What The Heck Is Brunner Doing?

Even though Brunner has proclaimed her intent to stay in this race for the long haul, there are people like you that are writing it off after only three months.

Honestly, I'm not really concerned one way or another what Brunner says about it.  Of course she's going to say she's still in.  She, like everyone else in her position who's come before, will say she's in it right up to the moment she drops out.

Fisher has the name recognition.  Fisher has the money & it will continue to roll in.  He's racking up solid endorsements. 

Many Ohio bloggers might not like it.  Many younger voters might not like it.  But they aren't the kingmakers among Ohio's Democrats.

Like I said before, I prefer Brunner.  I don't like Fisher & won't vote for him.  But I'm also a realist & am not new to this.

Compared to the results.

I got Brunner's criticisms aimed at Lee, but the staying in the race part (the "media narrative") is what's going to get to the eyes and ears of voters.

And even if you take in the post as a whole, the message still boils down to a defense of her campaign. This is, in large part, due to the fact that she did raise the issue about the possibility the she would drop out after it stopped being a big issue.

It's a pre-emptive strike against the media that wants to define this race as solely being about the money race.

Look, we all know that Lee can raise money, he's always been able to.  But he hasn't always been able to win elections despite his impressive fundraising abilities.

Nobody, not Nick, nobody has explained to me how Lee Fisher is better suited to beat Rob Portman in 2010 than he was when he lost to Bob Taft in 1998.

With Obama, Strickland, and Fisher's numbers dropping due to the economy, I think Brunner is signaling that she sees an opening, but it's going to take time.

If she's close to having $500k on hand, she's fine.  She's more than on pace to raise the money she needs to run a full and competitive primary campaign.  Stop feeding the media narrative if you think there's something else that should be in the eyes and ears of voters.  It's a defense of her campaign by explaining why her campaign is the better message for the Democratic Party... hardly a stunning thing for a candidate to do.  I'm sure that you wouldn't spin a Fisher piece as being so defensive in nature.  Frankly, I see it as Brunner taking the offensive to frame the race to being more important than FEC numbers, but issues.  It's smart messaging for her.

I've never seen a blogger criticize a candidate by parroting the media narrative, while ignoring the larger point and then say the larger point isn't important because it doesn't fit the media narrative, David.  Your last comment is just bizarre.

People come here because they WANT an alternative to the media narrative.  That's what I've always been about.

I never implied that the rest didn't matter at all. But like or not, it's the media narrative that reaches the masses. A boatload of people are going to see headlines about this and wonder if it means there's still credible questions about whether she's really committed to this race or not. After all, why would she bring it up if it wasn't an issue?

And before you say it again, of course Fisher's supporters and Brunner's enemies will be pushing that message, but that's mostly irrelevant. I'm talking about the vast majority that's barely paying any attention at all to the election at this point. You know, the people that AREN'T looking for an alternative o the media narrative.

And finally, where have I said Fisher was the better candidate? You know me well enough to know that I'm not touching that argument.

My only points were:

• A.) Brunner raised an issue that she should have moved past by now.
• B.) They're probably bracing for bad news. Given the timing, it's likely poor fundraising.
  

Apparently, Columbus Dispatch Senior Editor Joe Hallett didn't buy that the media narrative you thought they were saying.  He apparently took Brunner's post exactly as I did.  As Brunner taking the offensive on framing the race by define her candidacy versus Fisher's.

The more you try to defend your position makes less sense.  You criticize Brunner for still defending her candidacy while acknowledging that Fisher's supporters and Brunner's critics haven't backed off in pushing the message that she should drop out.  How that last point is "irrelevant" to why Brunner said what she said makes absolutely no sense to me.

If people weren't still arguing loudly that Brunner shouldn't be running, then her continuing to justify her campaign wouldn't make sense.  But the fact that there's still a push to suggest she's not a legitimate candidate is an obvious reason why she might being having more trouble raising money as Fisher.

Instead of throwing up your hands that you don't have a megaphone to compete against the non-existent media narrative's interpretation of Brunner's statement, you'd think as a blogger that you wouldn't, at least, perpetuate that narrative. 

Or at least wait to see what the media says before you criticize a candidate for feeding a media narrative that actually doesn't exist.

What I was saying is that she's letting the two groups that won't vote for her dictate her campaign. She needs to move past them and marginalize their whining, not place it front and center.

By the way, notice that link in the post? I did wait to see what the media would say. And that's what many of them did say.

But let's just say for a moment that everything about the post is just as you claim. Forget defending her campaign, lets say this was purely an aggressive offensive shot at Lee. Why now? What's changed? She was already polling at a near tie to him weeks ago, so why didn't she do it then?

i avoid the MSM like i avoid the plague and i don't feel like i'm missing anything; but i also have to admit to not following this primary very closely except for what's posted on a couple of blogs and scattershot mainstream info that slips thru my filters.

so when i read statements from brunner such as you posted here, modern, i can say with a fair amount of certainty that she'll be getting my vote in the senate primary.