Novick: Obama Is a Fraud Comments Media Roundup and Commentary

Until now, I have not written on Steve Novick’s attacks against Senator Obama, but that hasn’t stopped everyone else. With Obama’s visit to Oregon and Novick’s less than kind endorsement of Obama, the comments are getting plenty of negative attention from Willamette Week, Jeff Mapes at the Oregonian, Politicker OR, Preemptive Karma, Senate Guru, and two posts on Blue Oregon.

Willamette Week broke the original story:

Steve Novick, running in Oregon’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, recently endorsed Barack Obama for president. Forget for a moment how inconsequential such an endorsement is from somebody who isn’t a super-delegate: Let’s instead review this Novick post from the political blog BlueOregon back on Dec. 6, 2006:

According to a recent New Yorker article, Barack Obama of Illinois has stood with other Midwesterners in supporting the sugar industry. Doesn’t this prove that Obama is just another captive-of-special-interests fraud who doesn’t really care about global warming and doesn’t deserve to be hailed as some great Kenya-Kansas hope?

So, Novick was against Obama before he was for him? Fair enough. [emphasis mine]

Blue Oregon also noted this Novick comment about Obama made a few weeks later:

“That is the mark of a complete sellout to the military-industrial complex. And of a politician sorely lacking in fiscal responsibility. … [Obama] shows a stunning degree of fealty to the military-industrial complex, and/or unjustifiable political timidity. [emphasis mine]

Considering that Obama has led a campaign with more than a million contributers, not taken any PAC money, and most of his money comes from small online donations, these comments came under considerable heat. Politicker OR interviewed former a former Novick ally, Oregon AFSCME (which backs Obama) political coordinator Joe Bassler who said:

“It is this kind of disregard for consequences of what he is saying that makes it harder and harder for us to even be friendly anymore,” Baessler lamented. “It’s hurtful when things like this get thrown around.”

Novick’s camp refused to back down rather, choosing to embrace Novick’s anti Obama remarks:

Novick’s campaign manager Jake Weigler says that the criticism is consistent with how Novick operates and what he believes.

“He consistently offers an honest assessment of people and issues,” Weigler said.

That statement contradicted Novick’s other spin attempt where their camp said that the post was satirical. As Preemptive Karma noted, if it is misconstued satire, it can’t be an honest assessment.

These comments draw the spotlight once again to Novick’s divisive approach and bring into question his ability to build the coalitions needed to defeat Gordon Smith in the fall or be a sucessful legislator, something he has never been. Blue Oregon asks:

Especially if Oregon shifts from swing-state to blue-state late in the election (as it has with quadrennial regularity), will the [Obama] campaign shift its resources to another state – leaving Novick to fend for himself?

To defeat Gordon Smith, we need every Democrat in Oregon on board — and we need national Democrats, especially the presidential campaign, to be 100% committed to helping us win, even if (especially if) Oregon moves off the big board.

The first thing that they teach you in high school debate is to “attack the idea, not the person.” Apparently Novick never learned that key concept. While holding candidates feet to the fire is valuable, calling people you need to work with frauds or needlessly bringing their background into a policy disagreement is not a gracious, or effective way to pass legislation that is crucial to fixing health care, getting out of Iraq, or saving the world from global warming. Further, the stubbornness exhibited by the Novick campaign standing by these comments is also troubling. For too long we have been stuck with politicians that can’t admit when they are wrong and change strategy, we don’t need that from Oregon’s next US Senator.

Blue Oregon ended its piece with this frank assesment of the damage Novick’s comments have done:

I just don’t know how we can win the Senate race without the support of our presidential nominee. And unless Novick is prepared to eat a little humble pie, I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

Novick’s lashing out as he has puts Oregon in a perilous position if he becomes the nominee. Novick has attacked the Oregon AFL-CIO as being pawns of DC interests. Novick, as shown by Bassler’s quote above, clearly isn’t making friends with AFSCME. Coupled with his attacks the DSCC, Novick seems eager to bite the proverbial hand that feeds him. It seems unlikely that everyone that Novick attacks will have amnesia after the primary if he is the nominee and give him their fulll support. That support will be crucial to defeating Gordon Smith in the fall and we all know that we can’t afford not to beat Smith.

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Tags: OR-Sen, Seve Novick, Barack Obama, Blue Oregon, Blogging