I much prefer Merkley.  I think hes the better candidate, has a higher ceiling and also has not disrespected his opponent or the blogosphere.

I much prefer Novick.  He's grittier and less bland.

Both Novick and Merkley, whichever wins the primary, are going to be at a HUGE money disadvantage against Smith in the general election.

Which Democratic presidential contender is most likely to help us get over the top in this tough race?  All polls show Obama running stronger in OR general election than Clinton.

I just want to win.  Merkley looks like the best bet.

If we could win OR and NC, that would be amazing.

...Smith is trying to hand select his opponent. And he wants Novick.

That's because entrenched politicians become hidebound in out of date notions such as entrenched politicians being the most likely to win. But in this year of change, someone who hasn't been in government forever may be the more formidible opponent.

I'd put my money on the exact opposite of what the old conventional wisdom says.

I voted for Merkley.  He has been a great Speaker so far, and he has potential to appeal to a more broad coalition.  His campaign is getting better, though it may be too late.  Novick might just pull it off, in which case, I will be for him for sure.  With Obama at the top, I think we got a great shot.

to be a credible Senate challenger.

Smith would eat him alive, whereas Merkley has the experience of enacting a progressive agenda in Oregon that will rally the Democratic base in Oregon behind him.

His opponent is the one the DC Dems are funding. Novick is holding his own against much bigger money from the DSCC. He's much more likely to be his own man and is the far better choice for the netroots to support. I asked Joe Trippi, yesterday, how the DNC and Democratic leadership will be different with Obama and his bottom up campaign and leadership model in charge. He repied that John Tester won, in spite of his opponent being backed by the DSCC. Tester won because of the netroots. Backing the big money, old guard, top-down politician who owes everyone in the state-- or the independent, not afraid to speak up about issues with Dems-- after all, they're not exactly perfect-- he's the one for me.

Smith definitely seems to be targeting Jeff Merkley..going after him solely and directly in his latest attack ad.

If you've got some spare change and can throw it Jeff's way, it could go along way to helping us keep ads on the air and push back through the primary.

Carla--Netroots Outreach, Jeff Merkley for ORegon

I decided my vote based on two questions: Who can beat Smith? and Who would make a better Senator?

For me it's Merkley in a landslide on both counts.

Merkley would be a better Senator: I was able to watch Merkley work as an intern in the legislature and it was amazing.  He took a one vote majority and turned it into the most progressive legislative session Oregon has had since the 70s, passing renewable energy standards, made sexual orientation a protected class with nondiscrimination legislation, doubled the number of college scholarships the state offers, passed card check majority sign up for unions, among a whole host of other great progressive legislation.

Merkley has the best shot against Smith:  Merkley has a way of framing progressive values as mainstream values that will play well with the Oregon electorate.  Merkley is the only Democrat that has put together the infrastructure needed to beat Smith. Coupled with his much better fundraising and better polling head to head against Smith, Merkley will be a general election force to be reckoned with.

For me it was an easy decision

>I much prefer Merkley.  I think hes the better candidate, has a higher ceiling and also has not disrespected his opponent or the blogosphere.

He is certainly NOT the better candidate. He has run a weak and uninspiring campaign. he should have put Novick away six months ago, but he has never been able to.

I'm not sure how Steve Novick could be said to have "disrespected his opponent." I'll cop to the fact that I don't particularly respect his opponent. But Steve seems to respect Jeff far more than I do. Merkley has run a nasty, supercilious, almost contemptuous campaign against Steve.

And what on earth do you mean about "disrespecting the blogosphere?" Unlike his opponent, Steve has actually BLOGGED before he was a candidate. In fact that was one of the ways he got in trouble. He wrote witty, provocative blog posts that contained colorful language that Merkley mined for short phrases that could be made to sound poisonous.

I can't say whether Merkley's ceiling is higher or lower than Novick's. But his floor is WAY LOWER, and he's on his way to tbe basement right now.

I'd prefer Novick, although Merkley's not a bad choice. I don't think his campaign has impressed during the primaries, but if he can get his act together and start bringing in the money, he's got a pretty good chance.

But please don't link to NovickInsultsDemocrats. It's a dishonest website, both in terms of taking words out of context and in terms of those running the ad having had no problems with the words when they originally read them.