Josh Mandel's Problems

It appears that Josh Mandel, the guy who doesn't really want to be Ohio Treasurer, is calling in some help to get his run for the U.S. Senate going.  For an being an unannounced candidate, he certainly has been busy.   Here is a list of problems that Mandel has already stacked up for himself (courtesy of OhioDems):

Following numerous missteps by Ohio’s ethically-challenged and newly-elected Treasurer Josh Mandel, George Bush’s political strategist Karl Rove has slithered into Ohio to launch an attack ad against Sherrod Brown. Setting aside the fact that Karl Rove and his Bush administration henchman have absolutely zero credibility when it comes to deficits and spending, what could possibly have national Republicans in such a panic about Josh Mandel?

• Is it the fact that his entire campaign begins with a broken promise? After all, Ohio Treasurer candidate Josh Mandel promised Ohioans just a few months ago that he would “definitely serve” the full four years of his term.

• Perhaps it’s when Josh got caught red-handed using taxpayer dollars to promote himself, even going as far as violating Federal Election law by paying for campaign content with Ohio tax dollars.

• There’s always a chance that it was the two weeks of silence about the complaint followed by Mandel’s spokesperson calling the complaint “baseless” despite the fact Mandel’s campaign altered his website in a stunning admission of wrong-doing.

• Of course, there’s also Mandel’s reluctance to take a stand on important issues, consistently refusing to answer questions from the press relating to the Republican plan to end Medicare as we know it, Democratic efforts to lower the deficit by ending tax breaks for big oil, or why (after 4 months of dodging) he supports the highly-unpopular Ohio Senate Bill.

• And don’t forget Mandel’s primary opponent Kevin Coughlin whose campaign is ramping up with criticism of Mandel’s numerous out of state fundraising trips, broken promise to Ohio, and lack of focus on the Treasurer’s office.

• But our money’s on the fact that Mandel refuses to follow simple rules like filing a Personal Financial Disclosure report, with his campaign admitting it will be forced to pay a penalty as a result....

I honor his military service, but his work in elected office is really not much to brag about at all.  Mandel was a lightweight in the Ohio General Assembly having only a couple of bills under his belt.  Now he finds himself in a job that he hates.  I also find it interesting that Mandel went to law school but has yet to take the law boards.