I wanted to apologize to the Daily Kos community for an ill-advised post that I submitted last night.
More on the flip..
I cited a Pro-Ryan blog last night in my attempt to distinguish between Sherrod Brown and Tim Ryan, and it was a horrible decision; the post ended up being anti-Brown more than pro-Ryan, and after being called out on it, I definitely agree that it was.
What I was trying to say, and I've said this later in that entry, is that Tim Ryan needs to be introduced as an alternative to Sherrod Brown in commentary on who should get to challenge Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine in 2006. Why? Though a very large majority of the Kos community would like Brown to run, we still have not heard a large-scale confirmation of his interest in doing so. Anything we've heard, from Roll Call to other D.C. newspapers, is that Tim Ryan is definitely interested. I agree that Governor should be a higher priority than U.S. Senator at this point in Ohio, but we still need to make sure we have the best person representing Democrats in the Senate race. I think Tim Ryan, just like Sherrod Brown, can be that person.
So, again, I'd like to apologize to Chris Bowers, RedDan, French Socialist, and others for an unfair, incompetent, and dumb entry last night. I promise to be smarter and fairer in the future. Thanks for the feedback, and letting me know how out of bounds I really was.
I did want to provide some information that I have gathered on Ryan. This was also included in the last post, but it was added late to try to make up for the hatchet job that was the original post. Hopefully, with this, you can get some idea of who Tim Ryan is without having to read negative comments about Sherrod Brown.
Tim Ryan is 32 years old. He's from Niles, Ohio, and he currently represents the 17th District in Northeastern Ohio, which encapsulates Youngstown, Warren, and the Akron area. He was an Ohio state senator from 2000-2002, leading efforts to establish a state-based earned income tax credit, to standardize the reporting of community school data, and to bring college students into the debate over higher education funding.
He serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and co-chairs the House Manufacturing Caucus, and he's focused on strenghtening manufacturing in America and making college more affordable for everyone.
Ryan's voting record:
--Rated 10% by NARAL, indicating a pro-life voting record (has not come out against Roe, just wants abortions markedly reduced)
--Rated 25% by the Christian Coalition: an anti-family voting record (probably for the better)
--Rated 89% by APHA, indicating a pro-public health record
-YES on allowing reimportation of prescription drugs
-NO on capping damages and setting time limits in medical lawsuits
--Rated 90% by the ARA, indicating a pro-senior voting record
--Rated 100% by the NEA, indicating pro-public education votes
--Rated A by the NRA, indicating a pro-gun rights voting record (something that will go over well in Southern Ohio)
--Rated 0% by FAIR, indicating a voting record loosening immigration
-NO on reporting illegal aliens who receive hospital treatment
--Rated 100% by SANE, indicating a pro-peace voting record
--Rated 100% by the LCV, indicating pro-environment votes
I think you can see that Rep. Ryan is a very principled voter. Doesn't really contradict himself.
For your reference:
This all comes from a site, Issues2000.org, that has issues on every candidate, here.