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OH-Sen: Game Over

by: James L.

Thu Oct 28, 2010 at 11:52 PM EDT


Lee Fisher mails it in (the rest of his campaign cash, that is):

As the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported  yesterday, Fisher -- the Democratic nominee for Senate -- decided to turn what little campaign cash he has left -- $100,000 -- over to the state Democratic Party for general GOTV efforts.

Two weeks ago, "Fisher's campaign for U.S. Senate was down to $308,631 in its bank account," the paper reported. "Sums like that don't last long and replenishing it is a challenge when a candidate lags in the polls."

Though Fisher has promised "he is not abandoning the campaign or giving up" against former Rep. Rob Portman (R), the Columbus Dispatch reports that the move by Fisher "essentially drained his campaign treasury."

This is the end. My only friend, the end...

As miserable a race as this was for Team Blue despite such great hopes when George Voinovich announced his retirement, at least Fisher is using what little change he has left for a good cause. There are some retiring Democrats who refuse to do the same!
James L. :: OH-Sen: Game Over
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OH-Sen: Game Over | 97 comments
Kudos to him
for being a team player even in the face of his own defeat
This was a nice thing to do
I think the Star Wars analogy was perfect.  Who knows, maybe a few state legislature races could be decided by this money.

21,Democrat, NY-02, male
And
What Star Wars analogy was that?
[ Parent ]
Star Wars
In the other thread, someone compared it to the rebel pilot who flew his A-Wing into the Star Destroyer.  

43 - Male - GOP/Libertarian - FL 22
[ Parent ]
Hah
Amusing, but $100K doesn't have the impact velocity of an A-wing.
[ Parent ]
It's more like flying one of those Ewok hang gliders into the Star Destroyer.


20, center-left independent, Auckland Central resident, MD-05 voter, OR-01 native
[ Parent ]
Comment of the day

[ Parent ]
Comment of the month, IMO

[ Parent ]
As the creator of the
Lee Fisher = Kamikaze A-wing pilot meme, I give Sao's comment "comment of the cycle."  Brilliant image.

34, WM, Democrat, FL-11
[ Parent ]
I am still laughing at that image
five minutes later.

34, WM, Democrat, FL-11
[ Parent ]
definitely comment of the cycle
And Panic at Tedisco! was the best thing said overall.  Although that may need to be in its own category because will someday become SSP lore.
[ Parent ]
It was the Star Destroy 'Executor'


Ad hoc, ad loc and quid pro quo!
So little time, so much to know!
[ Parent ]
This is the scene they are referring to:


Ad hoc, ad loc and quid pro quo!
So little time, so much to know!
[ Parent ]
Admiral Akbar
deserved an Oscar for his macabre sense of reverence for the act of courage he had just witnessed.

34, WM, Democrat, FL-11
[ Parent ]
And for giving us the meme "It's a trap!"


Ad hoc, ad loc and quid pro quo!
So little time, so much to know!
[ Parent ]
And for being the anti-Jar Jar Binks
And also for "It's a TARP!"

It's a Tarp!

Interestingly, TARP turned out to be something of a trap for politicians this cycle.

Kansan by birth, Californian by choice, and Gay by the grace of God.

[ Parent ]
How
How stingy does Evan Byah look right now?

43 - Male - GOP/Libertarian - FL 22
Sen. Bayh really screwed his party
There's no other Democrat in Indiana with a brand name or personal popularity to match. No matter who the Republicans nominated, that Senate seat was a gimme for them as soon as Sen. Bayh announced he wouldn't run.

What an ass. He's not even leaving politics.

20, center-left independent, Auckland Central resident, MD-05 voter, OR-01 native

[ Parent ]
He's one of the most awful "Dems" we've ever had...
He won't be missed.  He better not think about moving any higher than the state level.  He'll get politically clobbered.  Everyone is going to remember his selfishness and lack of team play when it was needed most.
[ Parent ]
How do you think I feel ...
... that he's most likely coming back and running for governor in a couple of years.  That means in the spring of 2013, Dan Coats will be my Senator and Evan Bayh my governor -- it's like I woke up and it's 1992 all over again!
[ Parent ]
OH
Sad to see this happen.  Portman is such a flawed candidate we should have been able to take him out.  I don't think Brunner would have done it either, but maybe T. Ryan or someone similar could have.

29/D/Male/NY-01
For once Tek
We agree.

26, Male, Democrat, TX-26
[ Parent ]
seeing as how no dem in an open r seat is winning or has a chance
save maybe mcadams, had ryan run it probably would have doomed him.

Top ten signs you're an SSPer #1: your favorite song is "Panic At Tedisco" and no one understands what you mean.
[ Parent ]
Conway
Surely, he has a chance! No?

