SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2010


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POLITICS & THE NATION Same goal, different approach


MIDTERMELECTIONS In Ohio, two Democrats illustrate difficulty in crafting a winning strategy BY PAUL KANE


coshocton, ohio — When President Obama took the stage at a campaign-style rally in Cleve- land last week, sitting in the front row was Rep. John Boccieri, who drove more than 60 miles to get a presidential shout-out. Nowhere to be seen was anoth-


er Democrat from Ohio, Rep. Zack Space,whowasdealing with a “personal family matter,” ac- cording to his campaign.Not that it was likely to matter — Space skipped an appearance with Obama in nearby Columbus last month, choosing instead to drive around his district, campaigning on his own. This ishowit hasbeenthis year


for these junior lawmakers from neighboring districts — one has embraced Obama and the Demo- cratic agenda, and the other has distanced himself from the presi- dent and the party. It’s the same choice being made by Democrats across the country as they try to figure out a winning strategy in a year that looks bleak. InVirginia,onefreshman, Rep.


Tom Perriello (D), has become a hero on the left because of his aggressive embrace of Obama and his agenda, while another, Rep. Glenn Nye (D), is quietly distancing himself and touting his independence in voting against key Obama agenda items. And in Senate races, some Demo- crats have hadmysterious sched- uling conflicts when Obama has visited their states. Although there is debate


among Democrats about which approach makes the most sense, party leaders are willing to abide both — at least for now — if it means holding on to their con- gressional majorities. A year ago, Obama warned


Democrats against running from his agenda, saying Republicans “won’t go any easier on you.” But at anewsconferenceonFriday, he took a different view. “We’re in a political season


where every candidate out there has their own district, their own makeup, their own plan, their own message,” he said. “And in an environment wherewe’ve still got 9.5 percent unemployment, peo- ple are going to make the best argument they can right now. And they’re going to be taking polls of what their particular con- stituents are saying, and trying to align with that.” But once the election ends and


there’s a verdict on which strate- gy, if either, is a winner, the results will have serious conse- quences for the direction of the party. If candidates like Boccieri win,


liberals will use the results as proof that party members should stick to their progressive ideals. But if the Zack Spaces are victori- ous,manyDemocrats will see it as a sign that the president’s first two years were overly ambitious and as cause to take a more centrist approach. If both lose, it could doom


Democrats across the Interstate 70 corridor, showing that sus- tained double-digit unemploy- ment makes survival impossible for almost any Democrat and a sign of just how tough Obama’s reelection prospects will be across the Rust Belt.


The voters’ view On the surface, Space and Boc-


cieri are not that different. They represent former bastions ofMid- western Republicanism, with Space claiming his seat in the anti-Bush wave of 2006 and Boc- cieri following two years later on Obama’s coattails. Boccieri, 40, votes with the Democratic major- ity 93.8 percent of the time, ac- cording to The Post’s legislative


0 MILES CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES


Rep. John Boccieri faces a challenger who is criticizing the congressman for voting yes on health-care reform, the stimulus plan and climate change legislation.


MICH. IN. Toledo


Boccieri’s district


OHIO 70 Cincinnati 50 KY.


Space’s district


GENE THORP/THE WASHINGTON POST


database, while Space, 49, votes with his party 93.2 percent of the time. Voters in their districts think similarly as well: Sen. JohnMcCa- in (R-Ariz.) won narrow victories over Obama in both locations in 2008.


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hold vastly different views of the duo,muchof it framedduring the crucible of the final health-care votes when Space flipped from yes to no and Boccieri switched from no to yes. PatHolmes, 68, shook her head


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at the thought of voting for Space during the Coshocton County Democrats’ “Bahama Mama” cookout in late August. “You nev- er know whether he’s going to back you or not,” said Holmes, who said she would support Space because he is “the lesser of two evils.” In Canton, Peggy Castina, 76, a


retired school cafeteria worker, proudly wore a Boccieri pin at the Stark County Fair. Castina cited the freshman’s “moral code,” his energy and that he “has always been a positive person.” Castina beamed while recalling an April gathering of local Democrats where Boccieri explained his no- to-yes move on health care: “I voted for what I thought was correct, and if it costs memy job, so be it.” Despite his reverse on health


care, Space has not lost any sup- port from national Democrats. He raised nearly $2 million as of June 30, far more than Boccieri’s


Democrats in Ohio, however, Columbus W.V. 16 18 Lake Erie


Cleveland Akron


Canton PA.


