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ENLARGE
U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley speaks with Canyonville residents at Canyon Market during a campaign stop Thursday. Canyonville was the 82nd city on the candidate’s 100-town tour of the state.
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Running against incumbent Gordon Smith for a U.S. Senate seat, Merkley shakes hands with Rick Richardson owner of the Canyon Market during a campaign stop Thursday in Canyonville.
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U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley answers questions during a campaign stop at Commonwealth Garden Shoppe in Canyonville Thursday
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CANYONVILLE — Bruce Gordon voted for Steve Novick in the Democratic primary, but he told Jeff Merkley on Thursday that he would support him in his general election bid to defeat Republican U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith.
Gordon, the owner of Commonwealth Garden Shoppe, said he heard Merkley speak when he kicked off his 100 Towns for Change Tour in June in Myrtle Creek, where the Oregon House speaker was born. He said he came away from that meeting impressed with Merkley.
“I’m really happy with Jeff,” Gordon said before Merkley arrived on a campaign stop at the garden store and at the Canyon Store across the road on North Main Street.
During a talk before a handful of people, Merkley said the nation’s debt has doubled during the eight years that President George W. Bush has been in office. He said China and Saudi Arabia own half of the U.S. debt and that those countries are turning around and using interest payments to buy property and other assets in this country, which enriches them even more.
The United States is paying $2 billion a day for foreign oil at a time when oil companies are making record profits.
“It’s the right policy for them to make a lot of money. It’s not good for working America,” Merkley said.
He said companies should be forced to utilize domestic oil reserves they already have, rather than having the government end restrictions on offshore drilling. He said the nation should also move aggressively to develop alternative energies through biofuels, biomass products and development of wind and solar technologies.
During his two terms in the Senate, Smith has sided with the rich and powerful, Merkley said. He has also voted most of the time with Bush, at the expense of the American people, he said.
“I have a different goal, to work for working America,” Merkley said.
Canyonville was the 82nd city on his 100-town tour. He traveled to Salem after leaving Canyonville and then headed home to Portland on Thursday night. His Canyonville stop came at the end of a three-day swing through Southern Oregon, where he campaigned in 10 cities.
Smith on Thursday unveiled another television commercial attacking Merkley for furniture and carpeting expenses at the Capitol. Merkley said his office did not receive any new furniture and that the upgrades to both the House and Senate wings to upgrade offices with modern electrical connections and capacities were agreed to by members of both parties.
Merkley’s office is located in a part of the Capitol that wasn’t remodeled.
He said Smith’s continued reliance on attack ads show how desperate he is to avoid talking about his record. Merkley criticized Smith for his failure to do widespread campaigning throughout Oregon like he has done.
“He doesn’t want to defend his record and he doesn’t have the vision for where we’re headed,” Merkley said.
Merkley was tripped up on Saturday after being asked by an operative who videotapes Merkley’s appearances for the Smith campaign about the fighting between Georgia and Russia.
The fighting began Thursday evening, but word didn’t get out to the world until Friday, with the first news appearing in newspapers on Saturday morning. Merkley said he missed the reports because he had been on the road three days campaigning.
On Thursday, Merkley said he did the right thing by telling the questioner he needed to learn the facts before commenting on the situation. He said he didn’t think his response would hurt his campaign.
“No one person is going to know everything at every moment. But you want to have somebody who is going to honestly look into the issues and talk to people on the front lines,” Merkley said. “If it’s education, you want to know what teachers and administrators are experiencing, what parents are experiencing. If it’s health care, you want to know what nurses and doctors are experiencing. That’s the way I go about getting information.”
Tom Osiecki, a Canyonville resident, said he voted for Merkley in the primary and planned to vote for him in November. He said too many soldiers are still dying in Iraq and that the nation needs to pull out.
“I can see some of our best men and women going over there and too many aren’t coming back,” he said. “The Russians are going into Georgia and we’re complaining. We did the same thing in Iraq.”
