November 28, 2007 - 3:29pm
Report: National Democrats gave $93k to Merkley
By Doug Daniels
Tags: Steve Novick, Jeff Merkley
The Bend Bulletin reported today that the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee has helped Jeff Merkley's U.S. Senate campaign with an unusually early burst of financial backing, despite still adhering to the official policy of not endorsing candidates in the primary phase.
According to the story, the DSCC has sepnt $93,090 to help Merkley.
Merkley has been widely considered the establishment frontrunner in the campaign, although some pundits believe his most formidable opponent, Steve Novick, has the potential to score an upset in the May primary.
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not an endorsement?
Maybe it wasn't an endorsement, maybe it was a birthday present.
Also from the article:
Personally, I don't take kindly to the Party Mechanism "weighing in" on a state Primary. But, if you like your leaders anointed from above...
Seriously though, my biggest concern with this is that Merkley emerges from the Primary unable to deal with Smith since he's been able to "buy" the Primary. If Novick is able to win the Primary, as I think he will, he'll have shown himself to be a more than competitive opponent.
The DSCC is behind Merkley,
The DSCC is behind Merkley, and he also has strong support and endorsements from big labor. This isn't surprising considering what Merkley has helped accomplish as Speaker of the House.
Don't be fooled though, it's pretty over the top to say that Merkley is the establishment candidate seeing as both Merkley and Novick have quite a bit of experience with the Democratic Party in Oregon. The great thing about both men is that the establishment never trumped their values. I support Merkley because I think he can win statewide and he's never let the "establishment" affect how he legislates. He's a proven progressive who gets things done. Sounds good to me.
Committed to unseating Smith
I don't see how getting financial support from the DSCC might put Merkley in a position where he is "unable to deal with Smith." Merkley is a great candidate, and he'll fight hard in the general election against Smith. He's right on the issues, and he's committed to defeating Smith in the general election.
While some might not like the fact that the DSCC is getting involved in a contested Democratic Primary, the assistance is not an anointing (we still have to cast our votes), nor will it be a hindrance to Merkley during the general election.
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