Bob McEwen Named Senior Adviser for Coalition Outreach

Release:

COLUMBUS - Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett today named Bob McEwen, Senior Advisor for Coalition Outreach. In this role, former Congressman McEwen will advise Chairman Bennett, the Ohio Republican Party State Central & Executive Committee, and county parties on coalition development and voter outreach with specific attention paid to college campuses and rural counties. "Congressman McEwen possesses a distinguished record of success as a seasoned political operative and high-profile international speaker for private sector organizations and campaigns across America," said Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett. "I look forward to working with Bob in his role as the Ohio Republican Party's Senior Advisor for Coalition Outreach to connect Ohioans in rural counties and college campuses to advance our Party's core mission of growing our ranks and retiring Barack Obama in November." "I'm pleased and excited to take on this important role for the Ohio Republican Party during such a critical time in our nation's history," Bob McEwen said. "Our nation stands a crossroads; we can continue to restrain economic growth through more government, or choose to achieve lasting prosperity for future generations by pursuing pro-growth policies grounded in economic freedom and liberty. I look forward to standing alongside Chairman Bennett to carry our party's message and platform to every county in Ohio." Bob McEwen represented Ohio in the United States House of Representatives for six terms. Prior to his Congressional service, he operated a successful Ohio Real Estate and Development firm as well as serving three terms in the Ohio General Assembly as the Senior Republican on the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee. Mr. McEwen is married to the former Liz Boebinger, of Canton, Ohio. Together they have four children.

This is still a BAD idea...

Reflections on ORP Civil War

Aside from a a few short posts, you may have noticed that WMD hasn't really weighed in all that much on the Great Civil War of the Ohio Republican Party. There are several reasons why we keep our powder (mostly) dry, but now that the infighting is over we can offer some analysis and deal with some of the fallout. "Unity" Going in to the State Central Committee's organizational meeting, the message of the day was "unity" and that is a codeword for "all you rank and file Republicans shut up we know what we're doing and you don't." The best part, is that both sides were doing it. Team Kasich was especially filled with hubris on this score. Team DeWine was playing this card publicly all along, but nobody really believed it was about anything else but saving the chairmanship. Politics is a strange business sometimes, but hearing the same message from both sides of a fight is kind of a new one on me. The truly sad part is that there is no unity and there won't be any until these wounds heal. That isn't likely to happen before November. "Change" Team Kasich was pushing for change, but is that really what we got? I say "Hell no we didn't." Team Kasich managed to set back the clock on reforming the state party a whole decade by bringing back Bob Bennett, the architect of the 2006 and 2008 debacles here in Ohio. I love hearing about what a great chairman Bennett was. It is like they expect us to forget the chaos of his last two election cycles. Tom Noe. Bob Taft. Culture of Corruption. Good times all around..... On the liveblog for the radio show on Friday, our good friend and state representative candidate -- John Becker -- made an excellent point about just how much change we got as a result of the Great Civil War of the Ohio Republican Party:

Governor Kasich and the Tea Party won the fight. What did they win? It is true that Kevin DeWine is no longer Chairman. If I'm not mistaken, about a third of the committee turns over every two years. Therefore, I would have expected 20 new members. We have 24. With Governor Kasich and the Tea Party in control of the SCC, I would expect major changes. Aside from a new chairman, I don't see it (yet). Prior to the election, the three Party leaders (in alphabetical sequence) were: Bob Bennett (RNC) Joann Davidson (RNC) Kevin DeWine (Chairman) After the reorganization meeting, the three Party leaders (in alphabetical sequence) are: Bob Bennett (Chairman) Joann Davidson (RNC) Kevin DeWine (RNC) This is not a criticism of the process, the committee, or any individual(s). It just appears that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

