I wrote here that I’ll be following Sherrod Brown’s Senate campaign, here locally. I haven’t done anything yet, as far as organizing, but I thought I’d check in with it because the campaign against him has started, and I don’t wanna go back (later) because I have all this stuff twirling around in my head.
Brown’s getting hammered with ads from the US Chamber of Commerce:
First comes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ad with a picture of a U.S. senator badly in need of a shave. Except representatives of the senator, Democrat Sherrod Brown of Ohio, say the Chamber of Commerce manipulated an Associated Press photo that showed a clean-shaven senator, doctoring it to made him look shifty.
Or like an aging hipster, perhaps, though that’s sort of the same thing.
Speaking of authentic images, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, a Republican who plans to run against Brown and is supported by the Chamber of Commerce, was in Washington yesterday to raise money. A video tracking team from American Bridge, a political group that says it wants to “hold Republicans accountable,” was waiting for him outside one of the Capitol Hill events, and the video — of a fast-walking Mandel — is posted above.
The conversation is a little hard to decipher, so here’s help:
Tracker: “Treasurer Mandel, we see you in D.C. a lot raising money from Washington lobbyists. Are you missing any important duties back home as Ohio’s treasurer? Treasurer Mandel?”
Mandel: (Silence, but a brisk walk.)
American Bridge admits to shooting the Mandel video. As for the scruffy Brown photo, we asked the Chamber of Commerce’s J.P. Fielder if it was, in fact, doctored.
“I don’t know the answer of whether it was or wasn’t,” he said, “but I know from this conversation what the candidate doesn’t want to discuss.”
The US Chamber of Commerce doctoring a photo of Sherrod Brown is exactly the same as American Bridge not doctoring video of Josh Mandel. Those two things are the same. If you’re insane.
In any event, back in the real world, Sherrod Brown has three strengths coming into this: one, he’s an excellent retail politician, two, he’s had a consistent focus on middle class populism his entire career, and, three, he actually knows a lot about a lot. Two local examples of strengths one and three:
On political skill, I participated on a conference call Brown held on voting rights earlier this year. He wanted to hear from a poll worker, so that’s why I was asked to join. I was able to remain lawyerly and dignified until we got to the subject of provisional ballots, when I went off in what can only be described as “my favorite provisional ballot rant”. Apparently I had delivered this same detailed complaint to Sherrod Brown in 2006 when he was here campaigning, which I had forgotten. Brown remembered. He brought it up.
On knowing what he’s talking about, we have a private hospital here. The CEO of the hospital is a local big shot and rabid Republican. When the PPACA passed, the newspaper interviewed the CEO and he made all these dire predictions about how the hospital was going to close and we were all going to die. The last time Sherrod Brown was here, he went to the hospital to meet with this guy, and the CEO then sent an email to the hospital staff where he praised Brown on his knowledge of health care issues.
This is Donald Berwick, the former head of Medicare and Medicaid, on “deep knowledge” of health care and who has it:
As a federal official, Dr. Berwick was sometimes impatient with colleagues in the government and with the health care industry. During his tenure, Dr. Berwick testified at only two public hearings, and he said he “loved them” both, even though Republicans tried to skewer him. He said some members of Congress had “deep knowledge” of health care — he mentioned two Democratic senators, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Sherrod Brown of Ohio.
Strangely, Rand Paul wasn’t mentioned.
That’s where we are. Next time I’ll tell you what I know on Brown’s opponent, Josh Mandel, who is, broadly, by way of introduction, a vitriolic know-nothing who appears to be running his entire Senate campaign through national Right wing groups and conservative media outlets.
Villago Delenda Est
Can’t possibly be because he’s an ignorant ideologue and a git, do you suppose?
Schlemizel
And yet I’ll bet, even at long odds, that the good doctor will support whatever room temp IQ wanker the Republican’s put up over the guy who actually knows his business.
Its one of their more endearing traits; slice your throat for the good of the party Elefanten über alle
General Stuck
I been scanning the recent polling for several statewide races for senate, and the news is about all good. Surprising actually, especially after 2010, and some really bad state polling earlier this year.
The dem candidates in red to purple states has given dems in states like ND (open), FL (Nelson), and reading this morn that even Jon Testor in Mt, are well ahead of their rivals.
I can only attribute this to GOP over reach in general, and particularly in WI and OH. That laid wide open what the wingnuts are really about, for all to see.
Now we need to make Newt the gooper nominee, which, I think, at least creates a possibility of a massive dem wave in 2012, and enough of a pol shift to maybe, big maybe, create pol conditions to possibility save our collective asses.
Schlemizel
@General Stuck:
From your lips to His noodle appendage!
