Jeff Merkley Up Close And Personal

Jeff Merkley with the Hopelettes and John Amato

A few days ago Goldman Sachs downgraded the shares of Warner Music Group, the company I used to work for. They did it because their main source of income, recorded music, is down by 4% and their EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization), the number I learned to live and die by when I worked there, was down by 5%. The shares were overvalued. A few weeks earlier I downgraded the company for a more fundamental reason. I went to see one of the label's signature artists, R.E.M. I was stunned to see so few Warner Music employees at the show. One of my friends explained that the company's policy about live shows has been turned inside out.

If I noticed an employee wasn't going to see our artists' live shows I would explain to them that they can never understand who an artist is or what he's trying to achieve unless they experience the live show. I always knew that when enough people had seen a Barenaked Ladies live gig, the band would break. So we stuck with them through half a dozen mediocre album sales while they built a loyal live following. One day they reached critical mass and exploded, selling millions and millions of records (including millions of catalog records). Same thing happened with Depeche Mode. It's how careers are built-- and record labels. These days penny-pinching accountants have decided it is too expensive for the employees to go see artists. It's all over.

Tonight John Amato and I met D-Day at a different kind of live gig. As you know, I get to see as many politicians speak these days as I used to see bands... well, almost as many. The ones I see all have good messages; some however, deliver it better than others. No one delivers it more effectively than Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley. And it's much more than being a showman, let alone a snake oil salesman. Jeff's life story is the life story of everyone in the audience. When he speaks you know he's not some kind of carny act. He's sincere and empathetic and he has a way of making complicated values and principles easy to understand and integrate.

After reading about Jeff-- and even interviewing him and blogging with him-- seeing him speak to an audience was like seeing a band whose records you like play a concert for the first time. And, unlike some bands, he delivers. Even though Jeff has been ahead of Gordon Smith in the polls, I'm a little worried because Smith's campaign is so flush with corporate bribes that he can run TV and radio spots day in and day out-- which is what he's doing. Jeff is depending on individual, unaffiliated donors to help him get his message out. You can help him via the Blue America ActBlue page. The DSCC is running this radio ad for him in Oregon now: