Read a Pacific Northwest, liberal perspective on world, national, and local politics. From majestic Redmond, Washington - the Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog.

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Oregon deserves a better U.S. Senator

The Oregon Democratic Party has been keeping track of Senator Gordon Smith's recent shenanigans, and the picture isn't pretty. Here's one of Smith's most recent self-imposed entanglements:
Uh Gordon, do you want to try that again?

Smith tried to convince The Register-Guard editorial board Tuesday that he barely worked with Vice President Dick Cheney and the White House when they made a political decision to abuse environmental and commercial resources to get him re-elected in 2002. The 2002 Klamath River water diversion ended up destroying coastal fishing communities.
Smith downplayed his connection to Cheney in that chapter. He said he did not recall speaking with the vice president, but did lobby President Bush during a flight on Air Force One to allow some of the basin's water dedicated for imperiled sucker fish to be diverted to withering croplands and pastures.

"I was not familiar with all the things the vice president was doing," Smith said, referring to the Washington Post's account."
(The Register-Guard, 8-8-07)

Yet, in 2001, Smith demonstrated clear and direct knowledge of Cheney’s involvement.
“Dick Cheney stopped that order from coming down," Smith said. "He ordered the biologists back to Washington to see if there were some way to get around the conclusion that all available water must go to protect endangered suckers in Upper Klamath Lake and threatened coho salmon in the lower Klamath River."
(Herald and News, 4-9-01)

Smith even ran TV ads touting his coordination with the White House.

"Where is the honesty from Gordon Smith?" DPO Chair Meredith Wood Smith asked. "In 2001 he couldn’t stop talking about his coordination with Vice President Cheney and the White House. Now, he says he barely worked with them. Gordon Smith has let the truth become a casualty in his re-election bid. His disregard for the truth is troubling and a disservice to Oregonians."
Oregon readers, if you're weary of this nonsense and ready for new representation in our nation's capitol, head over to Stop Gordon Smith and help make change a reality.

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