We've been watching OH-07 as one of those races where Republicans have a chance to blow it. Instead, we got four really good candidates and we've had a tough time choosing between them. These candidates represent the broad spectrum of Republican political thought from libertarianism through conservatism. The issue matrix for OH-07 is a treasure trove of ideas and thoughts and every voter ought to check each candidate out thoroughly.Having said all of that, the editors of Weapons of Mass Discussion believe that Steve Austria is the best fit for the district. Austria has the endorsement of outgoing Rep. Dave Hobson and the Ohio delegation as well as the county Republican parties in Franklin, Fairfield, Perry and Greene. On the issues, Austria provides a capable conservative vote while maintaining a level of independence that the district is used to having in Congress.
Mr. Harkins is to be rated as highly qualified. He failed to get our endorsement because he has a history of not playing nice with key political factions whose support is vital to the district. He is likely to be more "conservative" than Mr. Austria but that in and of itself was not enough in this field.
Mr. Hood is to be rated as highly qualified as well. While he is likely to be considered the most conservative man in the race, he has not demonstrated sufficient support in the district that would illustrate having views representative of the district. Our biggest fear with Mr. Hood is that if he were to win the primary, Republicans could lose the seat.
Col. Mitchel is to be rated as highly qualified also. Our issue with Mitch is that he is the Ron Paul of this field. While his views on governmental reform are ideal, his views on foreign policy (including economic/trade policy) leave a lot to be desired. We like having Mitch in the race though because he always gets us thinking.
We, the editors of Weapons of Mass Discussion, believe that Steve Austria is the right choice for the Seventh District of the US House of Representatives.
