We'll start with the disclaimer: Jeff Merkley has a long way to go with me, albeit due to lack of experience rather than adverse evidence so far, before I can offer a fully positive assessment. But it has to be said that nearly anyone who was a strong Steve Novick supporter in the primary, felt that way at least in part because of Novick's perceived superiority in calling a spade a spade, being unafraid of toe-treading, and cutting sharply through the partisan crap that most Democrats tend to shuck and apologize for when attacked with it. The word "milquetoast" got a lot of use on Merkley, by me as much as anyone, to make the negative comparison with Novick.
So, so wrong.
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Look, we all know whoever it was, the guy was going to be 95th+ in line among the clubby clubbers of the US Senate, not exactly Ted Kennedy or Chuck Schumer down at the gym (although Jeff's got a nice in with Chuck, obviously). The role, at least for this session and maybe another couple, was to represent populist Oregon in the broadest sense, and to be frankly loud about it.
Watch this video and honestly ask yourself, Novick lovers: could you possibly have asked for more from Steve here than what Merkley gives you for his floor time? Not only is he raising his voice and getting all uppity--we already knew he could get excited at odd times--he's doing it with a devastating critique of both Frank Luntz for offering health reform-killing talking points designed to scare...and the Minority Leader of the Senate Mitch McConnell, for taking the points and running with them:
This is the perfect note to sound, and while HuffPost (h/t) focuses on him calling out Luntz, I think it takes more balls to directly point to McConnell and literally call him "irresponsible"--and imply that McConnell's entire rhetoric on the issue is dictated and dishonest. Which of course it is, but to have that (nearly) said, by a freshman from a small state? You GOTTA love that. And wouldn't it be great to have ALL likeminded Democratic Senators repeating these talking points over the next few weeks?
- Opponents of reform are just that--interested in killing it
- They will use fear-based language to try and kill it
- They will not engage substantively