Skip to main contentMore than 50 people gathered outside of Gordon Smith's Portland office at the World Trade Center Wednesday morning to protest his inconsistent voting record in the U.S. Senate.
"We need to hold him accountable and have him stand on his record," says Meredith Wood-Smith, chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon.
The protest was organized by the Democratic Party of Oregon, which coordinated with Oregon Action and other groups. And the Portland protest wasn't the only one—Smith's offices in Eugene, Medford, Pendleton and Bend also drew protesters, which shows, according to Trent Lutz, the state Dems' executive director, that anti-Smith fervor is growing across the state. Smith's state-wide approval rating is at 33 percent, with 49 percent disapproving of his performance as a senator, according to a poll done by Grove Insight.
"On issues that Oregon cares about, Smith is extremely out of step with the Oregon electorate," Lutz says.
One of those issues is the Iraq War. In December 2006, Smith stood on the Senate floor and spoke in opposition to the War. However, since then, he has voted four times, according to the Democratic Party of Oregon's website, to continue funding the Iraq War and keeping troops stationed there.
"We never know where the real Gordon Smith stands," Wood-Smith said.
Lindsay Gilbride, the press secretary in Smith's office, responds: "Senator Smith understands and shares the concerns of many Oregonians regarding U.S. troops fighting in Iraq...[and] will continue to be the consensus builder among Republicans and Democrats in the Senate."
According to Congressional Quarterly, Smith votes 90% of the time with the Bush administration.
"Ninety percent of the time with a President abandoning the Constitution," says Gavin White, Chair of the Democratic Party of Multnomah County.
During the protest, shouts of "Stop Gordon Smith" met with honking horns on the corner of Southwest 2nd Avenue and Salmon Street. The atmosphere was an optimistic one; many feel that the chances of a Democrat defeating Gordon Smith in the 2008 election are pretty good. Lutz says that the fact that there were protests across the state prove that opposition against Smith is state wide.
"It's not just a Portland-centric liberal thing," Lutz says.
WWeek 2015