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  
[ Parent ]
No
No, he doesn't.  And don't call me Shirley.

43 - Male - GOP/Libertarian - FL 22
[ Parent ]
We are LUCKY we didn't waste a great potential candidate on this race......
Take a look at what's happening, we won't take a single GOP seat unless McAdams fo all people threads the needle in Alaska.

Jack Conway was an A-list candidate and couldn't beat freakin' Rand Paul who had no campaign experience at all before this race.

Paul Hodes was on paper (admittedly less so in practice) an A-list candidate and couldn't beat freakin' Kelly Ayotte who had no campaign experience at all before this race.

Robin Carnahan was an A-list recruit with no baggage and couldn't beat Roy Blunt who had never run statewide and had baggage.

Harry Reid is in a dogfight against crackpot Sharron Angle, and Michael Bennet had to come from behind to MAKE it a dogfight against teabagger Ken Buck.

Rob Portman is actually a stronger candidate than most or all of the above Republicans who will or might get elected on Tuesday.

It's just not our year, and in a backassward kind of way we lucked out that we didn't waste a great candidate on this race.  Save Tim Ryan et al. for a better year.

43, male, Indian-American, Democrat, VA-10

[ Parent ]
Blunt
"In 1984, Roy was elected Missouri's 32nd Secretary of State.  He was the first member of his party elected to this office in more than half a century.  He was re-elected in a landslide in 1988, gathering more than 60 percent of the vote and carrying 107 of Missouri's 114 counties."

http://www.royblunt.com/meetro...

According to Wikipedia, he also ran for Lt. Governor.

So, that's three statewide races.

[ Parent ]
Also, Blunt's son was Governor from 2004-2008
The Blunt name is to Republicans as the Carnahan name is to Democrats in Missouri, except the Carnahans are actually competent public servants.

MO-Sen is basically Clash of the Titans in terms of candidates, but Blunt just lucked out that it was a very Republican cycle. If Carnahan had faced him in 2008, she would've won (all she'd have to do is outperform Obama by a tiny fraction of the vote....that's cake for a Carnahan).

Kansan by birth, Californian by choice, and Gay by the grace of God.

[ Parent ]
I think you are right about T Ryan.

I think L Fisher was a decent level candidate and would be competitive if T Strickland would run without trouble. But since the race for governor becomes closer, L Fisher lose his financial sources. I think L Fisher is not responsible for all here.

I think no-one would win this, since T Strickland is in risk of lose as incumbent.

About NH-Sen I think the democratic side would have chance of win this year if J Lynch would run. He was enough strong for keep out the senate race all the most prominent republicans, who would look to the gubernatorial race. I think this is the worse failure in the recruitment for the senate race in the democratic side this cycle. It is the alone seat what I think we would win with a different candidate.

R Carnaham keep her current office until 2012, and I think she will have a second shot for higher office.

[ Parent ]
J Conway keep too his current office after the elections.

Both, Carnahan and Conway run without risk of lose their current office.
[ Parent ]
Sherrod
Well, at least you guys still have Sherrod Brown, who is an awesome Senator, BTW.  It's too bad he couldn't be joined by another Dem in the delegation, but that's how things shake out, sometime.  

The GOP wave is set to sweep Michigan's state races.  Really disheartening, but we had a good 8 year run in the governor's office.

Sherrod Brown may have his own problems
Sherrod Brown may be a very good Senator. But Ohio swings wildly along with the national political winds. And if the economy doesn't improve by 2012 and the Democratic leadership doesn't learn how to message better, it could be 1980 all over again, with Brown getting swept out in the GOP wave.
[ Parent ]
It was good of Lee to do that....
Nice guy, terrible candidate.  He must feel absolutely awful... hasn't won statewide in 20 years.  

Maybe he carries the Cleveland sports curse...

With the horrible polls from SurveyUSA and PPP tonight, I think it's time to go to bed... A shitty evening overall.

Let's hope for a better day tomorrow.

hopefully this is his cue
And we never see him run statewide again.
[ Parent ]
In
his defense a candidate of top tier quality like Ryan or any one else would not win either. He has ran the best campaign he could have run and was noble enough to admit defeat and help others instead of hording his cash. That takes something.  

Proud member of the Indiana Democratic Party from IN-9.  
[ Parent ]
He
was elected statewide four years ago.  

Proud member of the Indiana Democratic Party from IN-9.  
[ Parent ]
It's kind of sad that we can't beat Bush's free trade guy in Ohio.
But kudos to Fisher.
I get that Ohio is a Republican state, but
how is it that Republican? It's not Indiana. Or rather, exactly what does Portman have that excites Ohio voters so much? Is it anything more than a combination of Portman being a good to great candidate, Fisher being a really bad one, and this not being a good year for Democrats.

