Posted by
Over the Kohls on Sunday, October 08, 2006 6:34:21 PM
Back when Ohio Senator Mike DeWine joined the so-called Senate "Gang of 14" which was formed to stop the Republicans from enacting the "Nuclear Option" which would have been used to break up the filibuster that the Democrats were using to stop Bush's judicial appointment from getting through the Judiciary Committee, I swore that when DeWine joined the group that I would never, ever vote for him again. In fact, I sent him letters ripping him for that move and telling exactly what I thought. However, when I see who DeWine is running against for the Ohio Senate seat, I now understand that I could never vote for his opponent nor could I stay home and not vote at all. DeWine's opponent, Sherrod Brown is to the left of Teddy Kennedy according to the rating agencies that track voting records and thus he stands for just about everything that I oppose and find repugnant in government and cultural policies. Given the choice, in spite of my irritation at DeWine, I found myself this week putting up a sign for DeWine in my own yard.
I think this small example illustrates what will happen at the polls in November. During the time between elections, the only people that you can direct your ire to are the people in office at the time and the polls that are taken will reflect those feelings. But when the electorate compares the records of the two separate opponents, that is when the "rubber hits the road" and I feel when most Republican voters make that comparison, they will have a tough time pulling the lever for a Democrat just because they were upset at the incumbent. So even though the polls may reflect otherwise, I think in the end the Republicans will prevail because the alternatives are so ugly.