Here’s the second of our reports for our field pundit Pam. Once again these are the opinions of Pam and not of Ohio 2nd Blog who was too busy grilling to attend the Forum.

PUG MEETING: 2ND DISTRICT
CANDIDATE FORUM
5-23-05

This group is a stark contrast from last night’s Dems who were a rowdy and congenial bunch that required a loud and sharp whistle to settle down. Not this group of pugs….quite subdued…even the moderator, Mark, noted, ‘Are we in church?’

Each audience member was handed a Program (on red paper, of course). The Forum Rules were listed. Here are a few of them:

* PLEASE DO NOT TALK DURING FORUM.
*AT NO TIME SHALL THE AUDIENCE APPLAUD,
EXHIBIT DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR OR SHOW
EMOTION FOR OR AGAINST ANY CANDIDATE(S).
ANY AUDIENCE MEMBER WHO BEHAVES IN
THIS MANNER WILL BE IMMEDIATELY
ESCORTED OUT OF THE ROOM AND WILL NOT BE
PERMITTED BACK IN.
* SUBMIT AUDIENCE QUESTIONS ON INDEX CARDS
TO AISLE CAPTAINS. AISLE CAPTAINS WILL ASK
QUESTIONS OF THE CANDIDATES.
* AT NO TIME, ARE CANDIDATES’ CAMPAIGN
VOLUNTEERS ALLOWED INSIDE FORUM ROOM TO
DISPERSE MATERIALS, SIGNS, ETC. ANY
CANDIDATE WHO DOES NOT ADHERE TO THIS WILL
HAVE THEIR CAMPAIGN MATERIALS THROWN AWAY.

These folks are serious. At one point, however, Mark the moderator told a joke….’What 4-letter word makes Democrats sick? Ohio.’ At that point, Mark the moderator instructed the audience to laugh…they did.

I thought of a group of trained seals that I had seen at Sea World. But the seals seemed to be having more fun than these pugs.

I was rather surprised to see that there were 11 candidates….I didn’t know if I could handle this many. So the agenda was comprised of opening statements, round one of questions from Mark the Moderator, round 2 of questions from the media, round 3 of questions from the audience, and finally a two-minute closing statement.

First up is Jean Schmidt, the only woman. (Needless to say the rest of the candidates are white males.) She is dressed of course in a red suit, her hair tied back with a red ribbon. She is a marathon runner so there is not one ounce to meat on her bones…not one. This woman is the ultimate Follower. She would follow the president ANYWHERE. She wants to get in the face of Hillary, Barbara, and Nancy. She hates Taxes and loves Defense.

Second is Peter Fossett, a lawyer turned high school teacher. He loves the Constitution and wants our youth to get ‘jazzed’ about it, too. I wanted to ask him what he thought of the filibuster. His values are: individual liberty, individual responsibility, limiting government, fiscal responsibility, and moderate social values. He believes people can make decisions for themselves….does that mean abortion, I wonder?

Next up is Steve Austin who hails from a blue collar, rural background.

Fourth is the stereotypical looking politician, Bob McEwen. He is practically robotic in his mannerisms and speech. He is tall, well dressed, and nicely groomed but seems to be made of plastic and his words so meaningless. He did mention his wife, Liz, who gave birth to four children within 38 months. Guess someone got something tied in a knot during month 39.

Here comes Tom Brinkman…eeek! His reputation precedes him…. He is a current member of the Ohio Assembly. He has lived in Cincinnati all his life. He won’t even stay in the state capital of Columbus overnight. He drives home every night so he can sleep in Cincinnati. Hasn’t anyone told him that gasoline is a finite resource and that cars pollute our air? He could even sign up for the Red Roof Inn Executive Membership and get USA Today delivered to his room in the morning.

This man HATES TAXES…he has NEVER voted for a new tax or an increase of a tax…’NEVER!’ Tom is 100% pro-life. He is even against RU486 that resulted in 2,200 ‘deaths’ in Ohio last year. And he is pro-natural death (as opposed to artificial death).

Brinkman was as proud as a pretty peacock when he said he had ended Ohio’s ‘E Check.’ (This is check of one’s auto every other year to make sure it is not polluting over a certain amount.)

He loves the 2nd Amendment….and his motto is: “Never Back Down.” (see Difficult Questions for Tom Brinkman – editor) I don’t know about this guy….I learned a long time ago to never say ‘never.’ I am very glad he is not a member of my family.

Douglas Mink is up next…a youngish, toe-headed man. He interned with Portman, but didn’t know Monica. Doug is big on ‘morals and ethics.’ He will stand up for what is right. He wants to build a refinery….I wonder if anyone has ever told him that maybe Big Oil hasn’t done that because there just isn’t enough oil left underground…?

Here comes Pat DeWine from the Political Family of DeWine. I was shocked. He looks identical to Mr. Burns on ‘The Simpsons’ except he lacks the mole. His voice is sooooo whiiiiiiiney. He is currently serving as County Commissioner in Hamilton County. He has saved the county money. He wants to cut taxes and reduce the deficit. And I would like to create weight loss pill that lets you eat chocolate all day.

Tom Bemmes is up next. He tell us that he is 44 years old with three children. He was one of eleven. He has been a teacher for 21 years as well as a performing magician….maybe he could help with the deficit!!! He tells us that he is NOT a politician, but wants to make a difference and continue in Portman’s path. He believes in life. He didn’t say if he believed in death.

David Smith is a finance man. He has a MBA and three sons. He compared today to 1775 where the populace is revolting against King George….he is the new generation of ‘freedom fighters’ that will meet the ‘storms on the horizon.’ I think he wanted us to think he was George Washington. I got rather lost in the analogy.

Jeff Morgan is from Adams County, a conservative Christian, and not a politician. He wants the 10 Commandments everywhere. (Maybe if people see them enough, they will begin to follow them??) He has done a variety of jobs…..carpenter, mail man and others.

Finally, the best for last….Eric Minamyer. He is military and has been the Middle East five times. He quit his job as a State Employee so he could run in this Special Election. His two sons are in the navy. Eric is the only candidate who is a Iraqi Vet….and are you sitting down? He thinks we need to get out of Iraq NOW! I nearly swallowed my gum.


If you are interested in submitting a field report, register here on the blog and submit away. We will review your content and 99 times out of 100 we will post it to the blog.