New Poll Shows Merkley Leading Democrats in Oregon Senate Race

A new Survey USA poll conducted for KATU in Portland shows that, one week before the Oregon primary, Jeff Merkley is leading his fellow Democrats in the race for the nomination to take on incumbent Senator Gordon Smith.

Merkley leads with 31%, followed by Steve Novick with 27% and Candy Neville with 11%. Though within the margin of error (+/- 4%), compared to and identical poll done by Survey USA 11 days ago, Merkley has risen 3 points and Novick is down 3 points. In essence, the race is a statistical tie going into the home stretch.

However, Survey USA notes that the Big Mo is with Merkley.

That said, momentum is with Merkley among a number of key groups: Among men, Novick had led by 10, today trails by 2. Among voters age 18 to 49, Novick had led by 5, today trails by 2. Among voters 50+, Novick and Merkley had tied; today, Merkley leads by 7. Merkley and Novick are effectively even in the greater Portland area. Merkley leads by 13 in the rest of the state. Among the 43% of voters who have already mailed their ballot, Merkley leads by 6; among those who are likely to return a ballot, Merkley leads by 3.

After spending last weekend in Portland and watching the TV ads for this race, one thing is for sure: Gordon Smith has his hands full.

Join Governor Gregoire for a BBQ

On May 29, join supporters of Governor Chris Gregoire for a barbecue in support of her re-election campaign.

The barbecue will be at 5:30 p.m. at the Women's Club of Olympia, 1002 Washington St. SE in Olympia.

This is a great opportunity to show your support for our Governor and to get an opportunity to talk with her in an informal setting.

To RSVP, please email Dayna Lurie at dlurie@chrisgregoire.com or phone: (206) 382-2008.

"Does Obama have a coherent political ideology?" (video)

Bloggingheads.tv (video, 08:45):

Ari Melber (The Nation) "debates" Conn Carroll (Heritage Foundation). Their conversation lasted for an hour and you can get it in bits and pieces or the whole schmeer here.

In Brief - May 13, 2008

Around the Northwest

• A new study shows human trafficking is a concern in Spokane.
• If your regular coffee just doesn't do enough for you, Starbucks is adding +Energy to the menu.
• Ada County, Idaho housing sales rise and prices drop, as the market takes an upswing.
  

Around the Nation

• Tornadoes are deadlier, more powerful and greater in number than in past years.
• Real estate auctions have become a way for high-end property owners to unload property quickly in Atlanta.
• ACLU membership has doubled since George W. Bush took office.

Around the World

• The earthquake in China has claimed over 12,000 lives.
• Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is being investigated for corruption.
• Irena Sendler, who saved thousands of Jewish children from the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto has died.
  

This Day in History

• 1846 - The United States declares war on Mexico, starting the Mexican-American War.
• 1917 - Our Lady of Fatima.
• 1981 - Mehmet Ali Ağca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II.
  

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski Loves John McCain

Taking a page out of the book of Senator Joe Lieberman (Party of One - CT), Oregon's Democratic Governor Ted Kulongoski, was out on the campaign trail with presumptive Republican nominee John McCain today, pushing McCain's climate change plan.

Standing beside Oregon's Democratic governor Ted Kulongoski, McCain made a sharp break with President Bush and argued the U.S. should adopt mandatory curbs on greenhouse gas emissions and issue emissions credits to polluters that they can trade in order to spur technological innovation.

[...]

And McCain used the talk to bolster his bipartisan credentials, making a point of praising Kulongoski and saying he would help solve the climate crisis with the aid of leaders from both parties if elected president. "I will sit down with all the governors, whether they be Democrat or Republican, and work for the betterment of this nation," he said.

That can't make Hillary Clinton too happy. You see, Kulongoski endorsed Clinton back in December. Considering that Hillary has said she's staying in the race, and that she expects the party to be unified for the general election, this is a bonehead move by the Governor.

As for lame duck Governor Kulongoski, he gains nothing but the scorn of his fellow Democrats. What the Governor gives John McCain, however, is much more valuable: street credibility as he continues his sham of being a bipartisan, maverick type.

Let's hope Joe Lieberman didn't get a "Friends Fly Free" ticket to the GOP Convention. Can anyone say Joementum, party of two?

Update: Apparently, New Hampshire's Democratic Governor John Lynch has also attended a McCain campaign event.