Anyway, this was a classy move. If only, oh, Evan Bayh could have done the same.  

"I have never deliberately given anybody hell. I just tell the truth on the opposition-and they think it's hell."--President Harry Truman. President Obama, are you listening?

Portman
I'd think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who would have thought Portman would play as well as he had in Ohio, so I don't think it was about him being a great, or even good, candidate.

Perhaps, this is one of those very rare races that actually DO mirror the national mood, a kind of archetype.  'Cause otherwise, I'm just not seeing it.

[ Parent ]
Portman
is a fundraising god + the crappy national climate for Dems is what will put him in the senate come next week. If this was 2008 Fisher would of had a much better chance. Plus the DSCC would of been able to neutralize or at least mitigate Portman's fundraising advantage. Boy I miss 2008 don't you all?  

19, Male, Independent, CA-12
[ Parent ]
Ohio has become more like Kentucky...
...than any other state.  I'm amazed that Obama won the state at all, although statewide Dems have done incredibly well recently.  Even the fact that Strickland is within striking distance when all of his neighbors are down for the count is impressive in a state that is trending towards Kentucky.

The kids are leaving, the heavy industry is gone, the smart ones certainly don't stay.  It was run by the GOP for twenty years and may end up being run by the GOP for another 20.

The difference between then and now is that the GOP was quite moderate in the past.  Voinovich raised taxes twice as governor.  He'd never get away with that now.  He even proposed a universal health care program for the state.  

No teabagger like Kasich has ever been elected before, and hopefully never will.

For the case of the senate, Fisher was just a terrible, terrible candidate who had a history of complete and utter failure statewide.  The result was predictable, although I thought that Strickland would have had bigger coattails even coming from behind.  I can't imagine who would be voting Strickland and Portman, but they are.  Had anyone really attacked Portman on his achilles heel, this would have been a tossup at worst.  But, no one did.

So, we will try again next time.

[ Parent ]
Economically
Economically, Ohio wasn't that much different than my state of Michigan.  If anything, we've been hit far harder by the recession than even Ohio.  For whatever reason, though, that hasn't translated to a teabag tackover of the state.  Even while the GOP will most likely sweep state-wide races, this year, most aren't of the teabaggerish type.

So, I'm kind of at a lost for what's happened to Ohio.  Perhaps, the auto industry (with its historically heavy weight of unionization) has kept much of Michigan blue.  I don't know.

[ Parent ]
Yes
Michigan is historically bluer than Ohio by a lot.  Your manufacturing base is bigger than ours.  Ohio has a greater rural population, is more commerce oriented than Michigan, has a smaller share of minorities, and has urban areas that are actually red.

Also, your education system is significantly better than Ohio's.  All of these help keep your state much bluer than Ohio.

[ Parent ]
Selling
You've been selling your state WAY too short, here.  Not only that, if you're state is politically drifting in any direction, it's more akin to Indiana than Kentucky.  Kentucky's political culture is solidly Southern.  Ohio is still very much a Northern state, politically.  Please don't try and make the state sounds as if it's Alabama North, because it's not.
[ Parent ]
Ohio is more Southern than you think...
Once you get into Akron, you've already hit the bible belt.  Canton and below, everyone speaks with a southern drawl.  Columbus is an oasis in a sea of red.  Once you get to Cincinnati, you might as well be in Lexington.

Most of the geography of the state is appalachian and it shares a lot with Kentucky and West Virginia.  In the past, the Northern part of the state balanced that out, but the North is where all the population declines are coming from, making it redder and redder overall.

That's why I say it is becoming more like Kentucky.  The population centers are dwindling, leaving the state much more rural and the southern part of the state is overtaking the North.  The western part of the state is certainly more like Indiana, like you said, but the majority of the population is becoming appalachian South.

[ Parent ]
I travelled to Ohio
for a family wedding and vacation during the summer of 2004, right before the presidential election. I had never been to the state before, so it was interesting to see. For at least part of the trip, we went to Cleveland. It wasn't a dump, at least not the parts that I saw, but I was kind of amazed that so much of it was...lifeless. Stores were closed, even if they weren't rundown, even in the areas that seemed nice.

At the risk of running into the ban on policy talk, I won't say much besides the fact that I am not sure what can be done. I imagine there are still enough people there, in both Ohio and states like it, and enough good things going for it, that it's possible to see a turnaround, and probably quicker than some think. After all, didn't Pittsburgh just climb out of a pretty deep hole after suffering from some of the same problems as a lot of areas in Ohio? Perhaps the answer is some heavy handed federal investment. I almost want to liken the parts of the Midwest that are struggling to a house where the foundation is sound and there's room for expansion and even more room to make it luxurious but which clearly needs a lot of work, like a new roof and new plumbing and new electric.  

