Cross-posted at www.wiseass.org
This past Saturday evening at MacTarnahan’s Taproom in Northwest Portland, Montana's Senator and grassroots hero Jon Tester joined Oregon's Speaker of the House Jeff Merkley at a fundraiser for Merkley's campaign to replace Gordon Smith as Oregon's junior Senator to the United States Senate.
The event was both well attended and came off organized. Early on before the speeches, Merkley's campaign and Tester's aide secured for myself and blogger Ben DuPree from Witigonen a few minutes face time with Senator Tester. Speaking with the Senator, it is easy to see why Montanans have elected him to first lead the Montana State Senate and then to replace the odious Conrad Burns as their Senator to Congress. The Senator was direct yet totally approachable in his conversation.
After introductions, I asked the Senator what was the key factor which got him to endorse Speaker Merkley's candidacy. Without hesitation he responded that it was Speaker Merkley's background and commitment in winning their respective legislature chambers for Democrats. Speaker Merkley's leadership as heading FuturePac was instrumental in the historic gains in statewide elections in the 2006 cycle.
Senator Tester lauded Speaker Merkley's for his leadership in winning and then succeeding with a narrow majority which resonated with him since his election to President of the Montana Senate was a similarly significant transition for his state's Democrats as they were for Oregon's, when both state legislatures moved into the majority leadership for the first time in more than a decade.
This change in control was not just a partisan gain for Democrats but for progressives and all Oregonians as it was a lynchpin in moving Oregon forward. From restoring fairness and accountability to the Legislature, growing the economy while conserving the environment, getting Oregon's fiscal house in order by establishing a rainy-day fund, to doing yeomen work in extending equal rights to everyone in Oregon, regardless of sexual orientation.
Having Speaker Merkley's leadership in both crafting the House Democrats Roadmap for Oregon and then his record in leading the way to getting it done in the Legislature in what has been described by such outside the Portland metro area voices as the Register-Guard as "a banner session", is something that is easy to overlook, but did not escape the attention of Senator Jon Tester and was point blank a significant factor in him backing his campaign. Senator Tester minced no words in making clear had genuine respect for Speaker Merkley's record, and that this was exactly the sort of strong advocate we need in the United States Senate.
The conversation then shifted when asked his thoughts about how much of a headwind Democrats might face in the upcoming election cycle. He confirmed what I have heard from staffers in another United State Senate office that the Republicans are throwing elbows to shut-down any progress in Congress and then campaign on the message of "electing Democrats brought a do-nothing Congress". Aside from the irony that less laws passed by Congress is a good thing to many Republican leaning voters and makes it really only a message that will work against progressive voters, it is actually a solid opening for Speaker Merkley's campaign, which can point with validity to a proven record of accomplishment in a thin majority legislature, which has been heralded as one of the smoothest and most productive sessions in a decade.
Senator Tester began to lay out how Democrats will seek to point out the things they did accomplish, as part of a two-pronged approach where on one prong showing what Democrats have done and have been trying to do, and on the other highlighting all the obstructionist tactics by Republicans to gum up the works for political points.
Moving on to sounding out his take on the entire themes of running in a primary and dealing with the "insider v. outside" he basically waved off any take on it as it vis-é-vis the Oregon race, though he did acknowledge the support of the netroots and grassroots support as being invaluable to his win.
Senator Tester was generous with his time and his support of Speaker Merkley by not just putting his name on a list of endorsements behind Merkley, but in flying to Portland to help get him elected in addition to what he had to say and conveyed a genuine respect and support for his candidacy.
Shortly after speaking with Senator Tester, the current Governor of Oregon Ted Kulongoski took to the microphone to talk up Speaker Merkley, which he did passionately, which brought to my mind a point which is often overlooked. It is not often that a sitting Governor with a see-sawing Congress and no guarantee which party will be slotted to control the White House in the middle of next December, to come out so strongly for a candidate challenging an incumbent two-term Senator. Taken with the fact that Gordon Smith felt the need to run from Bush by going to Salem and stand with Governor Kulongoski in support of a children's health program ballot initiative which mirrors increasing funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) that the Bush administration had vetoed before the November special election, and did so again when a similar bill was sent to him just this past week, it does signal that Smith's re-election is a lock. Underscoring that is how the Governor believes that Speaker Merkley can beat Smith.
The Governor then introduced Jeff Merkley, who gave a much higher energy delivery of his stump speech to great enthusiasm. After which he welcomed and introduced Senator Tester to the crowd, who proceeded to spell out in plan english how Speaker Merkley is exactly the kind of help they need in the United States Senate. After Senator Tester finished with a rousing chant of of call and response between two halves of the room "Jeff!" and "Merkley!"
As a closing speaker, former Governor of Oregon, Barbara Roberts was next up, and did not mince words that it is absolutely crucial to do all we can to not let Gordon Smith cancel out Oregon's voice in the Senate by canceling out the votes of the states Senior Senator, Democrat Ron Wyden by voting with the Cheney/Bush administration 90% of the time and not voting in the interests of Oregon. She went on to make it clear that it was not up to Jeff Merkley to win this, but to us, the voters who care about Oregon to do what we need to do to elect Speaker Merkley to the Senate in Washington D.C., and send Gordon Smith back to Pendleton.
The rest of the evening was an enjoyable mingle, which helped faciatate some actual face-to-face meeting of local bloggers, many of whom knew each other only via a "series of tubes".
In total, it was a smooth running event which seemed to get done what it needed to, and offered some great opportunities for local bloggers to participate in the event first-hand, a win-win for the Merkley campaign and Oregon Democrats and supporters all.