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Subscribe to RSSOhio voters aren't just picking a president this November; they're also voting for the U.S. Senate, which could impact the balance of power in that chamber.
And this afternoon, Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and his Republican opponent, State Treasurer Josh Mandel, faced off in their first one-on-one debate at the Cleveland City Club.
The two candidates sparred over who can best represent the interests of the middle class and protect manufacturing jobs -– two issues traditionally important to Buckeye State voters.
Mandel stressed his fiscal responsibility as Ohio’s treasurer, admonished Brown for the downgrade of U.S. credit, and criticized the failure of the U.S. Senate for not passing a budget in three years. He repeatedly chastised Brown for his “record of failure,” casting him as part of the problem and everything that is wrong with Washington, D.C.
Brown, for his part, has long since championed himself as a populist fighter for America’s working and middle class and touted his support for President Obama’s stimulus bill, the auto rescue, and his own bipartisan jobs bill in the Senate.
Mandel opposed the auto bailout -- and Brown pounced.
“Josh, you would be so out of step with George Voinovich and Steve LaTourette,” the Democratic incumbent charged, referring to the moderate former senator and a current member of the Ohio delegation who supported the auto bailout. “To oppose the auto rescue just boggles my mind.”
Mandel said he opposed the auto rescue and still does because the bill strips some retirees of their pensions, and he took the opportunity to admonish Brown for his support TARP and financial regulatory reform as well.
“I'm not a bailout senator,” Mandel said. “He's the bailout Senator,” referring to Brown.
When a question from a member of the audience claimed that Brown had a supported a war on coal, Mandel pounced, reminding viewers that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) crossed party lines in the support of the coal industry when Brown had voted with the Democrats.
“At the end of the day, Sen. Manchin took on his party, but Sherrod Brown voted against coal producing manufacturing jobs,” Mandel said.
Mandel was questioned on the issues of trust and hypocrisy for fashioning himself as an independent who would not be beholden to party bosses but has already sacrificed his independence by signing Grover Norquist’s infamous tax pledge.
“Signing a pledge to a fat-cat lobbyist like Grover Norquist is essentially giving away your right to think,” Brown responded.
Mandel has also faced criticism for hiring campaign workers to work in the state Treasurer’s office, after he had ridiculed Brown for doing the same in his Senate office.
When pressed Mandel said he put his employees up against Brown’s any day.
“It’s well established that Josh Mandel doesn’t show up to do the job he was entrusted to do, you can’t trust him to hire people to run his office, and most importantly to all the newspapers who endorsed me but didn’t endorse me in 2006, you can’t trust him to fight for the middle class,” Brown said.
Brown and Mandel meet again on Thursday October 18, as well as on Oct. 25, when NBC's Chuck Todd moderates the final Brown-vs.-Mandel debate.
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After the election Little boy Mandel and lyin' ry;an and Little Prince Can;tor can have a cub scout meeting and talk about what they will be when they 'grow up'. The adults in the Nation don't have anymore time for their childish games.
Health costs spiraling out of control. Merchants of Sickness making out like bandits. (Reason Medical Care stocks are best investment in Wall St. and greedy health providers, insurance, and pharmacompanies are against Universal Care). US Health most expensive, but only 37th in the world. Paralyzed politicians don’t do anything about it as they enjoy excellent health plans in Congress. Government (it’s its job) has to step in to save the country’ Health from collapse. The outcry vs Universal Care is carbon copy of outcries in Canada, UK, Germany and other countries where Universal Care was established. Romney Care (Medicare vouchers and Medicaid Block Grants to states) will produce 72 milliomn uninsured by 2020 (per Family USA) and treble costs to pay for the uninsured as Illegal aliens (McCain Immigration bill was killed by Repubs), plus 72 million uninsured are going to cost trillions to all of us taxpayers. Merchants of Sickness spending millions to brainwash the Average Joe against Obamacare.
UNIONS DON’T THREATEN YOUR JOB!
Grover Norquist has got to be stopped, he’s another
self-serving greedy!@#$%^
The Koch Bros, Romney/Ryan (Ryan supported by Koch’s) want
to screw the little guy that’s worked his butt off for a few pennies in retirement;
they say they won’t touch Medicare and S S for us who are over 55! That’s B S
Everyone! If they have their voucher program, it will infiltrate into Medicare
for us, then we can spend any of our S S checks to have health care, and
nothing left for food our housing! Please WAKE UP! Easy to fix S S! Raise the age for
retirement, Take the cap off the max, raise by 1% the amount paid into it, (.5%
from the worker, .5% from the employer) S S AND Medicare is fixed!
Retirees! Romney/Ryan wants that wedge of their voucher
program to undermine our current Medicare S S system as it is. Sure they say
they won't touch those over 55 but that's a bunch of BULL! Once they get their
digits in our pants they WILL change our hard earned benefits to their liken!
Fix it, don’t rip it apart! VOTE OBAMA/BIDEN NOV 6TH DON"T LET THE KOCH MACHINE FILL YOU FULL
OF THEIR SELF SERVING BULL DUNG, Obama walked into a mess created by the
previous 10 years, to fix this will take time. We are now moving in the right
direction. Demand for product, Demand from the middle class worker, and GOOD
business management can prevent layoffs.
Piss on this "JOBS BULL@!$%#"! Let's talk wealth disparity! Every working individual should be on a FOUR-DAY WORK WEEK and hire the UNEMPLOYED! The corrupt Republican corporate MONARCHY, its ONE-PERCENTERS & FOREVER VACATIONING CEO'S living a LIFE OF LUXURY on 77% of our countries wealth while the 99% American People have been DRIVEN INTO POVERTY with only 23% of our country's wealth!! That's NOT Democracy! That's NOTHING BUT BLATANT CRIMINAL HYPOCRISY!
I am a Buckeye born in Columbus in 1944 and now live midstate.I voted early to avoid standing in line.I dont need to hear a debate and dont need a super pak to tell me how to vote.This year I voted a straight Democrate ticket.I am retired and cant afford to vote GOP.If the GOP wants me back , get rid of the far right idiots and tea party , quit kissing their a**es and get a set of gonads and remember how to compromise. I voted for Nixon and Ford and would like to vote for another republican but there is not one that wants to earn my vote by standing up for the USA and not bending over for Norquest
I too would like a choice of a good middle of the road republican but the party got highjacked by the far right who embrace "stupid" (e.g., Dubya, Palin, Bachman, Ryan, Mandel, etc.)
Anyone who would vote for Mandel certainly does not understand the Republican Great Recession of 2008, or the plight of the 99%. Why on earth would anyone wish to return to failed policies of the Republican Cartel and reverse the gains of our Democracy.
Thank you Obama Admin. for saving the United States & the World from the gross FAILURES OF THE REPUBLICAN CARTEL. Our economy is on the correct track of economic recovery and if the Republican Cartel would stop OBSTRUCTING and SAYING NO, economic recovery would be much better.
Re-Elect Sherrod Brown for a Senate that represents Democracy!
I'm a Canton early voter. I've already voted 6 times under 3 different names and 3 prior addresses and plan to vote twice more early and once on election day for Mitt Romney and Mandel. Viva early voting.
You represent your species well, I see.
Happily, vehement
rightwrong wing thinkers like you are going the way of the dodo.My votes will negate 9 brain dead leftist loons. I consider this my patriotic duty.
THE RIGHT BLOWS....... By "patriotic duty" do you mean making childish, inane posts ad nauseum???
I still like grover's tax plan.... "don't increase taxes during a recession:" I'd give my vote away on that idea...for the next 4 years. Our dollar isn't improving anytime soon until tax reform begins.
Josh Mandel? Seriously??
Sherrod Brown would have a much harder time beating Howie Mandel!
And Howie won't even shake hands!!