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Josh Mandel: A candidate to get excited about

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  March 10th, 2011 at 10:31 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

I have to be honest with you. With the exception of Ted Cruz and Michael Williams in Texas and Jeff Flake in Arizona, I am not really that excited about any of the Senate races this year. There are few solid conservative rockstars out there.

And yes, if you are thinking I am ignoring candidate X in your state, I’ve thought of them. They’re good. But they are no Rand Paul or Jeff Flake or Mike Lee or Ted Cruz or Michael Williams. Good does not equate rockstar.

I might have a new race to get excited about. It appears Josh Mandel is going to run against Vladimir Sherrod Brown (S-OH). Yes, i know I put an “S” and not a “D” next to his name. He’s an unrepentant socialist.

Mandel is a solid conservative. He’s the Ohio Treasurer. He’s young. He can win statewide. And should he definitely make a go of it, we should all be willing to rally to him.

I hope that in other states candidates will shape up to be solid and exciting. Right now though, while there are some good candidates out there, too few are dazzling.

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COMMENTS

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  • Spartan4Life

    If he can take out the annoying Brown.

    How did Ohio go so wrong as to elect Brown in the first place? They owe us one.

  • Spartan4Life

    If he can take out the annoying Brown.

    How did Ohio go so wrong as to elect Brown in the first place? They owe us one.

  • lepelerin

    Dewine, Brown’s opponent was the face of Bush W. That’s as simple as it was. Now that Brown is Senator, he’ll be hard to dislodge because he is fairly likeable.

  • Darin_H

    a great year for the communists socialist Democrat Party – that helps a whole lot.

  • Castor

    Josh Mandel won 80 of 88 counties and was the top vote getter state wide on November 2,2010.

  • Castor

    Josh Mandel won 80 of 88 counties and was the top vote getter state wide on November 2,2010.

  • congressworksforus

    DeWine has never been popular with conservatives because he’s anti-gun. Or was. Who knows. Politicians change their stripes all the time.

    Only reason DeWine actually won the AG race in 2010 over an effective Dem AG was because he promised the first thing he’d do was join the Obamacare lawsuit. Which he did. (His opponent wouldn’t.)

  • phlogiston

    Mandel is young, telegenic and a good campaigner. But what about that says “conservative?” He’s got a Marine Corps background, but that doesn’t say “conservative” either. So does John Glenn. Sorry but he’s still too much of a blank slate for me to get excited about yet.

  • chamberD

    “In his article, Ariz. Senate Candidate Jeff Flake Indicates That Visa-Overstayers Shouldn?t Have To Go Home, Roy Beck of NumbersUSA, writes that Flake showed that he just can?t let go of his pro-amnesty views despite their liability to him in his run for the AZ Senate seat in 2012.”

    See: http://seeingredaz.wordpress.com/category/jeff-flake/
    for the entire story.

    It would seem there are some chinks in Mr. Flake’s armor. Your thoughts?

  • phlogiston

    Sherrod “not comparing to Nazis” Brown was elected because Mike “Gang of 14″ DeWine didn’t give people enough of a reason to re-elect him. When faced with the choice between a fake conservative and a real liberal, enough people picked the real McCoy, even if it was raving socialist.

  • RealQuiet

    Once I found this out, there was no question in my mind that Mandel is the guy in Ohio.

  • Adjoran

    Look, we rarely get “perfect” conservative Senators from midwestern Rust Belt states like Ohio. But any guy who can flush the odious Sherrod Brown down the toilet bowl of history deserves some credit.

  • http://whattoreadtoday.blogspot.com/ Paula

    Mandel was named “Watchdog of the Treasury” by United Conservatives of Ohio, sponsored and co-sponsored pro-life legislation, voted against the controversial legislation that would force sexual orientation & gender identity codes on employers and landlords, and has been a strong advocate of school choice.

    I heard him speak a few weeks ago at a school choice forum alongside Hugh Hewitt and Juan Williams. Mandel was easily the most dynamic speaker of the evening. He comes across as earnest and likable. Almost to the point that I didn’t mind writing his name on a check to the BMV today. Almost.

    I’d want to see how he runs the Treasurers office for a bit before I get too excited about him running for the senate, but I agree with Erick that he’s definitely on the radar.

