MEDIA BLIND SPOT ON DAVE ROBINSON
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| Also listed in: Interfaith Peace Coalition | Licking County Pro-Active Citizens (www.licopac.org) | Ohio 12th Congressional District |
One reason we have such a partisan and unresponsive Congress is the lock that incumbents have on their chairs once they get in office. A sitting congressman, no matter how incompetent, can depend on not only name recognition and fat envelopes of lobbyist cash but also on special treatment from the media.
No better example is the current 12th District House race where incumbent Pat Tiberi, R-Delaware County, is challenged by Columbus businessman David Robinson, a first-time candidate for public office.
Despite his lack of accomplishment outside of being a loyal foot soldier for the Bush White House, Tiberi is pursuing re-election with hundreds of thousands of dollars of support from the financial, insurance and real estate lobbies plus the endorsement of the Dispatch.
Robinson, given his disadvantage in terms of money and media attention, has been running an energetic grassroots campaign which has caught the attention of many Democrats and Independents in Franklin, Licking and Delaware county. But it hasn't attracted much notice from the local political press.
The Dispatch editorial page on Sept. 21 endorsed Tiberi, as expected. What wasn't expected was the lack of any mention of Robinson in the editorial, leaving the reader to conclude the congressman was running unopposed. Typically, Dispatch endorsements will at least name both candidates and often give reasons why they favor one over the other.
Then, last evening, on WOSU's "Columbus On The Record" (ch. 34), a panel of area journalists and party consultants got around to discussing Tiberi's flip-flop on the Wall Street bail-out bill and how it might affect his re-election prospects.
They concluded that since Tiberi's opponent - again, never named - didn't have much money for television or direct mail, the congressman's indecision on one of the most important votes in U.S. history probably wouldn't hurt him on Nov. 4.
And they're probably right. If the Dispatch editorial writers and WOSU's panel of political experts can't even bother to mention Tiberi's opponent one month before the election, Tiberi doesn't really have to worry too much about being swept out of office by all this talk of "change."
This demonstrates how campaign cash has become the only measure of candidate viability. And why the political system is wide open to corruption but shut down tight to any challenger who doesn't bring a personal fortune to the game.
In this regard, this site reported earlier on the decision by the national Sierra Club not to endorse or give financial support to Robinson, despite his green-chip environmental record, including his work as a volunteer speaker for Al Gore's global warming initiative. Again, the decision was made on the basis of Robinson's perceived lack of fund-raising prowess. See earlier post at:
http://www.progressohio.org/page/community/post/licopac/CHj9
We now hear that local Sierra Club members, who had recommended a Robinson endorsement to the national, have been so embarrassed by the decision that they're making a concerted effort to help Robinson by other means.
"We are supporting him in every way we can through our field program," said MacKenzie Bailey, a member of the national field staff working the election in Ohio.
So far, this takes the form of recruiting volunteers for Robinson, having club members show up at his events and doing everything just short of giving money, which would depend on a formal club endorsement.
Local club members and staffers should be commended for this initiative. But it remains disturbing that, at least at the national level, this usually progressive environmental group would turn its back on an environmental candidate just because he hadn't hit their dollar benchmarks.
So if somebody tells you the political game is rigged, they just might know what they're talking about. And until we get some combination of limits on campaign contributions and public financing of Congressional elections, "change" is just another slogan, easily ignored unless you can take it to the bank.
No better example is the current 12th District House race where incumbent Pat Tiberi, R-Delaware County, is challenged by Columbus businessman David Robinson, a first-time candidate for public office.
Despite his lack of accomplishment outside of being a loyal foot soldier for the Bush White House, Tiberi is pursuing re-election with hundreds of thousands of dollars of support from the financial, insurance and real estate lobbies plus the endorsement of the Dispatch.
Robinson, given his disadvantage in terms of money and media attention, has been running an energetic grassroots campaign which has caught the attention of many Democrats and Independents in Franklin, Licking and Delaware county. But it hasn't attracted much notice from the local political press.
The Dispatch editorial page on Sept. 21 endorsed Tiberi, as expected. What wasn't expected was the lack of any mention of Robinson in the editorial, leaving the reader to conclude the congressman was running unopposed. Typically, Dispatch endorsements will at least name both candidates and often give reasons why they favor one over the other.
Then, last evening, on WOSU's "Columbus On The Record" (ch. 34), a panel of area journalists and party consultants got around to discussing Tiberi's flip-flop on the Wall Street bail-out bill and how it might affect his re-election prospects.
They concluded that since Tiberi's opponent - again, never named - didn't have much money for television or direct mail, the congressman's indecision on one of the most important votes in U.S. history probably wouldn't hurt him on Nov. 4.
And they're probably right. If the Dispatch editorial writers and WOSU's panel of political experts can't even bother to mention Tiberi's opponent one month before the election, Tiberi doesn't really have to worry too much about being swept out of office by all this talk of "change."
This demonstrates how campaign cash has become the only measure of candidate viability. And why the political system is wide open to corruption but shut down tight to any challenger who doesn't bring a personal fortune to the game.
In this regard, this site reported earlier on the decision by the national Sierra Club not to endorse or give financial support to Robinson, despite his green-chip environmental record, including his work as a volunteer speaker for Al Gore's global warming initiative. Again, the decision was made on the basis of Robinson's perceived lack of fund-raising prowess. See earlier post at:
http://www.progressohio.org/page/community/post/licopac/CHj9
We now hear that local Sierra Club members, who had recommended a Robinson endorsement to the national, have been so embarrassed by the decision that they're making a concerted effort to help Robinson by other means.
"We are supporting him in every way we can through our field program," said MacKenzie Bailey, a member of the national field staff working the election in Ohio.
So far, this takes the form of recruiting volunteers for Robinson, having club members show up at his events and doing everything just short of giving money, which would depend on a formal club endorsement.
Local club members and staffers should be commended for this initiative. But it remains disturbing that, at least at the national level, this usually progressive environmental group would turn its back on an environmental candidate just because he hadn't hit their dollar benchmarks.
So if somebody tells you the political game is rigged, they just might know what they're talking about. And until we get some combination of limits on campaign contributions and public financing of Congressional elections, "change" is just another slogan, easily ignored unless you can take it to the bank.
