Let’s all pretend Sherrod Brown is going to be the next Democratic Presidential Nominee

There is a reason Ohio loves this man, and it is because he is ALL THE THINGS. Megan Shaw has a piece for NewsNet5 about Senator Sherrod Brown co-sponsoring a bill to protect renters from evictions. Because he’s a boss.

Perhaps a little background information? Banks bought up the bad loans made to people buying homes, and the banks are now evicting those people. This is particularly back in Ohio, where the economic collapse of the manufacturing industry is still very much felt. So that is to say: poverty and corporate banks are evil. However, the renters aren't even to blame for the foreclosures, but they are suffering because of it.

Sen. Brown submitted his request, that new legislation be enacted to protect renders from unruly evictions, to Congress on Monday. Brown argues that too many renters are forced out of their homes with little notice because landlords lost the property to foreclosures. Sen. Brown was joined by Laquita Jarmon, Cleveland resident, to share her experience of an unruly eviction. She and her four children were forced out of their home with only 30 days notice. In 2009, Congress passed a law that said tenants had at least 90 days or till the end of the lease to remain in the home following a foreclosure. The law is due to expire at the end of the year, and Sen. Brown wants new legislation to protect renters.

Brown said, “Tenants who work hard, and responsibly pay their rent each month, deserve protections for themselves and their families. In the past families who rented were uprooted from their homes because of foreclosures that weren’t their fault. The Permanently Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act would renew and strengthen renters’ rights so families aren’t unfairly evicted from their homes.”

The Act would make the protections permanent, regardless of when the foreclosure takes place, and ensure compliance with the law by establishing a private right of action for those who have been evicted in violation of the Act.

Why does everyone support Sen. Sherrod Brown? Because he is awesome.

Athens’ News is the latest to come out in support of Sen. Brown. I’ve decided to report portions of their editorial on the subject because a friend of mine who is really into Chicago politics said it was amazing how much the Athens’ News hates Mandel.

Excerpts:

“We strongly support Sherrod Brown’s re-election to represent the State of Ohio in the U.S. Senate. We agree with his moderate-liberal stance on most of the issues, but also feel he’s clearly the superior candidate when it comes to character and integrity.”

This is where they talk about Brown’s reputation for hard work and service to his constituents. Then they rip into this opponent, state Treasurer Josh Mandel, who they note should be respected for his military service, but should be held accountable for this “anything to get votes” strategy. They note that Mandel has been slammed by many a fact checker (sounds like the lying is spreading in the GOP). They claim Mandel has put his friends in position they have not business being in then they go into their main reason for opposing him:

“All of this is troubling—and in our minds disqualifies Mandel from serving in any public office. However, our main reason for urging reader to support Brown is that unlike Mandel, Sen. Brown advances a reasonable and serious approach to addressing America and Ohio’s desperately serious economic, health-care, energy and foreign policy issues.
“In the U.S. Senate, we don’t need any more inflexible obstructions and party-first ideologues. Yet, everything that Mandel has said and one as a candidate—as well as his strong support among the uncompromising Tea Parties—suggest that he would line up with the conservative radicals in Congress against any of the problem-solving compromises that will be absolutely necessary if this country is going to address its problems. If you’re a fan of gridlock in Washington, then Josh Mandel’s definitely your man.
“But don’t let Mandel’s Tea Party support convince you that he’s a man of the people. He’s also benefiting mightily from the blizzard of corporate, elite and special interest money that’s piling up on the Republican side of this key Senate race.”

Burn.

Ohio Public said that, “nearly $18 million in outside money has been spent so far against Brown and supporting Mandel, from nine groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS, as well as the largely unknown Government Integrity Fund.” Brown only has a sixth of that from unions and special-interests groups.

The Athens’ News then goes on to discuss some issues specifically such as the Affordable Care Act and Climate-change. However, it is the portion on economic and tax issues that makes me almost feel for Mandel:

“On economic and tax issues, Mandel subscribes to the discredited theory (and as Bill Clinton pointed out in his glorious Democratic National Convention speech, really poor arithmetic) that reducing government revenues through tax cuts will actually generate more money for government. This has never worked as a serious long-term approach to budget balancing. It’s a particularly reckless strategy at a time when the national debt has reached a crisis stage.
“Brown supports letting the Bush tax cuts expire for families earning more than $250,000 a year [or as Mitten’s call them the middle class]. While this won’t put much of a dent in the budget deficit, it is a start toward fiscal solvency, and hopefully just the first step in a national realization that debt reduction will require a combination of tax increases, entitlement reform and spending cuts.”

Here Athens’ News advocates Democrats compromising on spending and entitlements, which I’m not willing to concede. There is plenty to cut without sacrificing the poor. But hell, that felt good.