Senate candidates "discuss" issues at the Eugene City Club

Eugene- Although there were five candidates sitting at the dais at the Eugene City Club Senate candidate discussion, Rep. Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick zeroed in on each other, peppering almost every answer with a reference to his main opponent’s weaknesses, with occasional criticism of Sen. Gordon Smith thrown in.

From social security to the war in Iraq to each man’s support of candidates—past and present—for the presidency, Novick and Merkley, flanked by Candy Neville and Pavel Goberman, slid in comments about each other nearly every time either held the microphone, with David Loera sandwiched in the middle of the increasingly heated two-man battle.

Merkley and Novick replayed the discussion of who the true Democrat is, engendered by both men’s announcement—on the same day—that they each support Sen. Obama for president. Merkley has been slighting Novick for supporting Nader in a 1998 letter, as well as for saying he might be “disappointed” in either Sens. Obama or Clinton as a president.

Novick, who recounted that he urged voters to vote for Al Gore in 2000, inquired if Merkely’s pants caught on fire when the Speaker said on the radio the other day that Novick had “recently” praised Nader.

Merkley responded by saying that the two disagreed completely on the Green Party candidate.

“When Nader said Democrats and Republicans are the same, you agreed and I disagreed. I disagree with your statements about being profoundly disappointed about the candidates in the democratic primary.”

“We’re breaking molds, and it is wonderful for our nation,” Merkley continued.

The two also butted heads over whether Merkley supported the war in Iraq; going back and forth about what was said when, who was misrepresenting what, and who may or may not have been missing in action.

The other three candidates were almost—but not quite—lost in the fray.

Neville spoke passionately of her “heartbreak” and “shame” over the Iraq war, standing up (literally) for her beliefs on getting out of Iraq and fixing health care.

“We have seen missteps and mistakes on every single subject; I offer you myself and my big mouth,” she said, also noting the difficulty of running against a foregone conclusion.

Loera focused on the issue of immigration, addressing the licensing bill passed by the Legislature in February, asking Merkley if his ancestors were immigrants, and then offering a “shame on you” to the Speaker.

“Merkley set civil rights movement 30 yrs back [with that bill,]” he said.

Goberman—who had trouble limiting his comments to the time constraints—vehemently proclaimed that people who ignore the constitution must be fired, impugning Merkley and Novick for accepting campaign contributions.

“I don’t accept money from nobody,” he proclaimed.

The Ukrainian fitness buff also had a word or two to offer regarding the media.

“The media corrupted this country,” Goberman said. “The media has created political prostitution.”

In the end, the candidates sounded many familiar sound bites; Novick saying that the country needs “strong, principled, progressive leaders, leaders not afraid to tell people what it’s going to take,” Merkley enumerating the differences between himself and Smith (“I am the son of a mill worker, and when I make a decision I think about families sitting around the kitchen table,”) and both swinging at each other about, in Merkley’s words, “little differences between Democrats.”