"I have never deliberately given anybody hell. I just tell the truth on the opposition-and they think it's hell."--President Harry Truman. President Obama, are you listening?

[ Parent ]
Ohio is more Rust Belt than Southern
As a native of the southern part of the state I couldn't disagree with you anymore over Ohio becoming more and more like Kentucky everyday. For one thing we have many more and larger urban areas than Kentucky (which really only has Louisville and Lexington) and Columbus is blueing, as is Cincinnati. Democrats have been improving their percentages in Hamilton county (which includes Cincinnati and many red suburbs) and Franklin county (Columbus) for the last 20 years. For example Hamilton counties dem presidential percentage has gone from 37% in 1988, 36% in 1992, 43% 1996, 42% in 2000, 47% in 2004, 52% in 2008), while Kentucky I believe had its last Democratic hurrah at the Presidential level in 1996 and will likely not vote Democratic again for the forseeable future. We also have smaller urban areas like Toledo, Dayton, Akron, Youngstown, etc that provide Dem votes while Kentucky has no city other than Louisville and Lexington above 50,000 people. So while the SE corner of the state and its ancestrally southern democrats leave the party we will have blueing of the urban areas in Columbus and Cincy to compensate and keep Ohio as a swing state into the future. If anything we compare more to Pennsylvania (although obviously not as blue) with its large urban areas and blueing Philly region counteracting the loss of ancestrally democratic regions in the southwest of the state.  

Born and raised (OH-1), College (MN-2), GradSchool (CA-53), Postdoc1 (BC), Postdoc2 (IA-2) (later this month)
[ Parent ]
I couldn't agree more
The increasing democratic voters in Columbus and Cincinnati are going to counterract any losses in the rural east and southeast over the long haul.  

Cincinnati (Hamilton County) went from 12 in 2000 to 5 in 2004, to +5 in 2008.

Columbus (Franklin County) went from +3 in 2000 to +9 in 2004, to +19 in 2008.

If those trends continue into the future, I don't care what happens in the rest of the state, it's going to be very difficult for the GOP to win in Ohio.  Now chances are they'll win some of the statewide races here in 2010 because of it being such a republican year, but come 2012, we'll see if they've done anything to reverse the trend.  Columbus is the money shot, it's the one big city in the state that is growing in population quite rapidly, if it continues on it's path to becoming "Cleveland south" for the Democrats, the GOP is screwed.  

The fact that John Kasich is from Franklin County might save the GOP in the governor's race, because geography might prevent Strickland from running up a high number there.  We'll see on Tuesday.

23, Male, Democrat, OH-13

[ Parent ]
I've mentioned this
in different contexts, but I think it applies here. Something like 94 percent of the pool of voters in Ohio is registered. That obviously changes from cycle to cycle, as people come into the voting pool and leave because of deaths and moves in and out of state, but it's not going to change that much. And you have to think that each side has a pretty good handle on how to get out of the vote. If that's the case, and there isn't a true lopsided advantage to one side, then perhaps all it takes is simply using the national mood to get voters to the polls.

Of course, if that is the case, then you have to wonder how Strickland was able to buck the mood to win, or at worst stay competitive.



"I have never deliberately given anybody hell. I just tell the truth on the opposition-and they think it's hell."--President Harry Truman. President Obama, are you listening?

[ Parent ]
I've mentioned this
in different contexts, but I think it applies here. Something like 94 percent of the pool of voters in Ohio is registered. That obviously changes from cycle to cycle, as people come into the voting pool and leave because of deaths and moves in and out of state, but it's not going to change that much. And you have to think that each side has a pretty good handle on how to get out of the vote. If that's the case, and there isn't a true lopsided advantage to one side, then perhaps all it takes is simply using the national mood to get voters to the polls.

Of course, if that is the case, then you have to wonder how Strickland was able to buck the mood to win, or at worst stay competitive.



"I have never deliberately given anybody hell. I just tell the truth on the opposition-and they think it's hell."--President Harry Truman. President Obama, are you listening?

[ Parent ]
Colombus is the one exception
Its a growing city attracting lots of well educated yuppies.
[ Parent ]
You're three reasons are exactly what's going on
Frankly, most of the midwestern states are swing states, so national trends get magnified there. In a strongly Republican year, Republicans were going to win that seat.

As to Ohio, it's always been one of the more Republican states in the region, albeit a swingish one.

