DeWine

Sherrod Brown for Senate, A Lost Cause

toledoblade.com

Congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown voted to cut intelligence funding more than a dozen times before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a record that Paul Hackett’s campaign advisers called proof that Mr. Brown could not win in November.A consultant hired by Mr. Hackett, Mr. Brown’s onetime Democratic opponent for Senate, estimated the funding cuts would have totaled billions of dollars if enacted. None were. The consultant called Mr. Brown’s votes on those proposals and a dozen more recent national security issues “toxic in today’s political environment,” according to campaign research documents obtained by The Blade.

…

“For Sherrod Brown, the issue of terrorism presents a big problem,” a Hackett consultant wrote in an undated memo. A paragraph later, the consultant called Mr. Brown’s intelligence votes “evidence that Brown would be pummeled in a general election match-up, as we already know how Republicans use the issue of terrorism against Democrats.”

Mr. Brown’s campaign responded to questions about the Hackett research and Mr. Brown’s votes with a written statement. It called keeping American safe Mr. Brown’s top priority, said the congressman opposed the Iraq war because he knew it would divert resources from homeland security, and touted his work to strengthen ports, railways, and local emergency responders.

So, in Sherrod Brown’s world, we won’t know where, why, or when we’d get hit, but at least the local volunteer fire department will have new walkie-talkies.

Mr. DeWine said last week that he believed his record was strong on intelligence. Asked about Mr. Brown’s national security record and intelligence funding votes, Mr. DeWine replied, “I’m not going to get in to that yet.”

Yet, he says.  Translated that means: I’ll address it if I need to, but I probably won’t need to.  Democrat Sherrod Brown is positioned well to the left of the general Ohio Public.  He would have left us with nothing before 9/11 and after he opposes removing dictators who are sworn enemies.

Paul Hackett may, (repeat, MAY) have been able to change the structural problems facing the Dem party vis-a-vis the Iraq war.  At least he had a shot.  I could easily imagine the Hackett campaign riffing off the old Wellstone upset in Minnesota as a plan for how to take out DeWine.  Uphill climb, but Hackett had a shot,  Sherrod has no chance at all.  Luckily for the GOP, the Dem establishment is stupider.  Apparently at least one of Hacketts consultants couldn’t keep it on a professional level and leaked their oppo research.  Bad decision, but I understand it.  Not like it’d make a difference.  As if we weren’t going to discover the same thing about Brown.
Another reason to support Bill Pierce in the Primary.  DeWine is soft and his support is softer.  Time for a change.  A real conservative with conviction will have no problems winning over Ohio voters.  A pretend conservative might.

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