This morning I saw the latest distortion form the DeWine campaign. As someone who fought an unnecessary war due in part to DeWine's negligence on the Senate Intelligence Committee, I am incensed that he would now attack the only Ohio Senate candidate who is fighting to make our country safer and to protect our servicemen and women. The DeWine ad lists several great failures of our national security: the 1993 attack on the WTC, the 1996 attack on the Kobar Towers, the 1998 attacks on American embassies in Africa and then states that Congressman Brown voted to cut intelligence funding after each one. The ad closes with the standard "I'm Mike DeWine and I approve this message." It should say, "I'm Mike DeWine and I have no shame."
This ad shows not the irresponsible actions of an out-of-touch Congressman, but rather the shortsightedness of a Senator grasping for power. Until 9/11, the intelligence budget was aimed at Cold War Russia. Congressman Brown's votes to alter the intelligence budget had to do with restructuring the intelligence agencies to combat terrorism instead of Cold War Communism. Ultimately, Congress decided not to take up this challenge and Congressman Brown voted with the majority to approve the intelligence budget nearly every time.
We live in a dangerous world where terrorists are actively trying to kill us. But Mike DeWine is doing little to prevent that. He stonewalled the investigation into the faulty intelligence that was used to send our military into the wrong fight in Iraq. He continues to defend the weak policies in Iraq that have in the words of the National Intelligence Council, "...replaced Afghanistan as the training ground for the next generation of "professionalized" terrorists," and the National Intelligence Estimate which says we have "made Iraq a breeding ground for Jihadists." Even though the Intelligence Committee has released a post war report on pre-war intelligence that found the Intelligence Committee failed to provide oversight for the intelligence community, Mike DeWine stands behind his vote to send our men and women to war without a plan and without a cause. Sherrod Brown has voted for increased port security, bio-terrorism protection, and voted many, many times for funding as well as materiel support for homeland security programs. More than just providing money for programs, Sherrod Brown worked one on one with Ohioans to get our troops the body armor they needed.
This is a dangerous world with very real threats to the lives of Americans, but Mike DeWine cares less about solving those problems than he does about pointing fingers and peddling fear. After all, he's Mike DeWine and he has no shame.