After opening the legislative session with the promise of good-faith bipartisanship, House Republicans’ decision to walk away from badly needed homeowner assistance has left many Oregonians questioning whether the party has anything but lip service to offer middle-class families.

Tonight, Meredith Wood Smith, Chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon, released the following statement in response to President Obama's third State of the Union address:

“Tens of thousands across Oregon tuned in to the State of the Union address tonight looking for presidential leadership – they were not disappointed. I am proud of President Obama, not just for articulating the economic inequality felt by so many middle-class Americans, but also for presenting a real blueprint for an economy that’s built to last.

Today, Oregon House Republicans announced their agenda for the upcoming legislative session: give more tax breaks to the wealthy and overturn the will of Oregon voters. The proposal, by their own math, would cost nearly $4 billion over five years, forcing cuts to vital services for students, seniors and middle-class families. In every way, their approach reflects the same priorities of the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, whose gridlock-first agenda has hurt our economy and done nothing to create jobs.

A very bad week for Republican Rob Cornilles was capped today with the first public poll of the general election showing him 11 points down to Suzanne Bonamici. Investigative reports from Willamette Week and the Oregonian surfaced this week calling into question Cornilles’ business credentials, job creation claims and hypocrisy on tax breaks.

Portland, Ore. – Less than two months after a spate of headlines forced Republican Rob Cornilles to defend his business’ failure to pay federal taxes, two separate investigative reports—published today in Willamette Week and in yesterday’s Oregonian—offer startling new details about the company and its management under Cornilles.

It may surprise Oregon voters that there’s at least one issue where Republican Rob Cornilles hasn’t tried to run from from his Tea Party roots—unfortunately for women in the 1st district, it’s a big one: the right for women to make their own health care decisions.

Hours after becoming the Republican nominee for Oregon’s 1st district, Rob Cornilles proved beyond any doubt exactly how far he’ll sink as he tries again to get himself elected to Congress. His baffling attacks against Suzanne Bonamici on Medicare -- cookie-cutter Republican talking points repackaged -- left many wondering whether Cornilles has anything to offer Oregonians but empty political rhetoric.

Today, the Democratic Party of Oregon released a new video and website entitled “The Real Rob Cornilles” that expose some of the lies Tea Party congressional candidate Rob Cornilles is peddling to Oregon voters. Cornilles has falsely claimed he is not a millionaire, is running away from his self-proclaimed status as “the original Tea Party candidate” and continues to exaggerate his record on job creation.

Republican Tea Party candidate Rob Cornilles has avoided taking a clear a position on issue after issue, but most worrisome to Oregon seniors is his inability to fully explain where he stands on Social Security. He has already opened the door to private accounts, but Oregonians are still wondering whether he supports the other mainstream Republican proposal for Social Security – raising the eligibility age for future recipients.

For months, Republican Tea Party candidate Rob Cornilles has talked circles around a straight answer on Medicare and Social Security. Now we know why: Cornilles believes in subjecting Oregon seniors to the mercies of Wall Street and the private insurance market.
 

After rubbing elbows with Washington, DC Republicans this week, Tea Party candidate Rob Cornilles owes some answers to Oregon’s seniors -- Why hasn’t he rejected the radical House Republican plan to end Medicare? Will he join his Tea Party friends in Congress as they fight to privatize Social Security? There is a candidate forum at a Portland senior center tomorrow -- if they’re lucky, 1st district seniors might finally learn where Rob Cornilles stands.

The state of Oregon and the Democratic Party of Oregon have lost a great public servant in Betty Roberts. Her contributions to the state are manyfold and her legacy will be long lasting.

"She was a hero to the women of our state, both Republican and Democratic, and led the way for all of us" said Meredith Wood Smith. "Our thoughts and prayers are with her family."

Today NBA Hall of Fame star and former Presidential Candidate Bill Bradley endorses John Kitzhaber. Bradley said in his endorsement, "During these difficult economic times our country needs the kind of experience, candor and compassion that John Kitzhaber has demonstrated throughout his life of public service.  I am pleased to endorse his candidacy for Governor of Oregon."

To: Oregon Media
From: Amy Wojcicki, Democratic Party of Oregon Communications Director
Date: October 23, 2010
RE: 10 Days to go – Democrat John Kitzhaber seizes Momentum

Let’s just get this part out of the way: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNnAvTTaJjM

Today’s Willamette Week reports a curious tax deduction Chris Dudley claimed in 2004. First Dudley asked his local fire department to burn down a home he owned, then Dudley turned around and asked the IRS for a $350,000 deduction for the FULL value of that very same home.

Chris Dudley chose to ignore The Oregonian’s Candidate Questionnaire, showing that he intends to keep voters in the dark about his real policy beliefs.
 
Dudley is attempting to run a campaign based solely on platitudes and tired talking points, when he is specifically asked to answer questions.
 

“Last night Kitzhaber showed Oregon why experience matters. Chris Dudley’s only idea is a tax break for the ultra wealthy. Dudley and George Bush must have had the same economics professor at Yale,” said Meredith Wood Smith, Chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon. “John Kitzhaber laid out clear answers and a clear vision to move Oregon forward.”

The reviews are in:

After 3 hours of post debate analysis across the state, one person has been found willing to boldly declare Chris Dudley the winner: his campaign manager.


From their campaign facebook page:

The rest of the Dudley campaign has yet to comment.