While in my heart I think it is already too late I sure hope you are right. But for the Noot thing – the media still claims he is an intellectual and that story line would be too good for them not to follow it.
Steve
That story of you delivering the same rant a second time is priceless. Successful politicians tend to have amazing memories, although I’m guessing your rants are memorable in their own right. Sherrod Brown is great and I wish we could run clones of him all across Middle America.
Benjamin Franklin
Kinda on-topic, Kay…(voter suppression)
via Booman;
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iFHj1AINsMd1fR_0KRlVqhrHru6g?docId=9ab0b785b83242daa93ddeaa11c21190
NAACP wants new voting laws struck down
By SUZANNE GAMBOA, Associated Press – 22 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The NAACP has been collecting information about early voting advocacy by black churches in Florida, hoping to convince the Justice Department to strike down a slew of new state voting laws it claims are intended to thwart growing minority participation at the polls ahead of next year’s presidential election.
kay
@General Stuck:
You love the Senate. You may be the only person who does in the whole country, outside of the Senators :)
I think you’re right, though. He’s doing okay so far. About a month ago it was the highest he had ever polled. His “high” is right over 50%, which is probably the best we’re going to get for a liberal Senator in a 50/50 state.
kay
@Benjamin Franklin:
Thanks. I haven’t read that.
Culture of Truth
Confronted with a charge that a statement Ronald Reagan made wasn’t true, an aide shot back “It made the point, didn’t it?”
BGinCHI
Love me some Sherrod Brown.
Kay, was there any lasting fallout over that flap with Connie Schultz (his wife) resigning from her paper?
I really like her too and hope they move up in the political world.
The Ancient Randonneur
Speaking of health care, make sure you read this piece from the LA Times.
No, the health care law isn’t single payer, but it could very well mean the difference between life and death for regular folks. Folks who worked hard and played by the rules all their life.
Keeping people like Sherrod Brown in the Senate is critical to the future of our country if we really care about what happens to our fellow citizens. We’re fortunate to have Bernie Sanders here in Vermont.
Mike Goetz
Speaking of health care policy, here’s this from an op-ed in the LA Times:
“Which brings me to my apology. I was pretty mad at Obama before I learned about this new insurance plan. I had changed my registration from Democrat to Independent, and I had blacked out the top of the “h” on my Obama bumper sticker, so that it read, “Got nope” instead of “got hope.” I felt like he had let down the struggling middle class. My son and I had campaigned for him, but since he took office, we felt he had let us down.
So this is my public apology. I’m sorry I didn’t do enough of my own research to find out what promises the president has made good on. I’m sorry I didn’t realize that he really has stood up for me and my family, and for so many others like us. I’m getting a new bumper sticker to cover the one that says ‘Got nope.’ It will say ‘ObamaCares.'”
Mike Goetz
@The Ancient Randonneur:
Holy crap, get out of my head!
How did that happen?
General Stuck
@The Ancient Randonneur:
Thank you for this!!
kay
@BGinCHI:
I didn’t pay any attention to it, so I don’t know. I like her, though.
She came here in ’06, and she needed a public (indoor, heated) place to “meet people” (campaign for him). I was on Friends of the Library at the time, so I got her a speaking slot at the library.
My justification was: “she’s an author“. I said that all outraged, like I was insulted that they would even consider I was politicking :)
She donated a book.
Dork
I cant wait for the day (coming soon) when they’ll go full-hog and just photoshop in the Satanic Bible in a candidate’s hands, or ink in an offensive tatoo on an exposed part of his body. When honesty is optional, might as well go extreme.
Punchy
Unless you can get 60+ Dems in the Senate, nothing changes. Unless Reid decides to go nuclear. Which he wont.
The Moar You Know
@The Ancient Randonneur: @Mike Goetz:
The choirs of the professional left will sing Obama’s praises to the high heavens the week after he’s out of office, with much rhetoric about how they’d always loved and supported him, never a bad word against the man, etc, ad nauseum.
Just like Carter. Just like Clinton. We on the left apparently can’t love our presidents until after they’re out of office.
Culture of Truth
@Dork: Since Romney quoted Obama quoting McCain, I see no reason not run ads with Romney quoting Ahmedinejad implying Mittens wants to destroy Israel.
Villago Delenda Est
@The Ancient Randonneur:
It’s a start. It didn’t go nearly as far as I’d like, but it’s a start.
Oh, and there is a word that the .01% uses to describe those who work hard and play by the rules. The word is “chumps”.
kay
The last time Brown ran, his opponent doctored an image of the WTC burning, so this is maybe “what people who run against Sherrod Brown do”?
ChrisNYC
Yay! “Twirling around” Love it. It’s so dainty. I want it to pass into the regular talk like also too.
