Another Look at McEwen

BizzyBlog has another take down of Bob McEwen, who is running for Rob Portman's seat in Congress. In this installment, Tom sheds light on why the McEwen campaign's argument that he was "cleared of wrongdoing" doesn't really matter a whole lot.

It’s tempting to pick apart the contents of the Dayton Daily News report (a PDF that is here) and do the “raises more questions than it answers” thing, ask “why won’t he release a copy of the clearance letter?” (which would be valid points), and lose the rest of this campaign dwelling on it.

Forget it. Let’s simply ask: Why did McEwen resist releasing this information?

The answer lies in the timing: This information, such as it is, was available to the voters who rejected Bob McEwen in 1992 and 1993, and its nebulous nature was a large part of their basis for rejecting him.

What matters is this:

* The Dayton Daily News article was published on September 23, 1992.

* By Election Day 2002, six weeks later, the fact that McEwen was “cleared of wrongdoing” was “common knowledge.” (see note below)

* With that “common knowledge,” in November 1992, voters of the then-Sixth District rejected 12-year congressman Bob McEwen for newbie Democrat Ted Strickland.

* Again with that “common knowledge,” on March 16, 1993, voters of the Second District rejected now-former congressman McEwen for newbie Republican Rob Portman.

The voters had the last word in 1992 and 1993, throwing McEwen out and keeping him out. What has happened in the past 12 years that would cause the people of this district to override those previous voter verdicts? (sound of crickets chirping)
...
Note to Wes Farno, McEwen’s campaign manager: You live by the “common knowledge” (last two paragraphs at link), you die by the “common knowledge.”

The way this was phrased sounded kind of familiar to me...and then I saw the note at the bottom to Wes. Wes was a guest on our show when we were on MVCC last year. Good guy, solid credentials. That he is McEwen's campaign manager means something to me. I'm going to have to take another look at McEwen and the evidence against him.

I will say this though. I know for a fact that the Brown County Republican Party hasn't endorsed anybody...they are sitting on the sidelines like cheerleaders instead of players on the field...yet over on McEwen's blog, you get the feeling that Brown County Republicans are behind McEwen. This is NOT the case.