    Bonus points: Mandel must be at least 3′ taller than Sherrod Brown. I have a pic of Brown standing next to my son, who, at age 17 towered over Brown. At the debates it would be reminiscent of Reagan meeting Gorbachev at Reykjavik. Reagan was coatless and looked like he owned the French consulate while Gorbachev emerged from his car bundled in an overcoat, scarf, and hat looking like a feeble old man. Mandel would make Brown look like a little old troll. FTW.

  • usnret88

    Mandel OK, Jeff Flake Not OK…look closer, not conservative.

  • GetAClue

    He is one of the promising young conservatives here in Ohio and is a very popular candidate. I believe he stands a good chance of unseating Brown if he can raise the necessary funds in the next election.

  • eldstenorge

    Hopefully Sheriff Joe Arpaio will run. Then we will not have to worry about the amnesty minded Jeff Flake.

  • Lex Rex

    Does he have fiscal bonefides….sure, but Flake was MIA when it came to social experiments with our military in the lame duck session. That cannot be overlooked. AZ needs to keep their eyes wide open, and “rock star” endorsements should be qualified. A rock star should be solid conservative across the board; Flake may be a winner, but he’s no conservative rock star.

  • aesthete

    Name a better candidate (besides Shadegg, who doesn’t appear to be interested) and we’ll hop on board. The truth of the matter is, Flake is absolutely Grade-AAA when it comes to spending and regulation, and most of the bills he’ll be presented with as a Senator will deal with those two subjects.

  • MF

    Not to threadjack, but before we all jump on the Arpaio bandwagon, we need to know a lot more about him. Yes, he’s great on the illegal immigration issue. How does he stand on everything else that is also important? Do not be a one-issue voter.

  • chamberD

    At least we know who we are.

    Flake’s pro-amnesty postition is a fleck, to you, to be brushed off your lapel.

    For me, it is a deal breaker.

  • aesthete

    who is of similar or better quality on fiscal issues, and who is acceptable on immigration. You won’t find one besides Shadegg. Persuade him to run, and we’ll talk. Otherwise, it’s all theoretical.

    Also, who is this “we” in question? Are you really calling Erick, me, and others who find Flake in the Senate appealing RINOs or an “other” of some sort?

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    When you cite left-wing Malthusians to attack a Republican, you can’t be serious.

    NumbersUSA is against America and American values. What do you expect from a group founded by Carter administration members?

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens
  • chamberD

    “NumbersUSA is against America and American values.” Just, pray tell, which American values NumbersUSA is against? And, “against America?” Really?

    One person’s Malthusian is another person’s Paul Revere.

    From Roy Beck’s bio:
    “It dawned on me that most of the national problems Congress was trying to solve or at least minimize were being made worse by Congress having allowed immigration numbers to rise radically over the last 30 years. I discovered that nearly every measure Congress was taking to improve the American quality of life was being undermined by congressional immigration policy. This was no more evident than the week in 1990 when Congress passed major new regulations to decrease Americans’ per capita air pollution. During that same week, Congress drastically undercut the benefits of the Clean Air Act by increasing immigration numbers so that in the next few decades there would be tens of millions more people in the country contributing to air pollution. Yet not a single Member of Congress commented on the inconsistency. As a newsman, I came to conclude that governmental ? or journalistic ? work on most issues was laced with futility until the country’s immigration policy was brought back under control. I have learned nothing to contradict that conclusion during the succeeding years of research on the effects of immigration numbers.”

    The interested reader can learn more here: http://www.numbersusa.com/content/learn/about/roy-beck-executive-director.html

  • chamberD

    about your last sentence. Could you clarify, please? Perhaps you omitted a preposition; I don’t see how it makes since with “RINOs” stuck in where it is.

    But yes, the “we” in question is as you state. It so happens that while Mr. Flake’s fiscal conservatism merits praise, his positions on immigration are not ones that I can endorse or support.

    It is early yet. I’m hoping another, even better, candidate will emerge.

  • aesthete

    Beck seems to believe that the majesty of gummint regulation and Congressional policy to improve American quality of life (hah!) is being messed up by the brown poor people. From the selected passage above, it’s clear that his love of the state is only matched by his dislike of the poor people who mess up its magisterial policy. Suffice it to say, I am neither surprised nor impressed.

