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Wednesday, July 27, 2005
OH-02: Schmidt Denies Being Rubber Stamp
Posted by Bob BrighamBig Paul Hackett win in the debate . My favorite Jean Schmidt line, "We have to keep our eye on the ball or the ball will come back to harm us." That's right, in Jean Schmidt's world we keep our eye on the ball because we are scared of the ball. In Paul Hackett's world we keep our eye on the ball so we can smack it out of the park.
Schmidt's running scared, she's bungled an easy win, and her strategy of buying the race through overwhelming resources was stopped by the massive netroots support for Paul Hackett. Hackett has the momentum and every Democratic activist in Ohio is heading to the 2nd congressional district to put him over the top in this super-low turnout, August special election.
Tagaris is going to have some video, but here's the Cincinnati Enquirer:
In their last head-to-head debate before Tuesday's 2nd Congressional District election, Democrat Paul Hackett accused his opponent, former Republican state Rep. Jean Schmidt, of being a "rubber stamp" for the "failed policies" of the Taft administration, and said she can be expected to do the same for President Bush in Washington.Schmidt insisted she will be an independent voice.
"I am not a rubber stamp," said Schmidt, who served in the Ohio House from 2001 to 2005.
Next Tuesday Paul Hackett finds out whether he is going to Congress or back to Iraq -- he's quite literally campaigning like his life depends upon it, and his message is getting through:
Nonetheless, Hackett mentioned Taft's name in the same sentence with Schmidt no fewer than 12 times, and used the term "rubber stamp" seven times.
His populist message is breaking through:
"The question is if you are better off today than you were five years ago," Hackett told the audience of a little over 100 at the school, just west of the Adams County seat of West Union. "Under the administration of Bob Taft and Jean Schmidt, Ohio lost 160,000 manufacturing jobs."
And Hackett's Iraq experience provides great contrast:
"I support the president in his mission to make sure the enemies of freedom stay on their shores and not on ours,"' Schmidt said. "We have to keep our eye on the ball or the ball will come back to harm us."Schmidt said the Bush polices on Iraq are succeeding, saying, "The seeds of democracy have been planted. Democracy is on the march."
Hackett, who served seven months with a Marine civil affairs unit, said the reality on the ground is not what the Bush administration paints it to be.
"It's not pretty over there, it's not Hollywood, and we are not spreading democracy," Hackett said.
Candidate George W. Bush said in the 2000 presidential campaign that he would not engage America in nation-building, Hackett said.
"Guess what, folks?" he said. "We're nation-building."
Remember: "We have to keep our eye on the ball or the ball will come back to harm us."
Posted at 09:42 AM in 2005 Elections, Ohio, Open Seats, Special Elections | Technorati
Comments
I bet I am not the only progressive smiling.
The tide is moving out... time to set sail!
Posted by: stumpy ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.swingstateproject.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 27, 2005 11:02 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
Love that headline on the Enquirer article:
Hackett paints Schmidt as a Taft 'rubber stamp'
Hee. Nice framing.
Posted by: boadicea at July 27, 2005 05:30 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
I took my eye off the ball one time... bounced off a curb and nailed me squarely in the grapes. =( ow
I must say that I'm fairly certain that the ball itself never attacked me.
Posted by: EconAtheist at July 27, 2005 07:12 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
"We have to keep our eye on the ball or the ball will come back to harm us."
Wow just like in "The Prisoner".
I love that show.
"I am not a number. I am a free man" - Number Six
Posted by: Roger Spark at July 28, 2005 10:25 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
Whoops, the link in the post above doesn't work because I left out the quotation marks.
Here it is again: The Prisoner.
The page has a good picture of the ball coming back to harm Number Six.
Posted by: Roger Spark at July 28, 2005 10:36 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment