Gordon Smith Flip-Flop Alert: John McCain

Jeff Merkley's campaign for U.S. Senate is issuing a Gordon Smith Flip Flop Alert today on John McCain, warning Oregonians that Smith has switched his position on John McCain in an election year.

The Oregonian is reporting today that Smith will no longer serve as Oregon campaign chairman for his friend John McCain.

"Rather than be straight with Oregon voters about his right-wing agenda, Senator Smith is willing to throw his good friend John McCain under the bus to win reelection," said House Speaker Jeff Merkley. "Gordon Smith believes he can rewrite history. He is willing to do or say anything this year to get reelected."

Smith, who has made national news for his desperate ads that show him clinging to Democratic leaders including Barack Obama and John Kerry, has repeatedly been identified as McCain's campaign chairman, but has never once sought to correct the record.

The Oregonian reports today, that:

Smith is listed on McCain's web site as being part of his national leadership team. [Smith spokesperson] Gilbride said that just meant Smith is one of McCain's national supporters.

In addition, a November, 2006 listing of McCain's campaign team (which I found on a politics web site maintained by George Washington University) listed Smith as honorary co-chair in Oregon. And Smith has been mentioned as leading the McCain campaign in Oregon several times in media reports (including from me) without any calls for correction from the Smith camp.

John McCain's camp responded to the news by confirming that Smith is "part of the 'kitchen cabinet at the national level' for McCain." But the McCain campaign acknowledges that Smith is having a hard enough time with his own elected this year.

"[McCain] understood why Smith was too busy to work on McCain's campaign in Oregon this year," says a McCain spokesman.

Posted August 13, 2008
Press