Regarding Indiana, the interesting thing is that if you look at Indiana and Ohio's presidential votes, the two states voted almost identically for most of their history, with Indiana as one of the country's premier swing states. It was only from the 1960s on that Indiana sharply diverged and started voting vastly more Republican than Ohio (and the rest of the Midwest). Why that happened, nobody has really explained very well.

Obama winning Indiana in '08 was in some ways due to favorable circumstances, but a big chunk of it was just that he was the first Democrat to seriously contest the state in decades. And lo and behold, it turned out to be politically not very different from Ohio. We'll see if that holds, but both Indiana and Ohio strike me as a Republican-leaning swing states at a basic level.  

[ Parent ]
Whats
going to be interesting in Ohio is how the Democrats will adapt to the fact the young people are fleeing the state in droves and the factory jobs are either being shipped overseas or replaced by automation.  

19, Male, Independent, CA-12
[ Parent ]
They can't really...
It's amazing that the state managed to be as blue as it has been these past few years.  Like I said, it is becoming more like Kentucky every day.
[ Parent ]
On
the bright side the West is trending Democratic. 2010 is a road bump in the bluing of the West but the demographics are clearly in our favor.  

19, Male, Independent, CA-12
[ Parent ]
Ditto Virginia and North Carolina.


20, center-left independent, Auckland Central resident, MD-05 voter, OR-01 native
[ Parent ]
Florida, Virginia, Colorado, Pennsylvania
That's where Obama should spend the next two years.

Remember how W camped out in PA?

[ Parent ]
Supposedly,
it also had something to do with the fact that a big chunk of Indiana is influenced by the news that comes out of Chicago, so while he wasn't a home state boy, he was the next closest thing. Of course, as you said, it was the first time in decades that it had been contested.

If there's one thing that will absolutely infuriate me when he runs for reelection, it'll be if he okays simply acting as if his policy of trying to expand the map didn't exist. There's no guarantee that they will do as well in Indiana, North Carolina, and Virginia as they did the last time. In fact, if he's struggling, it wouldn't surprise me to see him lose all three. But that can be determined as enters the fall of 2012. They must have better voter contact information that the Republicans do in all three states, and there's no reason why, at least at first, they can't try to do the same things they tried in 2008 in those states as well as Georgia and Texas, among others. If it doesn't work, change the plans as this is revealed, but definitely give it a shot. If nothing else, he'll be laying the groundwork for decades to come.  

"I have never deliberately given anybody hell. I just tell the truth on the opposition-and they think it's hell."--President Harry Truman. President Obama, are you listening?

[ Parent ]
as president he should be an even more prolific fundraiser
So I think he'll have the money to throw at these states to see if anything sticks like in 2008.  He may have no intentions of actually winning, but there is only so much money you can pump into OH and FL.
[ Parent ]
Even if he does not win...
a Democrat can be president without OH but less likely for a Republican.  It is just good to make his opponent spend money.  Way too early to talk about 2012 anyway.  Anything could happen with the Teabaggers in charge of the US House.  

41 African-American Female DC
Taxation but no representation...
[ Parent ]
Even if he doesn't have as much money
as he did in 2008, he'll be the damn president, after all, and that has to be worth something because of the sheer fact that people will pay more attention to him than they otherwise would.

But anyway, he should throw some money at these states to see if anything sticks. I have this sort of sick fantasy of someone in his administration announcing a massive investment of $150-200 million to turn Texas and Georgia blue followed by a collective pants pissing at the RNC. And better yet, the administration can announce that the funds will be entirely from donations under the $2,400 limit (or whatever it is at the time). If nothing else, it'll become the story that everyone is talking about, and it'll force the Republicans to devote resources to the state. Come October, if they are fighting over Texas, it's likely they have lost.  

"I have never deliberately given anybody hell. I just tell the truth on the opposition-and they think it's hell."--President Harry Truman. President Obama, are you listening?

[ Parent ]
Ohio still has lots of rural and small town
Religious Right voters, especially in the southern half of the state.  They're famously one issue voters: they know that Abortion Is Wrong.

They lost every race that mattered to them in '06 and '08.  The Religious Right may be a blunted or broken force but its footsoldiers are still available to the GOP in places like Ohio.  I doubt they like Portman a whole lot.  He's just a vehicle for their opposition to liberal Democrats.

God recently sent them a message in the form of the burning down of Touchdown Jesus via a lightning strike.  I'm not sure how that translated to "vote against the Democrats next election", but apparently it did.  :D

[ Parent ]
One thing I've learned living in an evangelical family
is that if the sun rises in the morning, they will take that as a message from God to vote against the Democrats in the next election. Every event, good or bad, big or small, is interpreted as God's indisputable command to fight the liberals.

