How low will the Ohio GOP go? It's obvious their candidates can't rely on the party's good will among voters, and we saw from today's Sherrod Brown vs. Mike Dewine poll numbers that crying "liberal" seems to have lost its effectiveness. So what else can they try? How about some good, old-fashioned race-baiting?
I just got off the phone with a nice, young woman who had the unpleasant job of conducting a very nasty push poll on behalf of Mary Taylor, Republican candidate for Ohio State Auditor. Not just nasty -- I'd say it was downright racist. Please continue reading for the details, and if you agree with me that it was out of bounds, let the Taylor campaign and the Ohio media know (contact info below).
At first, the poll seemed to be a general "who are you planning to vote for" deal. They asked about my preferences for governor and U.S. Senator, but I realized something was up when they asked about one other office: Ohio Auditor.
And I knew exactly what was up when the caller started to read me a list of positive qualities, and wanted to know if each would make me more or less likely to vote for Mary Taylor, the Republican canditate. Most were fairly uninspiring, along the lines of "she would be the first C.P.A. to hold the office of state Auditor."
I was curious to see what kinds of things would be on their list when it came time to ask me what would make me more or less likely to vote for Barbara Sykes, the Democrat. I was expecting negativity, even harshness. But I was really surprised when the first thing they offered was, "she is the President of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus." I asked the caller why that would make anyone less likely to vote for her. The answer was, "ma'am, I just need to know your opinion," and I realized this poor woman was just doing her job so I stopped making comments and answered her questions (saying that every quality made me less likely to vote for Taylor, and more likely to vote for Sykes). But seriously -- why would that make anyone less likely to vote for her? The state Legislative Black Caucus is not notorious for any reason in Ohio, so there's no substantive reason why voters would have a negative opinion of it. The only reason I can see for mentioning it in a push poll is to let people know Sykes is -- oh no! -- black. And what's more, she forms alliances with other black legislators, presumably to work on issues of particular concern to the African-American community! Is it just me, or is this a racist tactic?
If you agree that it's racist, please join me in letting the Mary Taylor campaign know her little poll did not go unnoticed. Her website is
http://www.citizensformarytaylor.com/
I'm also planning to call the Cleveland Plain Dealer tomorrow to see if their political reporter is interested in writing about this (even though it's a state-wide race, both candidates are from Akron, which is in the PD's coverage area, and I've seen more stories on Sykes vs. Taylor there than in any other Ohio paper). I'm going to direct it to Reginald Fields, a reporter in the Columbus bureau who has written about the auditor's contest before. Please add your voice: rfields@plaind.com, 800-228-8272.