$1.4 million, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Com- mittee has reserved television ad- vertising time in both districts. And Space is considered the


more likely of the two to survive, in part because of his challenger, state Sen. Bob Gibbs, a legislator who narrowly won a messy eight- way Republican primary and is not well known in the vast south- ern portion of the district. No matter how hard Space


tries to distance himself from party leaders, Gibbs is trying to tie the Democrat directly to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D- Calif.). “He switched his vote for politi-


cal reasons, I think it’s obvious,” Gibbs said of the health-care vote. Of Democrats in Washington, he said, “I can’t think of one thing they’ve done right.” Space is touting his support for


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Obama’s stimulus plan as a life- line to the region. He recently won $66 million to create a re- gional Internet broadband net- work that could make the area more business friendly. At the Coshocton Democrats’ cookout, Space avoided health care and focused on jobs.He told the story of meeting an 11-year-old boy in a food bank, warning that, like so many other local children, the boy will probably move away when he grows up. “That child needs to know that


his government cares for him,” Space said.


$130million stimulus Boccieri is fond of telling sup-


porters something he heard from his mother: “Show me what you’ve done, and I’ll tell you what you believe in.” Jim Renacci would agree. A


former nursing-home owner and former General Motors car deal- er, Renacci is running an aggres- sive campaign against Boccieri, hitting the incumbent for voting yes on — and not backing away from — the stimulus, health care and climate change legislation. “I’m running because John


DIGEST COLORADO


Wildfire is close to being contained Authorities in Colorado said


Saturday that they were close to containing a wildfire that has destroyed at least 169 houses, one of the most destructive fires in state history. The fire is in a 10-square-mile


area five miles west of Boulder. About half the blaze’s perimeter now has fire lines built around it tokeep sparksfromspreading the flames to the area beyond. Crews hope to have the fire


fully contained by Monday eve- ning, citing calmer winds and the work done by about 1,000 fire- fighters from 20 states in digging


those lines. Authorities believe the blaze


was caused by a person. They are looking at whether a vehicle may have crashed into a propane tank. —Associated Press


KENTUCKY


Man kills 5, then self over botched eggs A gunman enraged over how


his wife cooked his eggs in rural easternKentucky shot five people dead with a shotgun Saturday before killing himself, a relative of two of the victims said. Police said Stanley Neace, 47,


killed five people in two mobile homes around 11:30 a.m., then went to his home and turned the


gun on himself when officers ar- rived about an hour later. Sherri Anne Robinson, a rela-


tive of two of the victims, said witnesses to the shootings told her that Neace became enraged when his wife did not cook his breakfast to his liking. “He just gotmadat his wife for


not making his breakfast right and he shot her,” said Robinson. —Associated Press


ALASKA


Palin: Murkowski write-in effort ‘futile’ Former Alaska governor Sarah


Palin said she would welcome a write-in ballot bid by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), while predicting


it would be a “futile effort.” “JoeMiller is going to win the


general,” Palin said Saturday. “It seems like it’s a futile effort there for a write-in effort, but she cer- tainly has that right to do so.” In one of the biggest upsets


this election year,Murkowskiwas defeated in a primary by Miller, who had the backing of Palin and the “tea party” movement. Murkowski, 53, the Senate’s


No. 4 Republican, conceded the race Aug. 31 after absentee ballot- counting failed to reverseMiller’s lead of more than 1,600 votes. John Bitney, Murkowski’s


campaign manager, declined to say when she would decide whether to pursue a write-in can- didacy.


—Bloomberg News


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Boccieri has voted lock step with Nancy Pelosi in a district that is nowhere near comparable to Nancy Pelosi’s values,” Renacci said while touring the county fair. He posed for pictures with a


1,700-pound steer named Buddy and shook hands with angry con- servatives who approached him to complain about the Obama administration. “The spreading the wealth really irritated me,” said Jeannette McKelly, 40. “I’ll help someone if they need it, but don’t you tell me wheremy mon- ey’s gonna go.” Renacci, 49, has a more boiled-


down version for his views on taxes and regulations: “Get gov- ernment out of the way.” Boccieri wants to make that


discussion on the role of govern- ment the central argument of his campaign, saying that the reces- sion started during former presi- dent GeorgeW. Bush’s watch and was caused by his less-govern- ment approach. “We were dealt a terrible hand by the previous ad- ministration.We had aneconomy that was in a free fall,” he said. Boccieri posed for pictures last


month with a $1 million check to a local bank to work with the YWCA to create more affordable housing for low-income resi- dents, a project that will lead to construction and more jobs. Stimulus funds totaling $130 mil- lion have flowed into his district. Boccieri thinks that he can lay


a trap for Renacci if the challeng- er wants to focus on Pelosi, hop- ing to turn Renacci’s efforts at nationalizing the race into a dem- onstration of Boccieri’s dedica- tion to the hard-hit region’s econ- omy. “My opponent wants to talk


aboutsomecongresswomanfrom San Francisco,” he said. “He hasn’t talked once about the fami- lies of this congressional district. . . . If that’s their campaign strate- gy, I embrace it.” kanep@washpost.com


A3


PAUL VERNON/ASSOCIATED PRESS


Despite his reversal on health-care legislation, Rep. Zack Space has not lost any support from national Democrats, and his campaign fundraising efforts appear to be in good shape.


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