Gordon Smith - between a rock and a hard place

I have spent some time discussing Oregon's own wingnut in the Senate, Gordon Smith. I have never been convinced of his moderate credentials and I don't know of many progressives or real moderates who are. So what do the other wingnuts think of Smith? As it turns out - not much. The other day I was surprised to see that MEJ had received some page hits from something called Smith Watch, a site dedicated to questioning Smith's conservative credentials. While Gordon's election driven rush to the center has failed to convince progressives he is a moderate it has convinced conservatives he is not one of them. Over at Blue Oregon Michelle Neumann gives us a rundown on Smith's problems with the Oregon's wingnuts in Smith's Challenge from the Right. Like the other 20 Republican Senators up for reelection in 2008 Smith is in trouble with a large part of the electorate because of his six years of being a sycophant for the now very unpopular George W. Bush. Any attempt he makes to distance himself from Bush at this point will only result in the loss of the wingnut base. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.