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Farewell, Senator Smith
Nov. 7th, 2008 11:17 amThe way I see it, Senate elections are all about the incumbent. States get their power in the Senate from having a senator with seniority, so if your senator is a person you can respect, a person of character who devotes his energy to worthwhile causes, you should keep him. His opponent may agree with you on more of the issues, but the seniority tradeoff may be worth it.
That's why I voted to keep Sen. Gordon Smith in office. I really know very little about his challenger, Jeff Merkley. Sen. Smith passed my tests. Our Democratic senator, Ron Wyden, constantly praises Smith for their ability to work together; they even do joint townhall meetings across the state. Smith's a Republican, but in Oregon that doesn't matter - some of our most progressive politicians have been Republicans, like our very strongly environmentalist governor, Tom McCall (1967-1975), and our principled and pacifist senator, Mark Hatfield (1967-1997). Smith has a record of bipartisan cooperation of which anyone could be proud, and he denounced the Iraq war. Not at the beginning, of course, but still early enough that it took courage. He's devoted his senatorial career to expanding services for the elderly and the mentally ill, and he's a very warm and likeable person. (He's also a Udall, on his mother's side.)
This week, in a very close election, Smith lost to Jeff Merkley. I imagine that Merkley will be a good senator, but I feel badly for Smith. Really, he lost because he's too moderate - a third party conservative took way more votes than the Smith-Merkley margin.
I also hated one of the anti-Smith campaign ads. Smith has taken a position against illegal immigrants (and I have no idea what that position may be, whether it's "Send 'em all back!" or "Legalize them"; it's not at all central to his platform). This ad explains that because Smith's family business is a frozen food company, he must, obviously, hire illegal workers (a completely unproven allegation), and this makes him a hypocrite. It then ends with the sneering line, "Who'll pack your peas then, senator"? Urgh.
That's why I voted to keep Sen. Gordon Smith in office. I really know very little about his challenger, Jeff Merkley. Sen. Smith passed my tests. Our Democratic senator, Ron Wyden, constantly praises Smith for their ability to work together; they even do joint townhall meetings across the state. Smith's a Republican, but in Oregon that doesn't matter - some of our most progressive politicians have been Republicans, like our very strongly environmentalist governor, Tom McCall (1967-1975), and our principled and pacifist senator, Mark Hatfield (1967-1997). Smith has a record of bipartisan cooperation of which anyone could be proud, and he denounced the Iraq war. Not at the beginning, of course, but still early enough that it took courage. He's devoted his senatorial career to expanding services for the elderly and the mentally ill, and he's a very warm and likeable person. (He's also a Udall, on his mother's side.)
This week, in a very close election, Smith lost to Jeff Merkley. I imagine that Merkley will be a good senator, but I feel badly for Smith. Really, he lost because he's too moderate - a third party conservative took way more votes than the Smith-Merkley margin.
I also hated one of the anti-Smith campaign ads. Smith has taken a position against illegal immigrants (and I have no idea what that position may be, whether it's "Send 'em all back!" or "Legalize them"; it's not at all central to his platform). This ad explains that because Smith's family business is a frozen food company, he must, obviously, hire illegal workers (a completely unproven allegation), and this makes him a hypocrite. It then ends with the sneering line, "Who'll pack your peas then, senator"? Urgh.