Jeff Merkley Money Bomb Starts Tomorrow-- But On Blue America, It Counts Today Too

Six years ago, then Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley was one of Blue America's top Senate priorities-- and, more than most, he has completely lived up to our hopes… and then some. Merkley immediately became one of the progressive leaders in the Senate who knows how to get things done. So when his campaign told us they were doing a money bomb this week, no one had to ask us twice. You can contribute to his reelection campaign here.

And don't get the idea that Oregon is some kind of deep blue paradise. Although more voters have registered as Democrats (39.7%) than Republicans (31.1%), the balance is in the hands of Independents (29.2%) While Obama did well against Romney (55-42%), he only won 10 of the state's 36 counties. Governor Kitzhaber was only reelected 49-48% in 2010 (winning just 7 counties) and Merkely himself had a close call in 2008 against Gordon Smith, 49-46%, less than 6,000 votes (8 counties). The Koch brothers alone have already spent $3.6 million smearing Merkley and Rove has made it clear that he has plans to elect the relatively plausible inexperienced conservative candidate, Monica Wehby. And she's down with the whole reactionary Koch brothers agenda-- slashing Social Security and Medicare, supporting the Bush tax cuts that benefit millionaires and billionaires like them, opposing regulations on pollution, opposing Wall Street reform, and supporting the same slash-and-burn budget the Kochs were pushing since they were the financial mainstays of the John Birch Society.

Merkley has been on the side of the angels on every issue that's come up since he was elected. There aren't many senators you could say that about. So, yes, he's fought to protect women's choice and he's fought equality under the law for the LGBT community and he's been in the forefront in protecting the environment and for giving working working families an even break in a system that is generally rigged in favor of the rich and powerful. The Oregonian did a compare and contrast comparison between Merkley and Wehby on several issues and one of the most telling was on Wall Street reform, Merkley trying to make sure there is an even playing field, Wehby serving the interests of the anti-regulatory banksters who already plunged the country into an economic catastrophe in 2008. The Oregonian asked them both about Dodd-Frank, which Merkley voted for and Wehby said she would have voted against.

What Merkley says:

I first joined the Senate in 2009, not long after Wall Street's risky bets led to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The stock market had plummeted, small businesses were suffering, and millions of Americans were put out of work while others struggled just to get by. I went to Washington knowing that a top priority had to be making sure a crisis like this never happened again.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was the strongest financial reform package in generations. I led the effort to include provisions that would crack down on the predatory mortgage lending that fueled the crisis. I also co-authored the Volcker Rule to establish a strong firewall between the high-risk trading that jeopardized our entire economy and the traditional banking that serves consumers and businesses.

Failures in consumer protection were also at the root of the financial crisis. That's why I partnered with consumer advocates like Elizabeth Warren, and fought to create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which is helping put an end to the tricks and traps that irresponsible financial companies bury in the fine print. And despite the best efforts of Wall Street and the big banks, I led the fight to reform the Senate's rules, so that we could confirm the CFPB's first director.

Now there's a watchdog in Washington, and a clear set of rules to prevent mortgage, payday and student loan lenders, and credit card companies from exploiting vulnerable consumers.

No firm in America should be too big to fail or too big to jail. I'm proud of the work we did to rein in the Wall Street casino and to end predatory practices that stripped wealth from working Americans.

Wehby's response:

There is no doubt that reform was needed after our economy was brought to near-collapse in the financial crisis. The problem with this bill is that it did not actually fix all the problems that led to the crisis. This 2,300-page legislation contains few actual solutions, in fact, it concentrates power in larger banks while making it harder for small banks to operate.

Despite Senator Merkley's confidence that the financial system is reformed, established economists such as Former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker-- who contributed greatly to the changes imposed upon Wall Street-- now voice concerns over the effectiveness of the reforms. I share the Chairman's concern and believe that Senator Merkley's assurances that this legislation will actually prevent another financial crisis are reckless and irresponsible.

Furthermore, such proclamations of success lull our country into a false sense of security. As a US Senator, one of my top priorities will be to pass real and meaningful reforms of our financial systems, not short-term politically expedient remedies.

I would have voted no because this legislation lulls our country into a false sense of security while doing little to prevent another financial crisis.

You read it-- their own words. If you'd like to make sure Merkely goes back to the Senate instead of this Koch brothers wind-up doll, you can help his campaign here.