"Obamacan" - Winner, Obama in 30 Seconds (video)

MoveOn.org, video (00:30):

"Obamacan," Grand Prize Winner, MoveOn.org's Obama in 30 Seconds Contest--by David Gaw and Lance Mungia
Monrovia, CA--Featuring John Weiler

In Brief - May 12, 2008

Around the Northwest

• Puget Sound wetlands are disappearing.
• Despite restraining orders, 3 different women have become victims of domestic violence in King County recent weeks.
• Ada County, Idaho is facing the challenges of development.
• An Oregon woman becomes the first female brewmaster to win the coveted World Beer Cup award.
  

Around the Nation

• A growing and alarming number of U.S. veterans are committing suicide.
• Former Republican Congressman Bob Barr of Georgia announced that he is running for President as a Libertarian. Barr was one of the House leaders who pushed the impeachment of President Clinton.
• Federal immigration agents have raided a meat plant in Iowa this morning.

Around the World

• Thousands have been killed as a 7.8 earthquake hit China.
• Fighting continues between government forces and pro-Syrian gunmen in Beirut.
• World levels of carbon dioxide are at a record high.

This Day in History

• 1780 - British forces take Charleston, South Carolina during the American Revolution.
• 1949 - The Soviet Union lifts its blockade of Berlin.
• 2002 - Former President Jimmy Carter becomes the first American President to visit Cuba since Fidel Castro took power in 1959.

NY Times: Washington State "clearly in play" in 2008 (Updated)

"Already, Obama and McCain Map Fall Strategies":

Both sides say the states clearly in play now include Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Update: For the record, I don't agree with the quote.This is all part of the pre-election Kabuki theater ritual. The opposition said the same thing in 2004. Regarding McCain's big ticket fundraiser in Bellevue on Tuesday, Monday's Seattle P-I says

According to a Web site for the Bellevue event, the joint fundraising committee that organized it consists of the McCain presidential campaign, the Republican National Committee and the Republican parties of Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico and Wisconsin.

Thanks for stopping by, John!

Happy Mother's Day, 2008 (Updated)

UPDATE: "Barack's Mother"----"A Free-Spirited Wanderer Who Set Obama’s Path"

Vote for Darcy Burner Today

Senator Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriots Fund has a list of 10 strong House challengers, among them our very own Darcy Burner from the 8th Congressional District, who are competing to receive a $5000 check for their campaign from the PPF. Whoever has the most votes by 5pm CDT on May 14 (next Wednesday) is the winner.

This is where you come in. Darcy needs your vote to win this contest. Consider it a warm-up for the November election, a chance to practice voting. The best part is, even if you don't live in the 8th Congressional District, you can vote too. So even if your member of Congress is a good Democrat, go vote for Darcy Burner and help Washington's 8th Congressional District elect a good Democrat. And if you're from the Northwest, and your state isn't represented among the challengers, how about helping out a neighbor by voting for Darcy?

As of this post, Darcy is in fifth place, but not all that far out of first. So go vote for Darcy Burner today, and please encourage all of your friends, family, and co-workers to vote for Darcy too. Consider the $5000 from the Progressive Patriots Fund a nice downpayment on Dave Reichert's retirement, and a brighter Democratic future for all of us.

"Three Things to Watch for in Politics Today" (video)

Mark Halperin's PageCast, video (00:46).

Goldmark: End abuse of public lands

Earlier this week, Lands Commissioner candidate Peter Goldmark unveiled a dramatic visual showing the tremendous damage that can be caused through the complete mismanagement of our forests:


Photo courtesy of Peter Goldmark for Lands Commissioner

The particular image above shows an area in Lewis County that was damaged in last winter's devastating floods. Notice the line of trees that mark the boundary where the healthy hillside ends and the destroyed part begins. It's scenes like this that remind the candidate why he's running for office. As Peter explains:

Under the direction of the incumbent [Republican Doug Sutherland], agency personnel acted against state rules designed to balance harvest goals with protecting property, public safety, and our natural resources.

How much more damage will be caused in the next four years?

How many more of our neighbors will be made vulnerable?

Once elected, I will enforce the existing state rules written to protect our neighbors' homes, property and safety. It is critical that Washington voters elect a Lands Commissioner with a commitment to long-term sustainability-for school revenues, jobs, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and ecological protection.

Many people forget that the executive branch of Washington State is managed by several different elected officials - not just the Governor. The Governor is the leader with the highest profile, of course, but Chris Gregoire shares executive authority with several other people. They are:

• Republican Rob McKenna, Attorney General (opposed by John Ladenburg)
  
• Republican Sam Reed, Secretary of State
  
• Democrat Brian Sonntag, State Auditor
  
• Democrat Mike Murphy, State Treasurer (Jim McIntire wants to succeed him)
  
• Democrat Mike Kreidler, Insurance Commissioner
  
• Terry Bergeson, Superintendent of Public Instruction (nonpartisan office)
  

Finally, there's the Commissioner of Public Lands. The incumbent is Doug Sutherland, a Republican who is at the beck and call of the timber industry and other special interests.

The office of Lands Commissioner is an incredibly important and powerful position. It's not advisory - the Lands Commissioner directly manages the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) a huge division of the state government DNR is responsible for overseeing over 5.5 million acres of state forests, aquatic resources, wilderness, and agricultural lands. That's an astonishing 8,593.75 square miles - more than eight times the size of Rhode Island! In addition, DNR's biennial budget is approximately $400 million dollars. That means in four years (the length of one term of office) DNR spends close to $1 billion dollars - a huge amount of money.

Among DNR's many subdivisions are the state's largest fire department, which fights forest fires, and the geology & earth resources service, which regulates surface mine and metal mine reclamation, oil and gas drilling, gas storage, geothermal drilling, and underground fluids injection. DNR also has authority over state trust lands, which generate revenues that are used to pay school and university construction costs.

DNR's primary objective is supposed to be environmental protection. Unfortunately, under Sutherland, "caring for your natural resources" is merely a slogan and a public relations front, because Sutherland answers to his very good friends at Glacier Northwest (a subsidiary of Taiheyo Cement), Forest Capital Partners of Boston, Massachusetts, Sierra Pacific Industries of California, Bennett Lumber Products of Idaho, Plum Creek Timber Company of Montana, and many others, including Weyerhaeuser, the BIAW, the Realtors, and the Asphalt Paving Association in-state. All have previously contributed to Sutherland's campaign coffers, and all are deeply interested in affecting DNR's policies.

We have a choice this November between a member of the good ol' boys club and an honest environmental steward who respects the land and values our common wealth. Peter Goldmark is a lifelong Okanogan rancher, a longtime rural school board member, a former regent of Washington State University, and former Director of Agriculture who will bring incredible experience and wisdom to the Department of Natural Resources as Lands Commissioner.

Peter understands Washington, both East and West, and can be counted upon to ensure that DNR truly carries out its mission and serves the people of Washington State...not massive corporations who stand to profit from abuse of our public lands.

Two Reports on Obama in Oregon Today

Barack Obama and Peter DeFazio in Oregon today

"Obama Extends an Olive Branch Toward Clinton" (The Trail, WaPo's political blog):

WOODBURN, Ore. -- Even as Hillary Clinton continued to campaign against him, criticizing his health care plan, Barack Obama took another step this afternoon toward extending an olive branch toward her so that she could "feel good" about the outcome of a Democratic nominating process that his campaign hopes to soon bring to an orderly and amicable close.

Asked by a reporter during a stop at a Mexican restaurant here whether he would be willing to use his huge war chest to help Clinton retire her campaign debts, as some have suggested, Obama demurred.

"That's not a conversation that we've had because our working assumption right now is that we're in the middle of a race," he said, seeking as he did at an earlier stop in Beaverton to avoid seeming as if he is presuming victory.

But, he added, "Historically after a campaign is done and you want to unify the party, particularly when you've had a strong opponent, you want to make sure you're putting that opponent in a strong position so that they can work to win an election in November. So, obviously, I would want to have a broad range of discussions with Senator Clinton about how I could make her feel good about the process and have her on the team moving forward."

Obama said he was "gratified" by his nine additional superdelegate endorsements today, which by some counts put him over the top in that department, but his celebration was muted. "Our focus has always been on the pledged delegates and just getting the American people to vote for us, and we think that, ultimately, that should be the strongest measure of who's the nominee," he said. "But if superdelegates also feel that we're going to be a strong candidate, then I'm very pleased with that."

He was more eager to answer a question about the crisis in Burma, where the military junta is resisting humanitarian efforts to help the cyclone-stricken country.

