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NRA may back Dem against DeWine in '06
By Peter Savodnik
http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/081005/nra.html
Gun activists angry with Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and the state GOP are welcoming talk of Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) challenging the second-term senator next year.
Frustration with DeWine hit a new high late last month when the senator was one of only two Republicans (Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island being the other) to oppose a bill shielding gun manufacturers from liability for damages resulting from the use of their products.
The vote came about two months after DeWine joined the so-called Gang of 14 to forge a judicial-nominees agreement, alienating many conservatives who felt the seven Republicans in the group had jettisoned party principle in the name of bipartisanship.
In a possible sign of just how angry conservatives were at the pact over judicial nominees , DeWine’s son, Pat, a local Republican official, came in fourth in a June 14 GOP congressional primary in the staunchly Republican 2nd District.
Ryan, in his second term, has not declared his political plans but has been repeatedly mentioned in Ohio and inside the Beltway as a possible Senate contender. Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), loathed by conservatives for his outspoken opposition to free trade, tax cuts and gun rights, among other issues, also may run.
“Personally, as an individual and an ardent Republican, I would love to see anyone run against DeWine, especially Ryan,” said Rick Kaleda, the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) election-volunteer coordinator in Ryan’s 17th District. The NRA endorsed Ryan in his successful 2002 Democratic primary bid against then-Rep. Tom Sawyer.
Gun Owners of America, touting itself as the “no-compromise” gun-rights group, gave Ryan a B for his voting record in the 108th Congress, said the group’s executive director, Larry Pratt. In contrast, DeWine received an F, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.) earned a D and Sens. George Allen (R-Va.) and Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), both unabashed conservatives, got C’s, according to the group’s website.
Pratt estimated that there are 25 Democrats in Congress who have voting records as conservative as Ryan’s, as far as gun rights are concerned.
“The feeling I get from a lot of gun owners statewide is there are a lot of folks who have a loyalty to one party or another [who] are starting to look at that a little differently, with the Tafts, the DeWines, the Voinoviches,” Kaleda added, referring to Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and Ohio Sen. George Voinovich, both Republicans.
Voinovich opposed some of President Bush’s tax cuts and, more recently, Bush’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton.
Taft, for his part, has come under attack for widespread corruption in state government, which is dominated by the GOP. In addition, Conservatives have railed against him for supporting a series of tax increases.
Ryan could not be reached for comment yesterday. His spokesman, Ryan Keating, said the congressman was on a congressional-delegation trip to China.
“Congressman Ryan has been approached by some national and Ohio Democrats and urged to run for Senate, but at this time he’s focused on serving the people of the 17th District,” Keating said.
A Capitol Hill lobbyist, calling DeWine “the most activist, anti-gun Republican in the Senate,” noted that Ryan’s congressional voting record is thin but added that, as a state senator, he had “a long and consistent record of pro-gun support.”
While the NRA generally supports Republicans, it is not averse to backing Democrats or staying out of races where there are no discernible differences between the Republican and Democratic candidates when it comes to the Second Amendment.
The gun-rights group last year supported Reps. Max Sandlin and Nicholas Lampson, both Texas Democrats, as well as Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.). Also, it stayed out of Senate races in Oklahoma and Louisiana, where both the Republicans and Democrats backed gun rights.
Jason Mauk, the Ohio Republican Party’s political director, downplayed any suggestion that DeWine is vulnerable next year. He noted that Democrats have yet to come up with a candidate and that, gun-owners’ complaints notwithstanding, DeWine votes with the president 95 percent of the time.
“Senator DeWine has a long-standing record of public service to Ohio that has given him enormous respect on both sides of the political aisle in this state,” Mauk said.
A message left at DeWine’s campaign office was not returned.
Also helping DeWine is the fact that Democrats as of yet are not aggressively pursuing a challenge, especially when compared to other priority races, such as Pennsylvania, where Santorum faces a tough reelection battle, or Rhode Island, where Chafee is viewed as particularly vulnerable.
Jack Filak, regional director of the Youngstown, Ohio, branch of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said labor activists would likely rally around the Democrats’ Senate nominee next year.
But, Filak added: “There are certainly worse senators than DeWine.”