It's really a shame that my family is so Democratic on almost all the economic issues and a good chunk of the social ones. But it all comes down to, as you said, Abortion Is Wrong (and So Are the Gays) and that's enough to keep them voting in every election for the Republicans even when they disagree with everything else the GOP does.

24, CA-14, previously DC-AL

[ Parent ]
Ohio swings back and forth
In 2006 and 2008, it was one of the places where we had a lot of success. The thing to remember is, it's a state that takes a hard hit in a very bad economy and that translates into wins for the opposition. Then again, the Senate race was close a few months ago, so I think Fisher's fund-raising problems and lackluster campaign made a big difference here.

24, male, African-American, CA-24, Democrat. Chair of the SSP Black Caucus.
[ Parent ]
Portman
Is one of the most on-message disciplined candidates I have seen. His fundraising ability doesn't hurt either.  
[ Parent ]
That 100,000 wont do as much to bring Ds to the polls as...
an actual Senate Race would do. It's been apparent Fisher was doomed for a while now, but this just shows how bad it really is. I won't be surprised to see a 20 point lost here. Basically betting on Strickland getting Ds out, otherwise down ballot is going to be ugly.  
Fortunately, Ohio is still a union state...
That's what keeps Democrats competitive statewide. The Democratic machine works in the big cities, and Ohio has a few of those, yeah?

On the list of candidates who owe organized labor a big, wet, sloppy kiss if they pull a rabbit out of the hat in their respective races: Gov. Pat Quinn, Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, Gov. Ted Strickland, Rep. Joe Sestak, Gov. Joe Manchin, Mayor Scott McAdams, and Sen. Harry Reid.

20, center-left independent, Auckland Central resident, MD-05 voter, OR-01 native

[ Parent ]
The only bright side is
Ken Blackwell didn't run for anything this year. I still have horrible memories of him from 2004 and 2006.

I think slick empty suits like Portman always have a good chance but if Kasich wins then this truly is a horrendous year.

I don't remember
much about Ken Blackwell except that seeing him on television gave me the creeps in a lot of different ways.

I also thought of the Redstate post which described how John Bolton and Ken Blackwell would make a great ticket in 2008. I usually offer this up as an example of incredible delusion, which it is. Except that I hadn't looked at the post in so long, I forgot that the post mentioned Don Rumsfeld and John Bolton as a great ticket in 2008. So no, it really doesn't apply, but you should still look at the link below regardless and then demand whatever that guy is smoking.

http://archive.redstate.com/bl...

"I have never deliberately given anybody hell. I just tell the truth on the opposition-and they think it's hell."--President Harry Truman. President Obama, are you listening?

[ Parent ]
Horrors
He was a tireless help to get Bush Ohio in 2004 and a very fervent supporter of anti-gay legislation. And he ran a very nasty campaign against Ted Strickland in 2006.

After this year's elections he will probably be back. I don't usually have a lot of money to donate but I will probably give some to whoever he runs against.

[ Parent ]
Black people like
Ken always disappoint me.  I almost take it personally. At his age, he has surely felt the sting of discrimination and prejudice.  So, why would he promote ant-gay anything or why would he support those racist Teabaggers?  Just uugggghhh...

41 African-American Female DC
Taxation but no representation...
[ Parent ]
Very Classy
You know Evan Bayh and a few others could learn a thing or two from Fisher.  

Proud member of the Indiana Democratic Party from IN-9.  
And Fisher is a drag on Strickland.
It's Strickland's own fault as he backed Lee in the primary.  I don't think Brunner could have competed with the Portman money, but I think she would have rallied out a different base of voters that would have really helped Strickland and Congress candidates.  
Roscoe, you're absolutely right
Brunner would've brought out base voters in droves, the same kinds of voters, liberal, young, and minority, that the pollsters are claiming won't show up on Tuesday.  She was from Columbus-area too, so the GOTV effort there would've been through the roof between her and Strickland.  

It's not like Strickland was going to go against his own lieutenant governor, but had he at least remained neutral, Brunner would have had a much better shot in the primary.  As I argued then, Fisher has absolutely NO appeal to any part of Ohio outside of the northeast.  If Strickland ends up barely scraping by in Columbus, or (egads!!) loses Franklin County outright, I don't think he has a path to victory on Tuesday.  Brunner would have helped him there big time.  I would argue that she would have helped him turn out voters in Cincinnati too, as she romped over Fisher in Cincinnati metro in the primary.

23, Male, Democrat, OH-13

[ Parent ]
If you don't have the money to compete, your don't bring out your base......
I hear this kind of stuff about Brunner all the time, but you can't accomplish anything at all in a big state like Ohio if you don't have the money to compete.  Given that Brunner was actually a much worse fundraiser than Fisher, I have no doubt she'd be in the same boat right now, and there's no reason to think she'd have any ability to get anyone voting who won't show up for Strickland and other downballot candidates in what actually is a very close Governor's race with some close stuff downballot.