Zach
Wow that ad’s surreal. There’s been a quantum leap in the quality of medium-budget video production since the last election and it’ll be really interesting to see what happens this cycle. I wonder if there’s any PolySci/Communications research into whether schizophrenic ads that look like CSI episodes are effective.
Brown shouldn’t complain about this; he should turn it to his advantage: “It looks like Karl Rove caught me with a 5-o’clock shadow. I’m too busy working for Ohio to be clean shaven 24/7. I did notice that Josh Mandel’s never shown a single whisker in public. What is he hiding? Perhaps hairlessness is important when you’re cruising DC lobbyists for easy money and pillaging the rights of firefighters, teachers, and policemen.”
Culture of Truth
@The Moar You Know: Yes, but not right away. First there will be a few years of second guessing and saying if only he’d listened to us etc
Then the next strong liberal politician will come along he or she will hear why can’t you be more like Obama??
kay
@Zach:
Mandel is horrible. In 2010, he ran vile racist ads depicting his AA opponent as a “secret” Muslim “sympathizer” (or something). I don’t think he has anything positive to say, about anything.
Southern Beale
Speaking of healthcare, this seems like a good opportunity for me to ask a question.
This morning I participated in a survey by BlueCross/BlueShield of TN and it turns out it’s about their new mental health treatment program, which will be available only online. They’re calling it Thrive (I Googled around and saw there’s an existing program that does this in Boston, so I guess they are contracting with this company). What it basically amounts to is video conferenced therapy sessions. In addition to regular “talk therapy,” their doctors will also prescribe medication.
I had a really visceral negative reaction to this idea, and maybe it’s because I’m not a mental health professional so I’m uneducated about the benefits. It just struck me as really dangerous. It just seems like you really need to see a patient in person. There’s just too much that can be hidden or go unobserved on video. And I confess I immediately also thought of Bill Frist’s “video diagnosis” of Terri Schiavo.
It reminded me of “life coaching” and other bogus “therapies”: fine for someone who doesn’t really have something wrong with them, but if there’s a serious issue — one requiring medication or prolonged treatment — then they need to be seen in person by a professional.
I admit I was also really annoyed by the survey questions — most of them were of the “how embarrassed would YOU be to go to therapy?” variety, which I gather is how they plan to market this program. Again a really dangerous message to be spreading out there.
Yet another degradation of the medical profession. Once upon a time we got house calls, now the doctor can’t even take the time for a fucking office visit. I take the whole thing as a way for BlueCross to pretend to be offering something new while really just saving themselves a bunch of money, but again: what do I know.
Wondering if anyone has any thoughts on video-conferencing therapy sessions, or has any resources to point to as to how it compares to traditional office-visit therapy?
Joey Maloney
@Zach: “You don’t have to look like a prepubescent boy to catch the eye of Republican power brokers – but it doesn’t hurt.”
Zifnab
Anybody ever played the card game “Illuminati” by Steve Jackson? That’s the first thing that popped into my head when I read that.
Zifnab
@The Moar You Know:
Carter was replaced by Reagan. Clinton by GBJr. LBJ by Nixon. So the comparison is always a huge downgrade. Democratic Presidents give us half of what we want. Republicans give us less than nothing.
And a lot of the bad shit those Dems do in office gets compounded by their Republican successors – which is exactly what sends the liberals into fits when they see Republicans doing it. Clinton signed Graham-Leech-Biley and Bush swung open the doors for a banking collapse. LBJ invaded Vietnam and Nixon ran amuck for the next six years. Carter picked a fight with the Iranian Revolutionaries, and Reagan spent the next eight years rubbing salt into the wound.
So I can’t see why liberals throwing a shit-fit at Democrats for doing stupid things while in office is bad. And I don’t think it’s bad to hold up their policy successes (or the restraint they employee in policy failures) as models for future Presidents. This is as it should be.
Schlemizel
@Southern Beale:
But, if it has to be in person how can you off shore the work? Really, you’ll get just as good care from the doctor in Mumbai or Phnom Penh and the insurance company will save a bundle. You know thats where this is headed.
Southern Beale
@Schlemizel:
Oh jeeez I didn’t even THINK of that …
rikryah
thank you for keeping us up to date in OHIO
debbie
Kay, this is all you need to know about Mandel’s smear of Kevin Boyce.
http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2010/oct/14/josh-mandel/josh-mandel-weaves-images-islam-throughout-ad-alle/
debbie
Speaking of DeWine, after almost a year, he’s finally getting around to his signature campaign promise: to do something about the backup on DNA testing. I’d bet Richard Cordray’s record on that still surpasses Mr. DeWine’s.