Democrats pounce on Smith's ad for Iraq claims

When Gordon Smith released his new campaign video on Tuesday that featured praising statements on the incumbent senator from Presidential candidate Barack Obama, Smith's re-election rivals cried foul.

Wednesday, more Democrats started accusing Smith of trying to rewrite history.

It started with former U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Furse (D-Portland), who the Smith campaign featured in a previous ad regarding Smith's policy on the war in Iraq.

"[Smith was] one of the first to stand up to George Bush and other Republicans to end this war," she was quoted as saying.
Now she says she misspoke.

"I know that he wasn't the first to oppose the war," Furse told to Jeff Mapes at The Oregonian. "He was one of the first of his party to oppose the war . . . That is what I meant."

Meanwhile, Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland) posted a video on his website calling out Smith's misstatements.

"Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said that, 'People are entitled to their own opinions, they are just not entitled to their own facts'," Blumenauer said in the video. "The facts are Gordon Smith has been late to oppose this disastrous war, and people shouldn't allow him to rewrite history."