Sherrod Brown Takes Shots at President Trump in New Hampshire Visit

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) took shots at President Donald Trump this weekend in New Hampshire by calling his populism “phony” and saying he’s a “bully.” Brown’s “Dignity of Work” tour made two stops in New Hampshire over the weekend in a visit to the state with the second earliest primary. At a Friday round-table event about jobs and the economy, the Ohio senator commented on Trump’s populism when talking to reporters. “His phony populism is you divide people and you push people down to lift some others up. Real populism is not racist. It’s not anti-Semitic. It doesn’t divide people. It doesn’t do hate speech and real populism is fighting for workers,” Brown told Fox News  Friday in Hampton, New Hampshire. 2020 Watch-NOW: Asked if there are already too many progressive populists in the Democratic nomination race, @SherrodBrown -in NH- tells @seacoastonline @foxnewspolitics "I put my record up against anybody for fighting for workers" #NHPolitics #FITN #2020Election pic.twitter.com/rbx5nvnbkB — Paul Steinhauser (@steinhauserNH1) February 8, 2019 The next day at a bookstore event in Concord, New Hampshire, he called Trump a “bully,” according to The Cincinnati Enquirer.  “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “I don’t know if we…

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Sherrod Brown Calls Howard Schultz a ‘Total Idiot’ After Announcing Independent Run

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown is not mincing words when it comes to former Starbucks CEO, and 2020 independent candidate hopeful, Howard Schultz. Within 24 hours of launching his “Dignity of Work” tour, Brown told a group of voters that Schultz was a “total idiot.” Strangely, the Senator was not prompted, in any way, as to what his opinion on Schultz was. The broadside came on Friday during a farmers roundtable in Perry, Iowa. When a voter expressed his concern with dark money and PACs during the 2020 cycle, Brown interjected: “Yeah, I mean you got this idiot Schultz running, maybe. He’s an idiot, I mean, he’s a total idiot.” Schultz has neither formally launched his candidacy, nor has established a disproportionate amount of PACs supporting him at this point. It can be inferred that Senator Brown was referencing the fact that Schultz is the first billionaire to enter the race. When the voter continued his question, directly asking the Ohio senator  if he would accept PAC money, he replied: “Well, I have not decided yet.” He then intimated that it doesn’t matter where the money comes from as his record speaks for itself. The issue of PAC money is already proving to…

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Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown’s ‘Dignity of Work’ Tour Slammed by RNC

Republican National Committee Spokesperson Mandi Merritt issued a blistering broadside Wednesday against Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and his “Dignity of Work” tour. She stated: As Sherrod Brown takes his phony pro-workers’ agenda to the early primary states, he risks abandoning his own Ohio constituents. Ohio didn’t sign up for a part-time Senator, and by partaking in the Democrats’ turbocharged race to the left, Brown is bound to leave Ohio voters in the dust. Brown’s ‘Dignity of Work’ tour has nothing to do with fighting for hard-working families, and everything to do with Brown’s own political ambitions. Senator Brown’s “Dignity of Work” tour is scheduled to take him from Iowa, to New Hampshire, South Carolina, and then Nevada. As previously reported, much of his political platform hinges appealing to the populist blue-collar, politically moderate, working class and far-left democratic-socialist progressives. He intends to see if his many democratic-socialist positions will appeal to voters in these key battleground states. In 2016, many of those blue-collar moderates ended up siding with President Trump. In 2018, Brown was the only Democratic legislator in the Buckeye State to win or maintain his seat. Next year in what promises to be a highly-charged (and very crowded) presidential election cycle, Brown will be in…

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As Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown Plans 2020 Run, High Dollar Backers Complicate His Future

