As of right now, Republican Gordon Smith, Elizabeth Dole, Ted Stevens, Bob Schaffer and Susan Collins are all skipping the GOP convention. Has this ever happened? We've had recent defectors like Zell "duel challenger" Miller, but have we ever had numerous incumbents skip out on honoring their party in such a public fashion?

Full disclosure, I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley

Gordon Smith is now airing an ad attacking Jeff Merkley and the Oregon state legislature for the cost of renovating the capitol building here in Salem, Oregon. That's right folks, Gordon Smith, the man who voted for the Iraq War and Cheney's energy boondoggle of 2003 is attacking Jeff Merkley, claiming he's fiscally irresponsible.

Full disclosure, I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley

Oregon Senate candidate Jeff Merkley has been an amazing advocate for working families in Oregon. Merkley helped push through the card check, regulated payday lenders and harmful car title loans and passed a bill which allowed workers to use their paid sick days as part of family leave. It's no wonder the shadowy anti-labor group called Employee Freedom Action Committee is airing a new ad against Jeff Merkley here in Oregon. That's not all, the anti-labor group has a man dressed as the Grim Reaper dawning a scream mask following Jeff around at his events in Oregon. More below the fold....

Full disclosure, I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Merkley

Yipee! The Independent Party of Oregon has just nominated Oregon Senate candidate Jeff Merkley! This is great news for the Merkley Campaign considering the Independent Party boasts over 22,000 members and is growing rapidly. The Independent Party is now the third largest party in the state which is pretty impressive considering they just formed back in 2007. John Frohnmayer had been running for the Independent Party's nomination but he bowed out of the race back in June. More below the fold....

Full disclosure, I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley

Right now, millions of Americans are uninsured and millions more are under-insured. Seniors are having a difficult time being able to afford their prescription drugs. American families can't keep up with the high cost of hospice care and child care. Thousands of Americans die every year because they can't afford to get treatment. Bush and Republicans like Gordon Smith have done nothing but line the pockets of big pharma and the insurance industry at the expense of the health of American families.

Full disclosure, I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley

Republican Gordon Smith is running the most negative campaign in the entire country. Smith has spent over one million dollars attacking OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley. You'd think I wouldn't be surprised anymore with the Smith's campaign constant negative attacks and misleading ads, but today the Smith campaign reached a new low. Jeff Merkley released his rural economic development plan and this is how the Smith Campaign responded:

Jeff Merkley has a 10-year record of trying to beat rural Oregon into submission," Gilbride said. "His lackluster and disingenuous proposal is merely fruit from a poisoned tree. It is not credible for Merkley to propose things he spent a career opposing."

Wow.

Full disclosure; I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley

Oregon Senate candidate Jeff Merkley flew out to Austin Texas to meet with bloggers from all across the country. He was very excited about the event as was I. Follow me below the fold to find out about Jeff Merkley's visit to Netroots Nation....

Full disclosure; I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley

Oregon Senate candidate Jeff Merkley is heading to Austin to attend Netroots Nation! Jeff has always believed that the netroots is a critical part of how we make progressive change in this country. He also knows that upstart, passionate Democratic challengers like Jon Tester and Sherrod Brown need the netroots to defeat entrenched incumbent Republicans like Gordon Smith.

Follow me below the fold to find out more about Jeff's visit to Austin...

Full disclosure; I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley

When I woke up this morning, I turned on C-Span to watch the inevitable. A handful of courageous Senators like Feingold and Dodd standing up for what's right while other Senators folded to political pressure. I remember when I first read the constitution of the United States. I was just a kid in public school, maybe 13 years old. We reviewed every amendment and why each amendment was an important part of our democracy. Never in my life did I believe that one day, not too many years later, the U.S. government would completely disregard that sacred document.

Full disclosure, I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley

The Smith Campaign has reached a new low in the race for Oregon Senate. Nevermind the misleading ad touting Smith's so-called environmental leadership. The Smith campaign just attacked Jeff Merkley's leadership on the Rainy Day Fund for public schools. The Rainy Day Fund is a savings account for public schools paid for by using the corporate income tax kicker. Here's a snippet from the Merkley Campaign:

On Friday, following a private event hosted by the Oregon Farm Bureau, Senator Smith attacked Merkley for championing House Bill 2707 and "raiding the 'corporate kicker'".

