Reply #21: It would be remarkable indeed

[gratuitous]

It would be remarkable if Smith nominated Mosman on the off-chance that he could make such a ruling as he did (though he was put into the position and eventually some chance was going to come along somewhere). The legislation passed by the Oregon legislature and signed into law by the governor will go into effect, eventually. This is merely a speed bump. But the Democratic nominee (and I'm rather hoping it's Steve Novick) should make some hay out of Smith's connection to Mosman to hurt his credibility with the progressive community. There are still an awful lot of folks who should vote against Gordon Smith who think he's "one of the good ones."