Our next Senate Minority Leader?

Capri is from JJ's side of the family (the shallower end of the Cafaro gene pool). Having known Anthony Cafaro for some time now (my sisters went to Ursuline High School with him), I can say that he is pretty decent, though I can't speak for the rest of his branch.

Furthermore, as a resident of Trumbull County and as an alumnus of Ursuline High School (class of 2004), I offer my sincere apologies for unleashing Capri Cafaro on the rest of you. 

If you no longer recognize the man in the mirror, it's time to step back and see when you stopped being yourself

Capri who????

"It's annoying and unnerving that this person thinks they're prepared to take on anything with the weak record that they have. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Cafaro isn't capable. All I'm saying is that I'm not just taking her word for it with out some form of evidence."

Oh, ok. Capri Cafaro. Yeah, she needs to get some community organizer street cred first.

You may not be saying "Cafaro isn't capable," nor am I. I am merely stating that SMURFETTE is not capable. Is 21-12 not bad enough? Is the goal to get down to single digits? Oh wait, maybe the fam can buy another few State Senate seats, and then we can close the gap! Now, who cares about legislating and passing meaningful educational and budgetary reform? That's not important. What is important is closing a 2:1 gap down to around 1.7:1 for appearance's sake! Government is not about governing!

Tim Ryan and John Boccieri were the best elected officials to have come out of our area. Both are extremely bright (I've met Ryan numerous times, but I've only seen Boccieri in passing), and both give me hope that our area won't always be beholden the corrupt, the stupid, and the crazy. You're right, they ARE the Mickey Mouse Club. In fact, someone here should do a Jib Jab style cartoon with these guys and put it on YouTube.

On the other hand, one can never say that Youngstown politics is dull ;-).

If you no longer recognize the man in the mirror, it's time to step back and see when you stopped being yourself

I stood next to her while I was working a polling place in Lorain when she was running in the 13th CD.  Another campaign worker and myself spent the entire time looking over Capri's head (yes, she really looks like that picture) and rolling our eyes.  

Being in the U.S. Senate a long time doesn't make one "experienced" to be President. I would argue that a Governor in their second term has far more experience being President than a Senator for twenty.

But we aren't talking about a job where prior experience isn't possible.  We're talking about leading a caucus in a Senate, and in that instance, legislative experience is paramount.   Cafaro has only been there for two years, she's hardly ready for the campaign and parliamentary mastery the job requires to be successful.

Not being worse than Ray Miller is hardly an inspiring rallying cry, especially since its entirely conjecture to say that Cafaro can't be worse.  She could.  Under her "leadership," the Senate Democrats could actually lose seats, thus making her worse than Miller.

You're right about one thing, though.  She's no Sarah Palin.  Because at least Sarah Palin has won contested elections to get where she is politically.  Cafaro?  Not so much.

I've read every one of those posts. Now I don't know why.  Nothing in that post answers to me the question WHY she is going to be a better Senate Minority Leader than Tom Roberts would have been, especially since eduation issues will likely dominate the next General Assembly.

So, she's studied different health care systems in other countries.  What has she done with that knowledge?  So far, nothing.  That's not hyperbole, that's her actual record.

This isn't just about her, and it's not about her intelligence.  It's about a pointless coup last year that she lead that promised a competitive Democratic caucus effort that failed spectacularly.  It's about accountability for that coup and the utter lack of it.

Let's not forget that it was the same leadership that thought Dennis Kucinich's brother would be a better candidate than Rosemary Palmer.  How'd that work out?

This sham of leadership reshuffling in the guise of "accountability" is too obvious.  This coalition knew that there would be a revolt if Ray Miller stayed on.  So, they struck a deal, Miller would stay on in leadership but someone else in the coalition would take over.  With that minor tweak, the coalition was able to hold together and stay off Tom Roberts and his coalition with Fedor.  (I'm two hours away from Capitol Square and even I can see that from here, eyesight be damned!)

While I've read alot of comments defending Cafaro against things that weren't really ever said, I've yet to see one argument why she was the better choice over Roberts.  I've yet to see one explanation why this coup leadership team should stay in "power"- a rather abstract concept for a caucus that is, by all accounts, politicially irrelevantly legislatively.

I'm sorry, Jill, but a MTB interview from her failed Congressional campaign doesn't address any of the issues I'm actually raising.  Cafaro went to Denver to showhorse herself around as a potential U.S. Senate candidate in 2010.  I can't help but think there's a connection between that her amazing elevation in the ranks.  She comes into the job saying and doing everything Ray Miller did.  Why should we now expect a different outcome this time?

Ambition and talents mean nothing without achievement.  What has she done to merit this promotion?  It's not an unfair question, is it?

What you describe is exactly what I said makes her not my favorite candidate - her tactics.  There are a zillion words I could use if we were face to face to express my dislike of her tactics, but let's just go back to the other thing:

Folks here were picking on her in a sexist way.  You are at least trying to make the case that there are reality-based reasons to select her.

But isn't the real reality that there just is not a very deep bench in the state senate?

I heard Redfern talk yesterday about "nibbling" at the state senate, 4-6 seats in the next EIGHT years.  Now you and I know that I'm no strategist - I don't know what's realistic and what's not.

But picking on what we've got in the state senate already isn't going to win us any more seats - it only helps others make the case for why we have to work so hard to gain more clout there.

