Freshman Sherrod Brown is one of the most progressive Democrats in the Senate, so re-election in swing-state Ohio was in doubt. But Sherrod Brown was a champion of the federal government bailout of the auto industry that saved thousands of good jobs in Ohio. And Brown also works hard for his constituents, strongly supports working people (as well as encouraging Ohio business), and is honest and forthright — characteristics that have won him praise even from critics. Sherrod Brown campaign — Volunteer
In contrast, his Republican opponent this cycle, Josh Mandel, is dishonest and refuses to specify any of his positions (since he knows they would be unpopular). Mandel was swept into the Ohio Secretary of Treasury office by the Republican rout in 2010 and by smearing the incumbent with racist attacks ads. On taking office, he appointed unqualified political hacks to staff his office and then immediately began fundraising for his run for the Senate seat. Mandel has skipped most of the Treasury meetings he should be attending and has focused most of his effort on winning higher office. All that he really has going for him is that many Ohioans will vote for anyone with an R after their name, he was a Marine in Iraq, he married into the wealthy Rattner family and its Forest City Enterprises real estate empire (though most of the Rattners support Democrats), and most importantly, secretive, outside corporate interests have spent a colossal $30 million (so far) to saturate the airwaves with sleazy ads attacking Sherrod Brown. Without these attack ads, Mandel would likely be losing by far more than the 3-10% gap that most polls currently show.
Even the relatively conservative media in Ohio are appalled by Mandel’s sparse record, vacuous campaign, and vicious attack ads. So far, all the major newspapers have endorsed Sherrod Brown for re-election:
Cleveland Plain Dealer:
...Brown is a tireless worker and cheerleader for Ohio, its people and their interests. He’s a good listener and a creative lawmaker -- valuable traits in a senator and positive reasons to vote for Brown.
There’s another powerful reason to vote for Brown -- a negative one: Electing his Republican opponent, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, would reward one of the nastiest campaigns ever waged in this state. It would reward a candidate who hasn’t moved beyond partisan slogans and careful sound bites. It would reward ambition untethered to substance....
...Ohioans should value ... Brown’s Senate tenure:
His pragmatic support for an infrastructure bank, for advanced manufacturing research, for balanced environmental policies in a state with huge energy resources and needs. His bipartisan work to improve bus safety features after the 2007 accident that killed five Bluffton University baseball players. His efforts to play matchmaker between European aerospace giant Airbus and hundreds of Ohio parts makers. His ongoing work to replace crop support payments with an insurance program that aids only farmers who are hurting -- an idea hatched while listening to Ohio growers after he was assigned to the Agriculture Committee...
Akron Beacon-Journal:
...The substance can be seen in legislation Brown has proposed. He has pressed for aligning better emerging industries, say, in clean energy, with the training of workers, part of his larger focus on advancing manufacturing. He has backed an infrastructure bank to support public works. He plunged into farming matters as something of a legislative newcomer yet quickly got up to speed....
Toledo Blade:
...During his freshman term, Senator Brown has cast a number of vital votes for this state and the country. They include his support of the Affordable Care Act, the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, and economic stimulus legislation.
No vote was more crucial to Ohio than Mr. Brown’s advocacy in 2009 of the federal rescue of Chrysler and General Motors in the depths of the Great Recession. When private financing was not available to help the struggling U.S. automakers, the tax-subsidized bailout enabled both companies to emerge from bankruptcy...
...Senator Brown also has been a powerful voice for campaign finance reform. He supports a federal constitutional amendment that would reverse the Supreme Court’s dreadful ruling in the Citizens United case, which opened the floodgates to largely unlimited and unregulated political spending by opaque corporate interests...
...Mr. Mandel has largely ignored basic duties of the treasurer, such as chairing monthly meetings of a board that determines where public money is deposited. Some of the staff he hired appear to have been chosen on the basis of their political rather than professional credentials.
The challenger portrays himself as a political outsider, but he has aligned himself with extreme factions of his party. His stances on major issues rarely go beyond simple partisan slogans — Obamacare, bad; regulation, bad; tax cuts, good. He remains elusive in articulating a position on the auto bailout.
Mr. Mandel has waged an unusually nasty campaign. Independent fact-checkers have cited him repeatedly for making false statements in his advertising and while campaigning. He has benefited from almost $20 million in outside money spent on anti-Brown ads, much of it from unknown contributors....
Youngstown Vindicator:
...Mandel is an outsider only to the extent that since becoming the state’s treasurer in January 2011, he has spent much of his time outside Ohio, raising millions of dollars in special interest money for his run against U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown...
Athens News
...In his first term, Brown has carved out a deserved reputation for hard-working constituent service, always making a direct and persuasive connection between a policy position that he supports and how that position helps Ohio workers and citizens.
Brown’s opponent, state Treasurer Josh Mandel, should be honored for his two combat tours as a Marine in Iraq. But that doesn’t excuse his “say anything to get votes” approach to political warfare, both in the current senatorial campaign and when he ran for treasurer in 2010. Independent fact-checkers and major daily editorial boards, including PolitiFact.com (a Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking site run by the Tampa Bay Times), have repeatedly slammed Mandel for misleading, exaggerated or blatantly false statements about Sen. Brown. Scoring 23 of Mandel’s claims about Brown, PolitiFact found that six were “Pants on Fire” false, three were just plain false, and three were mostly false.
Clearly, Mandel has a problem with the truth...
Sun newspapers:
...Brown touts backing the government bailout of the auto industry as one of his chief accomplishments and knows Ohio would have been in much worse shape had that not been approved. He also cites passage of the Highway Bill and Farm Bill among his successes in his first term, helping to employ more Ohioans and aiding struggling farmers. The state regained 450,000 lost manufacturing jobs, and while Brown realizes more progress needs to be made, he also understands the state is on the right track to economic recovery...
Even the conservative-leaning
Ohio Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), reeling from Republican Governor Kasich’s attack on unions (with
SB 5), have endorsed Brown:
The Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio’s largest police organization representing 25,000 active and retired law enforcement officers, today endorsed Sherrod Brown for re-election to the United States Senate. The endorsement was made by the delegates attending the 78th annual conference in Independence, Ohio.
“Senator Brown was one of our strongest allies in the fight against SB 5/Issue 2.”, said FOP President Jay McDonald. “He is also one of the strongest supporters of law enforcement issues in the United States Senate and our members of the FOP in Ohio are proud to stand with Senator Brown for his re-election.”
The FOP has endorsed only Republicans for the Senate since 1988, according to the
Columbus Dispatch.
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