I have been a staunch Edwards supporter since back before he announced his run for President in 2004. I spent thousands, (yes thousands) of hours over the years blogging for John Edwards. I believed in his policy proposals, loved his focus on poverty issues and thought he was a very electable candidate. Ever since his departure from the race I have been an undecided voter here in Oregon. I'm not undecided anymore......
For a long time I considered Obama to by my solid second choice after John Edwards. I never thought I would ever warm up to Hillary Clinton, but I did. I researched her life's work and I liked how she had a consistent focus on children's issues and education. I believe she is a very bright and competent politician and I do believe she would be a good President. However, there is another candidate running for the highest office in the land, Barack Obama.
Barack Obama appealed to me from the get go. I researched his work in the Illinois State legislature and discovered he was a strong progressive sticking his neck out on issues like wage disparity between employers and employees. Even though his record in Illinois impressed me I did not hop on the Obama train. I was an Edwards supporter through and through and no one was going to change that.
Since Edwards departure I kept going back and forth between voting for Obama or Hillary, or just writing in John Edwards. When Hillary won Pennsylvania, I nearly hopped on the Obama train out of pure worry about how unelectable she is. I calmed down, collected my thoughts and remained undecided. The truth is, I felt in my gut that Clinton would fight for UHC and I didn't quite get the same feeling from Obama. It's a really important issue to me personally and I want someone who will fight with every fiber in their body to get it done.
Once I started leaning towards Hillary because of her passion for UHC, I would ask myself, "Even if Hillary will fight for UHC, how can we get anything done in this lobbyist controlled government of ours?" That's where Obama would pull me away from leaning in Hillary's direction. There was no candidate in the race who has a clearer track record on government reform issues. Regardless of Clinton's passion about UHC, she's not going to clean up our government. She willingly takes money from lobbyists and does not have a history of fighting for public financing or ethics reform. I believe Obama will work to enact stricter ethics reform and hopefully will push for public financing of elections.
Even after all the back and forth in my brain, I was still undecided until......
John Edwards endorsing Obama pushed me over the edge. I'm voting Obama for President. Now, I know what you're thinking, is that really the only reason I'm supporting Obama? No. I'm supporting Obama because he will push for ethics reform. I'm supporting Obama because he of his community organizing in Illinois. I'm supporting Obama because I believe he will end the war in Iraq. I'm supporting Obama because he has a reasonable foreign policy approach with Iran, and lord do we need a President who will flex diplomatic muscles. I'm supporting Obama because he will work on voting reforms. I'm supporting Obama because he will win in November. The Presidential race isn't the only one that should have your attention......
Merkley for Oregon Senate
The Oregon Senate race is the most contested election in Oregon right now. The truth is, Obama is going to win Oregon by a healthy margin. If I were an Obama staffer in Oregon, I'd be feeling good and comfortable. If I were a staffer for the Merkley or Novick Campaign, I'd be freaking out right now. The truth is, I am freaking out. I am a huge Merkley supporter, he's been an amazing progressive leader in my state. As House Speaker, he led the greenest and most labor friendly session in thirty years. The man has skills and boy do we need progressive Senators who can get things done at the federal level.
Jeff Merkley helped engineer a Democratic takeover of the House after 16 years of Republican rule. As House Speaker he was able to unite his caucus and get Republicans on board with progressive legislation. Merkley helped pass countless environmental bills, payday lending regulation, ethics reform, anti-discrimination legislation, domestic partnerships legislation, Employee Free Choice Act, 18% increase in public education funding, legislation to give women and families easier access to contraceptives, and legislation to ensure that sexual assualt victims had access to emergency contraceptives. He did all this with a two vote majority. It wasn't easy but Merkley got it done. This is the kind of Democrat we desperately need in the U.S. Senate. We'll be able to depend on either Novick or Merkley for a progressive vote, but who will be an effective progressive legislator? Jeff Merkley that's who!
Merkley Polls Strongest Against Gordon Smith
In a recent SUSA poll, the crosstabs showed an interesting trend; Merkley is the most electable progressive Democrat in the race. Merkley polls 13 points stronger than Novick outside of liberal Portland. No matter who the Democratic nominee is, we will carry Portland easily. It's the rest of the state we have to worry about. Merkley's focus on dinner table issues and being a working man's progressive will appeal to voters outside of Portland. Merkley also polls stronger among self described conservatives and moderates. Both Merkley and Novick are virtually identical on policy stances, yet Merkley is more appealing to a cross-section of voters than Novick appears to be. The Democrat running against Smith has to pick up Republican and Independent voters if they want to oust Gordo. Another positive development for the Merkley Campaign is the last Rasmussen poll that has Merkley three points behind Smith while Novick trails by six. This is good for both of our candidates, but Merkley does have the edge.
It's not just Merkley's strong poll numbers that make me believe he's the most electable. Merkley has a very impressive legislative record that I would love to see compared to Smith's dismal record. Merkley also has foreign policy chops, (he used to work at the Defense Dept. analyzing nuclear arms treaties) and he has community organizing experience. Merkley was the director of Habitat for Humanity and started affordable housing programs and a program to help young people get back on their feet called Youthbuild. Merkley is a well rounded progressive who can go toe to toe with Gordon Smith any day of the week.
Obama/Merkley!
Okay, so I'm not suggesting Merkley be a potential veep choice for Obama but I think they'll make a great team in 2009. They both share many of the same values. They both have fought to lift people out of poverty in their communities. They both have championed ethics reform legislation. Considering what Merkley has been able to accomplish here in Oregon, both Barack Obama and Jeff Merkley will be the change we need in Oregon and across the country. So, Obama supporters, will you accept this Edwards supporter on your team?