Are you interested in putting more *progressives* in the US Senate in the upcoming election?  Would you like to double your impact thru a matching contribution?  If so, read on!

For the past 12 years, Oregonians have been cursed with a do-nothing Republican Senator who currently polls at under 50% approval.  His name is Gordon Smith and his list of legislative accomplishments in the US Senate is as meager as his committment to George bush is great.

Following the Democratic landslide of '06, Smith furiously tried to create the appearance of distance between himself and the Bush administration without actually distancing himself in a meaningful way.  He's a pretend 'independent' Republican Senator who 'independently' votes with George Bush approx. 90% of the time.  He's sort of like a dumber, more inactive and almost-as-insulting-to-your-intelligence version of Norm Coleman.

In the really green part of Oregon, Gordon Smith has a long tradition of presenting himself as the moderate, anti-drilling, good guy. In fact, one of his infamous ads in which he tries to pretend he's been endorsed by Obama, trumpets

"Who says Gordon Smith helped lead the fight for better gas mileage and a cleaner environment? Barack Obama!"

Clean environment? Tell that to the Oregon Department of Environmental Equality, not to mention the folks in Weston, OR.

For the second time in about a year, wastewater from the frozen-foods plant owned and operated in Eastern Oregon by the family of U.S. Sen Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) overflowed into a nearby creek in violation of state environmental regulations....

Smith Frozen Foods has a long history of wastewater violations.... According to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, an employee of Smith Frozen Foods contacted the state agency on July 29 (while the plant was processing corn) to report an overflow from the company's wastewater lagoon that "resulted in a milky discharge to Pine Creek."

...[T]he incident is considered a serious "Class 1" violation, meaning it "can harm aquatic life, contaminate drinking waters, and impair recreational, commercial and agricultural uses of water."...

On July 30, 2007, at the height of last year's corn season, Smith Frozen Foods had a similar violation. That violation resulted in a $3,000 fine — a small sum compared with the $25,000 DEQ fine in 1992 for another infraction. Between those two events, Smith Frozen Foods has been cited or fined by the DEQ more than a handful times.

After one of those fines in the early 1990s, Smith received $766,000 in state and federal grants to bring his plant into compliance with environmental regs. And then he had the gall to run his first, losing campaign against Wyden on "the principles of less government and unfettered free enterprise."

The most recent spill (there have been six or seven in the past 15 years) is hardly the same scope as the massive fish kill of 2002 that Smith helped engineer with Dick Cheney and Karl Rove, an environmental and economic disaster that killed over 60,000 fish, including naturally raised Chinook and endangered Coho salmon.

But it does put the lie to Smith's claim that he's a friend to the environment. And it's one of the reasons Oregon's environmental and conservation communities are lining up behind Jeff Merkley.

When last we checked in with checkered GOP Congressional candidate Mike Erickson, he was busy denying allegations that he used to throw wild cocaine parties on his private yacht, claiming to have had no idea what cocaine looks like:

"I've never used cocaine. I wouldn't know what it looks like," Erickson said, adding that he has never used illegal drugs or tobacco.

That's as may be (though if it's true, I can only wonder if Erickson has been to the movies since 1975, or uses baking soda). However, the Oregonian has come out with evidence that Erickson is certainly no stranger to the high life.

Mike Erickson, Republican candidate for the U.S. House, made a six-day visit to Cuba in 2004 that he described as a "humanitarian trip" to help disabled Cubans oppressed by Fidel Castro. But the visit was actually a vacation that included marlin fishing, nightclub visits and Cuban cigars.

See, Erickson has been boasting that he traveled to Cuba to provide aid and comfort to the oppressed multitudes:

Four years ago I was given an opportunity to make a humanitarian trip to Cuba, providing medical supplies and equipment to the disabled and Cuba's impoverished. The Cuban American Alliance Education Fund was looking for donors to help raise money and deliver supplies and equipment to Cuba's less fortunate. I was able to purchase badly needed medical supplies and equipment from the US and bring them to Cuba's disabled and poverty stricken communities.

The trip also provided me the opportunity to see firsthand just how horrific Castro's stronghold on the nation had oppressed and mistreated people. The living conditions and healthcare were horrible.

Yeah, but see, the Oregonian obtained a copy of Erickson's itinerary for the trip. It seems difficult to imagine him having much time for humanitarian activities, fitting them in between such enjoyable pastimes as

- Mojitos and cigars at cocktail hours - Dove shooting - Cock fighting - Cigar conventions and a tour of a notable cigar factory - Rides in vintage automobiles - Lodging in five-star hotels - And the creme de la creme, the centerpiece of the trip..."Comandante Fidel Castro's Annual Gala Cigar Dinner And Auction".

Well. That is a lot of cigars, for someone who has claimed never to have used tobacco.

