As originally published on
Daily Speech
I live in the 15th US Congressional District in Ohio. My Representative to the US Congress is Deborah Pryce. Ms. Pryce has been this district's representative since 1993. She is a conservative Republican in the same mold as her Majority Leader, Tom Delay. In fact, she herself sits in Republican House Leadership as the Republican Conference Chair, thereby the 4th ranking Republican in Congress and the highest ranking Republican woman. As Republican Conference Chair she is in charge of coordinating the party's overall message.
As a Republican Party leader, she was handpicked by Majority Leader Tom Delay to be the Republican Conference Chair. She and Delay are two peas in a pod.
Photo Credit: By Melina Mara -- The Washington Post
To my shame, I must admit I voted for Ms. Pryce in 2004 as a John Kerry voter (and campaign worker). I voted for her for a number of reasons. First and foremost I voted for her because I felt as a member of leadership in the majority party in Congress, she would have greater influence for our district and state then a freshman Democratic Congressperson. But I also voted for her because she voted against the dreaded Federal Marriage Amendment which I strongly opposed (even though she turned right around and voted for the failed Marriage Protection Act which would have stripped marriage issues from federal court jurisdiction)
But I have written Representative Pryce on a number of issues. In early January 2005 I received a glossy flier from her office tauting the need for reform in Social Security and how we had to get behind the President's great Private Accounts scheme.
When I wrote her to point out my concerns about the massive debt such a scheme would result in for the federal government as people diverted money from the government trust fund, she sent me a form letter with all the relevant Republican Talking Points - The sky is falling, the sky is falling, we need to drastically alter the most important social welfare program in history, Social Security, which has taken senior citizens out of the threat of poverty by giving a portion of our taxes to be managed by brokers (i.e., friends of Republicans) in the stock market. Never mind that Republicans and the President were asking us to divert monies from certain government bonds to risky stocks.
Social Security, as currently designed, cannot sustain itself forever with the crushing Baby Boom getting ready to retire. But the Social Security Trust Fund is a minimum of 12 to 20 years away from "running out of money" and instead of suggesting incremental changes (like was done in the 1980s under Reagan) that would extend the life of that Trust Fund, Ms. Pryce suggests the only valid reform is to yank billions of dollars out of that Trust Fund and put them into risky stocks where stock brokers will earn handsome commissions.
Then I wrote Deborah Pryce a letter expressing my concern about unfair and harsh treatment of prisoners in the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba. And what do I get back? Another form letter with more Republican Talking Points. She made sure I understood we were in a violent war against terrorism and those at the prison were vicious brutal people who would do us harm. Yet despite that, the United States provides them great meals and a rug to pray on and a Quran to read.
I wrote her back and said that's fine. But she overlooked one little thing in her talking points - due process. Yes, vicious enemies of the United States who mean us harm should be locked up. But do we assume they are terrorists just because the military says so? Are they not entitled to at least an impartial judge and attorney to defend them? If that is too much to ask for "foreign POWs", how about the minimum - honoring the Geneva Conventions? How about allowing Red Cross or Red Crescent access to verify they are being treated humanely?
No, the big bad terrorists are a necessary political tool for the Republican Party to keep Americans stooped in fear and blindly follow the war blustering Republican Party "that will protect us". And Tom Delay's spokeswoman in Congress will make sure that message remains on target.
Deborah Pryce shows her corporate welfare protection alliance by cow-towing to them and hurting the middle class and lower class in the process. She was a strong supporter of this year's draconian bankruptcy bill which goes into effect in October 2005. That law will will make it tougher for people to make a fresh start under bankruptcy laws, even when hit by medical disaster, job loss, and other life-altering events. She is the 6th highest beneficiary in Congress from banking interests with total campaign contributions of $463,516 from 1989 - 2004, even more then Tom Delay, who ranked 15th.
So what I have come to realize is by supporting Congresswoman Pryce, I am supporting the Republican leadership in Congress, not merely the Republican Party. The same leadership that rushed a personal bill through Congress in March (Shiavo bill) to pander to the religious right and federally interfere with a state's rights issue. And when the federal judiciary did not do as Congress "instructed" them, Mr. Delay suggested it was time for impeachments and his Senator from Texas "understood" why there has been violence against judges.
