As for healthcare, I think Jeff knows a thing or two about affordable healthcare. It’s one of his strongest passions. His wife Mary is a nurse, and Oregons nurses have endorsed Jeff because they feel he’s the right candidate to tackle the important healthcare reforms in DC.

Here’s a link for you: http://www.jeffmerkley.com/200…..erkley.php

If you just take a few minutes to check on his record, you’d see that he (like Novick) is a great progessive… and Jeff has the experience in the legislature as Speaker!

Like others upthread have discussed, this state is either very progressive (Portland, Eugene, Ashland (where I live)) or quite red. (Though the state as a whole also has a very libertarian, independent streak.) I work in Medford, 15 minutes away and a much bigger city than Ashland, and the attitudes are remarkably different. I still see far too many suv’s and ribbon decals there, and some pointedly right-wing views, though a lot less W04 stickers.

Now if only we had one of these guys running against Walden, my horrible Rep. Sadly, neither lives in our district. Ashland is the southern “toe” of a district that includes the eastern 2/3 of this state – vast, empty and red. We were horribly gerrymandered, our voice stifled at the ballot box by an area, that though beautiful, has very little in common with Ashland.

Lastly, I re-registered as a Dem two weeks ago so I can vote in the primary. We even seem to be of some importance this year (though presidentially, in all honesty, Obama’s already won it – you know it, I know it, but the press won’t admit it).

I’d also like to add that I support Merkley 100% and as far as I know I’m not part of the “establishment.” I’m just a fellow blogger/activist who works full time and lives below the poverty line. I’ve seen what Merkley has done for my state and that’s why I’m so staunchly behind his candidacy.

Listen carefully to the entire message. We absolutely need people in Congress who are elected holistically, not for one or two things that happen to be dear to one’s heart.

For those who live in or near Portland, former Senator Max Cleland, who has endorsed Merkley, will be in Portland on Tuesday April 29th to hold a morning Town Hall meeting with Jeff Merkley at Portland State University. Later in the afternoon they’ll hold another one in Eugene at the University of Oregon. The topic at both will be two-pronged: 1. Iraq and 2. taking (better!!) care of veterans once the military has used them up and spit them out.

I invite those who care about our military veterans to check out the websites of every candidate from every party running for this Senate seat. Merkley alone has a visible and growing cadre of veterans openly supporting him for the Senate. Perhaps the two most famous veterans backing him are General Tony McPeak – who is national co-chair for Obama – and the Special Forces guy that John Kerry saved in Vietnam, Jim Rassman. Another, Colonel Jon Zall, is not well known but he was one of Howard Dean’s veterans advisors in 2004. So that gives you some idea of the kind of veterans support Merkley enjoys.

Gordon Smith can run but he cannot hide from Oregonians any longer.

Change is coming!

So, it’s hearsay. But it troubles me (as if I should be troubled by anything political these days. Or maybe all of it!)

It’s fixed, and thanks for the heads up.

is that right? i mean, you said “the plan was to engage merkley and see if novick can beat him”; whose plan? do you have some inside information that we don’t know about here in the backwater? (trust me, i don’t know a lot). what you say makes sense in a strange way.

overall, even though this primary has pretty much been a pie fight rather than a battle over progressive ideals (for which i think the merkley camp takes most of the blame), i think we’ve learned a lot here and will be better prepared to take the fight to smith.