U.S. Senate Round 2 : Defining the Race
Submitted by Anthony Fossaceca on Wed, 04/01/2009 - 7:15am.
The first round is over. Sources close to both camps are tight lipped. And it's fairly certain we won't know a leader until close to (or on) April 15th when fundraising numbers for Q1 are released.
Now that the first high pressure game of campaign fundraising deadlines has passed, let's start getting down to the nitty-gritty. The meat and potatoes. The Tootsie Roll center of the Tootsie Pop.
Candidates, it's time to start defining your campaigns.
Ohio Democrats have been encouraged by what they've seen so far from the candidates, but we have yet to hear specifics on how they are different from each other. Neither has a single issue on their website after almost two months in the race. Other than the few stump speeches or blogs like the one you're reading now, Democratic voters wouldn't know a thing about Jennifer Brunner or Lee Fisher.
Everything to this point has been focused on fundraising. Hey, that's cool. We get it. No worries. But now would be the perfect time to start peeling back the curtain to see what's really in those heads of yours. Where are you on increasing troop levels to Afghanistan? The auto industry bailout? Fuel efficiency standards? Entitlement reform?
Where are you at on anything?
We've been patient as you've ramped up your operations. For the most part, we've liked what we've seen. But we want to see more and we want it sooner than later. Yes, defining yourself this early comes with some risk. But it also comes with some rewards. Let us know where you stand and let the voters start taking up sides on something more than "electability" or who has the larger donor base.
Start defining yourselves, or we might just find someone who will.
I don't think it comes down to this
I think it's kind of a Hillary-Obama situation, where you are going to have two candidates with similar, reliably progressive positions on most issues. And what it will come down to is the person's style, how they function and how they work with others — and yes, what their campaign strengths are against Rob Portman. I can probably pretty much tell you where Lee and Jennifer stand on the issues, and I don't think anyone will be surprised by their stands (Actually, I pretty much know because I have heard both talk in the last few weeks — nothing they espoused would startle anyone here). I don't think too many Democrats will be making their decisions on fine points of issues. I know I didn't in the presidential primary. 95% of my decision was based on how Hillary structured her organization, and the fact that it was a closed, top-down organization, as opposed to Obama's grassroots-responsive organization.
Frankly, I am looking at which has the personality and work methods best suited to accomplishing something in the U.S. Senate, as well as who will resonate best as a statewide campaigner. That was what I was thinking about when I heard Lee speaking last week: Is he perhaps more effective in an executive-style position than a collaborative legislative position? I'm not sure yet, but I know my decision won't be made based on their stands on entitlement reform or fuel efficiency standards, which I suspect are identical.