For the Record: Josh Mandel, Akron Press Club, and the Campaign Fishbowl

Over the course of the year, the Akron Press Club has hosted events by both major party candidates for Ohio’s U.S. Senate election occurring in November 2012. On January 6, incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) spoke to the Press Club; on March 1, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, the soon-to-be Republican nominee, announced his candidacy at the Press Club. As a former VP for Programs and current member of the Akron Press Club board, I moderated both the Brown and Mandel events.

Following the Mandel event, media reports surfaced that the Mandel campaign attempted to prevent opposition trackers from recording Mandel’s speech to the Press Club. Since I was present at the event and since questions continue to be raised, I wanted to post, for the record, my thoughts about what transpired.

Mandel's staffers acted unprofessionally and were clearly trying to intimidate the folks that came to record the event. The Mandel campaign tried to prevent one individual from entering the room until I intervened, and also tried to obstruct the views of two of the cameras with their heads and by holding up pieces of paper until I told them to stop. I explained to Mandel’s staff that the Akron Press Club was an open forum and that the Press Club was also recording the event and would be putting that video online ASAP. And those individuals that came to record the event, by the way, despite what the Mandel campaign has said, did not try to disrupt anything—in fact they did not say a word while they were recording nor did they ask for help while they were being harassed. And I know this because during Mandel's speech, I was standing in the back of the room as all this occurred.

It is the policy of the Akron Press Club that anyone can record audio or video of our events. Period. Had Mandel-affiliated trackers been sent to record Sherrod Brown’s appearance on January 6 and been met with the same kind of treatment, I would have made sure that they were able to record freely and without interference. The Mandel Campaign knew going into the event that the Press Club is an open forum and that anyone who wished to record could do so (the only thing that would be prohibited would be having lunch—unless they paid for it). When Mandel’s campaign staff tried to block one of the trackers from entering the room, I reminded them of the policy. They then proceeded to continue to try to block the recording after I told them they couldn't. Huffington Post published a story about the incident and what you see near the end of the Huffington Post video is the second time I had to speak with them to tell them they couldn’t do that.

Running for office, especially a U.S. Senate seat, is a very serious thing. Congressional candidates and campaigns should not expect that their words uttered in an open forum are somehow private or not privy to public scrutiny. Ultimately, they are operating in a fishbowl. Attempting to prevent video and audio recording of a candidate speaking in a public forum is a losing proposition and does not reflect well on the campaign or the candidate—especially when a campaign is fully aware that such recording is permissible. It makes the campaign look amateurish and not fully confident in their own message or candidate.

Mitt Romney: An Etch A Sketch Candidate in an Era of Permanent Ink

Mitt Romney’s Etch A Sketch moment may be the defining moment in what can only be described as a tumultuous primary season. Romney’s longtime aide Eric Fehrnstrom caused a firestorm of criticism for his boss when he said on CNN that the general election offered a chance to hit the “reset button for thefall campaign. Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You cankind of shake it up and we start all over again." When scholars perform their post-mortem of the 2012 campaign, they may be able to point to the Etch A Sketch moment as the precise point in time when Mitt Romney lost the election.

Fehrnstrom’s comments are both illustrative and important in two very different ways. First, Etch A Sketch may well be the last straw for many conservatives who already do not trust Romney. Whether it is Romney’s Mormon faith, the moderate policy positions he cultivated as Massachusetts Governor, or the air of inauthenticity that clings to Romney like an ill-fitting suit, conservatives have never embraced him. The Etch A Sketch comments validate the feeling among conservatives that Romney has no core, that he is a political chameleon who will do or say anything to win, that he is not one of them. Etch A Sketch may not cost Romney the nomination, but it could very well cost him the general election should he be the Republican Party nominee. The first order of business for any presidential campaign is to turn out the base in November. And if part of the GOP base decides to stay home rather than vote for their party’s candidate that they view as a charlatan, especially in crucial battleground states like Ohio and Virginia, Romney cannot win.

Secondly, the Etch A Sketch comments reveal that the Romney campaign is utilizing a playbook that is outdated in the 21^st Century. There is no reset button in presidential politics—not anymore. The ubiquity of social media means that the lines drawn on the Etch A Sketch during the primary season are drawn in permanent ink. You can shake the toy as much as you like but the lines will still be there. Every event is recorded. Every speech, every public utterance, every awkward joke lives on in perpetuity, only one Google search away from being the next viral campaign ad run by the opposition. I’m pretty sure that the Obama campaign is adept at navigating that series of tubes we call the Internet, collecting for later use every Romney misstep, gaffe, and controversial statement from tree height to Cadillacs to Planned Parenthood. In 2012, a candidate can no longer tack to the extremes of their party during the primary season only to sprint to the middle during the fall campaign without repercussion. The social media microscope—often primed by a well-conceived 140 character tweet—makes that impossible.

Permalink to Politico Arena comment 

Mitt Romney: Trouble Signs Ahead

Politico Arena topic: Does Romney's Win Make the Nomination Clearer?

Mitt Romney’s win certainly helped boost his chances of securing the GOP nomination. Illinois represents his first convincing victory in a large industrial state—the kind of battleground state Romney would need to win in a general election matchup against President Barack Obama (though Obama should be able to carry Illinois easily in November). But underneath the veneer of his Illinois win rests some continuing trouble signs. According to exit polls, Romney lost the white evangelical vote once again to Rick Santorum. Evangelicals compose much of the Republican Party’s base across the United States—a base Romney must turnout in droves in November if he is to defeat Barack Obama, especially in battleground states like Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, and Virginia. But evangelicals have yet to embrace him. Romney also lost among protestants who attend church weekly, those that maintain that the religious beliefs of the candidates matter a great deal, those who said they were looking for a true conservative, and those that said they wanted someone with strong moral character.

Is this enough to sink Romney’s nomination campaign? That’s not likely at this point as his superior organization and deep pockets give him an advantage in the delegate count in what has become a nomination season marathon. However, in the general election, a party’s nominee has to motivate the base and it is not clear whether the GOP base will be motivated by a guy that they don’t view as a true conservative. A certain percentage of those base voters, though they are unlikey to cast their ballots for Obama, may stay home on election night—a situation Romney could not afford in so many of the swing states he would need to carry.

Permalink to Politico Arena comment

Rush Limbaugh and the Death Spiral of Incivility

Politico Arena Topic: Has the 'War on Women' Gone Too Far?


Rush Limbaugh crossed the line last week with his offensive statements about Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown Law Student and Democratic activist. But crossing the line is nothing new for Limbaugh—he has a long and sordid history of attacking women, minorities, and Democrats. The guy is a school yard bully with a large megaphone.

I am heartened by the fact that many of his advertisers have pulled their ads—they clearly saw Limbaugh’s venom affecting their bottom line. Some like Carbonite CEO David Friend saw the moral debauchery in Limbaugh’s comments noting that Limbaugh “overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency.” However, I am disappointed but not surprised that so many of Limbaugh’s fellow conservative commentators have not only stood by his side, but have chosen to follow Limbaugh’s lead in attacking Ms. Fluke and women in general.

And where has the Republican Party been? Some, like Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), have belatedly criticized Limbaugh’s comments, but GOP lawmakers are not exactly sprinting to the microphone to publicly repudiate him. As George Will said Sunday on This Week, “Republican leaders are afraid of Rush Limbaugh. They want to bomb Iran,but they’re afraid of Rush Limbaugh.” To top it off, we get Mitt Romney, the GOP presidential front runner, who gives Americans a half-hearted—“it’s not the language I would have used”—in discussing Limbaugh’s discourse. (So what language would he have used? Harlot? Strumpet?) What a tremendous missed opportunity. Romney could have demonstrated his moral backbone by publicly smacking Limbaugh. But Romney, like many in the GOP, are simply afraid of offending Limbaugh’s mythical audience or being on the receiving end of Limbaugh’s future tirades.

