Click here to watch "Respect."

The Democratic Party of Oregon has sparked controversy with two new TV ads it is running; while ostensibly they are issue ads -- one about veterans and one about protecting children -- they also happen to feature the party's nominee for Senate, House Speaker Jeff Merkley, speaking directly into the camera.

In "Respect " (subscription), Merkley criticizes Congress for failing to take care of America's veterans. "Our troops have done everything we've asked with distinction. We need to start giving them the respect they deserve," he declares. "Back To Basics" (subscription), meanwhile, goes even further by specifically emphasizing Merkley's legislative record. "I passed one of the toughest Internet predator laws in the country and supported new laws to keep track of sex offenders," he says.

Neither ad states that Merkley is a candidate for Senate or encourages viewers to vote for him in November. But his opponent, Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, claims that the spots clearly overstep the bounds of issue advertising. Smith's campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday accusing the Merkley campaign, the Democratic Party and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (which is helping to pay for the ads) of conspiring to circumvent federal campaign finance laws.

"Jeff Merkley has not had the resources to run campaign ads of his own. He is finding a way to violate federal election law so that he can get television advertising on as we go through the summer months," Smith campaign manager Brooks Kochvar told the Oregonian. He called the contention that the ads are strictly issue-based "laughable" and "ridiculous."

The Democrats do not seem troubled by the uproar -- perhaps because the FEC, which met Thursday for the first time in six months after a prolonged Senate standoff on political confirmations, will almost surely be unable to address the case before the election. The party's defense of the ads is that Merkley was instrumental in passing legislation on children's and veterans issues in the state legislature, making him a natural spokesman on the issues.

Merkley campaign spokesman Matt Canter accused Smith of being "so desperate to not talk about real issues that he's created a frivolous, absurd legal claim to distract voters from the issues that matter to them."

Smith has had a pronounced head start over Merkley on state airwaves, running five TV ads so far, while Merkley's campaign itself has released none since the primary.