Thoughts on The Enquirer’s Schmidt Endorsement

A NixGuy noted, this is not a surprise, nor is its relative earliness. Last year’s primary endorsement was two days before the election, but The Enquirer’s decision this time had to be an easy one, and there are a couple of toughies, most notably the GOP gubernatorial race, still on their plate.

The decision to endorse may have been easy, but the endorsement is not exactly a stemwinder, and I’m inclined to at least partially agree:

A lot has happened since Jean Schmidt was elected last summer to replace Rob Portman as Ohio’s 2nd District representative in the U.S. House.

Unfortunately, not much of that has been good. Notably, there was last fall’s infamous Murtha speech on the House floor, plus recent flaps over her educational credentials and over endorsements she has or hasn’t received.

We endorsed her believing that as a lifelong resident of the area and an active participant in many of its organizations, she is close to the community, cares about it and is knowledgeable about its people and its needs.

We still believe she can fill the role of an effective voice within Congress for her district.

You have to remember that this is not your father’s Enquirer, or even your older sibling’s, as the paper has taken a mostly misguided liberal turn in its editorial stances in the past 5 years or so. So when The Enquirer calls the Murtha speech “infamous,” it’s because many of the paper’s Editorial Board members don’t like the vote supporting current policy that eventually resulted from it.

From what I have seen, I believe Jean Schmidt is in this for the right reasons. I also seriously doubt that we will see the position creep to the point of core-principle sellout that has marred the political careers of, among many others, both of Ohio’s current US senators. But of course I and others will be watching.

That said, the sloppiness and inattention to detail that has made Ms. Schmidt vulnerable to her harshest critics has to stop, and I can personally attest that her undeniably courteous cohort’s follow-up needs to improve. In John Murtha (who has descended irretrievably into moonbattiness), Bob McEwen (whose eligibility to even be on the May 2 ballot is questionable), and COAST (which has no interest in persuasion, only in character assassination), all of whom have served to make her seem a saint by comparison, she has so far been “fortunate” (professionally, not personally) in who her persecutors have been. That will not always be the case.

Given what has transpired, I believe a principled opponent on the level of her two predecessors in the Second District could have defeated Jean Schmidt this time (yup, that looks like a prediction that she’ll win, doesn’t it?). She needs to improve, so that if a person of that stature does emerge, he or she will want to pick a different battle.