By Peter Savodnik
http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/081005/nra.html
Gun activists angry with Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and the state GOP are welcoming talk of Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) challenging the second-term senator next year.
Frustration with DeWine hit a new high late last month when the senator was one of only two Republicans (Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island being the other) to oppose a bill shielding gun manufacturers from liability for damages resulting from the use of their products.
The vote came about two months after DeWine joined the so-called Gang of 14 to forge a judicial-nominees agreement, alienating many conservatives who felt the seven Republicans in the group had jettisoned party principle in the name of bipartisanship.
In a possible sign of just how angry conservatives were at the pact over judicial nominees , DeWine’s son, Pat, a local Republican official, came in fourth in a June 14 GOP congressional primary in the staunchly Republican 2nd District.
Ryan, in his second term, has not declared his political plans but has been repeatedly mentioned in Ohio and inside the Beltway as a possible Senate contender. Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), loathed by conservatives for his outspoken opposition to free trade, tax cuts and gun rights, among other issues, also may run.
“Personally, as an individual and an ardent Republican, I would love to see anyone run against DeWine, especially Ryan,” said Rick Kaleda, the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) election-volunteer coordinator in Ryan’s 17th District. The NRA endorsed Ryan in his successful 2002 Democratic primary bid against then-Rep. Tom Sawyer.
Gun Owners of America, touting itself as the “no-compromise” gun-rights group, gave Ryan a B for his voting record in the 108th Congress, said the group’s executive director, Larry Pratt. In contrast, DeWine received an F, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.) earned a D and Sens. George Allen (R-Va.) and Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), both unabashed conservatives, got C’s, according to the group’s website.
Pratt estimated that there are 25 Democrats in Congress who have voting records as conservative as Ryan’s, as far as gun rights are concerned.
“The feeling I get from a lot of gun owners statewide is there are a lot of folks who have a loyalty to one party or another [who] are starting to look at that a little differently, with the Tafts, the DeWines, the Voinoviches,” Kaleda added, referring to Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and Ohio Sen. George Voinovich, both Republicans.
Voinovich opposed some of President Bush’s tax cuts and, more recently, Bush’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton.
Taft, for his part, has come under attack for widespread corruption in state government, which is dominated by the GOP. In addition, Conservatives have railed against him for supporting a series of tax increases.
Ryan could not be reached for comment yesterday. His spokesman, Ryan Keating, said the congressman was on a congressional-delegation trip to China.
“Congressman Ryan has been approached by some national and Ohio Democrats and urged to run for Senate, but at this time he’s focused on serving the people of the 17th District,” Keating said.
A Capitol Hill lobbyist, calling DeWine “the most activist, anti-gun Republican in the Senate,” noted that Ryan’s congressional voting record is thin but added that, as a state senator, he had “a long and consistent record of pro-gun support.”
While the NRA generally supports Republicans, it is not averse to backing Democrats or staying out of races where there are no discernible differences between the Republican and Democratic candidates when it comes to the Second Amendment.
The gun-rights group last year supported Reps. Max Sandlin and Nicholas Lampson, both Texas Democrats, as well as Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.). Also, it stayed out of Senate races in Oklahoma and Louisiana, where both the Republicans and Democrats backed gun rights.
Jason Mauk, the Ohio Republican Party’s political director, downplayed any suggestion that DeWine is vulnerable next year. He noted that Democrats have yet to come up with a candidate and that, gun-owners’ complaints notwithstanding, DeWine votes with the president 95 percent of the time.
“Senator DeWine has a long-standing record of public service to Ohio that has given him enormous respect on both sides of the political aisle in this state,” Mauk said.
A message left at DeWine’s campaign office was not returned.
Also helping DeWine is the fact that Democrats as of yet are not aggressively pursuing a challenge, especially when compared to other priority races, such as Pennsylvania, where Santorum faces a tough reelection battle, or Rhode Island, where Chafee is viewed as particularly vulnerable.
Jack Filak, regional director of the Youngstown, Ohio, branch of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said labor activists would likely rally around the Democrats’ Senate nominee next year.
But, Filak added: “There are certainly worse senators than DeWine.”
I am going to send more money to the NRA.