Sherrod Brown spoke for about 25 minutes, I've tried my best to transcribe what I could from the tape and work from my notes that I took of direct quotes, and points while he spoke. As I've done before with similar events, I have tried to not interject my opinion but to try to present what was said.
Sherrod Brown started with an introduction that included the significance of his canary in a cage pin that he and his staff wears. He has a very thorough explanation on his
website so I will not duplicate that here.
He stressed that because of what has happened the past five years under President Bush is why it is so important that he win this Senate race and that Ted Strickland be elected Governor as well as democrats statewide like Tom Osowik for the Court of Appeals (who was present) win this November.
Sherrod stated that he was there to "ask all of the Lucas County Young Democrats and UT College Dems to step up this year like you never have before for Strickland for Governor and me for the Senate and one of the things that I'm urging every other Democratic candidate this year to do is get the minimum wage petition circulated, to get the minimum wage on the ballot, that when all of us every single one from top to bottom campaigns, we all say vote November 7th for minimum wage and while you are there vote for Strickland for Governor and Brown for US Senate and Congress right down the line....I need your help this year more than any of you have ever stepped up before, I know you worked hard for Kerry two years ago and we came that close, we are going to go into the rural counties, Ted Strickland and I are going to Putnam County day after tomorrow together." He then went on to list the other counties that they are going to cover.
Questions from those present were next. He was asked considering how close the loss was with Kerry how 2006 was going to be different. One of the main reasons Sherrod felt that Kerry did not win was Florida who had a minimum wage bill on the ballot and he did not think Kerry even mentioned that once. He feels that by using the minimum wage ballot iniative the way the Republicans used the marriage amendment would create the necessary support to win. He stated that the minimum wage amendment "would be a pay raise for at least 300,000 people plus those who were above $6.85 would benefit as well". (
Columbus Dispatch article for those wanting more information on this issue.)
Another statement I felt important to include is Sherrod's response to being questioned in the future on his intelligence/defense stance, "I'm coming right back with they are spending a billion and a half dollars a day on the war in Iraq, Condeleeza Rice said this war could last ten more years and how many more thousands of Americans will be killed or injured badly, badly injured; how many more Iraqis will be injured or killed and what do we have to show for it? A billion and a half dollars a day, that's money we ought to be spending protecting our ports, not hiring a UAE country to protect our ports; to protect our chemical plants, our water systems and our nuclear power plants and we're not doing that. A bi-partisan commission gave Homeland Security Department an F, these guys are failing at this every day and they are not going to get away with it."
The next question was about college tuition costs and assistance. Sherrod Brown stated that in 2000 President Bush has promised to raise the Pell Grant assitance income level to 51,000 and still had not done that. This is an issue that he and Ted Strickland that are concerned about. He remembered a recent time when the grant to debt ration was 70% grants 30% debt and stated today it was the opposite. He agreed that costs and assistance were an issue stating that there is "No focus on higher education from this State." He went on to talk about No Child Left Behind and how that has never been funded the way it was promised.
He was asked about the Tax Payer bill of rights and explained that he now feels that part of the problem is that Republicans are allowed to write some of these bills, giving the example of the Estate Tax being called the "Death Tax" when the majority of Americans will never have to pay it. He used Colorado as an example of what happens to a state where Conservatives are allowed free reign as far as legislation. He then continued with "We don't talk enough as progressive Democrats about what Government can do as a positive force in people's lives....we need to be particularly agressive in using these two ballot initiatives to sell your fellow students...to make the connection as to what goes on in government and in their personal lives; pointing out Republican corruption; making the connection to their corruption and higher workman's compensation costs; their corruption and higher heating bills for their homes, their corruption and higher gasoline prices; their corruption and higher tuition bills." (Not all of this could be transcribed due to the background sound so this quote is from my notes)
The deficit came up next, Sherrod used the comparison of a billion dollars pointing out that if a person spent a dollar every second of every hour, every day it would take you 31 years to spend a billion dollars. Right now we have a deficit of about 7 trillion dollars, with an additional 400 billion dollars a year added which does not count the 70 billion a year for the war in Iraq. His two main points on helping to reduce the deficit is to not renew the tax cuts second to create an exit strategy for Iraq. He felt that it was our not setting a firm date of withdrawl has made the Iraqis not try as hard to take responsibility that they had the impression that we would never leave. That without a firm exit date there is no incentive for the Iraqi people. He related how he felt it was wrong that we were spending that much in Iraq when here in Toledo he visited the local Food bank where cuts are going to be made that will affect hundreds of thousands who are not on public assistance but depend on places like the Seaway Food Bank. Programs like that is not where he feels cuts should be made.
I then asked a question, Given his policy on Iraq how he felt about Iran and what he would do as a Senator if a vote were to come to take force against Iran with them building their nuclear power. He told me he really didn't know what he would do, but he didn't support force at this point. He didn't think we knew enough at this point to make that kind of a decision or have the intelligence yet to know what we should do in Iran. He felt that we needed to "engage the Russians better than we have" that several issues led to the problems in Iran including that we have ignored them diplomatically. He felt we were too stretched in our troop levels to deal with North Korea or Iran and that "ultimately we need to push the Russians to get more engaged with the Iranian government because they can talk to Iran in ways that others in the western world with the possible exception of the French can."
Voter turnout was the next question. He first concentrated on how people needed to be aware of how especially the elderly had been hurt by changes to Medicare and Medicaid. He said what the Republicans have done was "damned near criminal". Sherrod encouraged all present to actively try to not only make sure people are registered to vote but to encourage them to get others to register and vote as well. "To make it their mission to talk to at least one person a week." He related a story of how his mother and a friend set up a table at a local grocery store and got over 300 people to register to vote as well as encouraging them to get others to register to vote so that the two of them created at least 700 new voters. He stressed the importance of following up with people to keep them engaged.
The last question was about Mike DeWine and the differences between he and Sherrod. Sherrod stated that he was on the opposite of almost every issue with Mike DeWine and that he didn't feel his seniority argument was a valid one given his performance as a Senator the past 15 years. That while Mike DeWine himself was not corrupt that he hadn't stood up enough for Ohioans and that Sherrod "wants the state back the way it was when he grew up".
Update: Jim Tankersley from the Toledo Blade also wrote about
Sherrod's Toledo visits He provides a corrected finish to one quote I stated from my notes as "They are not going to get away with it":
"When they go after me on defense and intelligence and all that, I'm going right back at them," Mr. Brown said. Later, he added: "These guys are failing at [national security] every day. They're not going to get away with saying we're soft, because we're not."
