I would be ecstatic if Sherrod Browns wins this race. He would be a much-needed voice for working people in the U.S. Senate.
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060611/NEWS09/606110405/-1/RSSBrown not running from his record
Democrats, and Republicans, agree that Senate hopeful not your average 'centrist'
By JIM TANKERSLEY
BLADE POLITICS WRITER
Just under five months before the November election, two things are clear about Ohio's pivotal U.S. Senate race:
Sherrod Brown is not the sort of centrist Democrat that seems to be all the rage this year.
Both Mr. Brown and his opponents are happy about that.
Most of the Democratic candidates in the handful of red and purple-state races that figure to dictate control of the U.S. Senate this fall have embraced the "centrist" label and platform; some, such as Pennsylvania's Bob Casey, boast conservative stances on abortion or other social issues.
Mr. Brown carries a more populist - Republicans derisively say "liberal" - banner in his Ohio battle with GOP incumbent Mike DeWine. He wants troops out of Iraq this year. He denounces America's free trade pacts. He criticizes Mr. DeWine's votes to repeal the estate tax and make some of President Bush's tax cuts permanent.
When Republicans rip his votes against certain military or intelligence spending, or his opposition to a federal constitutional same-sex marriage ban, Mr. Brown dismisses them with a "yeah, so?" shrug.
It's not a prevalent strategy, in Republican-leaning states or otherwise. Mr. Brown conceded as much recently, as he searched for the names of leading populists in Congress today. "I'm not sure," Mr. Brown said, before settling on Sen. Tom Harkin (D., Iowa). "They don't all jump to mind, do they?"
