Rivals for governor can exemplify civility
The two frontrunners for their parties’ 2018 nominations for Ohio governor are Democrat Richard Cordray and Republican Mike DeWine.
A lot can happen between now and the May 8 primaries, but seasoned political observers would be surprised if either man fails to move on to the Nov. 6 election. Ohio would be well-served by that matchup. Both have served in county, state and national offices — honorably and with distinction. Their breadth and depth of experience and knowledge far surpass that of any of their challengers. Cordray and DeWine are courteous, thoughtful and deliberate. Old-school. They are family men without a trace of personal or political scandal.
Given the extent of Ohio’s challenges, DeWine and Cordray are ideally suited to engage in intelligent and respectful debate over policies most likely to improve the lives of the state’s 11.6 million people.
Left to themselves, that’s the kind of high-level campaign Ohioans would see. Announcing his candidacy last June, DeWine pledged to keep a focus on “issues that truly matter.” When Cordray announced last week, he promised to “do it the Ohio way, not by stirring conflict, sowing division or pitting people against one another.”
Unfortunately, the political hacks and slime merchants already are working full-time to steer the campaign into the sewer. The first cheap shot, feeble as it was, came from Ohio Republican Chairwoman Jane Timken. “Ohio voters know a swamp creature when they see one,” she said. “Just like Hillary, Crooked Cordray can’t be trusted.”
A more sinister Republican hit team, because it’s a dark money group, is the absurdly named Protect America’s Consumers. It launched a series of anti-Cordray smears before he resigned as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This characterassassination squad, based in Virginia, labeled the CFPB “America’s most corrupt agency.”
The less-organized, underfunded Democratic network has yet to launch a smear counteroffensive. But it’s only a matter of time before Democraticleaning interests respond in kind. Unilateral disarmament is never an option in high-stakes campaigns.
Cordray and DeWine are the kind of men who are bothered by the everdeclining standards of decency and honesty in American public life. They also have the backbone and stature to do something about it.
They will not be able to eliminate all of the smears and hit jobs, but they have the capacity to undercut the effectiveness of these lies by pledging to speak out against them, forcefully and unequivocally, whenever they appear. They should make this promise.
If men of integrity, like DeWine and Cordray, remain silent in the face of these depredations, there simply is no hope for restoring political discourse and civil behavior in our state and nation.
There still are role models. At a 2008 town hall in Minnesota, Sen. John McCain quickly corrected a woman who referred to rival presidential candidate Barack Obama as “an Arab.” He said: “No, ma’am. He’s a decent family man (and) citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that’s what this campaign is about. He’s not (an Arab).”
We are hopeful Cordray and DeWine show the same stuff.