Smith spokeswoman Lindsey Gilbride wrote that, "the Kicker raid took $290 million out of the pockets of hard working Oregon businesses."

Smith's campaign is wrong.  More than 85 percent of the corporate kicker flows to companies who operate outside of Oregon, according to a 2006 analysis by the nonpartisan Oregon Center for Public Policy (OCPP).

Full Disclosure; I am the netroots director for OR-sen candidate Jeff Merkley

If the Senate had to be associated with a political color, IMO, it would be purple. We have a 51-49 Democratic majority, which doesn't even feel like much of a majority. Without a strong progressive Democratic majority in the Senate, we witness milquetoast bills being championed and real reforms being shelved. If there is one candidate running for the Senate that can influence our Democratic Senators to move to the left, it's Jeff Merkley.

Full disclosure, I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley

Many of my fellow Kossacks are most likely aware of Oregon Senate candidate Jeff Merkley's work in the House on equal rights, workers' rights and combating climate change. Jeff Merkley was the director of Habitat for Humanity and became one of the most effective progressive legislators my state has ever seen. He has a very impressive record on domestic issues, but I'm not sure my fellow bloggers know that Jeff Merkley is one of the strongest national security candidates we've had in a long time. Follow me below the fold to learn about the progressive legislator from Oregon who has serious foreign policy chops.....

Full disclosure, I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley

Yesterday Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriots Fund announced a Senate candidate contest to choose the next Progressive Patriot. The winner receives $5,000 and is honored as the next Progressive Patriot. There are plenty of great Senate candidates running this year, but I want to take a minute and tell you why I believe you should vote for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley as the next Progressive Patriot.

Disclosure: I am the netroots director for Jeff Merkley for Senate

Last week, Republican Gordon Smith voted in support of the Climate Security Act. The Merkley Campaign is calling his vote an election year flip flop. The Merkley Campaign isn't letting Gordon Smith get away with his flip flops on the issues of importance to Oregonians, the campaign recently created a feature on the homepage of their website called flip flop alerts to show Gordon Smith's true colors. The local press is calling Gordon's vote in support of the Climate Security Act, "The Greening of Gordon Smith." Who is right? Did Gordon Smith support the Climate Security Act because he is worried about his re-election chances or has he had a change of heart when it comes to protecting the environment?

Disclosure: I am the netroots director for OR-Sen candidate Jeff Merkley

As many of you already know, the unemployment rate jumped to 5.5%. That's an increase of 861,000 Americans who are now unemployed. Before I took the job with the Merkley Campaign as their netroots director, I was working full time at a job with no benefits. I understand that for small business owners like my former employer, it's quite expensive to provide health care coverage. I lived below the poverty line and even though I could pay my bills, saving money was not an option. The plight of the working poor has always been near and dear to my heart and it's no wonder I have been advocating for Jeff Merkley long before I joined the campaign.

As you many of you know, House Speaker Jeff Merkley was chosen by Oregonians to challenge Republican Gordon Smith for Oregon Senate. The general election race is now in full swing. Merkley is going after Gordon Smith on everything from his flip flop on ANWR to his vote against lowering prescription drug prices for seniors. The Merkley Campaign recently hired a new netroots director, and guess who it is?

More below the fold.....

Many of you know that one of the most contested races this election year is the Senate race in Oregon. House Speaker Jeff Merkley has been chosen by Oregonians to face off against Republican Gordon Smith in the fall. Oh wait.....I called Gordon Smith a Republican. He doesn't want you to know what his party affiliation is, especially if you live in Oregon. If you're a lobbyist in D.C. that's another story.

Crossposted at the EENR Blog

More below the fold.....

Here in Oregon, I am represented by two Senators, Democrat Ron Wyden and Republican Gordon Smith. I know that you may be thinking that having a progressive Democrat endorse a fellow progressive Democrat is a given. Think again. Senator Ron Wyden's camp has said in the past that he would support the Democratic nominee for Senate but would not campaign against Gordon Smith. Ron Wyden has implied that he and Gordon Smith have had a good working relationship over the years and Wyden obviously has respect for the man. However, when it comes to state of our nation, Ron Wyden knows that we need to send Jeff Merkley to the Senate.