There’s another lesson to NY 23 – you need to have an engaging candidate in order to win. Sorry, I loved Hoffman’s positions, but the poor man came across with all the personality of the accountant he is. He was far and away better than Dede, but that wasn’t hard to do, was it? If the Ohio GOP focussed on Portman’s experience in winning elections, that’s not a bad thing so long as conservative principles aren’t a casualty at the same time. And they are not in this case.

It also not true that there was some sort of backroom deal. The normal endorsement process by the central committee took place. You can argue that it was premature or not needed but it was not a backroom deal. And again, it is only an endorsement not a move to appoint Portman to the seat.

I would suggest you get your facts straight before you accuse me of being flat out wrong.

2) Portman has been campaigning on the issues you note before Ganley had even decided to get in the race. I know because I have been to Portman’s events and I was there when Ganley announced his candidacy. Portman announced, built a campaign, out raised the two Democrats combined, and has been traveling the state tirelessly. Ganley has attended a few Tea Party events and is self-funding.

If Ganley is a candidate of the people then why isn’t he even campaigning? Why is Portman meeting voters in all 88 counties – including numerous Tea Party events – when Ganley is speaking occasionally in NE Ohio?

On balance, Portman is vastly to be preferred over whoever the Democrat nominee will be. He is very FAR from a Dede Scozzafava. He deserves the united support of conservatives. If the party had gotten behind a well-informed conservative at the outset of the NY 23 race, Owens would have lost.

While I admire Doug Hoffman, what doomed his candidacy in the final analysis was that he was not sufficiently well informed about the local issues to earn the support of the major newspaper in the district. The perception that Hoffman would not be as adept as the prior congressman (McHugh) on the parochial needs of the district cost Hoffman that 3% margin that he needed to win. Perhaps he can change that in preparation for a Nov 2010 rematch.

In the Ohio race, Portman is clearly competent, and knows how to work on the Hill. In contrast, Ganley is a novice. The Senate is no place for On the Job Training. If I were otherwise tempted to support Ganley, phlogiston’s account of Ganley’s use of governmental eminent domain power to squash “little people” in his way absolutely disqualifies him from consideration.

February 2, 2009

Statement by Rob Portman on the House Passed Stimulus Bill

?Working families in Ohio and around the country need help, and they need it now. That?s why a stimulus package should include immediate and permanent tax relief and targeted funding that creates new jobs now. The almost one trillion dollar bill passed recently by the House Democrats fails to provide that help. It focuses too much on bigger government and too little on creating jobs. It is excessive spending that adds to our already skyrocketing deficit and debt.?

supposedly, there is new Quin Poll tomorrow coming out on Senate Race in OH and CT. Interesting to see what numbers show

I concur there are some R’s who have stood by their conservative principles. What concerns me is that given the current mood of the country, they are as likely to be pilloried as the ones who deserve to be tarred and feathered.

Ronald Reagan was governor of the largest state in the Union for eight years. I suppose you would have supported a businessman unsullied by public service. Was Robert A. Taft – aka Mr. Conservative – an incumbent who should have been beat in a primary by a businessman?

Again, you have offered nothing but your own opinion – and one highly unique example – that entrepreneurs are better than experienced candidates in accomplishing conservative policy.

I could?ve sworn that his only non-government work was as a trade lawyer for a couple of years.

…would be incorrect. He grew up in a small business family, working for his parent’s Portman Equipment Company. He has also spent a few years practicing law like you mentioned. He founded and continues to serve on the board of The Coalition for a Drug Free Greater Cincinnati, and owns The Golden Lamb Inn as mentioned above.

Rob Portman grew up in an Ohio small business family where he learned early on the value of hard work, leadership, and fiscal responsibility. When Rob was young, his dad, Bill Portman, borrowed money to start Portman Equipment Company, where Rob and his brother and sister all worked growing up. His father, and then his brother, built the family business from a small forklift truck dealership with five employees and Rob?s mom as bookkeeper, to one that employed more than 300 people. Rob became a lawyer and developed his own private practice, representing Portman Equipment Company and other small businesses. He knows firsthand the challenges small businesses face.

[...]

Rob is also a small business owner of the oldest continuously operating business in Ohio, the historic Golden Lamb Inn in Lebanon, Ohio. Rob has been actively involved in the restoration of the hotel and restaurant, which he owns with his brother and sister. Several years ago, he co-authored a book highlighting Ohio?s and the Golden Lamb?s Shaker history, called Wisdom?s Paradise.

You know, you really are not very good at playing nice with others. Your “I’m the real deal and you’re the sell-out” attitude is fairly dripping with contempt for the knowledge or opinions of others. Is that why your association with Dr. Coburn is in the past?

~~Sigh~~

That said, your point is not material to my argument. If given a choice between a candidate with only government experience, and a candidate with only entrepreneurial experience, and they both had the exact same stated position on issues, I would vote for the entrepreneur every time. I think most voters would do the same. Apparently you and a few others here disagree. Best of luck with that.

But I do agree with you that Frist was pretty much a disaster in the Senate.

He is/was? I could’ve sworn that his only non-government work was as a trade lawyer for a couple of years. That’s certainly nothing to sneeze at, but it’s a bit different than running your own company (I don’t think Portman ever had his own firm, but I could be mistaken).

I never said that Portman was evil, nor did I say that being in politics makes anyone evil. I’m sorry you feel the need to put words in my mouth.

What I believe, and what many, many conservatives believe, is that time spent in government generally warps the thinking of even the best people, and that all things being equal, an individual untainted by a career in politics is generally preferable to a life-long politician.

Oh, by the way, Sean Davis, for every Dr. Tom Coburn who ends up in the Senate, there’s a Dr. Bill Frist to even things out. Need I say more about how not every business person is a snap to be a good politician?