When ethical scandals swirled around Deborah's friend and mentor, Tom Delay, what did Ms. Pryce do? She rushed to support the weakening of the ethics rules in Congress to protect her friend. In fact, she has contributed $1000 to Tom Delay's legal defense fund.
No folks, a vote for Deborah Pryce is a vote for Tom Delay. Make no mistake about it. She voted with her friend and mentor 94% of the time!
And what has Deborah Pryce really accomplished in 12 years in Congress besides be it's "friendly face" Republican Talking Points spokeswoman? One bill she sponsored became law (a children's violence bill - admirable), but that's it. I do not know of how many dollars she personally has brought back to the district, but she is quick to be in photo ops for dollars others have brought back to central Ohio.
So this is all good information, but so what? How could anyone defeat such a high ranking Congressperson in 2006? You can be sure she will easily raise over $1 million (as she did in 2004) and some of that money has already come from, you guessed it, her friend and buddy, Tom Delay's Political Action Committee, $5,020 to be exact. In addition, she has accepted $1,000 from the infamous Thomas Noe, caught up in the Ohio "Coingate" scandal this year.
Soon, a Democratic challenger to Deborah Pryce will be formally announcing his candidacy for the 2006 race. His name is Mark Losey. Mark is an attorney and former prosecutor. He was raised in rural Ohio on a farm and appreciates the concerns and issues of non-city folk, he speaks their lingo. He takes his Christian faith seriously and lives with his lovely wife, Tess.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mark in my home September 20th. As much as I would like to see Deborah "Delay" Pryce defeated, I was skeptical any Democrat could beat such a powerful Congressperson. I forcefully challenged Mark to be persuasive.
First, Mark convinced me that Ms. Pryce's role in the Republican leadership is not an asset for my district, but a detriment. Ms. Pryce has done virtually nothing for our district and it's her leadership in Congress which makes her beholden to the likes of Tom Delay and the extreme right Republican agenda.
Mark emphasized his rural roots will help him get votes in Ohio 15th rural counties where Ms. Pryce did her best in 2004.
I asked Mr. Losey how much he wants this job and he assured me he is very committed to getting this job.
Mark is committed to this race, unlike the last challenger to Ms. Pryce, Mark Brown. Interestingly, even with no funds raised, Mark Brown, the token Democratic candidate in 2004 pulled 40% of the vote which is 7% more then he pulled in 2002 (i.e., Ms. Pryce's electoral dominance is slipping) and that's with only a token candidate.
Mark Losey has been pounding the pavement since early this year and has met with a lot of voters and leaders in the 15th district to introduce himself and find out what is on their minds. His commitment to this race is so serious, he plans to take time off from his law practice next Spring and campaign full-time.
Mark understands the value of netroots and the blogosphere and has been introducing himself there as well. Mark knows he cannot outspend Ms. Pryce who will have a huge campaign chest. He will need to heavily depend on the grassroots and volunteers.
Mark says he can win this race despite the formidable odds against him. The Ohio 15th district is over 48% registered Democrats and it narrowly went for John Kerry in 2004. It is a microcosm of the nation's diversity from young energetic students at Ohio State to old urban neighborhoods to the major GLBT areas of Columbus to the upper middle class neighborhoods of Upper Arlington to the conservative family suburbs of Hilliard (where I live) to the rural areas of Union and Madison counties and the working class neighborhoods of Grove City and southwest Columbus.
For those who want to give the Republican Party in Ohio and the nation a black eye, defeating one of their leaders in Congress would send a real message that we will no longer tolerate their arrogance, their corruption and cronyism, their marriage to corporate interests to the detriment of working class people. Ms. Pryce is the mouthpiece of the Republican Party who the party will fight to help re-elect. Defeating Ms. Pryce should be a key national race in 2006 and well worth one's time and money.
Please join me in helping to elect Mark Losey the next US Congressman from Ohio's 15th Congressional District and retiring Deborah Pryce back to her home in Upper Arlington where she belongs.
Disclaimer: This article expresses the personal views of Steve Wild and should not be construed to represent the views of any group or organization Steve Wild belongs to. This message has not been coordinated in anyway with the Mark Losey campaign.