Opposites actually have something in common
WASHINGTON — Sen. Rob Portman and consumer watchdog Richard Cordray are ideological opposites: Portman a conservative Republican, Cordray a Democrat who can claim Sen. Elizabeth Warren as a mentor.
But in this tumultuous era in politics, they share two areas of common ground. Both Ohioans are defined by caution and carefulness in an era when impetuousness and risk seem to reign.
And both are stuck in a tricky political environment.
Portman, easily re-elected to a second term last year, finds himself with a stylistically diametrical president whose tweets can dominate the news cycle — and generate sticky questions from reporters wondering what he thinks of the latest missive. This year, while his fellow GOP senators often have been in the spotlight for bucking President Donald Trump verbally (Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Jeff Flake of Arizona) or on policy (Sens. Susan Collins, John McCain and Lisa Murkowski), Portman has been relatively tight–lipped.
But that hasn’t won him fans among Trump allies, either. They view him warily, an establishment Republican during an era when the anti–establishment rules — and one who did not vote for Trump last year.
“Rob needs a profile in courage moment,” said David Leland, a former chair of the Ohio Democratic Party. “He hasn’t had one yet.”
Portman defends his style by saying he’s trying to govern, not pick fights. He held back on saying how he’d vote on some issues, he said, because he was trying to make deals. His job, he says again and again, is to do the best he can for Ohio, to legislate, to make deals that benefit the people he represents.
“My job is not to make a knee-jerk decision,” the veteran Cincinnati lawmaker said.
His staff says he has spoken out against the president, albeit not in a brash and bellicose manner, which wouldn’t fit Portman’s style. Asked for examples, they present a list of 33 times Portman has opposed or challenged Trump policies.
“I don’t disagree we’re in a harsher political climate,” Portman said. “The dialogue is more divisive and polarizing. And I feel my job is to continue to try to reduce that sense of division and polarization. I’m very comfortable where I am, but it’s a different approach. It’s just not as common as it once was.”
Many say they can’t really blame Portman for keeping his own counsel.
“What is the upside of taking a position on anything right now?” asks Jennifer Duffy of the Cook Political Report. “If you aren’t out there speaking out, on the one hand, you avoid getting a nasty nickname and being the subject of 140 characters … on the other side, if you’re not visibly and vocally in the fight, doesn’t that leave you a lot more room to maneuver? Honestly, I don’t see an upside to getting engaged right now.”
“I think it’s smart for Rob to quietly try to get the best deal he can without having a comment on every different issue,” said Barry Bennett, a GOP political consultant who once served as a Portman aide but later was a senior Trump campaign adviser.
On the other end of the political spectrum, former Ohio Attorney General Cordray is also choosing caution, albeit in another way.
Once thought to be a leading Democratic contender for governor, time is running out. Cordray’s term as the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is less than a year from its conclusion. If he quits to run, he’ll be accused of using his current position as the head of a powerful Washington bureaucracy to seek the governorship. If he doesn’t, he’s out of a job anyway in a few months, and his political future is unclear.
The Grove City resident's reticence — he's legally barred from politicking in his current post — has allowed critics to line up to take a whack. They say he’s an opportunist — using his position to curry favor with political donors. They say Cordray is crooked. The Republican Governors Association sends out near-weekly missives blasting him.
Cordray, meanwhile, remains silent.
“Every Republican in Ohio hopes he runs,” said Corry Bliss, Portman’s 2016 campaign manager and now the head of the American Action Network, a political organization that promotes centerright policies. “Here’s this liberal elitist to the left of Elizabeth Warren who hasn’t lived in the state for years and he’s their only hope of winning the governor’s race? It’s laughable, but since Ted Strickland retired, I guess there’s nobody else.”
Were Cordray to leave his fledgling agency, there’s certainly no guarantee he’d win the governorship.
“Democrats are at a significant disadvantage right now,” said Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. “He’s got to consider whether he’s got at least a 45 percent chance of winning. It’d be foolish to run otherwise. He’s long past the Don Quixote point of life.”
Some argue the decision has been made for him. The Democrats currently running have already begun having debates. Time, both to raise money and put together an organization, is beginning to run out.
“The question is, ‘How hard does he want to bang his head against the wall?’” Bennett said. “There will be other opportunities that don’t require sitting in the back seat of a Ford Taurus for the next three years.”