There's a clear choice in Oregon this year. We have a Republican who supported the invasion of Iraq, continued to support fully the occupation until after the 2006 elections, and even then still voted to fund the war, and who voted for Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy running against a BETTER Democrat: Jeff Merkley.
So Smith is trying to act like he's not a Republican. Here's his new ad showing Kerry and Obama and talking about working together with them.
Don't buy this bs. More, after the fold.
Update I has John Kerry's smackdown response to Smith's ad.
Kerry and Obama support Jeff Merkley. And Smith is trying to mislead Oregonians as to his record.
How long until Gordon Smith officially changes parties?
After all, he's been running away from the Republican Party for months.
The latest is that Smith isn't going to attend the Republican National Convention so he can concentrate shoring up his support at home.
One visit to his website says it all, as the screengrab below demonstrates. The word 'Republican' is nowhere to be seen, yet 'Democrats for Smith' is a highly visible link on every page.
Is Gordon Smith still running as a Republican?
He tried this before.
Gordon Smith misleads the public and media, saying Barack Obama praised his work in a press release and the two support each other.
Here's the truth about Gordon Smith and the Iraq war. He supported it, until after the 2006 elections. Even after a bit of lip service designed to look critical of the continued Bush policies, Gordon Smith voted five times in 2007 to keep troops in Iraq, despite claiming to oppose the war. Go here for more Smith on Iraq
Then he put out ads saying he was one of the first Republicans to stand up to George Bush:
Congressman Earl Blumenauer responds to Gordon Smith's misleading ad, and the claim that Smith was "one of the first" to stand up to the war.
The great conflator of 9/11 and Iraq during the 2002 campaign?
A case could be made that it's a certain vulnerable west coast Republican:
Gordon Smith (R-OR)
Consider the following:
Gordon Smith, Oregonian, 9/25/2002:
"all terrorist roads pass through Baghdad"
Oregonian, 9/23/2002:
He said the underlying Bush doctrine calling for pre-emptive use of military force "is the issue that gives me the most heartburn" as the [Iraq] debate approaches. "But 9/11 is the antacid for that heartburn," Smith said. "That recalculates everyone's computer on national defense."
snip
Gordon Smith, US Senate Floor speech, 10/12/2002:
snip
This burden rests on the President, on the Congress, but more importantly, it rests on the people of the United States. For it is the American people, 3,000 of whom died on September 11, 2001, who are Saddam's targets.
The Accountability Project
Senator Smith is a bullshit artist, and I think Oregonians have had enough. The DSCC has an ad telling the truth about Sen. Smith.
Smith Backs Bush On Economy, Gives Big Tax Breaks To Special Interests
"Gordon Smith has run the most negative campaign in the country because he knows he can’t defend his record of backing George Bush and the special interests," DSCC spokesman Matthew Miller said. "As Jeff Merkley was cutting taxes for the middle class, Smith was helping Bush run up record deficits by giving billions to big corporations. That’s a record Oregonians will reject in November."
Smith is silent when Bush tries to take a way our right to contraception:
For more details on Smith's terrible record, Go Here to Stop Gordon Smith
That's the Gordon Smith we need to defeat.
Jeff Merkley is fighting the Bush plan attacking birth control: Tell George Bush to Stop Injecting Right-Wing Politics into Women's Health Care
As Oregon's Speaker of the House, Jeff Merkley led one of the most effective, efficient and progressive legislative sessions in Oregon's history - with big achievements for schools, ethics, health care, jobs, alternative energy, and protections for working families.
Take a look at Merkley on the issues. He is a true progressive populist, a BETTER Democrat.
In our global economy, moving jobs off shore is just as easy as moving them to another state. We can’t let that happen. America must ensure that new trade agreements include real and enforceable labor and environmental standards. Sadly, President Bush Gordon Smith and too many others in Congress have shown little regard for making sure American workers are on a level playing field with their international competitors
Jeff Merkley will fight to end unfair trade agreements that have cost Oregon nearly 70,000 jobs. Merkley will demand enforceable environmental and labor standards to protect our planet and protect workers in America and around the world.
Opposed the War from the Start
Jeff Merkley opposed George Bush's Iraq policy from the beginning. He called for bold diplomatic efforts before pursuing military strategy. Two days after the war began in 2003, Jeff Merkley gave a speech in the Oregon House critical of Bush’s strategy:
"Colleagues, I have not been and am not today persuaded that Iraq was a significant threat to the United States or that the war we fight today is the best strategy to fight terrorism or the wisest application of our superpower resources."
Ending the War
Jeff was the first U.S. Senate candidate to sign onto "A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq".
Ending the Iraq War
Universal Access
Jeff strongly believes that we must fulfill President Truman's vision of health care for every man, woman and child in our country. Each day, it's becoming more difficult for working families to pay for visits to the doctor and essential medicine. It's unacceptable that some Americans are without health care. In the U.S. Senate, Jeff will fight for universal access to affordable, quality health care coverage.
Health Care for All Americans
Here the real response to Bush-McCain Republicans like Senator Gordon Smith. Give to Jeff Merkley:
Make a Donation, Send Jeff Merkley to the U.S. Senate for Oregon
President Obama will need real progressives in the Senate. With Merkely, you not only get a BETTER Democrat, but you defeat a Republican. It doesn't get much better than that.
Update I:
Senator John Kerry responds (from our own sarahlane in the comments):
"Gordon Smith is my friend but the problem is that when it’s come time to vote in the Senate he’s been a much better friend of George Bush.
Voting with George Bush ninety percent of the time just isn’t good for the people and issues I’ve fought for over a lifetime.
I’m supporting Jeff Merkley because he’ll vote to make health care affordable again for the middle class, and protect a woman’s right to privacy. It’s not personal, it’s about what’s best for our country and our country is in trouble because of some bad policies and bad decisions these last eight years. The inescapable fact is that electing Jeff Merkley is the only way we can win a Senate majority that gets things done for people again."