With permission from the Bend Bulletin, we’re posting the newspaper’s recent endorsement for Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley, who’s running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.
Senate race exciting – for wrong reasons
April 13, 2008
The race between Steve Novick and Jeff Merkley, a pair of would-be U.S. senators, has been exciting. Just not for the right reasons.
The race has been exciting for exchanges like one during a recent debate at the City Club of Portland. As reported by The Oregonian, Merkley repeated a Novick claim that Bono, the lead singer for U2, is “the most hypocritical human being on the face of the Earth.” Novick, who considers Bono a tax evader, stuck by his claim.
The exchange served a purpose in that it substantiated Merkley’s contention that Novick is something of a bomb thrower. But you know a political race has gone off the rails when the main contenders are better known for their sniping than their substance. We like a good fight too. But, really. Will they be bickering over Ozzy Osbourne’s carbon footprint next?
The sad truth is that the battle between Novick and Merkley — the funny ads (mostly Novick’s), the snarling and so forth — is far more interesting than their policy positions, which Merkley admits are “largely the same.” That is to say they’re largely the sort of shallow pabulum you’ve heard a thousand times before.
Both want U.S. troops out of Iraq quickly, apparently without regard to the consequences. Both are very concerned about the national debt, global warming, health care and so forth. Who isn’t? But scratch the surface and you’ll encounter the usual collection of buzz words and accusations: single payer, universal access, renewable, sustainable, tax cuts for the rich, George Bush/Gordon Smith (paired, naturally) ad nauseam.
Now, all of these terms serve as shorthand for big, complex issues, so they’re not objectionable in and of themselves. And it’s true that political candidates of all stripes are guilty of the same sin to one degree or another. But having interviewed both candidates and read through their campaign material, we can’t escape the feeling that they went to the same political supermarket, pulled the same can of Instant Senate Campaign off of the same shelf, then stirred in a cup or two of indignation and earnestness. If Merkley and Novick actually got along, there’s a good chance few people would even know who they are.
They are, in fact, two interesting and accomplished people.
Novick is a Harvard-trained lawyer, as witty and engaging as any political candidate you’re likely to meet. He worked during the late ’80s and early ’90s for the Department of Justice, where he litigated environmental cases. Since returning to Oregon, he has spent most of his time in a role that can best be described as political consultant. Among his various jobs: chief of staff for the Oregon Senate Democrats, policy adviser for Ted Kulongoski during his 2002 gubernatorial campaign; and executive director of a union-funded group that opposed ballot measures sponsored by tax activist Bill Sizemore.
Merkley, who has a master’s degree from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, worked for both the Pentagon and Congress as a national security analyst. He has served in the Oregon Legislature for several years and is now the speaker of the state House. His legislative record is, by and large, party-line, pro-big labor fare and includes co-sponsorship of a 2007 “card check” bill that allows unions to bully workers into organizing.
Merkley’s legislative record leaves something to be desired, but the salient fact is that he has one. Merkley’s years in the Legislature suggest that he knows how to function in a collaborative legislative body. Novick has no such experience, and as Merkley’s ideological near twin, he offers voters nothing to make up for the deficit. For that reason, Democrats ought to vote for Merkley.
Should Merkley win next month, however, he really ought to rethink his campaign. Trite, off-the-shelf material might work fine in a primary, but voters in November will want more evidence. 
- The Medford Mail Tribune Endorses Novick The Medfor
- Bend Bulletin Editorial on Charter-gate The Bulle
- One of These Is Not Like the Other: Merkley and Smith…and Frohnmayer? Photo cour
- I’ll Take “Before & After” for $400, Alex: Novick in “Jeopardy” no more Look, we
- U.S. Senate Candidate Jeff Merkley and Oregon’s Thorny Tradition of Nepotism U.S. Sena
Tags: media
Novik is absolutely right about Bono. As an Irish citizen who watched Bono lecture an Irish government to give taxpayers money to the poor in the Africa and then — while i paid my tax — he moved U2 multi billion business off shore to avoid tax. now that is hypocrisy on a world scale. how he gets away being a tax dodger in the US i do not understand. but well done Novick – if you stand for elction in Ireland i would for vote for you. Mick White