Today Democratic Party of Oregon Chair Meredith Wood Smith joined Oregon Community leaders in asking the Fraud Team at the Oregon Department of Revenue to investigate what may have been an illegal attempt by Chris Dudley to evade paying Oregon taxes. That letter is attached here.

With Oregonians statewide celebrating the 75^th anniversary of Social Security this Saturday, Scott Bruun’s support for privatizing this program and putting the financial futures of Oregon’s seniors into the hands of Wall Street traders is coming into focus. 

In 1996, Bruun told The Oregonianthat the way to address the solvency of Social Security was “by slowly converting contributions into private investments, which will earn a much higher rate of return.”

Today, the Democratic Party of Oregon proudly launches our newly redesigned website.

This site will provide tools for supporters across the state to become more involved with local campaigns and to give them online access to candidates and elected officials. Democrats will now have a place to go to find all the democratic events happening in their community and around the state.

Today, Chris Dudley decided to skip the debate hosted by the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association(OPNA) this debate has historically been the kick off to the general campaign. Dudley went on vacation instead. By skipping this opportunity to debate John Kitzhaber and discuss the important issues facing Oregonians, Dudley has signaled that he is not capable of addressing the issues or that he is going to attempt to run an issue-free campaign.

Once again, Chris Dudley and his campaign team have gotten Oregon history wrong. Today, Dudley has again resorted to negative attacks, releasing a document selectively quoting news stories and attempting to rewrite Governor Kitzhaber’s term in office. This is not the first time Dudley has shown how little he relies on the facts, in May Dudley was also shown to get it wrong when he launches his negative attacks.

In a new campaign ad, Chris Dudley relies on an associate from his time in the financial industry to describe how he saw Dudley as “driven” and “focused” while they worked for what their firm described as the “ultra-affluent.” At Filigree the firm promised potential clients they would help them attain a “Home in Tuscany, a Winery in Santa Barbara” or whatever clients wanted for their “your family and your legacy.”

Oregon voters saw a clear contrast in the U.S. Senate race this week as Senator Ron Wyden succeeded in his efforts to protect compensation for victims of the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, while Republican candidate Jim Huffman declared his opposition to a new relief fund set up to help those affected by the disaster. 

Since Chris Dudley has reaffirmed his support for drilling off the Oregon coast, we were wondering if he could tell Oregonians how he would respond to a disaster like the BP spill in Oregon, or how he would guarantee that a tragedy would never happen to us.

The Democratic Party of Oregon announced the schedule of events for the 2010 State Party Platform Convention the weekend of June 25-27.  The Platform Convention is a biennial meeting of party members to adopt a platform for the DPO and perform other functions, as stipulated by the DPO bylaws.

The convention sessions will take place on the campus of Portland Community College-Willow Creek Center beginning Friday afternoon and concluding on Sunday June 27^th.  During the Convention delegates will adopt a platform and a list of Legislative Action Items.

Despite horrifying pictures from the disaster in the Gulf Coast, Chris Dudley once again offered his support for drilling along the Oregon Coast.

On the attack, Chris Dudley showed that once again he has no idea what he is talking about and completely bungled his assault on John Kitzhaber’s record. When Dudley was off his scripted remarks and questioned by reporters about his false attack, he couldn’t back up his accusation and had to turn to his campaign team to piece together an explanation of his inaccurate assertion.

As the general election campaign takes shape, the Democratic Party of Oregon is launching a new website -- www.DudleyDoLittle.com aimed at figuring out what Chris Dudley really stands for and what his vision for Oregon is.

Yesterday afternoon on the Lars Larson show, Chris Dudley offered his support for the Arizona racial profiling law that requires Arizona police officers to question any individual they suspect could be an residing here illegally. Dudley told Larson that the measure was “something that we could look at” when pressed about his stance on the Arizona law.

Listen to the audio here

The primary campaign is taking a toll on Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Dudley.  On Friday Dudley suggested that if he doesn’t win the campaign he might just leave Oregon.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO HERE

Today, the Labor Department released its March jobs report, showing that 162,000 jobs were created last month, the largest monthly jobs gain in three years.  In response to this news, Democratic Party of Oregon Chair Meredith Wood Smith released the following statement:

“This new jobs report shows clearly and without question that the policies put forth by President Obama and Democrats in Congress are working to bring our economy back from the brink and foster job creation and economic growth.

Democratic Party of Oregon Chair Meredith Wood Smith issued the following statement following President Obama’s historic signing of comprehensive health insurance reform:

“Today, President Obama signed into law groundbreaking health reform that will lower costs for American families and small businesses, expand coverage to millions - something Presidents have tried to do for decades.  Oregonians should be proud of our Democratic members in Congress that fought hard and tackled one of the most difficult public-policy issues of modern times.

Today Chris Dudley released his first campaign ad in the governor’s race -- not surprisingly, it's perfectly in step with his campaign strategy of rehashing the same tired republican ideas that have failed Oregon and our country so miserably.

GOP chairman Bob Tiernan has asked 2 Republican legislators to leave the party after committing the sin of—wait for it—considering an endorsement from law enforcement, health care workers and education employees.

AFSCME, the organization that represents nurses, corrections officers, child care providers, EMT’s and sanitation workers recently came to the aid to Republican Representatives Bob Jensen (R- Pendleton) and Greg Smith (R- Heppner) in their reelection campaigns.