OR-Sen: Be Careful What You Wish For

post from Daily Kos on 08 September 2007 10:28:30 PM. © Daily Kos

JEFF MAPES
The Oregonian

In the wake of Sen. Larry Craig's swift downfall, Sen. Gordon Smith says he is ready to be the new go-to guy in the U.S. Senate for timber and other Northwest natural-resource industries.

Smith, R-Ore., said he feels "very keenly the responsibility" to help not only loggers, but ranchers, farmers and miners. "My plate just got bigger," Smith said in a telephone interview Tuesday, "and I will work day and night for rural folks."
...

In the Senate, Craig has been known as a legislative tactician who fought to increase timber harvests, limit fish protection and block several wilderness proposals.

Gordon "Fishkiller" Smith is going to be hard pressed to maintain the moderate image he's so carefully cultivating with his "opposition" to the Iraq war. I don't think that's going to cut it with Oregon's moderates and independents when they see who he's going to be willing to get in bed with to be the new "go-to guy" for raping and pillaging Oregon's environment.

Larry Craig has possibly done more to damage fish runs in the Northwest than anyone other than Gordon Smith and Dick Cheney combined, so it's not surprising Smith has found his new calling--becoming the next Larry Craig. This should be interesting.

And in somewhat related news, potential spoiler John Frohnmayer appears set to enter the race as an Independent. A former typical Oregon Republican (a sane, moderate type that still exists in the state today), Frohnmayer has the potential to pull a significant number of Republican voters from Smith. What damage he can do the eventual Democratic nominee (Jeff Merkeley and Steve Novick are the contenders) remains to be seen.