Newspapers from all over the state chastised Jeff Merkley’s (D-Portland) campaign this weekend for participating in what Merkley’s campaign maintains are issue ads by the state Democratic Party, but what the Smith campaign has accused of being campaign ads.

“Voters are supposed to take seriously the claim that neither Merkley nor his campaign authorized the ads,” the Register-Guard in Eugene said on Saturday. “Maybe the ads' producers found a twin brother that Merkley never knew about, or perhaps both the campaign and the candidate are taking the summer off. Otherwise, the disclaimer is laughable.”

The ads, which are paid for by the Oregon Democratic Party, say that they do not support Merkley’s candidacy, but the Smith campaign has filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission because they believe television ads that feature a candidate must be promoting him. If that is found to be true, Merkley will be in violation of campaign finance laws that limits the amount of money a candidate can take from the primary. Regardless of the ruling, state newspapers seem to believe that at the very least, Merkley’s politics-as-usual will not help give him the image as someone who can change Washington.

“It is this kind of legal hairsplitting that contributes to Congress' abysmal approval ratings with voters. It may be legal, or it may not. But it definitely doesn't bolster Merkley's image as an ‘agent of change,’" the Medford Mail Tribune said on Friday.

The FEC will probably not rule on the Smith complaint until after the election.