Barack Obama demonstrated to the country that you need to reach every household, every community, every voter in the nation to effect change. Jeff Merkley had a 100-town tour of Oregon that he hardly publicized, instead choosing to focus on Gordon Smith. Merkley's probably going to win anyway, and will be the most vulnerable senator in the land in 2014. Would it have been different if Merkley actually listened to the whole state, demonstrated that he was listening, and didn't just rely on Portland turnout to win it for him? Merkley has left the Republicans with a wide open door to step back up in Oregon, after 10 years of futility, because he's been all about Portland.
I don't need to remind followers of Oregon politics about the Novick/Merkley primary. A close friend of mine drove Novick around last Thanksgiving to places like Lincoln City. Novick was not going to campaign just for the valley. Merkley, instead of shaking hands around the state and emphasizing a 36-county, all-Oregon strategy, went begging to the DSCC.
Did it work? Probably. Merkley looks like he'll be in DC in January. But he'll be in DC without a lifeline back to the state that voted him in. Make no mistake- very few Oregonians voted for Merkley- they voted AGAINST Smith. Merkley gave us nothing to go on- I can't name a single policy or commitment of Jeff Merkley's, other than a commitment to smear Smith.
If Merkley is the future of this party, we're in the same trouble the Republicans found themselves in the last two cycles. People get weary of the negative. They want positives.
And this state is loaded with positives. Gilliam County and Sherman County are full of wind farms, and the growth of alternative energy has revived vanishing farm towns across the northern part state. Did Merkley take the opportunity to go to Condon, ask people how it's going, and trumpet their successes? Did he go to Wasco and talk about the revitalization of rural Oregon through new energy sources?
Nope. He put up an ad with a picture of Gordon Smith on a bag of frozen peas.
Did Merkley go to La Grande and talk about Eastern Oregon U's success at being an educational hub for the East? Did Merkley go to solid-blue Klamath Falls and talk about how their geothermal energy system can be a model for the rest of the country? Did Merkley go to Oakridge and talk about revitalizing the timber industry by helping local millowners re-machine for smaller logs? Did Merkley go to Coos Bay and talk about revitalizing the railroad and making Coos Bay a hub for Pacific transport?
Perhaps he did, but I never heard about it.
Eastern Oregon has had glimmers of blue in the last few years- Gilliam County, a tiny place in north-central Oregon, has been close to voting D in the last few cycles. Yet Merkley could hardly manage 30% anywhere in eastern or southern Oregon. And I'm betting it's because he didn't give a damn about those people, didn't truly listen to them, didn't shake their hands, look them in the eye, talk about their successes, and promise to help them lead Oregon through the 21st century.
He played the smear game and cared only about Portland and Eugene and getting the vote out. A fine short-term strategy, but one that weakens the entire party in this state and gives the Republicans a big head start on 2010 and beyond.
I live in Portland. I love Portland. But I adore this state and I see jewels in every single corner. I see so much about this state that can be showcased for the USA and the world, whether it's dam removal in Jackson County, the revival of a proud Native American culture in Umatilla and Jefferson counties, the preservation of wide-open space in Malheur County, or the youthful excitement of Multnomah County.
Jeff Merkley only seemed to care about Gordon Smith and going to DC. Yes, it won the election. But it will cost us dearly in the long run. Oregon's Republicans have been powerless for 10 years. Merkley's neglect of the state outside of Eugene and Portland opens the door wide for Gordon Smith to come back and galvanize the Republicans in 2010.
And if the D's don't care about the rest of this state- they couldn't even come up with a decent challenger for Greg Walden!- they're going to start losing people like me, committed to this entire state.
What are you going to do about the rest of the state, Jeff?
-MVK