Check out the homepage at Brinkman's website. This is the message he has there:Dear Friends,Certainly sounds like he wants in.
Many of you have received letters from me asking for your advice and comments about our current Congressman.
They have certainly given me pause to reflect on the upcoming Republican Primary in May.
The consensus is that Jean Schmidt is a terrible embarrassment to the citizens of Ohio's 2nd Congressional District and she must be beaten.
There is less consensus on whether this is best accomplished by backing one true conservative candidate or in a multi candidate field.
I will continue to gather your comments and advice but I would like you to read one e-mail which came from Pam:
I received your letter today, I was hoping you would make a run for the congressional seat again, you were right Jean won her seat because she was the anointed one and boy did she blow it big time, giving the Dems. something to use against her. I will be sending a contribution on the 10th when I receive my disability check, please run again we need someone sensible, moral and level headed in the congress to assist the true conservatives, GOD BLESS.
It is comments like these which are humbling to me yet speak volumes about our embarrassing Congressman.
I need to have an answer to you soon, since the filing date is February 16th.
Your prayers while I make this difficult decision are always appreciated. Thank you.
Sincerely yours,
Tom Brinkman, Jr.
Brinkman had earlier indicated that he would defer to "Congressman" McEwen, but it looks like Brinkman isn't satisfied with the performance of his favored candidate.
I don't think Brinkman poses a serious threat to Jean Schmidt. And I think his entry will further divide the "anti Jean" vote making it all the easier for Schmidt to be re-elected.
Mark's Remarks
It looks to me like Mr. Brinkman is more of an egomaniac than any of us realized. This guy was not a player in the last race, and thinks he can be some type of powerbroker in this one? It looks to me like he is selling his voter base to whoever will give him the "best deal".
I am not immediate fan of Jean Schmidt. She is very divisive and has not done much to endear herself to the electorate. She has been very controversial and condescending at times, but she won a majority of the votes.
Bob McEwen has been shown to be a hack. He has shown that he is willing to circumvent campaign regulations (see Bizzyblog) and has done whatever he can at a high cost to the Republican party just to get some glory back. He is not the best candidate in this race, and I believe he would be even more divisive and polarizing than Schmidt. Mr. McEwen had his day in the sun, and he blew it. He caved to the temptations to rob from the people via the House Bank scandal and through special interests.
Jean Schmidt may not be the perfect candidate, but she is far, far better than McEwen, who is just about getting his name back in. She is also better than Brinkman, who wants to destroy the Patriot Act, because like it isn't perfect and stuff. Brinkman has no clue about the national stage, even less than Schimdt does. Brinkman and McEwen are so into their own ego, it is sad and pathetic. I thought Jean was bad. These two take the cake!