"I've been following this every day with a mixture of heartache and frustration," he said. "The international community has to put significant pressure on the government there to open up and get international aid in with no strings attached. This is a humanitarian disaster and it's very important that the Bush administration immediately starts working with China, which probably has more influence than anyone on the government in Myanmar."

But Obama stopped short of criticizing the Bush administration. "I have not yet had a conversation with Condi Rice or anyone in the State Department, so I don't want to characterize what they have or have not been doing ... But I can't think of a more important foreign policy initiative for us to take a lead on than assuring that -- in addition to the hundred thousand that have already died -- that we don't start seeing a cholera outbreak and several thousand more who die."

"Economics 101: Obama vs. McCain" (Salon):

In Oregon on Friday, Barack Obama delivered a short speech on the economy. His remarks were notable not because he debuted any fresh proposals (he didn't) but for the explicit pains the Senator from Illinois took to distinguish his economic platform from John McCain's -- as opposed to that other candidate still running for President, whose name escapes my memory, possibly because Obama did not mention it a single time during his speech.

A taste:

John McCain wants to continue George Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans; I want to give a tax cut to working people. I admired Senator McCain when he said he could not "in good conscience" support the Bush tax cuts. But now, as the Republican nominee, he's fully embraced them. He wants to give a permanent tax cut to the wealthiest Americans who don't need them and didn't ask for them while working people are struggling. And for all his talk about fiscal responsibility, he's proposed $400 billion in tax cuts without any word about how he'll pay for him. That's exactly the kind of attitude that has shifted the burden on to the middle class, and mortgaged our children's future on a mountain of debt.

Obama also slagged McCain's gas tax holiday proposal, health care position, and support of the war in Iraq -- noting he would use the money saved from ending the war to invest "in our roads and bridges and ports. And I want to invest in millions of green jobs, so that we finally develop renewable energy, end our addiction to oil, bring those gas prices down, and save our planet in the bargain."

Good luck on getting those gas prices, down, Senator, because, if we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times -- if we want to save the planet, we need higher gas prices, not lower.

Whatever. Again, there wasn't much new to see here, except that, when he concluded with the observation, "there will be real differences on the ballot in November," you could almost feel a fresh breeze wafting through the campaign.

After a long winter and spring of mostly imaginary differences blown up into all-consuming conflagrations, the battle-decks appear to finally be clearing, in preparation for a struggle in which it really won't be that hard to choose sides, however bitter you might be about who is emerging as the most likely person to be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States of America.

UPDATE (from Ben Smith):

Carrie Budoff Brown reports that Sen. Barack Obama's campaign distanced itself tonight from some harsh remarks from Congressman Pete DeFazio about Sen. John McCain at a town hall meeting in Albany, Ore.

DeFazio, an Oregon superdelegate who endorsed Obama today and introduced him at the event, went on an extended critique of McCain, saying voters could not "underestimate the threat that John McCain poses in this election to our future." DeFazio said McCain's Straight Talk Express should be called the "trojan horse express."

And then, DeFazio raised the Keating Five, a 1980s savings and loan scandal in which McCain was implicated. The Senate Ethics Committee later concluded that McCain used "poor judgment" in the matter.

"John McCain has already told us he doesn’t know much about economics," DeFazio told the crowd of 3,000. "He says we need less regulation. Hello? Wall Street, mortgage meltdown, Bear Stears, taxpayer bailout, Enron. But I guess maybe for a guy who was up to his neck in the Keating Five, and savings and loan scandal, less regulation is better for his friends. No, that is not good for the American people."

The comment received only scattered applause. Obama did not make mention of the comment when he took the microphone a few minutes later.

After the event, Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki suggested in a statement that the Keating Five would not reemerge as an issue -- at least not from the campaign.

"There is more than enough space between Barack Obama and John McCain on the issues, whether it is tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans or a timeline for bringing our troops home, and that is where we will focus our campaign," Psaki said.

"CNN: Barack on foreign policy" (video)

Barack Obama was on CNN's "The Situation Room" video, (02:24) to counterpunch against McCain's remarks about his position on Hamas.

Update: On the domestic front, E.J. Dionne looks at the recent Congressional election in Louisiana and concludes

That the Obama link did not bring down Cazayoux in a district that voted 59 percent for George W. Bush in 2004 will help reassure Democratic superdelegates from Republican-leaning districts that they can live with Obama at the top of their party’s ticket.