  • aesthete

    From the linked site:

    He’s an envirowhacko:

    “My career in newspapers began with a specialty in environmental journalism in the 1960s as I became one of the nation’s first environmental-beat newspaper reporters[...] I won national environmental writing awards during the 1970s, including from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Izaak Walton League.”

    Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational mercantilist and Malthusian quote machine (extra points if you can guess the movie quote that just paraphrased):

    “I refuse to accept the prevailing national leadership’s opinion that these people deserve to be paid so poorly and that federal policies ought to import more and more foreign labor to make sure the pay stays low…”

    And just for kicks, some class warfare:

    “My concerns for the average working man and woman in this country are driven in part by growing up around ‘working people’[...] federal immigration decisions that are significantly responsible for wage depression “in their version of America” are largely in the clean, uncalloused hands of college-graduated officials.”

    Last, but certainly not least, the mission of NumbersUSA (drumroll please!):

    “I and the whole staff of NumbersUSA.com invite you to join the large number of your fellow Americans who already are in this action network to reach for these honorable goals of economic justice, community quality of life and environmental sustainability.”

    That should do it.

  • aesthete

    There’s really no one who can hack it except for Shadegg. Personally, I hope that Shadegg comes out of retirement to run for either McCain’s seat or Kyl’s, but I don’t see it happening this time around.

    Regarding the “we”, I am confused about what this sentence means: “At least we know who we are.” It appears to be a barb directed at those of us who are excited about Flake going to the Senate, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that I misread you.

  • chamberD

    agree with nor endorse every one of Beck’s presuppositions to agree with him on the one central issue that he works to achieve: decreased immigration, both legal and illegal.

    I would also like to see the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act overturned and tossed out; Ted Kennedy promised — when he sponsored it — that its implementation would NOT change the face of America, would not lead to the dillution of and eventual undermining of Western Civilization and its Judeo-Christian underpinnings that our the roots of our Founding, would not create a balkanized America. He misled us; I would argue, intentionally.

    These are my opinions. If you don’t agree with them, then fine.

  • chamberD

    agree with nor endorse every one of Beck’s presuppositions to agree with him on the one central issue that he works to achieve: decreased immigration, both legal and illegal.

    I would also like to see the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act overturned and tossed out; Ted Kennedy promised — when he sponsored it — that its implementation would NOT change the face of America, would not lead to the dillution of and eventual undermining of Western Civilization and its Judeo-Christian underpinnings that our the roots of our Founding, would not create a balkanized America. He misled us; I would argue, intentionally.

    These are my opinions. If you don’t agree with them, then fine.

  • chamberD

    ” . . . that are the roots . . . “

  • chamberD

    ” . . . that are the roots . . . “

  • http://908StraightSt.wordpress.com/ mbecker908

    He’s a lousy sheriff and he’s 78 years old. The Dems might even come up with a candidate who could beat him.

    But, like JD Hayworth, he can’t possibly win a primary unless there’s a dozen people running.

  • aesthete

    one doesn’t have to believe that anyone against the immigration status quo is on our side. In Mr Beck’s case, his support of union goons, envirowhackos, and economic liberalism, our lack of knowledge regarding his social and defense conservatism, and his draconian “solution” vis a vis immigration, are enough to disqualify him as any friend of conservatives.

    At any rate, I was just backing up Neil’s point that Beck is Malthusian and at least somewhat anti-American.

  • chamberD

    ?I refuse to accept the prevailing national leadership?s opinion that these people deserve to be paid so poorly and that federal policies ought to import more and more foreign labor to make sure the pay stays low??

    What the consumer saves — by doing business with fast food and national hotel chains that employ illegal workers (to keep prices competitive?) — he spends in taxes to maintain the education, incarceration, law enforcement, and healthcare costs of aliens whose low pay drives down the wages of our native laborers, who at any rate make more on welfare and unemployment than they could at Carl’s Jr.

  • chamberD

    ?I refuse to accept the prevailing national leadership?s opinion that these people deserve to be paid so poorly and that federal policies ought to import more and more foreign labor to make sure the pay stays low??

    What the consumer saves — by doing business with fast food and national hotel chains that employ illegal workers (to keep prices competitive?) — he spends in taxes to maintain the education, incarceration, law enforcement, and healthcare costs of aliens whose low pay drives down the wages of our native laborers, who at any rate make more on welfare and unemployment than they could at Carl’s Jr.