I know NOTHING about Tom Roberts, not a thing.  And as I say for a third time, Cafaro is no fave pick of mine.

But all this chatter over her seems really harsh. Maybe has harsh or harsher than over Ray Miller, and it appears that he deserved that far more than it appears, at this point, that Cafaro does.

Btw, for other comments, if we're going to be careful about not making people guilty by association, then we have to hold to that with Cafaro as well.

Cafaro is no Sarah Palin and we don't do ourselves any favors to go beyond overboard.  Cafaro is at least FINALLY getting experience in a political office - that's a heck of lot better than when she ran in 2004 and 2006, from the way I look at it.

And she is not incompetent.  That's a big improvement too.

What's she done? I honestly don't know -and I don't know what Robertshas done either - but then I didn't know what Ray Miller did.  What do any of them do, esp. as minority in a 21-12 deficit?

And - ultimately, other than adding it to their resume, does it really do much for us - for voters, Dem, Ohioans?  From what I've read here and other places, being able to bring in the money has a lot to do with it - how do they measure up on that?

I don't know Tom Roberts personally, but I got to know him fairly well when I worked in the House of Representatives.  Roberts, like my boss, was in the House leadership at the time.  Roberts has a passion of politics and education but coupled with the pragmatism needed in a successful legislator (especially when you're in the minority.)  On education, he's the wonk to equal then State Senator Mike Shoemaker.

Roberts was also a visionary who believed that his party would eventually come out of the wilderness it was in in the 1990s (remember this is the time Bob Hagan is running against Bob Taft.)

Roberts had this legislative aide name Fred.  Fred had a tremendous work ethic, but more importantly, a sophisticated understanding of legislative politics that you expect to find in staffers on the Hill, not working the low wage jobs in the Riffe Center.  Fred had the ability to light up the room with his energy and enthusasm, but he was amazingly successful in helping his boss get whatever he needed.

What amazed me most about Fred was when  I learned that he was a single father, and yet he was able to be amazingly successful and efficient in his job and yet it never surpassed his devotion and dedication to his responsibilities as a father. 

Anyway, Roberts is facing term limits and he's about to make the switch over to the State Senate.  His district was solidly Democratic, so there was no threat there, but it worked out that his House seat would be an open seat race (no Senator-Rep switcheroo).  He's got countless Dayton politicians wanting his support.  Any of them would be capable stewards of the district, but Roberts wanted something more. 

So he goes down to Dayton to tell his party faithful that he's made a decision.  He wants his aide, Fred, who had lived in the district and was well-known, to take his seat.

You know Fred as outgoing House Minority Whip Fred Strahorn.  Roberts picked him because he knew that Strahorn would provide the kind of leadership and vision to bring our party out of the wilderness of the 1990s.

He really thought that far ahead.  He recruited not just who could do the job, but who could achieve something bigger.

That's just one of the reasons why I like Tom Roberts.  He's one of the unsung heroes as to how we survived and came back form the brink of extinction.

And that's the kind of person I felt we needed to be our Senate Minority Leader.

I can see why you favorite him.

But those great things about him don't necessarily negate whatever positives there might be for Cafaro.  You're information just tells me that maybe there are better candidates there than I would have imagined - that's good to know.

Hopefully we'll learn more about why it went the way it did - but also, you tell me - what do you think Roberts would do in this situation? How could he not lobby and win this role?  What outweighed the positives you cite?

Isn't that what we should examine, not why Cafaro is the inferior pick who got it anyway?  Then we just sound like sour grapes (and given how many sour grapes I give voice to, I know a little about that). 

He didn't have a chance once a Cleveland-Youngstown alliance was formed with Ray Miller. It's the same coalition that brought the coup that knocked Roberts and Fedor out.  Roberts couldn't win because there's been no break away in the alliance. 

It's the simple math.  Cafaro brings Wilson and Boccieri to their side.  Miller and Smith bring Turner as well.  There's your majority vote.  Roberts could only have prevailed if he convinced Wilson, Boccieri, or Turner to NOT support a slate with one of their fellow "neighbors" on it.

I admire you're thinking that there's a logical argument there, but to me it's pretty apparently its regionalism.  It's the same coalition that doomed us in the House for so long until we realized that we needed a leadership team that wasn't entirely NEO-centered. 

What I find incredible is how we all accepted the coup removing Fedor without question, but now resist any question as to why this coup group should remain when they are guilty of the same proffered reasons they cited to justify their coup in the first place.

I've given a concrete example of Roberts' achievement in building a majority caucus from a minority one.  What are Cafaro's concrete pluses?  What does she bring to the table that will make her any more successful than Miller?

I'm willing to consider it, but I find the lack of any articulable reason to support her other than she couldn't become Minority Leader unless she brought something to the table rather depressing.

Just a minor correction - It was Tim Hagan who ran against Bob Taft, not Bob Hagan.

Told you i'm from Youngstown  :)

Face it - it's just a goofy photo.  Doesn't matter who or what gender. 

But this one?  It's like she's trying really really hard to show that "See. there are lights on in my head!  I'm so animated.  Look at the wonderment in my eyes.  I like using big words when I can remember some."  

It makes her look vapid and it does play into a sexist dumb blonde thing.  Her bad for selecting it.