A politician, not a representative

Gordon Smith voted for Bush's war when Bush asked him to in October 2002. He voted for funding each time his leadership asked. When the Rs were handed their midterm setback in November 2006, Smith saw the writing on the wall, since he was one of the Republican senators up for reelection in 2008. So, a month after the voters made it clear that they were opposed enough to this Iraquagmire to actually replace war supporting politicians, Smith made his very first public utterance of opposition to the war, in a speech in the Senate:

SMITH: I, for one, am at the end of my rope when it comes to supporting a policy that has our soldiers patrolling the same streets in the same way being blown up by the same bombs day after day. That is absurd. It may even be criminal. I cannot support that any more. I believe we need to figure out not just how to leave Iraq but how to fight the War on Terror and to do it right.

Just a few days after that noble-sounding speech, four of us stood in his Portland office asking that he promise to vote against further funding for the occupation of Iraq, to give truth to his fancy words. We never raised our voices, interrupted, blocked constituents or went further than his small foyer. His staff had us arrested. He voted for more funding for the bloody, illegal occupation, directly against his speech.

We'll be back this Friday, May 16, to see if he wants to make that promise. Will we be arrested? Stay tuned.