What, Smith lie, how preposterous. Not Saint Smith the owner of Smith's pea-packing plantation with slaves and all..he's so benevolent. And the million dollar golf clubs he bought to help stimulate the economy. But than he has those fine endorsements from some turn-coat dimmos...what is today's saying? " A fine man doing bad things".

I am sick to death of 'Gor-dumb" and hope he goes back to his pea pickin'.

You've all seen the Smith Foods commercial...where they say "Who'll package your peas now?" It would have been way more funny if they had said "Who's going to freeze your peas now?" Hee Hee.

Sorry Jack, But we both saw little to like with Merkley. two more votes in for Mr. Smith.

I agree with Dave, I really, really don't like Merley or what he stands for. I'll hold my nose and vote for Smith because agreeing with someone 50% of the time is better than agreeing with someone 5% of the time.

But Merkely did SO well in that debate against Smith (insert 'eyes rolling' emoticon here).

"But Merkely did SO well in that debate against Smith (insert 'eyes rolling' emoticon here)."

The best part was when he said "I don't have any negative ads" at the end, when the ad run DIRECTLY ADJACENT to the beginning of the debate was the ridiculously stupid ad about golf clubs or whatever.

Yes, I understand that it's the DSCC putting these ads out, but one phone call from Merkley makes them go away.

The man reeks of political sleaze and doubletalk; the last thing I want to do is trade out one sleazeball who has some seniority for a fresh-from-the-rutebega-truck sleazeball. At least the seniority *might* do some good for Oregon.

"Moderate" republican legislators are a lie. They vote with the dems when their vote won't matter but vote with the GOP leadership & Bush when it's close (medicare RX, Clinton impeachment).

More importantly they are guaranteed to back their party leader for speaker/majority leader and since those posts carry so much power (esp in the US House and the OR Legislature) that is in many ways their most important vote.

Do YOU want US Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell running the US Senate? Google him.

This is very clearly a race where party affiliation trumps any reservations one might have about the quality of the candidate. Both of the candidates are only modestly qualified at best, and you might hope that Republican seniority will count for little in the next eight years. If that hope resonates with you, anything other than a vote for the Democrat squanders it.

I had a tough time voting for sell-out Smith.

It was Merkley's disingenuous support of card check that made him completely unpalatable to me.

I was going to vote for a third party until I became afraid of the possibility of a filibuster-proof Dem majority in the Senate.

A little gridlock in Washington is good.

As long as the Senate keeps 41+ Republicans, I won't shed any tears if Gordo isn't one of them. Right now, it is too close to call.

As I understand election law, one phone call from the Merkley campaign to the DSCC puts the caller in jail. No communication or coordination is allowed, period. The best you can do is disavow after the fact.

The Smith campaign, on the other hand, created and paid for the sleaziest ad of the season ("you sided with rapists") without any help from the national GOP.

It sounds like Plan B of the last shrinking wacko-Right apologizers here: 'well, McKKKain is a lost advance, so retreat and circle the bandwagons to defend absentee El Gordo and his Undocumented Workers.'

Uh, polling says Plan B ain't happ'nin' neither. Simple homespun Merkley beats the devil out of dipSmit and his Dupes.