It's also a lot of leisurely activities for someone traveling to Cuba for "humanitarian" purposes. Since, you know, actually vacationing there is forbidden.

Oh, and Erickson's trip was not sponsored by the "Cuban American Alliance Education Fund", but rather by an organization called "Safari Clubs International". They may be in hot water themselves, as the most damning part of their itinerary indicates:

I will provide each person with the information on how to acquire the travel license if they want to fulfill the obligations set forth under a humanitarian license. If not, I provide itemized, personal, hotel receipts and leter from concierge from the Hyatt Regency in Cancun, Mexico to show a proof of visit to Mexico not Cuba from February 25 Marc 2, 2004.

I believe this is also called "forging documents". Which is, I am told, very illegal.

So here is a candidate for the United States House of Representatives, who went on a $1700, top-shelf vacation to Cuba, hung out at Fidel Castro's gala parties, gamed the system by calling it a humanitarian trip, and traveled with an organization which offered to illegally forge papers for its guests.

Any guesses on what might have happened if a Democrat had done this?

I had been hearing rumors from friends who work for the Oregonian that a major story was about to break concerning Mike Erickson.  I do not know if this story is it but it's a fun one anyways.  Simply put, Mike Erickson claimed that he had taken a trip to Cuba in 2004 as an attempt to work with humanitarian organizations.  Instead, it appears that instead he used it as an excuse to have a good time, smoke a lot of Cuban cigars and have some fun watching cock fighting.

Major h/t to the Oregonian for this story: http://www.oregonlive.com/...

Cross-Posted from Loaded Orygun: http://www.loadedorygun.net/...

In 2007, the Oregon legislature passed two laws: The domestic partnership law (the Oregon Family Fairness Act) and the Oregon Equality Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

A group of "concerned Oregonians" started gathering signatures because they wanted to place a referendum on this November's ballot requiring a statewide vote on the two laws.

They've now officially failed. H/t to Marshall Collins over at BlueOregon...

Republican Gordon Smith is now no longer a co-chair of the McCain Campaign in Oregon. Since 2006, Gordon Smith was listed as the honorary co-chair of the McCain Campaign and has been one of McCain's earliest supporters. Apparently Gordon Smith wants nothing to do with the McCain Campaign...oh but wait..Smith does support McCain 100% of the time.

More below the fold....

Full disclosure, I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley

Today has been proof that election news need not stop when the Olympics happen.  Instead, there have been several fairly important stories to come out today, four of which will be covered here.

Cross-Posted from Loaded Orygun: http://www.loadedorygun.net/...

This diary discusses a just announced major campaign by FreedomWorks Oregon to try and fool people into thinking that drilling is the only way to secure a sustainable energy future.  Major h/t to the Oregonian on this one (http://www.oregonlive.com/...).

Cross-Posted from Loaded Orygun: http://www.loadedorygun.net/...

Republican Gordon Smith's campaign has a serious problem addressing the issues Oregonians and Americans care about. The problem? He doesn't talk about them, instead he focuses on negative and misleading attacks. Gordon Smith's Campaign has spent nearly two million dollars attacking Oregon Senate candidate Jeff Merkley. This past week Smith continued his baseless attacks on Jeff and the Oregon Legislature for their recent renovation of the Oregon Capitol Building. Smith is also airing another negative ad pushing the tired ol' "he's a big bad tax and spend liberal" meme. It's a shame that Gordon Smith doesn't feel the need to address the real problems America is facing and would rather spend his time attacking Jeff Merkley.

Full disclosure, I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley

A neighbor and I were out canvassing our neighborhood tonight, in the first blast into our precinct since the primaries. I am tired and wanted to get to sleep, but this is bothering me so much that I thought perhaps I could get some help, via all of the experience represented at here at DailyKos.

I live in a low-income area of a relatively liberal Oregon town. I believe we are still considered a swing state, as Obama's majority may be well under 10%. It is polling under 7% right now, and with all the smears, it could get close.

So, now I come across people who are too progressive to vote for Obama, and a couple of mellow but firm republicans, and I can't sleep. I don't know what to say to convince them to help us to  get this thing done. I watched the video about McCain promising more wars, and I can't sleep without asking for your help. More below...

Last week I had a huge influx of readers interested in my piece on Eric Cantor. Seems I'm not the only one thinking McCain might just pick Cantor. I think it's a longshot, but possible.

Things are getting very hectic personally. This may be the last newsletter for a few weeks or more. We will be on vacation in California for a couple of weeks and I will have Grand Jury duty after that. Plus work is exploding for me and Joy's dissertation is overdue. Even politically, I will need to put some extra effort into my friend, Devin Cohen's primary election September 9th. But this newsletter I cover some pretty critical stuff.

