The Pocahontas / Fauxcahontas Factor

 image credit: watcherofweasels.org

Kimberley Strassel at the Wall Street Journal fills in some of the details behind Richard Cordray’s run for Ohio Governor ("Biggest Loser: Elizabeth Warren"):

For a decade Ms. [Elizabeth] Warren, 69, has been busy trying to remake Washington in her progressive image. Her role in creating a new financial regulatory apparatus gave her outsize influence over the bureaucracy. Her successful 2012 Senate bid gave her a megaphone to rail against “billionaires, bigots and Wall Street bankers”—and Donald Trump. The left begged her to challenge Hillary Clinton in 2016 and rebrand the Democratic Party as a populist, progressive force. Ms. Warren demurred, leaving the field to Bernie Sanders.

She instead carefully designed this year’s midterms as her launchpad to the presidency. Ms. Warren seeded into key races several handpicked progressive protégés, in particular Richard Cordray, former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (who ran for Ohio governor), and a former law student, Katie Porter (who ran in a California House district). Ms. Warren geared up a shadow war room, built ties with some 150 campaigns, directed millions of fundraising dollars to select candidates, and thereby earned chits. She dispersed staffers to early primary states and crisscrossed the country herself. A week ago she was dominating Ohio headlines at rallies for Mr. Cordray. If Mr. Trump was on the ballot nationally, Ms. Warren was on it in the Buckeye State.

The lead-up to Tuesday had already been brutal for her. Hoping to elbow her way back into the headlines after Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, Ms. Warren chose in mid-October to release a five-minute video and piles of documentation aimed at proving she really is at least 1/1,024th Native American. The ridicule was ruthless, matched only by the anger Democrats directed at her for distracting from the election.

But Tuesday compounded the disaster. Ms. Porter—who campaigned in Orange County on single-payer health care, expanded Social Security and debt-free college—flamed out to two-term Rep. Mimi Walters. In Ohio, Mr. Cordray lost to Attorney General Mike DeWine.

Read the rest here.

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Cordray vs DeWine

Yesterday evening, Ohio gubernatorial candidates Richard Cordray (D) and Mike DeWine (R) debated each other at Cleveland State University. Cleveland.com reported (link not available) but the Cincinnati Enquirer included a few video clips, including one of a “testy” exchange. Link is here.

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Update on Richard Cordray campaign event

Cleveland Tea Party posted on Sept 5:

Guess who's coming to Cleveland? Cleveland.com reports:

Former President Barack Obama will campaign for Ohio Democratic gubernatorial nominee Richard Cordray in Cleveland on Sept. 13, one of Obama's first electoral rallies of the 2018 midterms.

Cordray is a former Obama administration official, having served as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. . . .

The Cordray campaign did not immediately provide a time or location for the rally, other than to say in a press release it would be in the evening.

This event will be open to the public.

UPDATE from Cleveland.com:

The campaign for Richard Cordray released more details on Sunday about President Barack Obama's upcoming visit.

Obama will appear with Cordray, a Democrat running for governor, Thursday night at the Cleveland Metropolitan School District East Professional Center Gymnasium at 1349 E. 79th St. in Cleveland. An exact time for the program has not been announced, but doors to the public event will open at 5 p.m.

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Richard Cordray's upcoming campaign event

Guess who's coming to Cleveland? Cleveland.com reports:

Former President Barack Obama will campaign for Ohio Democratic gubernatorial nominee Richard Cordray in Cleveland on Sept. 13, one of Obama's first electoral rallies of the 2018 midterms.

Cordray is a former Obama administration official, having served as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. . . .

The Cordray campaign did not immediately provide a time or location for the rally, other than to say in a press release it would be in the evening.

This event will be open to the public.

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Ohio governor’s race "up for grabs"

Albert R. Hunt at Bloomberg reports (h/t Rick Moran at American Thinker):

Of 36 gubernatorial seats up for grabs this year, 26 are held by Republicans. The Democrats' top targets are Ohio, Florida and Michigan, where they have been out of power for years. 

. . .

In recent months, in part reflecting a national tide, Democrats have become more optimistic about contests in Ohio and Michigan.

Richard Cordray, who clashed with Trump as the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is the party's preferred candidate in Ohio. He should be a strong general election candidate if he avoids getting beat up in the primary by left wing provocateur Dennis Kucinich, the former congressman. That probably would set up a rematch with Attorney General Mike DeWine, who narrowly won in 2010, in a climate friendlier to Republicans.

. . .Terry McAuliffe is upbeat: "The future of the Democratic Party will be decided in state capitals and it's looking very good."

Meanwhile, still no debate set between GOP candidates Mike DeWine and Mary Taylor.

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Musical chairs: political headlines at cleveland.com

art credit: australianpoliticsonline.com

Musical chairs: political headlines at cleveland.com 

(just the last two days!)

Jim Renacci drops out of the Ohio governor's race to run forSenate

Dennis Kucinich to enter Ohio governor's race on Wednesday

Nan Whaley to drop out of Ohio governor's race Friday

Mary Taylor unveils Hamilton executive [Nathan Estruth] as running mate [in Governor’s race]

Richard Cordray and Betty Sutton announce joint Ohio gubernatorial ticket

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Cordray, the CFPB, and Ohio Governor Ohio race

Bob Gorrell cartoon credit: ww: ff.org

If this report is confirmed, it’s a start. From Kemberlee Kaye at Legal Insurrection:

Richard Cordray, an Obama appointee and head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced to staff in an email Wednesday his plans to resign. While he’s yet to confirm his plans, there’s speculation Cordray will return home to run for Ohio’s governorship.

The CFPB functions as, “a regulator set up in response to the 2008 financial crisis to police mortgages, credit cards and other financial products,” and was the brainchild of Massachusetts Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Unlike other agencies, due to the unique circumstanced through which the CFPB was created (was part of Dodd-Frank in 2010), Cordray answered to no one. As the bureau’s director, Cordray controlled the budget (other federal entities are subject to Congressional budget allocation), and was subject to no term limits.

“We are long overdue for new leadership at the CFPB, a [rogue] agency that has done more [to] hurt consumers than help them. The extreme overregulation it imposes on our economy leads to higher costs and less access to financial products and services, particularly for Americans with lower incomes,” said House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling, a Republican from Texas.

“Overdue for new leadership at the CFPB” at the CFPB? Sen. Hensarling, wouldn’t it be better to eliminate the “rogue agency” altogether?

Full report is here.

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Ohio Governor John Kasich votes for . . . John McCain

Branco cartoon via Walid Shoebat

Cleveland.com reports:

Gov. John Kasich, who had vowed not to vote for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, voted Monday by absentee ballot.

His choice? Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

. . .

The vote essentially is a symbolic gesture. Because McCain is not among the 18 certified write-in candidates in Ohio, Kasich's vote for president will not count.

Kasich ran unsuccessfully for this year's Republican nomination and made clear his concerns about Trump's rhetoric. He did not set foot inside Quicken Loans Arena during the GOP convention in Cleveland, despite being governor of the host state. He long hinted he would not be voting for Trump, even though he was among a crop of other GOP hopefuls who initially pledged to back the eventual nominee.

So much for Gov. Kasich's pledge. What a disgrace.

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