There are numerous Senate seats up for grabs this election, from North Carolina to Minnesota to my home state of Oregon. The race in Oregon is heating up and the momentum is clearly with progressive Democrat Jeff Merkley. It's no wonder that his opponent, Gordon Smith, decided to launch the worst smear campaign in Oregon's history over the weekend. More below the fold.....
Full disclosure, I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley
Gordon Smith Launches Worst Smear Campaign in Oregon History
Over the weekend, Republican Gordon Smith aired an ad equating Oregon Senate candidate Jeff Merkley, father of two young kids, with a vicious sex crime that took place 13 years before he even entered politics. The ad claims that Merkley sides with rapists and not rape victims. It's fear mongering at its worst, not to mention that the ad is completely misleading and deceptive.
Magnifico penned a diary over the weekend about the Smith smear here.
The ad claims that Jeff Merkley opposes extending the statute of limitations for sex crimes. It's just flat out not true. Jeff Merkley supports extending the statute of limitations for sex crimes and voted in support of a bill back in 2001 and in 2005 doing just that. Merkley also supports mandatory life sentences for serial sex offenders. The Oregon State Police Officers Association recently endorsed Jeff Merkley and made their opinion known about who they believe is best fit to protect Oregon families.
Merkley Campaign Hits Back
The Merkley campaign has just put out two new ads hitting Gordon Smith for his sleazy campaign. Check them out:
Republican Gordon Smith is Running Scared
The reason why Gordon Smith launched such an ugly smear campaign is because he's scared. Plain and simple. When a candidate can't run on their own record, they smear their opponent's record and mislead their constituents. Oregonians deserve a Senator with a record to run on, not a record they want to run from.
Why is Gordon Smith so scared? Maybe it's the new internal poll numbers released last week which showed Jeff Merkley taking the lead over Smith 43-41. Or, maybe it's Smith's approval ratings continuing to dive to a low low low 38% with 70% of undecided voters rating Smith's job performance as fair or poor. Gordon Smith's company, Smith Frozen Foods, was accused of hiring undocumented workers by the Willamette Week. If that wasn't bad enough, Smith recently joined a growing list of Republicans embroiled in "disclaimer gate," for airing an ad that does not follow campaign finance rules. How does the Gordon Smith campaign respond to having a tough week? They decide to take the Oregon Senate race into the gutter and launch the slimiest smear campaign in Oregon history.
Calling all Kossacks, help us fight back!
If you'd like to join us and help fight the Smith smear, you can sign our petition denouncing the recent attack campaign. Or, you can volunteer for Jeff or tell a friend the truth about the recent deceptive ad campaign by Gordon Smith. And, if you'd like to donate to Jeff Merkley and help oust Smith, I set up a Kossacks for Merkley Act Blue page here.