Perhaps what is most disheartening is this episode demonstrates once again that our politics are gripped by an ugliness and mean-spiritedness that pushes the bounds of basic decency. As a country, we seem to be in a death-spiral of incivility that wounds the body politic and makes it increasingly difficult for our institutions to govern. Politicos and members of the media across the ideological spectrum will need to publicly and forcefully repudiate the destructive speech of personalities like Rush Limbaugh in the future if we are ever, as a country, to escape the spiral.


Permalink to Politico Arena comment

U.S. Senate Candidate Josh Mandel Speaks at Akron Press Club

Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel visited the Akron Press Club today and (officially) announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sherrod Brown (D-OH). The Republican from Beachwood spoke at the press club event and then fielded questions. The event was co-sponsored by the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at The University of Akron and the League of Women Voters of the Akron Area. The video from the event is below.

Red, White, Blues, and Progress

On February 21, 2012, the White House, along with PBS, hosted a blues concert in the East Room as part of their ongoing “In Performance at the White House” concert series—a series that actually began in 1978 during the Carter presidency. “Red, White and Blues” included performances from some of the biggest blues musicians around.

The concert itself was amazing, especially the rendition of “Sweet Home Chicago” performed by all the invited performers with a little help from POTUS himself. But beyond that, what hit me was watching the legendary 86 year old B.B. King, a native of Mississippi and son of the segregated South, performing for President Obama. Throughout his early career, KIng played many a club where he was not even allowed to dine because of the color of his skin. And yet, in 2012, here he was playing his guitar for the President of the United States, also a man of color. Though I know this country has a long, long, way to go regarding race relations and basic civility, seeing B.B. King perform for the President in a building once built by slaves, I realized that we have indeed made progress.

Permalink to Politico Arena comment

Jammin' Out in the East Room

Sorry...this White House is cool. And that's not a partisan assessment. It's a musical assessment. The concert series the First Family hosts from time to time is awesome. Broadcast live through the White House website, tonight's concert, Red, White, and Blues, was dedicated to blues, blues, and more blues. B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Mick Jagger and more adorned the stage in the historic East Room in a concert that will be broadcast on PBS February 27. The "Sweet Home Chicago" jam session that finished the concert was freakin' amazing. POTUS even showed off his singing pipes again.

The "In Performance at the White House" series didn't actually start with President Obama. It actually started during the Carter years in 1978 with the famous pianist Vladimir Horowitz. But the quality and quantity of musical acts has been kicked up a notch under 44. Now how do I get an invite to the next one???

Here's some "behind the scenes" clips from some past performances:

From Congress to Campus: Tim Ryan

Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH) visited with University of Akron students taking Political Science Insight, a political science course run by the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics. As always, Ryan was candid, funny, and willing to tackle all topics thrown at him including: earmarks, civility, energy, and the environment.

The topper of the day was when his old football coach, Jim Tressel, The University of Akron's new Vice President for Strategic Engagement, popped in for the last twenty minutes to offer his thoughts on Ryan, civility, and energy. It was a great day to be on campus if you like politics and sports.

Too Early for Romney Campaign to Pop the Champagne Corks

Politico Arena Topic: Is Mitt Romney the Republican Nominee?

There is no question that Mitt Romney had a good night. He resumed his status as frontrunner.

But before the Romney campaign starts popping the champagne corks, there are some troubling clouds gathered over the Florida landscape. Though Romney swept most of the CNN exit poll categories, Newt Gingrich was the first choice among evangelicals, tea party folks, and those that identified as “very conservative.”