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has made it very clear that the Oval Office is in his sights. Coming off a six-point reelection victory, the only nonjudicial Democrat to win in Ohio in 2018, Brown has been working behind the scenes to build the infrastructure, support, and endorsements necessary to mount a challenge to President Donald Trump in 2020. However, the third-term Democrat’s presidential campaign may already be over before its even been announced. With as many as 30 Democrats reportedly considering 2020 presidential runs, some of the most visible progressive legislators have inadvertently sent stringent political litmus tests that will leave many contenders in a difficult position. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), and other assertively progressive candidates have made public overtures about the evil and corrupting nature of high dollar fundraising, special interest group funds, PAC’s, Super PAC’s, and other forms of corporate backing. Most of these candidates tout their reelection successes through only small individual donations as evidence of how unnecessary these election tools are. These candidates are now condemning any candidate, Democrat or Republican, who accepts funding from these entities. In 2016, a major talking point for Sanders’ presidential campaign was that his average campaign donation was $27,…

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Commentary: Can Ohio’s Sherrod Brown Return the Dems to Blue-Collar Roots?

by Henry Olsen   Senator Sherrod Brown is one of many Democrats considering a run for the White House. His name likely does not ring a bell, as he has not garnered the national attention that other potential rivals have. Many observers think he could be a formidable opponent for President Trump should he gain the Democratic nomination. The evidence, however, suggests that might be easier said than done. The case for Brown starts—and often stops—with his long courting of Ohio’s working-class voters, usually with favorable results. He has doggedly opposed free trade deals throughout his Senate career, even leading the effort to defeat the Central American Free Trade Association (CAFTA) during the Bush Administration. A consistent ally of Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the Senate, Brown’s economic populism nevertheless stems from a labor union rather than a doctrinaire social democratic outlook. That viewpoint, the argument goes, makes him a solid choice to battle Trump for the loyalties of the white working-class voter whose defection from the Democrats made Trump president. That argument overlooks, however, Brown’s distinctly non-working-class views on nearly every other issue. Brown has one of the most progressive records in the Senate on a raft of issues, not…

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Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown Takes Next Step Towards a Run for President, Picks His Campaign Slogan

by Molly Prince   Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown has chosen his campaign slogan for a potential presidential run while he is still mulling over a challenge to President Donald Trump in 2020. Brown, notable for his “rumpled” image and more than 40-year public service tenure in Ohio, is exhibiting his midwestern liberal populism with a concise slogan: “The Dignity of Work,” reported Politico on Wednesday. “Ohio will respond to a message of the dignity of work,” said the Ohio senator. “It’s gonna be harder in 2020 than Michigan and Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, but it always has been.” Democrats eyeing a potential 2020 presidential run have largely focused on the rust belt, which helped elect Trump in 2016. Brown nearly stands alone as one of the possible contenders who has a successful track record in the region. While Trump won Ohio by 8 points against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Brown beat out his Republican challenger in the 2018 midterm election by just over 6 points. In fact, he was the only Democrat to win statewide in 2018, aside from judicial candidates. The Ohio senator conceded that he hasn’t definitively made up his mind whether or not he is officially launching…

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Trump To Spend Day In Ohio While Governor Kasich Sits On the Sidelines

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are heading to Columbus, Ohio Friday for a series of charity events and fundraisers, but one familiar face will be noticeably absent. Trump will headline the Ohio Republican Party state dinner Friday night, but Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has been at odds with the president ever since he first laid eyes on him, will not be attending. “I don’t need to be going to that dinner,” Kasich told the press Tuesday, saying that he will instead spend time with his college-bound daughter. Kasich skipped the same dinner last year when it was announced that Vice President Mike Pence would be speaking. Most recently, the two butted-heads over Republican Troy Balderson’s slim primary victory in his bid to lead Ohio’s 12th Congressional District, with Trump placing the blame on Kasich. “The very unpopular Governor of Ohio (and failed presidential candidate) John Kasich hurt Troy Balderson’s recent win by tamping down enthusiasm for an otherwise great candidate. Even Kasich’s Lt. Governor lost Gov. race because of his unpopularity. Credit to Troy on the big win!” Trump tweeted. Prior to Friday’s dinner, Trump will attend a fundraiser for Republican Senate candidate Jim Renacci, who…

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