Back to the Kitchen...and the 19th Century

Earlier I posted videos of Ohio U.S. Senate candidates who spoke at the Akron Press Club. One of those candidates was Republican Tom Ganley, a wealthy car dealer from Cleveland who has since dropped out of the senate race to challenge Betty Sutton, the Democrat from Copley who represents the 13th Congressional District. The race is starting to heat up--or at least the rhetoric is. In a newsletter sent out to Medina County Republicans, Medina County Republican Executive Committee Chair Bill Heck intones: "Let's take Betty Sutton out of the House and put her back in the kitchen!"

Clearly this was a poor attempt at a clever pun. Newsflash: Its 2010, not 1810 or 1910, or even 1960. Women vote. They also work outside the home now (not that working inside the home is something to be ashamed of as is inferred in the above comment). They are CEOs, astronauts, teachers, doctors, lawyers, judges, cabinet members, legislators, even heads of state.

A comment like this can only backfire. You can bet Emily's List, who bankrolled much of Sutton's 2006 inaugural House campaign, has been energized by this. Ganley has deep pockets but so does a ticked off Emily.

Ohio U.S. Senate Candidate Videos

In the autumn of 2009, the Akron Press Club and Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron co-sponsored a series of luncheon talks by the four announced candidates for the Ohio U.S. Senate seat of the soon-to-be-retiring George Voinovich. The events were recorded by Time Warner Cable and broadcast later on the cable network. The videos for each of those events have been converted and are now available on-line.

Things have changed since then on the Republican side as Car Dealer Tom Ganley dropped out of the Senate race to enter the GOP primary for Ohio's 13th Congressional district, a seat held by Congresswoman Betty Sutton. This is slightly ironic as Sutton became known as the originator of the "cash for clunkers" program which became so popular among consumer last summer and probably put a lot of cash in Ganley's pocket as he is the biggest car dealer in Ohio. Ganley's move leaves former Congressman and OMB Director Rob Portman as the presumptive nominee.

On the Democratic side, Lt. Governor Lee Fisher has been unable to pull away from Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner despite a hefty cash advantage. With the May 4 primary rapidly approaching, anything could happen.

Tom Ganley Video

Rob Portman Video

Jennifer Brunner Video

Lee Fisher Video