Nothing like the shoddily written and reasoned endorsement editorials in the Cleveland Plainly Republican (Plain Dealer) to get me fired up!
http://www.jenniferbrunner.com/
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This is the paper, after all, that in 2004 — after its publisher overruled the editorial board’s lopsided vote endorse John Kerry which was subsequently leaked to the national press and embarrassed them — wrote a cowardly editorial saying they weren’t going to endorse anyone because they thought we’d read enough about the race and could make up our own minds. This is the paper that, when Dennis Kucinich was challenged in the 2008 primary, endorsed his lavishly funded corporate-sponsored opponent FOUR times, including in a lengthy editorial that was nothing but unsubstantiated Dennis bashing.
I’m admittedly a Jennifer Brunner supporter, so obviously, I’m not happy that the PD endorsed Lee Fisher yesterday. But if they had made an actual CASE for him, I wouldn’t be so furious.
Instead, the PD wrote another of their masterpieces of omission, misdirection, unsupported smears, empty praise and even flat-out lies. They actually described Jennifer’s positives more forcefully than Lee’s, painting her as exactly what we need in a U.S. Senator right now. But then they invented a bunch of weasel-y stuff— some of it downright sexist — to justify not endorsing her, while damning Lee with faint praise, calling him "smooth" and "seasoned" and friendly to business — qualities that, if accurate, aren’t going to set the Democratic electorate on fire this year.
It says, "Brunner's refusal to play by the rules of the old boys club is one of the things that makes her so refreshing as a candidate," but withholds its endorsement for basically the same reason: She’s tough, sticks to her guns and isn’t afraid to ruffle feathers.
Then it pulled out a real lulu. It insulted any staunch believer in democracy by lumping Jennifer in with Ken Blackwell (!) as a "partisan lightning rod," adding that "When Election Day [2008] brought no significant problems, she became a Democratic folk hero." Apparently, the long lines Blackwell presided over in 2004 were some "Democratic" fantasy and only Democrats care about fair elections (well, maybe so). And drawing fire from voters angry about the chaos they had to navigate is equivalent to the Republicans’ calculated partisan attacks on Jennifer to amass political points. It’s about as false as equivalence gets.
After calling her "refreshing," the editorial turns around and damns her for her "quick decisions and disdain for nuance" (a clear indication the paper did no research on her record), citing her "terrible call" and "egregious decision" in rejecting GOP absentee applications during the 2008 primary. The PD either didn’t check or recklessly ignored the facts: The McCain campaign sent out applications that were NOT LEGAL according to standards the GOP assuredly would have litigated to block the voters entirely, had they been sent in by Democrats. Brunner’s office bent over backward to remedy the error, directing that people who sent in faulty forms be contacted and sent the correct form. PD, when will we see the retraction and apology? Ha!
The PD laughably says that Brunner’s "contentiousness" "may excite the Democratic base but is unlikely to change the ugly tone in Washington." It declares that Fisher therefore would be "more effective."
The problem is that the "ugly tone" is caused by Republicans who are unprecedentedly extreme in their rhetoric and defiant in their determination to stop all Democratic initiatives. No Democrat can change the tone — not Lee Fisher, not anyone.
And it’s not Jennifer’s "contentiousness’ that excites us — anyone who’s been around her knows she’s quite the opposite. To call her strength "contentiousness" is blatantly sexist; she is no argumentative, shoot-from-the-hip type, but some people still don’t like it when "uppity" women take aggressive action. We like her strong, clear, detailed positions — something else the PD "egregiously," to use its own word, lies about.
The editorial goes on: "[Fisher] knows his issues — almost too well: The man can deliver an oh-so-carefully phrased 10-point answer to the most innocuous question," then smears Jennifer again, saying she "her disdain for nuance and second thoughts is her undoing." In fact, it is Jennifer who has the detailed, 10-point answers that ACTUALLY SAY SOMETHING and that have been painstakingly crafted with attention to nuance and second, third and even tenth thoughts. Fisher has spent most of the campaign saying as little as possible about anything other than his money and his endorsements. The PD is perhaps right that their voting records would differ little, but it’s Jennifer — not Lee — who has tackled a wide range of issues in a nuanced yet forceful manner.
The editorial describes Lee as "conscientious" and "thoughtful" but doesn’t offer examples of anything that resulted from this. In fact, the PD’s own description of Lee makes him sounds like a cautious dissembler. It refers to his "hesitation" and "maddening flood of modifiers," suggesting a person who would be ineffective in these heated political times. And it’s not me, the Jennifer Brunner supporter saying this — it’s the editorial endorsing Lee!
I don’t know the PD’s real reason for endorsing Lee but it’s not anything they said. Perhaps it was a reward for endorsing the Republican takeover of our county government. Perhaps they believe Lee will be easier for their REAL chosen candidate, Rob Portman, to crush. The paper didn’t make a convincing case for Fisher on any level. Their reasons for endorsing him felt like rationalizations to justify a pre-ordained decision. But this is typical for the PD whose "reasons" for endorsements often feel tortured with the exact same quality offered as an asset or liability depending on whether they support someone.
The positive part was I was so pissed off I spent several hours phone banking for Jennifer last night. If you’d like to help out, email field@jenniferbrunner.com. We could sure use you. Or go to
http://www.jenniferbrunner.com/
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Here’s the link if you feel compelled to read the PD’s tripe:
http://www.cleveland.com/...