Quick Hits from the Northwest

Oregon: The Democratic Party of Oregon has launched StopGordonSmith.com. Blue Oregon has the spicy press release:

“We will hold Gordon Smith accountable for his record as one of President Bush’s strongest allies and his history of voting against the values of Oregonians,” DPO Chair Meredith Wood Smith said. “President Bush already has a personal chef, personal attorney and personal driver. He does not need a personal U.S. Senator.”

Senator Smith votes with President Bush 90 percent of the time according to Congressional Quarterly. As a Senator, he has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with conservative Republicans to limit a woman’s right to choose, worked to reduce environmental protections, called on the United States Attorney General to override Oregon’s “Death with Dignity” law and voted for legislation that would gut Oregon’s minimum wage ordinance.

Smith has consistently raised money for President Bush’s campaigns, proudly campaigned with the President and chaired his 2004 campaign in Oregon.

And while Smith’s rhetoric on the war in Iraq may change from week to week, his votes show that he has consistently supported the President’s war.

Another big ouch!

Montana: Left in the West picks up on another sign that GOP Rep. Denny Rehberg probably won't challenge popular Senator Max Baucus: Rehberg's "political guy" may be focusing his attention elsewhere. I guess we'll have to keep waiting for the NRSC's first recruiting success.

MyDD's Singer pulls out of the polling gobbledegook that Congressional Democrats have it all over the Congressional GOP:

Democrats in Congress have an approval rating of 54 percent positive, 44 percent negative, the best numbers the party has put up since ABC and The Post began asking the questing in 1994 -- and better than the Republicans have ever received during that same time period. Currently, the Congressional Republicans come in with an approval rating of just 39 percent, up from recent polling but still much worse than the Democrats' rating.

More good omens.