Sen. Gordon Smith - OR - has turned on his phone finally. Just called

[dArKeR]

Sen. Gordon Smith
DC Phone: [phone]

You can leave a email msg here:
http://gsmith.senate.gov/webform.htm

[Blue Belle]

1. I faxed him....

[phone].

I heard on NPR's "Oregon Considered" yesterday that he was leaning toward backing Frist on the Filibuster vote, but was hoping that a deal could be made with the Democrats (so he wouldn't have to vote). He's straddling the fence big time... so typical.

[dArKeR]

2. Call too. It only costs about 10 cents. The people who answer the phone

are used to it so don't anyone be shy! I said if Smith votes to END fillabuster I would actively campaign against him as opposed to just not voting for him. The guy almost laughed! A big diff between Repukes and the rest of us. Repukes have no sense of humor or creativity and they hate everything while the rest of us are just the opposite.

PS. I'm sure they have Caller-ID so if you happen to NOT be in a OR area code say you're out of town now. They never ask for you address or name.

[Blue Belle]

4. I did call on Monday...

And the guy who answered the phone didn't say anything but "I'll pass your message along" - you could almost HEAR the smirk over the phone.

I called him from Oregon. He is (unfortunately) my Senator, and I plan on actively campaigning against him regardless of his vote on this.... unfortunately he's not up for re-election until 2008.

[BlueIris]

3. I've called him several times about the filibuster.

Last time was on Monday. Wasn't encouraged. At least they were still taking calls, but the spin his staff was putting out suggested to me that's he'll be a solid "yes" vote. They claimed that this is constistent with his history of insisting on "fairness" with regard to judiciary and use of the filibuster, mentioning that they'd "only" be "restricting" it for judiciary, and that Smith even opposed Republican use of this option to block several Clinton appointees back in the '90s. My position is that as an Oregon Democrat, I've always been able to respect him as a moderate. Elimination of the filibuster with regard to the judiciary of all things is as extreme as it gets. I just kept telling them that I hope he won't do it and shatter what's left of my image of him as a decent guy who tries to do the right thing most of the time (I was more diplomatic than that--they weren't buying it). He voted yes on bankruptcy, but no on ANWAR, leading some to believe there's still hope. I'm not so sure. Because he blew off ANWAR, the Administration is no doubt expecting his compliance from here on out.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

5. gordo puke puke

is between the proverbial rock, etc. I hope he twists himself in knots over this. The idea that that repug run won in as a blue a state as Oregon drives me bonkers.

[Blue Belle]

6. That just proves the Oregon needs to get Bluer.

My worry is over the Governor's race next year.

[BlueIris]

7. Well, he DID win in the war-driven mid-term insanity.

We'll see how well he does next time around, particularly if he DOES vote yes. I did take the time to politely remind his staff that Oregonians have long memories--and a badass Democrat for governor who has kind of a hate-on for Republicans at the moment. So, this could get interesting in the future.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

11. That's why I said he was between, etc

if gordo votes "yes" we can beat him over the head in '08. If he votes "no" he pisses off the repugs in the Senate, White House, etc.

He did beat Bradbury in '02, however I volunteered for an offshoot of the Democratic Party & I feel he won for a few reasons. First, the Dems really wanted Kitzhaber to run & when he didn't they went with Bradbury who got a late start. gordo out-raised & out-spent Bradbury by 7 to 1. Bradbury also never came up with a good campaign. I never really saw that 9/11 had much to do with the election, but Bradbury made a tremendous mistake when he said he would have voted for the IWR. By saying that, Bradbury failed to separate himself from gordo & also infuriated the Dems.

The Dems have got to start working now to find a winning candidate for '08. If gordo puke puke wins again, I swear I'll have a melt down.

[BlueIris]

14. Oh, interesting. I know there were problems with both message

and promotion within Bradbury's '02 campaign, but not having been involved as more than a voter/light contributor during that time, I'm more familiar with the superficial reasons my Republican (ex) friends, neighbors and family members gave for their support for Smith that year. I guess I should have clarified that my impression from their comments was less that they went with him because Republican=Strong on Security but G.O.P=Winners (I Get What I Want). Also, I just hate that--in part, because of Smith's very existence--my beloved Oregon is perceived to be only "light blue" or "purple." Don't know why I'm using terms like that, I hate them. IT'S BLUE. Yes, we passed some goddamn STUPID ballot measures in '04, but, IT'S BLUE. And I'm all for Smith going, now. Because...what you posted.

[dArKeR]

8. I live in a rual town. When paying a bill I began talking to the lady

about gas prices. Then I got to why does everyone around here have mostly Chrysler, then Ford, then GM cars? And I commentted how most of them not only look terrible but they sound terrible when most all the Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans, Volkswagens... look and sound good. She replied that most people around here only want to buy American cars. I said, "But Iaccoca sold Chrysler to the Germans seven years ago in 98." She replied, "Nobody around here knows anything about that."

These people also have Bush/Cheney stickers on some of their cars.

Sooner or later someone has got to admit that Americans are not as well educated as they're presented by the media and politicians. And that when Kerry says, "Give American people the facts and they'll make the right choice" just might not be accurate.

PS. She owns a Honda and told me she has only owned 3 Hondas her entire life and the one got 300,000 miles before she sold it to a neighbor kid. Which she now regrets because of the gas prices. (It's still running!)

[Blue Belle]

9. I know. I live in a small town too.

The good news is, a lot of the people who used to sport Bush/Cheney stickers on their SUV's are constantly bitching about gas prices, worried about the threat of change to social security, and mad as hell about the federal budget cuts (farm subsidies being a big bitch). These people are discovering what they have voted for... to bad it's too late.

[BlueIris]

10. I live in Salem right now and the informed/uninformed disparity

is extreme. And insane. One minute I will be talking to someone who doesn't even know who George Bush is (yep, still happens) and the next I'll be talking to someone who posts at DU. I can't figure it out. It's more complicated than poor citizens/rich citizens or religious nuts vs. the less religious. l'm really confused as to why people who can afford Internet access around here don't have it. I try to remind everyone I meet who doesn't use the Internet regularly that it's essential for me now. I call it "working for change in small ways." And sometimes I call it mind-boggling and frustraing.

[dArKeR]

12. Just tell them they can find free porn on the Internet

and that solve that problem!

[BlueIris]

13. I've also tried reminding them of all the other "cool shit"

online, a speech I thought our society wouldn't see given after about the mid-90s 'cause...yeah. Apparently, there were just a lot of people who didn't get that memo. Weird.

[Blue Topaz]

15. I called his Eugene and Portland offices

a couple weeks ago (I'm an Oregonian). Answering machines picked up in both places. I'll call again tomorrow. I did leave messages and tried not to sound like a bitter Dem. I said something about how the minority party has always had rights in the Senate and that it would be bad for the country to completely remove the voice of dissent from judicial appointments.

[BlueIris]

16. Oooh, good content.

The lady at the S.Oregon office is kind of mean. Just warning you. His D.C. staff was actually rather polite. They're pretty skilled with the spin, actually.