from The Club for Growth Blog:
Jean Schmidt is running in a Republican primary for the seat.... Other strong contenders in this field include Pat DeWine, Tom Brinkman, and Bob McEwen.
"Jean Schmidt is a proven supporter of higher taxes. Her record in the Ohio State Legislature shows that she voted to raise the state sales tax and opposed efforts to keep property taxes down,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “Pat DeWine, Tom Brinkman, and Bob McEwen all have much better records and positions on the issues of taxes and spending. Any one of them would be highly preferable to Jean Schmidt.”
McEwen was a Reagan Repubican, when Reagan was in office.
The Club for Growth is giving McEwen way too much of a pass:
- McEwen voted for several tax hikes after the initial tax cut.
- He had a well-earned reputation as a "no pork for thee, but plenty for me" kind of guy.
- It has been 12 years since he's been in office, so in a way all we can go by is his past record, which is mixed, and not his current pronouncements, which are just words (vs. Brinkman, Schmidt, and certain others).
McEwen lost his bearings when he got caught up in the House Bank Scandal, and IMHO has never really recovered. Once out of office, he has played the Washington insider game for 12 years, has rarely been in this district, certainly hasn't lived here, and has instead done the lobbying, consulting, speechmaking, and some kind of "investment" thing. Why he should be able to waltz in and scarf up this seat with the approval of national GOP and so-called "moral" leaders when there are perfectly acceptable candidates who are from this area and know this area is totally beyond me.