Fisher campaign responds to BSB/ODB "No ODP endorsement pledge"

According to Lauren Goode, Fisher for Ohio spokewoman, the campaign has "no comment at this time."

I think Fisher missed the boat to be a real leader here.  There's nothing but upside for him to say that ODP shouldn't endorse.  One, ODP Chairman Chris Redfern has publicly and privately told the candidates that he'd prefer to keep ODP neutral in the race.  Two, the common perception is that Fisher has the most at risk by leaving this up to the primary voters.  By taking the pledge, it shows Fisher isn't willing to take some political risk and willing to be judged as a candidate on his own merits.  Now, he's officially the machine party candidate, especially since he is the only candidate to publicly refuse to say whether he'd take the pledge.  (And that's exactly what it is.  There's no explanable reason to believe that Fisher is going to make a future statement.  This is in essence a "no" without having to actually admit you're saying, "no.")  Lee could have shown some leadership on this issue, but he's playing the safe political route rather than standing, even symbolicly, on principle as fundamental as faith in letting democratic primaries choose nominees instead of party boss machine politics.

And most importantly, because he's the only candidate on record saying he might take the ODP endorsement, the ODP endorsement lacks any real value. 

What is completely lacking in this debate is why ODP is allowed to endorse a primary candidate over others in the first place in a process that utter lacks any objective standard.  Imagine if in 2008 that the DNC could have endorsed a candidate for President before Iowa.   Think Obama would be President now?

Wherever your loyalities may lie in the Senate primary (if you have any loyalities to any candidate yet), I think nobody disputes that if Fisher or Brunner (or any of the other candidates) is going to be the nominee to run against Rob Portman, then they need a vigorous primary challenge to have the sharpest, most battle-ready campaign for the fall.  That's what the Ohio contested primary did for Obama last year.  And I don't think anyone would dispute that he was better off in capturing Ohio having to run a trial run campaign last May.  He retooled and reorganized to run a more successful operation in Ohio.

Fisher may have the mojo to get the ODP endorsment.  But as a general election candidate, he'd be better off if he were to run without it.  That's not meant as an indictment against ODP as a group, but because running on ODP's endorsement in a primary handicaps the race too much.