His wife, Phyllis, wouldn’t say whether she supports Merkley. She said she doesn’t discuss her political choices with other people. However, she said she valued hearing Merkley speak.
“I enjoyed this. I’m glad I came,” she said.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.
Gordon, the owner of Commonwealth Garden Shoppe, said he heard Merkley speak when he kicked off his 100 Towns for Change Tour in June in Myrtle Creek, where the Oregon House speaker was born. He said he came away from that meeting impressed with Merkley.
“I’m really happy with Jeff,” Gordon said before Merkley arrived on a campaign stop at the garden store and at the Canyon Store across the road on North Main Street.
During a talk before a handful of people, Merkley said the nation’s debt has doubled during the eight years that President George W. Bush has been in office. He said China and Saudi Arabia own half of the U.S. debt and that those countries are turning around and using interest payments to buy property and other assets in this country, which enriches them even more.
The United States is paying $2 billion a day for foreign oil at a time when oil companies are making record profits.
“It’s the right policy for them to make a lot of money. It’s not good for working America,” Merkley said.
He said companies should be forced to utilize domestic oil reserves they already have, rather than having the government end restrictions on offshore drilling. He said the nation should also move aggressively to develop alternative energies through biofuels, biomass products and development of wind and solar technologies.
During his two terms in the Senate, Smith has sided with the rich and powerful, Merkley said. He has also voted most of the time with Bush, at the expense of the American people, he said.
“I have a different goal, to work for working America,” Merkley said.
Canyonville was the 82nd city on his 100-town tour. He traveled to Salem after leaving Canyonville and then headed home to Portland on Thursday night. His Canyonville stop came at the end of a three-day swing through Southern Oregon, where he campaigned in 10 cities.
Smith on Thursday unveiled another television commercial attacking Merkley for furniture and carpeting expenses at the Capitol. Merkley said his office did not receive any new furniture and that the upgrades to both the House and Senate wings to upgrade offices with modern electrical connections and capacities were agreed to by members of both parties.
Merkley’s office is located in a part of the Capitol that wasn’t remodeled.
He said Smith’s continued reliance on attack ads show how desperate he is to avoid talking about his record. Merkley criticized Smith for his failure to do widespread campaigning throughout Oregon like he has done.
“He doesn’t want to defend his record and he doesn’t have the vision for where we’re headed,” Merkley said.
Merkley was tripped up on Saturday after being asked by an operative who videotapes Merkley’s appearances for the Smith campaign about the fighting between Georgia and Russia.
The fighting began Thursday evening, but word didn’t get out to the world until Friday, with the first news appearing in newspapers on Saturday morning. Merkley said he missed the reports because he had been on the road three days campaigning.
On Thursday, Merkley said he did the right thing by telling the questioner he needed to learn the facts before commenting on the situation. He said he didn’t think his response would hurt his campaign.
“No one person is going to know everything at every moment. But you want to have somebody who is going to honestly look into the issues and talk to people on the front lines,” Merkley said. “If it’s education, you want to know what teachers and administrators are experiencing, what parents are experiencing. If it’s health care, you want to know what nurses and doctors are experiencing. That’s the way I go about getting information.”
Tom Osiecki, a Canyonville resident, said he voted for Merkley in the primary and planned to vote for him in November. He said too many soldiers are still dying in Iraq and that the nation needs to pull out.
“I can see some of our best men and women going over there and too many aren’t coming back,” he said. “The Russians are going into Georgia and we’re complaining. We did the same thing in Iraq.”
His wife, Phyllis, wouldn’t say whether she supports Merkley. She said she doesn’t discuss her political choices with other people. However, she said she valued hearing Merkley speak.
“I enjoyed this. I’m glad I came,” she said.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.
Running against incumbent Gordon Smith for a U.S. Senate seat, Merkley shakes hands with Rick Richardson owner of the Canyon Market during a campaign stop Thursday in Canyonville.
