Dems for Smith? Not so Much.
A nice article over at PolitickerOR charts an interesting phenomenon. The list of "Democrats for Smith"--one of the tools Gordon Smith has used to establish his bi-partisan, moderate credibility--is shrinking:
Back in December, before an opponent was even anointed by the Democrats, Smith ran an ad in The Oregonian with a lengthy list of his supporters, both Republican and Democrats....
Boone and Josi are not the only one-time Smith supporters absent from the campaign’s most recent ad: Lake County Commissioner Dan Shoun and a number of Mayors, including Ed Gormley, Ken Hector, Tom Hughes, Kay Mordock, Irving Nuss, Les Paustian, Mary Schamehorn, Paul Thalhofer, and Mike Weatherby also didn’t make the cut.
The list still has some credible Dems, led by Elizabeth Furse, but their numbers are waning.
The word ‘independent’ has made an appearance in almost all of Smith’s speeches and media, and the Democrats have been fighting to dispel what they term as the illusion of the “Smith myth,” and to ensure that Smith does not take over the center position.
“I think it is telling that Sen. Smith believes he needs to frame this issue so early,” [Democratic lobbyist Len] Bergstein said.
In a year in which approval of Republicans has reached historic lows, it appears that Smith's strategy is to associate himself with the more popular party. But increasingly, it appears that members of that party don't want to associate themselves with Smith.
Discuss.
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12:07 p.m.
Jun 4, '08
Just curious: is Rep. Furse off her meds?
Jun 4, '08
"The list still has some credible Dems, led by Elizabeth Furse"
As I recall, she was a Democrat for Hatfield. Does she prefer incumbent Rs to challenger Ds?
Jun 4, '08
Ah, Smith the Salmon-killer. There should not be even one Democratic name on that list.
Jun 4, '08
As much as I care about Salmon, Smith's lockstep march with Bush has killed much more important things! Don't let anyone pretend to be Democrats who supports his record.
1:21 p.m.
Jun 4, '08
All the more reason I'm glad we're electing a new county commissioner this year. I'm so happy to be replacing Lonnie Roberts.
1:56 p.m.
Jun 4, '08
If you go to Gordo's campaign "about" page, there's hardly a peep about him as a Republican -- only one sorta-mention.
Must be tough to look in the mirror as a politician when you can't just be yourself. He's no moderate, and a vast, vast majority of Dems either know this already or will know it really soon.
3:09 p.m.
Jun 4, '08
As I recall, she was a Democrat for Hatfield.
In fairness, except for Hatfield's quixotic public backing of Bush in 2004, he and Smith really only share the "R" appelation.
Jun 4, '08
Please lets not put Sen. Hatfield and Sen. Smith in the same category. Elizabth Furse' support for them both does not put them in the same category!
Sen. Hatfield opposed the Vietnam war, opposed nuclear proliferation, supported closing Hanford. Hatfield was the only Republican in the Senate to vote against the proposed balanced budget amendment, which was the deciding vote that prevented the passage of the bill, Hatfield voted against authorizing military action against Iraq in the Gulf War.
Each of the above are stances that Sen. Smith would NEVER have the courage to take.
Jun 4, '08
As I recall Rob Drake, Mayor of Beaverton didn't get re-elected. He used to be on the list of Ds for Smith himself. Drake got tossed out of office by Dennis Doyle in May 20th.
Wonder if the luck of these traitors is fading too?
Support the evil republican death machine (Bush & his wars) and retribution will come to you eventually.
Jun 4, '08
We've discussed this before, but "Democrats for Smith" is two people. And the only use of the word "Republican" on his site are from newspapers, or references to other people and organizations.
Jun 4, '08
Smith always has been and always will be one of the GOP's flying monkeys. Anybody who believes otherwise is destined to buy a bridge!
8:23 a.m.
Jun 5, '08
Unfortunately there seems to be a substantial risk of poorly judged bridge-buying in the Columbia-Willamette region ;->.
Jun 5, '08
"the only use of the word "Republican" on his site are from newspapers"
Shouldn't they be called "Repugnicans"? Or should we just make them "traitors" and be done with it?
9:23 a.m.
Jun 5, '08
Another point -- there was not a single Democrat holding partisan elected office in Smith's ad. There were three Smith thought were his headliners: Eliz. Furse, Bob Shoemaker and Avel Gordly. Avel Gordly is no longer a registered Democrat, refused to caucus with the D's in Salem, and her level of disassociation was so great she endorsed John Lim over Ron Wyden. Bob Shoemaker hasn't been seen at so much as a county committee meeting since leaving the state Senate in the last millenium, so who knows what his beliefs are these days. As to Elizabeth, yeah, it saddens me. I don't count her support of Hatfield as a sign of loss of values -- that came out of her heartfelt priority of the peace movement. Hatfield was good on that issue. But I don't understand why she's doing this: Gordo is no peacenik. Elizabeth, if you're reading this, please explain to those of us who love you: why?
9:28 a.m.
Jun 5, '08
Avel Gordly is no longer a registered Democrat,
Apparently she's re-registered as a Dem in order to vote in the primary. But your point is no less valid.
10:55 a.m.
Jun 5, '08
Thanks Jeff. I didn't know that. But I agree with you: her actions over the past several years matter and she's, sadly, only a Mayfly Democrat.
11:15 a.m.
Jun 5, '08
Please lets not put Sen. Hatfield and Sen. Smith in the same category.
Ever. Please.
Thank you.
2:45 p.m.
Jun 5, '08
Well, Hatfield was bad on abortion rights, and by being part of the Republican caucus helped them control the Senate, with a ruthlessness that one can only wish the Democratic leadership matched on issues that really matter.
Furse's statement on Smith's website laud's his anti-war stance, I wonder if it dates from the time of his strong rhetoric (opportunistic as the timing was) before his complete unwillingness to back it up with votes became clear?
Jun 6, '08
Partisanship is a bad thing. Wyden and Smith are both good Oregonians that work well with others and as such are excellent examples for the whole country. I know I'll get crucified by this post; but to me being progressive means transcending partisanship.
Jun 9, '08
Perhaps the synergy you are talking about is how Flying Monkey Smith has voted opposite of Wyden, cancelling out his vote the majority of the time. Yup, that's working together!
Jun 9, '08
New Democrat wrote:
"... being progressive means transcending partisanship."
Perhaps you would like to explain this, New Democrat. Is this an absolute position for you, or does it depend on the programs and values supported by the various parties? Suppose one party supports racial apartheid, revocation of the Bill of Rights, or preventive warfare. Would any of those be reason for partisanship?
<h2>Remember, also, that the rules, agenda, and committee leadership is determined by whichever party caucus holds the majority. Should we ignore such important determinations in the cause of "transcending partisanship"?</h2>