FeedsJeff Merkley's Ascension
Jeff Merkley has spent his whole life exceeding expectations. Coming from a working-class background here in Oregon, Jeff has worked long and hard to get where he is today. The son of a mill-worker, Jeff knew hardship growing up. But his family worked hard, and so would he.
From Stanford to Princeton, from the Department of Defense to Habitat for Humanity, and now in the Oregon State House, Jeff Merkley first learned as much as he could, and then put his skills to the test. Now, as Speaker of the Oregon House, he spends his days working to ensure all Oregonians can survive and thrive. At the same time, he's running for the U.S. Senate in order do the same for all Americans.
Indeed, if yesterday's Portland Tribune article is to be believed, Jeff Merkley has arrived.
Penned as the Oregon legislature returns to a special session, the Tribune's article throughly introduces its readers to Jeff Merkley, from youth through to his current run for the U.S. Senate. The article touches on his background in a personal way, spending a great deal of words on his history, talents, and determination.
But the most crucial points the article makes center on just what he'd bring to Washington if elected: leadership, determination, intelligence, and an ability to unite individuals around common causes. And, considering how many Democrats have been scared of their shadows and the saber-rattling of President Bush, his arrival would be none-to-soon.
As a political mind, the tribune compares Jeff to Newt Gingrich, noting his intelligence and the way he lead the Oregon House Democrats into their recent majority. While that comparison may be tantalizing for some, I'd argue that Jeff's more like Newt with a heart and soul: unlike the ridiculous Georgia Congressman, Jeff is a staunch progressive who cares about working-class values. And, although Oregon Republicans will cry that he froze them out, many pieces of crucial legislation passed with far more than the bare majority the Democrats possessed.
In cliched political parlance, Jeff's a real uniter, whereas our current President and Gingrich (amongst others) are the dividers.
But considering his background, Jeff's run for the U.S. Senate is remarkable. Unlike Gordon Smith, Jeff doesn't come from influence or money. Indeed, his struggle up the ladder, through public schools and onward, has come through hard work and against expectations. His diligence, advocacy for working-class values, and strong legislative record demonstrate that he's got the right stuff to lead for Oregon starting on day one.
In May, I'm voting for Jeff Merkley because I believe he's both the right candidate to take on Gordon Smith in November and the right person to advocate on behalf of Oregonians in Washington. From affordable housing to the environment, and from the Iraq War to civil liberties and healthcare, Jeff's got the right values. And, now that he's running for Senate, he's ascended to a place where he can take those values and make them policy-based realities for Oregonians and for all Americans.
We just need to do our part and ensure he's elected, come May and November.
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Comments from site editors have a darker background than comments from everybody else.Your header says it all, son of a mill worker, defense dept. analyst, non-profit director. What a candidate we have in Merkley! Merkley is incredibly well rounded, and could school Gordon Smith on foreign policy. I can't wait for the debates! Great piece!
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Jeff's background, credentials and experience lend him to be a great senator to represent Oregon.
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and yet not the most progressive or best choice. Just more of the same, with a different letter next to his name. That stuff isn't working for him in session, is it?
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So, you're calling Jeff a DINO?
Man, you guys'll say anything to impugn his record.
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Ah, the fake Purity Troll is back. I smell desperation!
"The most progressive" in the small world of torridjoe means trying to gin an endorsement, outright declining to practice the very same full disclosure which torridjoe himself throws a tizzy fit over if anyone even remotely associated with the Merkley campaign forgets to practice, and trying to gin up Jeff Merkley's Wikipedia entry - all by members of the Novick campaign staff. And then there are the regurgitated Reich-Wing talking points that torridjoe is fond of using, as is Steve Novick.
If that's "the most progressive" then I submit that Oregon doesn't need any more of those kinds of unethical tactics that have been used by seasoned political hacks for centuries.
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Mark you have finally gone completely nuts. Jeff Merkely is a DINO?
Your delusional jihad against Merkley (because you back Novick) is so full of crap now that I can't take a single thing you post seriously.
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Come on. You seriously think Merkley is going to be "more of the same"? He has a proven record of passing progressive legislation. More of the same would be electing someone who is in the moderate Dem mold like Salazar. Merkley is no moderate.
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You're right, Sarah. And TJ knows it. This isn't about right/wrong for him. It's about "the ends justify the means." Which is consistent with the ethics demonstrated by the campaign he's attempting to boost here.
Fake Purity Trolls with no ethical compass might as well be on the payroll of Gordon Smith, as far as I'm concerned. They help him more than Novick.
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Merkley would be far from "more of the same." He's a great alternative to Gordon Smith. His record in the state legislature speaks for itself. Not only has he gotten plenty of progressive legislation through, but he's done it with only a one vote majority. Merkley has demonstrated his skills as a progressive legislator, and I look forward to him demonstrating those skills in the U.S. Senate.
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