These people have always been Romney’s Achilles heel and that pattern continued in Florida. Turnout was also down significantly - about 10 percent or 280,000+ GOP voters - from 2008. These factors indicate that the conservative base has yet to warm to Romney. Yes he has a huge advantage in money. Yes the outside groups supporting him also have deep pockets and are clearly willing to unleash the negativity on Gingrich and other rivals. However, until Romney solves his problem with conservatives, particularly those on the Religious Right, the GOP primary will last for several more weeks - especially heading into Super Tuesday and beyond where a number of Southern states will hold primaries - the kind of political landscape Gingrich should do well in.

More importantly, should he be the nominee, unless Romney solves his conservative problem, he will struggle in the general election where you must turn out your base in order to have a chance at winning. The fact that Florida GOP voters stayed home in droves yesterday indicates a base that has yet to warm - any may never warm - to Romney or his fellow GOP candidates.

Permalink to Politico Arena comment

Finger-Wagging Just Latest Act of Disrespect Aimed at President

Last week after delivering his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama traveled to Arizona for an event and was met at the airport in Mesa by Governor Jan Brewer (R-AZ). On the tarmac, the two got into a testy exchange regarding comments Brewer made in her book. The incident culminated with Brewer wagging her finger in the President's face. Brewer then recounted the incident in a publicity tour including an appearance on Fox News where guest host Monica Crowley applauded Brewer for "getting in the president’s grill" and adding "You go, girl."

My take: there is no excuse for Brewer's behavior. It is just another sign of a disrespect for the office of President and disrespect for the man currently occupying that office. Can you imagine the outrage had this occurred in 1984 and the president was Ronald Reagan? In the last 3 years, this President has been subject to a number of public slights that no president has endured. Can you imagine Dwight Eisenhower being heckled by a sitting member of Congress at a speech in front of a joint session of Congress like Barack Obama was in 2009 by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)? Can you imagine a birther controversy erupting about Sen. John McCain's place of birth had he won in 2008?

The question is: why is this happening? Part of it stems from the incivility that is plaguing our politics. But I think it goes beyond that. In my opinion, it has to do with race. There are some who will never accept a president of any color other than white. It is up to society as a whole, however, to condemn that kind of behavior and attitude.

Daley Out, Lew In: No "Getting-To-Know-You-Period" Necessary for New Chief

Politico Arena Topic: What does departure of Daley mean?

White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley’s imminent departure is not a surprise. Increasingly, he was a lightning rod of criticism both within the White House and on Capitol Hill. His rocky relationship with Senate Democrats and public missteps during the debt ceiling negotiations and over scheduling President Obama’s jobs plan speech to Congress are well documented. In November, some of Daley’s administrative responsibilities were transferred to White House Counselor Pete Rouse, who was the interim chief between Rahm Emanuel and Daley. This move of downgrading the chief’s role—unprecedented in the modern era—signaled that Daley’s grip on the position, and on the White House, was tenuous. From that moment he became a lame duck and it was simply a question of “when” he would depart, not “if” he would depart.

The fact that Daley will leave the White House at the beginning of 2012 rather than closer to the election should be a net positive for the Obama administration. That he is being replaced by Jack Lew, a seasoned White House player with a long history as a Congressional staffer (including a lengthy stint as committee staff for House Speaker Tip O’Neill (D-MA)) and relationships on Capitol Hill, will be very important to improving morale within the White House and repairing the relationship with Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, and company. Lew knows his way around the West Wing, and as OMB Director during the Clinton and Obama administrations, knows a thing or two about budgets. As a current member of the White House, he also has a relationship with President Obama which means a “getting-to-know-you-period” between the President and Chief can be avoided. Finally, as the Obama White House prepares to spend the year slugging it out with Congressional Republicans over budget priorities and the deficit, who better to lead the negotiations than a chief of staff who has been OMB Director for two presidents?

Permalink to Politico Arena comment

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown Speaks to Akron Press Club

United States Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who is running for reelection in 2012, spoke to a packed house at the Akron Press Club today. The event was co-sponsored by the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics and the League of Women Voters of the Akron Area. The video is below.