I have recently returned from a journey, more than a vacation, where I paid homage to personal and public shrines that I would describe as liberal. It had been many years since I’d seen them, since I set foot upon Oregon's shores. My prints were once common there, having studied, lived and loved there for nearly twenty years. I went to revisit my old trails, to see family and old friends and perhaps to seek new paths to travel with my eye on the idea of survival for the future.

There is water there.

There are liberals there. There are people who know how to grow food, to build and sustain community, to care for the land, to work with their hands. There are artists, poets and musicians there. There is public land; parks, beaches, wilderness areas, forests and preserves. I paid homage to as many of these as possible within the limited time I had.

Yet, underneath all these hopeful characteristics, behind the edges of forested corridors, in the back rooms of many Coastal businesses, the signs of decay and dilapidation are undeniable. Communities are suffering. Oregon has taken an especially hard beating during these years of Bush depravity.

More below with pics

Hot off the email presses:

The Independent Party of Oregon, the state's third largest political party, today announced the nomination of Joel Haugen as the party's candidate for US House of Representatives in the 1st Congressional District of Oregon.  Haugen, a Republican who won 70 percent of the vote in the May primary, joins Democrat Jeff Merkley, the Independent Party's nominee for US Senate, as the second candidate cross-nominated by the Independent Party.

"Joel's appeal to traditional Republican values and his willingness to reach across party lines in service of the public interest place him in a long-line of independent, civic-minded Oregon leaders" said party chair, Linda Williams.

"Joel is using his campaign to try and raise awareness about the fact that there are many politicos in the major parties who have lost sight of the national interest in the fog of partisanship," said party secretary, Sal Peralta.  "We support his efforts to try and bring the conversation back to the reasonable middle and encourage all people of goodwill to support his candidacy."

{more}

21st Century Democrats is excited about the extraordinary amount of enthusiasm Barack Obama’s nomination has generated. The Pew Research Center is suggesting increased voter turnout in the general election bodes well for Democrats. However, some stats from the primary season show that increased turnout for the presidential election doesn't always help down-ballot races.

In fact, assuming a strong Presidential ticket will pull Democratic candidates in the House, the Senate, and local offices to victory is dangerous. This assumption is not in line with electoral empirics or America’s personality. Splitting tickets will always occur in our nation which prides itself on having a "maverick spirit" and values competence over loyalty. More importantly, many Americans will rightfully not vote for candidates they are unfamiliar with. Why would anyone put someone they know nothing about in a tremendous position of power? In the midst of all the excitement generated by the Obama campaign, we cannot forget that voters need to have face to face contact with canvassers for all our candidates, not just our candidate for President.

Gordon Smith (OR-R) has got it right. He's doing what's good for his consituents and that's good for Oregon and it's what's good for the nation. 6 months from now, when Barack Obama is in the White House and important legislation is being voted on, you can bet it isn't going to be the Gordon Smiths of politics that are going to be holding things up and taking emotional hostages on the legislative stage.

Senator Obama has spoken again and again on the need to pull the nation together and to transcend the partisan politics of the past. He has called on the county to reframe our debates away from the policy positions of yesterday in order to start solving the problems today.

It may pass in some circles to pay lip service to this goal. Individuals who speak the words but don't act on them are passing under the radar of partisans, but the quiet majority of moderates do not miss such tricks. It's refreshing. It's hopeful. It's change we can believe in.

Gordon Smith is now airing an ad attacking Jeff Merkley and the Oregon state legislature for the cost of renovating the capitol building here in Salem, Oregon. That's right folks, Gordon Smith, the man who voted for the Iraq War and Cheney's energy boondoggle of 2003 is attacking Jeff Merkley, claiming he's fiscally irresponsible.

Full disclosure, I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley

With the final signature verification complete. Oregon's ballot measure slate is set for this year.  Below I review each ballot measure and discuss its chances of passing as well as its impact on the candidate elections this fall.

Cross-posted from Loaded Orygun: http://www.loadedorygun.net/...

Some major developments this week involving corruption and domestic terrorism. Shootings, anthrax, and indictments. I have been talking for quite some time about Republican corruption and Ted Stevens of Alaska is somoene I declared as the most corrupt politician in America. Well, this week he was indicted. I have also been writing for some time about right wing fanatics in government and on talk shows inciting intolerance and violence. Well, we had another example of right wing terrorism in Knoxville, TN, quite possibly inspired by right wing talk shows.

Meanwhile, speculation about who Obama and McCain will pick for the VP spot is is the current rage. Everyone has tips, inside info and rumors to share. Well, I have no idea who either will choose, but one possibility for McCain was mentioned to me that would be interesting: Eric Cantor, Congressman from Virginia who makes Joe Lieberman look liberal. I discuss him this week. I also review my past coverage of Republican election fraud in Florida and Georgia. I am sure we will see the same kind of fraud in both states again this year. Plus I have been trying to flesh out my state-by-state coverage.