Your base isn't too enthused when you're down 15-20 in the polls and you don't have the money to persuade them to show up, and Brunner would be in that boat right now, just like Fisher is.

43, male, Indian-American, Democrat, VA-10

[ Parent ]
Was the machine money shut off?
I've heard that from Brunner backers during the primary, that the Ohio Dem Party was ruthless in trying to cut off all money to Brunner because Fisher was their choice.    

Admittedly when I saw the Brunner campaign bus I cringed and sorta knew it was over for her. If it was going to look like that, she was better off not having it.  

[ Parent ]
These days money doesn't depend on a machine, and Brunner's poor fundraising undermines...
...the notion of her big base of grassroots support.

This is lightly reported, but Nancy Pelosi's Republican opponent raised something like $1.2 million this cycle.  This in a district where Pelosi won't fall below 70% even in the worst possible year.

And Christine O'Donnell, what "machine" is there for her?  She's actually raised lots of money since the primary.  Granted she's probably spending a good chunk of it on food and clothing and other necessities since running for office is her only employment, but she's raised the money.

These days there's plenty of money to be had for everyone willing to do the work to raise it.  And therein lies the rub, I think Brunner just wasn't willing to do the work.

43, male, Indian-American, Democrat, VA-10

[ Parent ]
Huh
I still do not understand the argument about Brunner's large grassroots support.

If she had a ton of grassroots support, and money is not that big of a factor this cycle, then why in the world did she lose by slightly 76k votes, or slightly over 11%?

[ Parent ]
You too, huh?
When I saw that bus, my heart sank, too, and I got a very sick feeling in my stomach.  I knew it was over.
[ Parent ]
Mike Dewine
Did I read something the other day that Mike Dewine is going to be elected AG in Ohio.  If so boy has Ohio gone for and against the D's in a very short amount of time.  Moreso than PA even.
[ Parent ]
Where did you read that?
The downticket state dems have been overperforming Strickland in most polling.
[ Parent ]
I don't expect him to win
Richard Cordray probably stands the best chance of holding a statewide office this cycle for the Dems, better than Strickland even.  He's been all over the airwaves since September, and Dewine has huge negatives still from his time in the Senate.  

The treasurer's race is lost, as is SoS, I think, as the incumbent treasurer Kevin Boyce is corrupt, and the SoS candidate Maryellen O'Shaughnessy is fairly weak.  (Though in fairness, it's uncertain that even Brunner would be re-elected in this climate)  The Auditor's race is a bit tougher to figure out as there's been virtually no ads run on either side.  If the governor's race is close I would bet that the Dem candidate, David Pepper, stands a decent shot at winning.

23, Male, Democrat, OH-13

[ Parent ]
I wonder about something like that at this point.
It's been clear for some time that this thing was Portman's seat for the taking, and that has probably sunk in to a large portion of Ohio voters, both Democrats and Republicans. It's not as if, for instance, he imploded in the last month or so. But at the same time, Strickland's been campaigning and making it a competitive race, just as Kasich has been doing. I am not sure if the senate race is really going to have that much of an effect on the governor's race, if only because it's likely that the result of the Senate race has already sunk in. And that's before you consider Strickland's ground game and that of unions and other Ohio Democrats and how it's supposedly strong.  

"I have never deliberately given anybody hell. I just tell the truth on the opposition-and they think it's hell."--President Harry Truman. President Obama, are you listening?
[ Parent ]
Also important to consider...
Gov. Strickland is a moderate Democrat who has deliberately cultivated a "man's man" image that plays well in a Midwestern state like Ohio. He won in the 1992 wave running against the NRA, and he's been running with the NRA ever since, because not too often does the chance come along you can win statewide in a state like Ohio campaigning against the gun lobby.

Lt. Gov. Fisher has the label of "technocrat". He's the guy Strickland tacked onto the ticket so he doesn't just look like a Gov. Bredesen (because while Ohio is a reddish-purple state, it's not a red state like Tennessee); he balances the ticket so it looks like urban Ohio is represented along with rural and suburban Ohio.

People are remembering they actually kinda like Strickland, and Kasich seems more like a Tennessee Republican than an Ohio Republican. That's what is keeping this race in the single digits. Unfortunately, it looks like Kasich will probably still win, unless organized labor really gets in gear for Strickland along with Reps. Boccieri and Wilson.

