WASHINGTON - National Democrats failed three times to recruit experienced elected officials to run against the Ohio Republican at the center of a lobbying scandal. Now, they're left with lesser-known contenders running against one of their top political targets in a race they've been touting for months.
Three men with more experience in countywide elected office and greater name recognition than the four Democrats who are running turned down offers by the party's national House campaign organization last year to challenge Republican Rep. Bob Ney (news, bio, voting record).
Ney is a top target for Democrats in the 2006 elections because of his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. When Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud charges in January, he told federal prosecutors Ney took thousands of dollars in gifts, travel and campaign donations from him and associates in exchange for official acts.
"From (Ohio Gov.) Bob Taft to Bob Ney, Ohio is ground zero for voters who want real change from the status quo and the ethical scandals in government," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel (news, bio, voting record), D-Ill., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Taft, who has rock bottom approval ratings, pleaded no contest to ethics charges last year and was the first Ohio governor charged with a crime.
The Democrats have made Ney's race the bellwether for their attempt to erase a 231-202 GOP advantage in the House, but Ney said the fact that "the top-three tier people didn't run against me should tell Rahm Emanuel that the bell's already misshaping itself."
Ney has won at least 60 percent of the vote in all but two of his six House campaigns and ran unopposed in 2002. No Republican has won the presidency without Ohio, and the GOP has controlled state government for 12 years and holds 10 of 18 House districts.
Covering parts of rural, south-central Ohio to more populated, northeastern areas near the industrial city of Canton, Ney's district is Ohio's largest by area.
One of the Democrats who turned down Emanuel's recruiting efforts said Ney could be unbeatable, despite his troubles.
"He is well liked in the district. He enjoys broad-based support from labor unions and business. My own personal feeling is, until he is led off the floor of Congress in handcuffs, he'll be tough to defeat," state Rep. John Boccieri said.Robert W. Ney, R-Ohio
My question for the Democrats is why are they setting their sights on Ney--especially when Ney is practically unbeatable in his district? Now I know that Ney is a high profile target, and that his unseating would be a coup for the Democratic Party. The problem here is that Ney is only a single candidate, and a Democratic election fight against Ney is going to cost a large amount of money--money the Democratic Party can ill afford to spend on high profile races that have little chance of success. Why not bypass Ney, and channel money towards other Democratic candidates running in Ohio races? Why not concentrate on other smaller representative races in Ohio, where the money can make a greater impact in swinging districts over to the Democratic side, and still give the Democrats a greater shot at controlling the House. Bypass Ney, and let him rot in the bad publicity of the Abramoff scandal. If the Democrats do gain control of the House, they can further marginalize Ney since he would not have the leadership position he currently has now.
In other words, pick the fights you know you can win. Avoid the fights that you know your opponent has the advantage in.
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