Winners And Losers In The News

LOSER: Jeff Merkley's campaign. The Associated Press reported that the campaign is polling Oregon voters, testing negative messages about fellow Democratic Senate candidate Steve Novick. If Merkley's willing to wallow in the gutter, voters only can assume his campaign is going nowhere.

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Winners And Losers

Salem's three-week legislative session was good to some, not so good to others. Here's the scorecard:

Merkley Not Following Intent Of Contributions Rules

Oregon Speaker of the House Jeff Merkley is hiding behind a technicality.

He's in an admittedly awkward position, but his assertion that it is OK for him to raise and accept campaign contributions while the House rules expressly prohibit it is a violation of the spirit of the very rules for which he takes credit.

Merkley, a Democrat from Portland, is running for his party's nomination to challenge Sen. Gordon Smith this fall. The 2007 Legislature was praised for adopting restrictions on lobbyist gifts and other ethical reforms. When it came to campaign finances, the House imposed additional restrictions on itself and it carried those rules over to the 2008 annual session experiment that began this month.

The rules are explicit. No member of the House can solicit or accept a contribution to his or her primary campaign committee during session. The reasoning should be obvious. It reduces the possibility of arm twisting or quid pro quos associated with deliberations in progress or voting.

But Merkley has exempted himself from the rule, claiming that it doesn't apply because he's running for a federal office.

He's in a difficult position. His primary opponent, Steve Novick, a savvy political activist from Portland, is free to raise campaign funds while the Legislature is in session.

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Merkley Fundraising Despite Session

House Speaker Jeff Merkley, D-Portland, said Monday that he will continue raising money for his U.S. Senate campaign during the February legislative session, despite a House rule that prohibits fundraising when lawmakers are meeting.

Merkley said he will voluntarily limit his fundraising by not accepting contributions from any Oregon lobbyists or political action committees registered in Oregon. But he said the legislative counsel told him that the fundraising ban does not apply to candidates for federal office.

"In a highly contested Senate race like this, we can't unilaterally disarm in the month of February," Merkley spokesman Russ Kelley said.

Legislators are meeting in February as a test run for annual sessions. Usually they meet only in non-election years, so the ban on fundraising is not as consequential. The intent of the ban is to limit the influence of special interests on legislators.

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Does Anyone Have An Atlas That Senate Candidate Jeff Merkley Can Borrow?

House Speaker Jeff Merkley's senatorial campaign distributed this press release yesterday attacking Sen. Gordon Smith's trip to Columbia?

Columbia? The river that borders Oregon and Washington? (Personally, I think we should have a free-trade agreement across the Columbia.)

Or did Merkley's campaign, with its description of dangerous Columbia, somehow mean Columbia University?

Oh, the press release is supposed to be about the country of Colombia -- not Columbia. If the Merkleyites don't know the difference between Colombia and Columbia, they might want to spend their time studying up on geography and foreign affairs instead of criticizing Smith.

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Other Must Tax Merkley News

• 2/25/08: The Biggest Loser?
• 2/1/08: Merkley Violating The Spirit Of The Law?
• 11/1/07: Memo To Merkley: Be Careful How You Criticize Sen. Smith