Earl Blumenauer

Back for your viewing pleasure we are giving you our weekly winners and losers. Not much going on this week, but Vicki Walker managed to garner more press and there is one more Democrat in the city of Portland. Keep checking the Inside Edge for our weekly cast of characters.

The Oregonian ran a piece in Tuesday's paper on U.S Rep. Earl Blumenauer's (D-Portland) ideas to deal with the current gas crunch.

One idea is to allow employers who have gas and parking benefits for their employees to extend similar benefits to workers who use public transportation. Blumenauer also proposed allowing residents to cash in their car benefits if they do not drive to work.

Blumenauer also proposed increasing federal subsidies for transit agencies and more funding for the Safe Routes to School Program to encourage kids to ride their bikes.

"This is all about choices for people and not trapping them in the practices and policies of the past," he said.

Looks like the Dem primary for governor in 2010 could be more crowded than we expected.  Based on email responses from some very vocal Democrats and on our blog, here are some additional governor wannabes that are being thrown around.

When Gordon Smith released his new campaign video on Tuesday that featured praising statements on the incumbent senator from Presidential candidate Barack Obama, Smith's re-election rivals cried foul.

Wednesday, more Democrats started accusing Smith of trying to rewrite history.

U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, Darlene Hooley and David Wu are publicly criticizing what they feel are inaccuracies in one of U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith’s (R-Pendleton) new ads.

“After watching Gordon Smith's new television ad featuring Elizabeth Furse and Avel Gordly we feel compelled to respond and to help set the record straight,” wrote the four U.S. representatives in a joint statement.

As the Oregon primary looms near, the race to secure more superdelegates continues to heat up. Barack Obama's campaign announced today the endorsement of Congressman Peter Defazio, adding to current endorsers Congressmen Earl Blumenauer and David Wu.

Early endorsements in a presidential primary are the key to opening the executive cabinet door. Throwing support behind a candidate before the first caucus is attended or the first primary vote is cast shows the requisite loyalty and trust a president needs in a member of his or her cabinet. In 2004, Congressman Earl Blumenauer’s early and vocal primary support for John Kerry led many to believe he was to be our nation’s next Secretary of Transportation. But, that didn’t quite work out.