This is what I call "re-arranging the chairs on the Titanic" because I've seen how this movie ends and the boat still sinks. "The Future" John also said that there was not enough time to vet a new chairman and I agree on that point. Basically, I think the timing of this whole thing displayed just how badly Team Kasich understands the stakes of this election. But the real kicker is who the "leading (only) candidate to replace Bennett" is... Bouncin' Bob McEwen I will never understand the "establishment" mentality that thinks guys like this should be allowed anywhere near any real power. And make no mistake my Tea Party friends, you are now a part of the establishment. How this guy remains politically viable is astounding to me. Aside from the House Bank Scandal and the voting/residency shenanigans, this guy is responsible for the rise of T-Shirt Ted Strickland. The only way Strickland could have won in that district is if the GOP ran someone with McEwen's reputation. I haven't even gotten to the Amway stuff... Bottom line: If this is the future, then they really are the Ohio Stupid Party. UPDATE: This just occurred to me... We are likely to see staff shakeups as a result of this "change" as we head in to the Most Important Election Cycle in History. I have already heard that "new" Executive Director Darren Bearson is packing his bags for greener pastures. Bearson is going to be a BIG loss for us as he is an experienced political hand in dealing with high profile races. Chris Maloney has been a VAST improvement over John McClelland at the communications post. I would hate to see him go...

Friday the 13th: Ohio GOP Edition

Now this is just turning in to a horror story...

Seth Morgan on Facebook: "congrats to Bob McEwen for being asked to lead in the branding of the OH GOP and be a leading spokesperson"

Bouncin' Bob McEwen is going to "brand" the Ohio GOP and be a "leading spokesperson"...

This is a disaster of biblical proportion.

Team Kasich has totally blown it.....

In ORP Civil War, Why Is Team Kasich Thinking of Elevating Benedict Arnolds?

If we can assume that the source(s) of our good friend Justin Higgins can be believed, Team Kasich is now floating such highly respected conservatives such as...wait for it...Betty Montgomery and Jo Ann Davidson for the post of...wait for it...Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party.

Now if grassroots conservatives and activists were put off by Bouncin' Bob McEwen, Franklin County GOP Chair Doug Preisse, and Summit County Party don Alex Arshinkoff, what could possibly lead this brain trust to think that we'd appreciate having our party lead by one of these two turncoats?

STOP THE INSANITY

ORP Civil War Heats Up Again

The Cincinnati Enquirer has a long piece about the Ohio Republican Party Civil War that is worth a read if you have some time. You can catch that here.

A few take-a-ways...

The list of Team Kasich possible replacements: Bouncin' Bob McEwen, Doug Priesse, and Rex Elsass.

There is a three-way race for the 7th District. Team Kasich has a candidate (Rebecca Heimlich), DeWine has a candidate (Jean Raga), and the Tea Party has a candidate (Maggi Cook)

What doesn't make sense is the challenge in the 4th District where incumbents Tim Evans and Bea Lyons are solid conservatives being challenged by Team Kasich's Anderson Family (Richard and Patricia).

Honestly, when it comes to chairman, I have no preference. With the names mentioned above as my choice, I'd just as soon stick with the devil we know: Kevin DeWine.

As for the Central Committee races, the 7th could go any way in a free-for-all; and the 4th already has two very good people representing Butler County Republicans.

All of this has the potential for weakening Governor Kasich at a time when he dare not show weakness.

But shame on the chairman for airing the dirty laundry in public when the focus should be on Obama and Brown. If he were to stay on message and do his job professionally, he wouldn't have to worry about the jesters in the courtyard.

Vic Wulsin Says: "Bouncin' Bob McEwen Helped Me Out"

Check out this bit from Vic Wulsin (D-Millionaire) in the comments at a post over at FireDogLake (a digusting hive of ultra-liberal scum and villany):

The 2nd District has some very interesting dynamics. Congressman Bob McEwen [OH-R] called this morning to congratulate me. He said that at his dinner table last night, the other six guests - all Republicans - had chosen Democratic ballots and voted for, yep, Vic Wulsin! He says the Repubs want her OUT (he barely lost to her in the ‘06 primary, so remember where he’s coming from) and want a reasonable alternative. So, I’d like to think some of the crossing-over comes from a desire to get Schmidt out. As an epidemiologist, I look forward to crunching some numbers to see where the biggest “crossing-over” occurred, and how that affected the Clinton:Obama ratio and the Wulsin:Black ratio.

No wonder Tom Brinkman got his @$$ kicked...his biggest ally and bestest friend in the whole wide world (not to mention co-founder of the Jean Schmidt Kicked Our @$$e$ Club) was backing Vic Wulsin...


Bob and Tom: Co-Founders of the Jean Schmidt Kicked My @$$ Club

3/7 UPDATE: Bill the Pill has confirmed this story with Bouncin' Bob McEwen. Apparently McEwen is still a Republican, but all of the rest of his friends are Democrats...you know what they say about the company that you keep...