It Started On A Blog
The unraveling of the Smith Myth didn’t begin with a TV ad or mail piece.
It started on a blog.
Blue Oregon editor Jeff Alworth’s revealing look at voting numbers shows Republican Gordon Smith consistently votes with Republicans and cancels out Oregon's Democratic U.S. Senator, Ron Wyden. And he caters to conservatives on almost every key vote where he could make a difference.
Click here to read the full post with the clear charts that debunk the Smith Myth. IT’S WORTH THE FEW MINUTES IT TAKES TO READ IT.
Click here to listen to Alworth’s quick explanation yesterday on KPOJ’s morning radio show.
Key Excerpts:
Reliable GOP Vote
“One of the handiest features allows you to see how often your Senator voted with his party. With Gordon Smith, an interesting pattern emerges. In the 105th and 106th Congresses--when Smith was not up for re-election--he was a reliable Republican vote. In fact, he voted with the GOP majority about 3% more often than his colleagues did on average. But during the 107th Congress, when he was running for re-election, he mavericked up, voting with the Republicans less frequently than his colleagues. So now that he's prepping up for the fight of his life, would you guess that he's mavericking up again?”
(Jeff Alworth, Blue Oregon, 4-21-08)
When Tough Votes Are Up
“Another way to assess Smith's maverick bona fides is to examine what he did when the vote was on the line. It's one thing to vote against drilling ANWR, as he did in 2005, when the outcome was not in doubt. But what about when it is in doubt? For each session, the Post lists the dozen or so closest votes, including names of defectors. You would imagine that a maverick like Gordon Smith would take brave stands against his caucus even when it meant scuttling their position, right? You would imagine wrong.”
(Jeff Alworth, Blue Oregon, 4-21-08)
"The Post had 12 close votes listed for 1999 (106th), and 15 for 2001 (107th). The GOP had pretty loose party unity in '99--just 88.4%. In '01, it was a more unified 95.2%. The number of times Gordon Smith deviated from the majority in these close votes: zero. Nada. None for 27. By contrast, Arlen Specter (R-PA) was a real maverick. In these close votes, he dissented from his party 58% and 40% of the time. Susan Collins (R-ME), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), and George Voinovich (R-OH) were all far more maverick than our man Gordon."
(Jeff Alworth, Blue Oregon, 4-21-08)
Cancelling Out Ron Wyden
“For Oregonians, that means we have had a Senator cancelling out every effort Ron Wyden has made to end the war, address health care and wages, and make progress on the environment. For the next seven months, we're gong to hear a lot of hype about Smith's 'independence' in the Senate. Don't believe it--he is and has voted like a good, orthodox Republican, making sure the agenda of George W. Bush has had smooth sailing. The numbers tell us so.”
(Jeff Alworth, Blue Oregon, 4-21-08)
Posted April 23, 2008 Smith + Bush 0 comments
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