps voting to keep this travesty going.
- Health care has taken a bit of a back seat in this campaign, but make no mistake, it's still a Merkley priority. Jeff's wife, Mary Sorteberg, has written an excellent post about her view of the health care system - from the view of a working nurse.
- In response to Merkley's awesome ad featuring Ron Wyden, the Smith folks are now running an ad featuring Ron Wyden too. Unbelievably, they actually included Ron's signature in the spot. Outrageous. And Wyden wants it pulled: "The unauthorized use of Ron's signature is no laughing matter," says Josh Kardon.
Here's the ad:
- Meanwhile, the DSCC's IE team is up with another TV spot, asking voters to tell Smith that the party's over.
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connect with blueoregon
9:31 a.m.
Oct 11, '08
[Full disclosure: My firm built websites for Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, but I speak only for myself.]
Oct 11, '08
The DSCC needs to remove their party ad and cut and put up another ad with Wyden pronto.
Oct 11, '08
So, will the Constitution Party candidate help Merkeley?
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_101108_politics_senate_race_brownlow.101793d23.html?npc
Oct 11, '08
I love how there is a big Smith banner ad (from AGC PAC) on this blog post. Not exactly the best use of their ad dollars. Maybe we should all click it to divert some of AGC PAC's campaign funds to BlueOregon.
Oct 11, '08
The longshore workers video at the top is a must-see. I laughed... I cried. For real.
Oct 11, '08
The members of the ILWU should be ticked off. I'm glad they've set the record straight.
Oct 11, '08
The ILWU is to be commended for setting the record straight. Too often, politicians get away with this sort of mendacity and it's good to see a major labor organization step up quickly and decisively to refute this politician's claims.
10:26 p.m.
Oct 11, '08
Maybe we should all click it to divert some of AGC PAC's campaign funds to BlueOregon.
Thank you!
Oct 12, '08
I am one of the Portland Longshore members that was dissapointed when Sen. Smith used our Union in his closing statement during the Debate last Thursday evening maybe because he seen our 2 representatives in the audience. Whatever the reason we DO NOT SUPPORT THE SENATOR. The truth is that Jeff Merkley has fought to cut taxes for working families and implement strong public safety measures to keep our children and families safe. Gordon Smith, on the other hand, has a very different record.
Smith has voted AGAINST:
Better health care Lower prescription drug prices for seniors Reproductive rights
And Smith has voted FOR:
George Bush’s failed policy in Iraq Tax giveaways to special interests Unfair trade policies Every one of Bush’s radical judicial nominees Privatizing Social Security
And while he likes to tout his supposed connection to rural Oregon, the truth is that under his watch rural communities across our state have lost thousands of jobs.
So please everyone reading this ELECT JEFF MERKLEY and send him to D.C. to fix the problems. We can all help by doing a little doorknocking or phone calling, This race has become more important to the ILWU than ever before.
Oct 13, '08
As a proud ILWU member, I loved the "You Tube" response. It was real and from the heart of working class people. It is working class people that Smith has no connection with. To Smith, working class people are just a necessary cog in the production machine. Profits come first. He is a millionaire that made his money exploiting workers. He has never worked and has no understanding of what it takes to live pay check to pay check in the current economy. Go negative Smith. That is all you have and it isn't enough.
Leal Sundet Coast Committee ILWU International San Francisco, Ca
Oct 14, '08