WILL PETER DEFAZIO TAKE ON GORDON SMITH IN OREGON?

There's a toss up about which Bush rubber stamp senator in a blue-leaning state will lose by the biggest margin next year. I'm betting on John Sununu in New Hampshire but both Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Gordon Smith of Oregon are still very much in the running. In fact, with last week's news that the radical right Club for Growth is targeting Smith, he could be considerably weakened going into a race against a Democrat in November '08. The Club for Growth, which operates as an internal GOP hate group, has been undermining Smith's already diminished credibility with the right-wing base by pointing out that he's "an ignorant lawmaker," and a "big spend-spending Republican." He's one of only 4 Republicans-- the others being Pete "Sneaky Pete" Domenici (NM), Heather Wilson (NM) and Joe Barton (TX)-- who have made it into the hallowed grounds of the Club For Growth Economic Hall of Shame.

Club For Growth just launched an Oregon affiliate with the express purpose of defeating Smith. Here's what they told Blue Oregon:

For too long, elected officials who claim to be fiscal conservatives have cast aside their beliefs to partake in a bloated government that insists on taking more and more from hard working families trying to achieve the American Dream. ... To instill greater integrity today, we're launching Club for Growth Oregon to put an end to these games. For us, playtime is over!

Just in time for hard right extremist Bill Sizemore to launch his campaign against Smith!

Oregon Democrats-- not to mention Chuck Schumer at the DSCC-- are watching this with extreme interest, especially after a recent poll showed Congressman Peter DeFazio beating Smith 42-38 in a head to head test. In its latest Oregon poll (March 20), Survey USA has Smith with an overall approval rating of 50%, deadly for an incumbent a year before re-election.

Oregon voters find him, confused, wishy-washing, flip-floppy and standing for absolutely nothing. He's a dead man walking. DeFazio, on the other hand, is wary about running. According to today's Register-Guard, he's considering it but loathes the idea of having to spend his time fundraising. The Eugene-based populist says he'll decide in May. It will be daunting to out-raise Smith, who always gets huge funding from wealthy Mormons, and who is already reporting almost $3 million on hand. Aside from hating to chase after buck bucks, DeFazio is lovin' his new role as chairman of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit which will be deciding how to spend around $400 billion in transportation infrastructure this year.

A look at the voting records of DeFazio and Smith; they are like night and day. DeFazio supports women's right to choice, fair and equitable taxation, government checks on corporate power, workers' rights, environmentalism, a strategy for ending the war in Iraq. Smith's record is putrid on every single issue. He has been a lockstep, rubber stamp nitwit for his entire Senate career, voting complacently with Bush and Cheney for the last 6 years without ever lifting an eyebrow until someone started pointing out polls to him a few months ago that showed he wouldn't win re-election. Now he's looking, desperately, for issues on which he can disagree with Cheney to make himself look "independent." It's unlikely to work.