Senator Gordon Smith (R., OR) in Spotlight After a Critical Iraq Speech

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Senator Gordon Smith (R., OR) in Spotlight After a Critical Iraq Speech
By JAMES RISEN
Published: December 28, 2006

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 — At the close of the Senate’s lame-duck session, in between formulaic tributes to senators departing voluntarily or otherwise, a Republican backbencher suddenly rose to give one of the most passionate and surprising speeches about the war in Iraq yet delivered in Congress.

For a solid Republican who had originally voted for the war, the words spoken by the senator, Gordon H. Smith of Oregon, on the evening of Dec. 7 were incendiary and marked a stunning break with the president.

“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,” Mr. Smith said. “That is absurd. It may even be criminal.”

But the real impact of the address came not just from Mr. Smith’s words, but from the way he delivered them. His somber cadence resonated in a way that made political Washington take notice, transforming him into one of the most talked-about Republicans heading into the new Congress....

***

...within days of the Iraq speech, Mr. Smith emerged as a new spokesman for an endangered political species: the moderate Republican.

In the process, Mr. Smith may have signaled that some moderate Republicans in the Senate are poised to break openly with the White House on the war, just as President Bush is seeking a new strategy to deal with the bloody stalemate in Iraq....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/washington/28smith.html

[David__77]

1. He's simply an opportunist - unless he PROVES otherwise.

For starters, he should stop caucusing with the GOP.

[Skittles]

3. I agree

I am tired of all the talk, I want to see some ACTION

[calimary]

4. Truly. Now, it's time for him to put his money where his mouth is.

Is he WITH us or AGAINST us? We'll see if his talk was just that.

[sandnsea]

2. What a tool

He's the token 'moderate' that they trot out any time they want to pretend they're nothing but a bunch of greedy thugs who use religion to manipulate the masses.

This is the embassy in Baghdad in 2004, when so many of our troops didn't have enough armour or food. This is who they really are, all of them:

[TheCowsCameHome]

5. Let's see some real action,Gordon. Talk is cheap.

I'm waiting.............

[gratuitous]

6. Magna cum laude graduate Gordon Smith

Acolyte and faithful apostle of the Arlen Specter School of Political Grandstanding. Because when it comes time to cast a vote or otherwise take concrete action in support of his pious public pronouncements, suddenly Gordon gets all squishy and damn if it isn't another vote against the environment, or in favor of large corporate interests, or bashing vulnerable minorities. Nobody knows why it happens over and over again, least of all Gordon Smith.

Time for Oregon to get a new Senator for the Mark Hatfield seat.