We were invited, a couple of days ago, to a conference call with Sherrod Brown, Democratic candidate for Senate in Ohio, Terry McAuliffe, and President William Jefferson Clinton. I couldn't figure out how I'd been put on this list since it certainly wasn't my deep pockets (although my husband and I did decide a few months ago that Ohio was the State we won or lost in last time, or as somehow pointed out, "both", so we had hosted a benefit for Sherrod Brown at our home in Los Angeles), but maybe it was my brilliant strategic mind they were after... We were all giddy for two days when we were told that the call was interactive, until the day of the call when we were told that the 20 participants would be "muted" for the duration of the call.
It wasn't exactly like listening to a taped call, it was more like eavesdropping in a terribly personal way. Sherrod Brown was hoarse and intense and speaking quickly, as if he's been speaking too much and sleeping not enough and knows it's serious, which always reassures me in a candidate. Terry McAuliffe was upbeat and brilliantly coherent, and President Clinton still has that amazing charm and sincere political conviction and an ability to remind you that the world was once a saner and safer place and when he says, "if you do this, I will be personally grateful..." you actually believe him and you feel that he's not just speaking for himself but for the good of his country.
But the gist of it is, the New York Times ran a piece by Adam Nagourney on October 16, when Sherrod Brown was 14 points up against Mike Dewine in the polls,
that the RNC was regarding Ohio as a lost State and pulling their money out and putting it elsewhere. Giddy emails flew back and forth, "Now, that we've won Ohio..." Not so fast!
In this spiraling political climate, two days later, five Congressional seats (in addition to the two that seem already going blue - the one Sherrod Brown is vacating and Ted Strickland's) came into play. In a big way. Notably the Columbus seat where Republican incumbent Deborah Pryce is now running behind Democratic opponent Mary Jo Kilroy and Ohio's 1st, where Democrat John Cranley is now running neck-in-neck with incumbent Steve Chabot.
And the RNC reversed itself and the Republicans are now out-spending the Democrats in Ohio at a rate of 2-1. Sherrod Brown's lead is, now, only 9 points above Mike Dewine's which may not be enough in a Diebold state of mind. And the Democrats need money in Ohio to run their tv spots and radio ads in these last nine days and to insure poll watchers at every precinct.
I was chilled by President Bush's speech yesterday, referring to the upcoming election, when he said, "It's like they're all cheering in the end-zone when the goal hasn't been made yet." And while I'm not a big fan of football analogies, in this case, if the Democrats had one, it should be "Streaking for daylight."
To donate to Sherrod Brown or any of the other 7 Democratic Congressional candidates in Ohio, please contact:
Kimberly Wood
Kimberly.Wood@sherrodbrown.com