US Senator

This post is still in progress.

[_] Dave Brownlow, Constitution	DaveBrownlow.com: • Iraq: "...we need to bring every one of our troops home - immediately!..." • "...The American Empire will fail too...." • "...members of Congress have been breaking the law..." • "...The Federal Reserve is, quite literally, an international counterfeiting ring..." • "...the [Supreme] court is just as tyrannical today as it has ever been..." • "...Hundreds of millions of dollars were raised, while nearly 50,000,000 babies died." • "...The American prison industry has become such a shocking and morally reprehensible mess..." • "...any ban based on gun style, size, caliber, rate of fire, magazine capacity, etc. is in direct conflict with the Constitution..." • "...It is time to entirely rethink the way we provide for the common defense of the states...." • "...There is a little used/known congressional tool called the letter of marque and reprisal, which could be useful in targeting individuals or groups..." • "..."freedom and democracy" may be exploding over an Iranian neighborhood soon..." • "...let's disengage from all of the imperialistic conquests we have ventured off on and spend a little more energy cleaning up the mess we have made for ourselves right here at home..." • "...For as yet unexplained reasons, World Trade Center Building 7...imploded onto its own footprint..." • "...Get the U.S. out of the U.N.!..." • "...only people we allow across our borders are those who want to play by the rules..." • "...NAFTA, GATT, WTO and MFN have been colossal failures..." • "A Sound Foreign Policy: '...peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none...' Thomas Jefferson" • "...Property taxes collected under threat of violence are a clear violation of our inalienable right to own property..." • "...there is a serious doubt whether any of our wages are taxable according to the law..." • "...get the government completely out of the marriage licensing business..." • "...thousand tons of Depleted Uranium rounds...we left strewn all over Iraq..." • "...the federal government can arrest American citizens, hold them indefinitely, refuse them access to counsel, ship them off for interrogation to a country that has even less aversion to torture..."
[X] Jeff Merkley, Democrat	JeffMerkley.com: • "Cutting Taxes on Working Americans: Make College, Child Care, Long Term Care More Affordable; ...Cut Taxes for 95% of Americans..." • "Growing Rural Oregon: Creating Good-Paying Jobs, Cutting Taxes, Improving Life in Rural Oregon; Support Oregon's Natural Resources Industries and End Unfair Trade Agreements; Provide Tax Relief for Farmers, Ranchers, Loggers, and Fishermen; Invest in New Infrastructure for Rural Oregon; Support an Emerging Bioeconomy; Foster Entrepreneurship and Ensure Access to Technology" • "Protecting Children and Families": "...Fight Meth"; "Crack Down on Sex Offenders"; "...Add 50,000 More Police on the Street"; "...Protect Victims of Violent Crime"; "...Increase DNA Technology" • "Strengthening Education": "...fully funding public schools"; "...Overhaul No Child Left Behind"; "...Head Start Programs must be fully funded"; "...college education must be affordable..."; "Provide children with the health care..."; "...parents to be as involved in their child’s education..."; "...the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) must be fully funded"; • "Honoring America's Veterans"; "...allowing disabled veterans to collect their full retirement pay..."; "...Increased funding for mental health services..."; "...screening and treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury..."; "...Fully funding the VA health care system..."; "...expansion of educational opportunities for veterans..."; "...Revised deployment guidelines..."; "...Extend full VA and other benefits to members of the National Guard..." • "Creating Quality Jobs": "...Cancel or fix unfair trade deals..."; "End federal giveaways to companies that ship jobs overseas"; "End billion dollar giveaways to oil companies and invest in a new green economy"; "Strengthen the Buy American Act"; "Provide affordable quality health care to all Americans"; "Give tax credits to families to make child care affordable and incentives to companies who provide child care for their workers"; "Invest in public transportation"; "Employee Free Choice Act would give workers a real choice on a level playing field when deciding whether to form a union"; "...increase the minimum wage and protect minimum wage increases indexed to inflation"; expand "Prevailing Wage" • "Reforming Our Trade Agreements" • "Ending the Iraq War": "five-point path includes: Removing all combat troops starting right away...; Eliminating permanent U.S. military bases...; Engaging Iraq’s neighbors in a diplomatic effort...; Removing all American contractors...and replacing them with Iraqi contractors; ...stronger engagement with the Iraqi Parliament..." • "Health Care for All Americans": "Universal Access", "Wyden's Healthy Americans Act", "Addressing the Nursing Shortage" • "Energy Independence and Conservation": "Investment in Renewable Energy", "Reducing Carbon Emissions", "Incentives for Cities to Reduce Climate Change", "Investment in Research and Development" • "Helping Families Get Ahead": "...take a hard look at abusive practices of some in the credit card industry...", "Among mortgage lenders, prepayment penalties and excessive fees have become the norm for extracting more and more hard earned cash out of consumers...", "...make sure this housing mess doesn’t happen again" endorsements: • WWeek • Portland Mercury • Just Out • The Skanner • NARAL Pro-Choice • Sierra Club • Jack Bogdanski
[_] Gordon H Smith, Republican	GordonSmith.com: • "Cutting Taxes": "...reductions to the federal income tax, the capital gains tax, and the marriage penalty..." No mention is made for how the federal budget will be balanced, Social Security saved, and American debt addressed. • "Building the Oregon Tech Community": "...making the R&D Tax Credit permanent, expanding H-1B visa caps, and training the next generation of tech workers..." • "Fighting for Rural Oregon": "...working to fund federal timber sales, writing legislation to expedite recovery of the Biscuit Fire..." • "Bringing the Troops Home": "...transition America’s mission to the Iraqi security forces..." Smith only changed position after the GOP lost Congress in 2006. • "Helping Power Oregon": "...supports improved fuel economy standards..." • "Helping Families Afford an Education": "...increase Pell Grants, lower student loan interest rates and increase critical funding for the Head Start Program...", "...increase...tax deduction for teachers who purchase classroom supplies" What? Shouldn't classrooms be properly supplied in the first place? • "Making Health Care More Affordable": "...lower the number of uninsured and drive health care costs down..." Sounds nice, but vague. Unfortunately, his campaign provides no details. • "Caring for the Greatest Generation": "...strengthening federal programs such as Medicare Drug Benefit, Medicaid and Social Security..." Pandering to the "greatest generation". • "Creating Parity for Mental Illnesses": "end to health insurance discrimination against people with a mental illness" • "Protecting Oregon's Treasures": "...landmark can be protected without locking out the public..." i.e. Keep landmarks accessible to businesses by keeping them out of the National Parks System and in the scandal-prone Bureau of Land Management. Endorsements: • Portland Tribune • The Oregonian • Victoria Taft • OR "Family" Council (pdf) (inferred: 6/7 rated)

MY FIRST IMPRESSION: I still prefer to support Steve Novick, but Merkley is growing on me.