Smith Declares He’s A Conservative
Gordon Smith boasts about supporting hard right
U.S. Supreme Court Justices and his conservative philosophy.
On his campaign website and in his recent statements to reporters, U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) has declared his conservatism, and asked other Oregon conservatives to join him.
Smith has owned up to a conservative philosophy that includes supporting U.S. Supreme Court Justices who have lurched the court to the right, voting with President Bush 90 percent of the time, and earning a 15 percent score from pro-choice advocates and a 14 percent score from environmental advocates.
“Gordon Smith has finally owned up to what his voting record makes clear,” DPO Chair Meredith Wood Smith said. “He is on the conservative right, outside the mainstream, and not in touch with the issues of everyday Oregonians.”
Read the facts on the jump.
SMITH DECLARES HE’S A CONSERVATIVE
“If you understand that we share in common the values that make us Republicans, that make us conservatives, that make us defenders of all that made America and Oregon great, I hope you’ll click the button and help.”
(Gordon Smith on www.gordonsmith.com)
In a Sunday piece, Smith explained his political philosophy to the East Oregonian.
“I am a conservative, and they are liberals and they don't like that difference.”
(East Oregonian, 8-5-07)
On his campaign website, Smith boasts about supporting conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito.
“Oregon’s Gordon Smith was proud to cast his ‘yea’ votes to support Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sam Alito to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.”
(www.gordonsmith.com)
Roberts and Alito have been singled out for pushing the court rightward.
“In high profile-decisions, Roberts and Alito have bolstered the conservative wing, which includes Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas and occasionally Justice Anthony Kennedy.”
(www.MSNBC.com, 6-18-07)
“Another opponent of the Alito and Roberts nominations, Nan Aron of the Alliance for Justice, said, ‘on the hot-button issues so far, Justice Alito and Roberts almost always join each other and almost always side with Justices Scalia and Thomas to form what’s become the court’s new hard-right flank.’”
(www.MSNBC.com, 6-18-07)
“But several of the 5-to-4 decisions in which Roberts and Alito were in the majority have been on politically explosive topics:
• Abortion: In April, the court, in a ruling written by Kennedy, upheld a federal law banning a specific abortion procedure, called ‘intact dilation and evacuation’ or ‘partial-birth abortion.’ The justices said the statute was not invalid on its face, but could be challenged in specific cases in which a woman could show it would violate her rights under the court’s previous abortion rulings, such as Roe v. Wade.
• Alleged sex discrimination: Last month, the court, in a decision called Ledbetter v. Goodyear, written by Alito, ruled that a woman who’d alleged sex discrimination in pay had missed the deadline for filing her claims.
• Death penalty: Last month in upholding the death sentence of a man convicted of murder in Washington state, the court, in a ruling written by Kennedy, said that trial judges could exclude potential jurors who voiced qualms about capital punishment.”
(www.MSNBC.com, 6-18-07)
Posted August 6, 2007 Smith vs. Smith 0 comments
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