Sherrod Brown on Ed Schultz

Just one more post about the Brown/Hackett thing, so that I can say my piece and move on. The "primary" isn't until May 2, so I think I should be able to tune out this election until at least that point. And there are plenty of other races and issues to focus on.

Plunderbund has the audio of an interview Ed Schultz did with Sherrod Brown in Cincinnati today. Here's the part about "reaching out"...

Ed Schultz: Sherrod, you're going to get a lot of attention nationally coming up in this race and I want to approach this with you right away after everything that unfolded with Paul Hackett. Do you feel like you need to reach out to him, because he did generate quite a bit of enthusiasm and a very loyal following. Where do you stand with him right now, and how do you want to move forward, Congressman?

Sherrod Brown: Absolutely reach out. Last night, my wife Connie spoke at the Ohio Democratic Party, their endorsement meeting, I got there late 'cause I was up in northwest Ohio. She just told the crowd that we obviously want Paul's supporters on board and we'd like them to help us bring a progressive message to Ohio, 'cause he's articulate and can get out and do that, and his supporters have been strong against the Iraqi war as I was when I voted against it back three years ago, and continue to find a way to get our troops home and get our troops deployed (can't make out the end of this sentence). And I look forward to working with Paul's people and his supporters, and we have a message in this state to change the state and change the direction of the state with Ted Strickland for governor and me in the Senate.

You can listen to the rest of the interview if you like by clicking the link at the beginning of this post. This just doesn't seem like "reaching out" to me. If any members of Brown's "welcome wagon" happen by here, rest assured that he gets my vote in November. But I only give *more* than that to politicians I deem to be really deserving. Free time is a precious commodity. Arrogance and a sense of entitlement are tremendous turnoffs to me, but humility and appreciation go a long way.

And as many times as I have seen people assert that Paul Hackett needs to stand by Sherrod Brown's side and ask his supporters to support Brown, I feel compelled to say that it wouldn't make a difference for me. It was the same thing when Howard Dean asked us to support Kerry. I respect Howard Dean's position as a party loyalist, and I respect Paul Hackett's sense of duty to his party and country. But I don't take "marching orders" from anyone. Sherrod Brown is welcome to work to *earn* my support beyond my vote in November, but *he* needs to do that. No candidate or politician is the boss of me--not Howard Dean, not Paul Hackett. Work to earn my support and respect or don't, but there are no freebies.

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