REPUBLICAN SENATOR GORDON SMITH WON'T ENDORSE MIKE ERICKSON

No room for Erickson in their picture

Oregon's last remaining-- for now-- statewide Republican officeholder has told Republican primary voters in the northern Willamette Valley, from Portland's southern suburbs down through Salem, that he doesn't care how they voted Tuesday, he's not supporting their choice for Congress, Mike Erickson. And the only other Republican in Oregon's congressional delegation, far right extremist Greg Walden, is hiding under his bed and refusing to come out when people ask if he'll endorse Erickson. (A spokesman would only say, cryptically, "For now, he's the nominee.")

Erickson's opponent, Kevin Mannix, charged last week that that Erickson had paid for a girlfriend's abortion-- even though he now stands against abortion rights. Erickson denied the charge.

Even though Erickson won, some in the party thought he was too damaged to defeat his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Kurt Schrader of Canby.

"Mike Erickson had serious credibility problems two years ago and has even greater credibility problems today," said Dan Lavey, a Portland GOP consultant. "I don't believe he is electable, particularly against an attractive, experienced opponent."

Kevin Mannix has also announced he will not support Erickson, who he claimed threw wild crack cocaine parties. Meanwhile, though, Republican office holders in the district are reminding Senator Smith that if he wants their help going back to the Senate-- and polls indicate that he needs it badly-- he'd better fall into line and support the party's nominee.

"We're all hoping Republicans will unify behind Erickson and take back the 5th," said Brianne Hyder, Oregon Republican Party spokeswoman. "No one likes negative campaigning, and it's unfortunate that the Republican primary strayed from the issues."

"As a good Republican, I will be supporting Mike Erickson," added Rep. Linda Flores, R-Clackamas.

The intra-Republican dispute should help Kurt Schrader hold OR-05 for Democrats and should also help sew enough discord to damage Gordon Smith's slim chances of being re-elected in a year Oregon voters are overwhelmingly rejecting the Bush's Regime's failed and disastrous policies, failed and disastrous policies that have been largely rubber stamped by Gordon Smith every step of the way.

THERE'S A PINCHED, CORRUPT, HYPOCRITICAL & FEARFUL REPUBLICAN OREGON AND THEN THERE'S THE OREGON OF HOPE... AND OBAMA

Obama in the center, GOP kooks on the fringes

I hope we haven't given anyone the impression that Staten Island Republican congressman Vito Fossella is the only GOP Family Values hotshot with a peculiar sense of Family Values. As we've mentioned, he has two families, Mary Pat and 3 children in Staten Island, keeping up appearances that he's a normal kind of guy with a family. And then there's Laura Fay and their "love child" closer to the office. Many wonder if he belongs to two churches or he just uses church as part of his ruse in Staten Island.

Anyway, enough about Fossella for today. Last week we mentioned the Oregon bloodbath between two crazy right-wing lunatics trying to get the worthless GOP nomination for a congressional seat being vacated by Democrat Darlene Hooley. One loon accused the other loon-- both of whom are huge typical Republican Family Values hypocrites-- of knocked up some girl and driving her to an abortion clinic to get rid of the evidence. (Erickson, the abortion guy, was endorsed by the Oregon anti-abortion organization, Oregon Right To Life, which is now... confused.) The two kooks, Kevin Mannix and Mike Erickson, are in a statistical dead heat going into tomorrow's Oregon primary. But now it comes out that Erickson is also a coke freak. He's been accused of throwing wild coke parties and appears to have been living a disolute lifetsyle. Republicans are relieved that no one has pictures of him in bed with any underage boys.

OREGON REPUBLICANS MANIFEST SOME GOP FAMILY VALUES

From sea to shining sea

Not all Republicans were contemplating seppaku this morning. In Oregon Republican Kevin Mannix thinks his candidacy is looking up-- at least for next week's GOP primary. A former legislator and failed gubernatorial candidate, Mannix sent a letter to voters in OR-05 accusing Mike Erickson, his Republican opponent, of knocking up a woman 8 years ago, driving her to an abortion clinic, giving her $300, and leaving her there. Like all the Republican hypocrites, Erickson is running as an anti-choice, family values candidate.

The Oregonian has all the details of the little Republican soap opera that is dominating the pointless Republican effort to win the seat that is being vacated by Democrat Darlene Hooley. The PVI is D+1.

Mannix defended his actions in a 40-minute interview with The Oregonian's editorial board, calling Erickson "the most dishonest person I've ever met" and saying he felt "morally compelled" to lay out the allegations for voters.

The Oregonian requested the meeting with Mannix, who was accompanied by his campaign's general consultant, Jack Kane; Erickson did not respond to a similar request by the editorial board.

The Salem News ran an Op-Ed under the headline Mannix Slithers to New Lows With Underhanded Political Smear. In fact, most of the coverage I've seen has reverberated mostly to the detriment of Mannix, a former chairman of Oregon's Republican Party. The report at KGW< News Channel 8, was typical:

On Tuesday, Oregon congressional candidate Kevin Mannix accused his opponent, Mike Erickson, of impregnating a young woman in 2000, then dropping her off at a clinic to have an abortion.
Erickson released the following the statement in response:

“Kevin Mannix’s smear tactics are the last gasps of a desperate candidate who is sinking under the weight of his long record of raising taxes. Time has run out on Mannix running for office with nothing but lies and deception. All the voters know about Mannix is his dirty politics and shady financing.

Mannix does not have any other message for voters except his politics of personal destruction. Mannix is desperate to hide his 83 votes for higher taxes. Mannix would rather use smear tactics than admit he has supported over $3 billion in tax hikes.

Is that the character of a person you would like in Congress? Deception, deceit, accusations, and higher taxes?”