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August 01, 2007

Oregon GOP attack on Merkley is absurd but unsurprising

Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley(D) threw his hat into the ring for Oregon's junior Senate seat, currently held by Gordon Smith(R), taking a shot at Smith's politically expedient change of heart about how Bush Co has waged the War and Occupation of Iraq. Naturally Oregon Republicans wasted no time in trying to plant a phony skeleton in Merkley's closet by pointing to a 2003 non-binding resolution passed by the Oregon House and voted for by Merkley.

Now understand that I am a long-time Independent with zero Democratic axes to grind. Understand further that I've opposed the Iraq Farce from day one. So much so that the first candidate I supported for Prez in 2004 was Florida Senator Bob Graham(D) specifically because of his inspiring oratory before the Senate opposing the Bill granting Bush a blank check to wage war on Iraq. It's also the key reason why I'm now supporting Obama for Prez in 2008 - because he is the ONLY candidate who got Iraq right BEFORE we invaded... to the point that his statements verge on outright prophecy because of how uncannily accurate his pre-war concerns were with respect to the situation we see in Iraq today.

The non-binding resolution, brought a few days after our invasion of Iraq, expressed support for American troops. The resolution also "acknowledged the courage of President George W Bush" and "expressed support for the victorious removal of Saddam Hussein". Merkley said at the time that his vote was specifically in support of our troops and nothing more. In fact he record proves that he very clearly distinguished between supporting our troops and expressing any support for the war or especially how and why the war was initiated. But Shawn Cleave of the Oregon GOP claims that he doesn't buy that explanation and tried today to use it against Merkley.

"Jeff Merkley's vote make his politically crafted comments today hypocritical, disingenuous and factually untrue. You only get a yes or no vote on the floor. You only get a yes or no vote on the floor."

What kind of fucktardary is that supposed to be?

1. What part of the 2003 vote having been on a non-binding resolution does Cleave think Oregonians are too stupid to grasp? It was an expression of sentiment, not an official Bill enacting change of any sort in our laws or means of governance. Of course the later is determined solely by a yes or no vote and the vote encompasses the entirety of the legislative action... by necessity. That is an utterly different thing from non-binding resolutions.

2. Merkley very specifically, very clearly and very publically distinguished, at the time (!!!), between his support for our troops and why they were in harms way to begin with. To wit:

"I have not been and am not today persuaded that Iraq was a significant threat to the United States or that the war we fight today is the best strategy to fight terrorism or the wisest application of our superpower resources. But that is a conversation or a debate for another day."

Cleave and the Oregon Republican Party know that this is a totally contrived issue. They are counting on Oregonians being too stupid to figure it out for ourselves.

Concerned and caring citizens may rightly wonder if the Oregon GOP is willing to insult our intelligence on the little things then how can we possibly trust that they're going to be straight with us on the big things?

Posted by Kevin at August 1, 2007 08:59 PM