Merkley addresses Democratic state convention

U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley received thunderous applause and a standing ovation as he took a few pot shots at Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Pendleton) on Saturday while addressing the Democratic State Convention at Western Oregon University in Monmouth.

"He's spending about a million dollars a month on television ads to say he's moderate, he's independent," Merkley said to the 300 democrats that crammed into the auditorium. "How bipartisan can a person be if they vote with Bush and Cheney more than 90% of the time?"

As the enthusiastic crowd booed the very mention of Smith's name, Merkley broadened his attack from Oregon's Republican senator to the country's Republican administration.

"I'm proud to be a part of the state of Oregon, a state that has the lowest opinion of Bush and Cheney in the country," he said.

Merkley then refocused his message toward unifying the Democratic Party as it moves past a potentially divisive presidential primary and Merkley's own hard-fought primary against activist Steve Novick.

"We have a lot of work to do to restore the integrity of the United States here at home and in the rest of the world," Merkley said. "We need 60 democrats to back up Barack Obama."

After Merkley's speech, the convention focused on the task at hand; voting for the 19 remaining delegates to represent Oregon at the Democratic Convention in Denver August 25-28.