20, center-left independent, Auckland Central resident, MD-05 voter, OR-01 native

[ Parent ]
I don't remember
when I saw him on television, but I do remember that seeing Strickland makes it easy to understand how he could be elected, or keep it close, in a year like this: he looks like he could be perfect fit for Ohio, just like Ed Rendell looks like he could be a good fit for Pennsylvania. He doesn't look like a history professor from the Upper West Side, but a guy who could easily be in a union in Ohio.

I don't mean to sound like I am demeaning Strickland or anything, by the way. I just mean to say that it makes sense.  

"I have never deliberately given anybody hell. I just tell the truth on the opposition-and they think it's hell."--President Harry Truman. President Obama, are you listening?

[ Parent ]
One big reason Strickland is still in it is that he's a favorite son of a conservative area......
Strickland has a loyal base in his home area of SE Ohio, which is conservative and in a year like this would normally vote Republican for sure for Governor.  But Strickland as native son continues to outperform greatly there.  This would be a dominating win for Kasich if Strickland were, say, from Cleveland.

43, male, Indian-American, Democrat, VA-10
[ Parent ]
As Lee Fisher is from...
...the Cleveland Suburbs and we can see how that has worked out.
[ Parent ]
Really?
http://strickland.3cdn.net/97d...

This says that Strickland received a "A" from the NRA in 1992. Hard to call that running against.

[ Parent ]
Back when Gov. Strickland won his first congressional race...
"I ran against Pat Robertson, Pat Buchanan, the National Rifle Association, and Right-to-Life. They threw everything at me. I'm just so happy I beat back those guys. I think they're so divisive."
- Rep.-elect Ted Strickland, 1992

20, center-left independent, Auckland Central resident, MD-05 voter, OR-01 native
[ Parent ]
Weird
I saw the quote, but for all of his running against them, he still got an A.
[ Parent ]
I don't think he's changed his views...
He's just started campaigning on them more strategically in order to win statewide.

20, center-left independent, Auckland Central resident, MD-05 voter, OR-01 native
[ Parent ]
You know what we should've done in Ohio...
....Just nominated some random rich guy/gal like the Republicans seemed to do everywhere this cycle (of which eMeg is only the most prominent). We needed, like, Blair Hull minus the wife-beating.

That said, I'd still take a loss with a class act like Lee Fisher than a win with a scumbag like Evan Bayh who's going to make me feel dirty in the morning. How much campaign cash does he even need to run for Governor? It's not like he's going to have to raise his name recognition. Ugh.

...although, if we lose the Senate, I may reconsider that whole losing with dignity thing.

Kansan by birth, Californian by choice, and Gay by the grace of God.

If it makes you feel better...
Democrats probably could have done better than Treasurer Giannoulias or Atty. Gen. Blumenthal.

20, center-left independent, Auckland Central resident, MD-05 voter, OR-01 native
[ Parent ]
As a CT resident,
I take a little offense at that. Blumenthal might not be the most charismatic of men, but he's done a world of good for the state, people know him and like him, and he's won statewide office, usually by smashing margins, for the past 20 years.

He's no Lee Fisher.

[ Parent ]
Even Bayh
is not in favor of anything that makes Evan Bayh unimportant.

23, Male, Democrat, OH-13
[ Parent ]
Besides that,
why doesn't he give it all away, or the vast majority of it, in order to help out well-liked individuals like Feingold and Perriello and Markey, among many others, in order to build up his credibility with the Daily Kos crowd? They still would think he's too moderate, but they'd be a little more willing to be on his side if he's on the side of candidates that they like. Loyalty certainly goes a long way in these situations, and when the time came to start fund raising for his run for governor and maybe president, he could have turned to the Daily Kos crowd. But with what he did this cycle, or rather what he didn't do, he'll have a helluva time if he ever needs their help. He dug his own grace, and now he can lie in it.  

"I have never deliberately given anybody hell. I just tell the truth on the opposition-and they think it's hell."--President Harry Truman. President Obama, are you listening?
[ Parent ]
Besides that,
why doesn't he give it all away, or the vast majority of it, in order to help out well-liked individuals like Feingold and Perriello and Markey, among many others, in order to build up his credibility with the Daily Kos crowd? They still would think he's too moderate, but they'd be a little more willing to be on his side if he's on the side of candidates that they like. Loyalty certainly goes a long way in these situations, and when the time came to start fund raising for his run for governor and maybe president, he could have turned to the Daily Kos crowd. But with what he did this cycle, or rather what he didn't do, he'll have a helluva time if he ever needs their help. He dug his own grace, and now he can lie in it.  

"I have never deliberately given anybody hell. I just tell the truth on the opposition-and they think it's hell."--President Harry Truman. President Obama, are you listening?
[ Parent ]
OH-Sen: Game Over | 97 comments

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