September 07, 2008
   « Hillary rewrites herstory again | Blog Home Page | Why is the New York Times Getting Hysterical about McCain's Possible SCOTUS Picks? »
July 03, 2008

A Rising GOP Star

Ed Lasky
Two blogs we highly regard - Powerline and Jewish Current Issues (JCI) - highlight today the budding career of a young Republican who has made quite a splash in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio; Josh Mandel.

Given the upcoming July4th holiday, we would also like to join the chorus and sing some praise for this young former Marine who is camapaigning  to win reelection to the state Senate.
 
He served his nation as a Marine and has been serving his constituents as a State Senator. Now he hopes to serve Ohioans in the US Congress.

His resume is outstanding, as our friend Rick Richman over at JCI notes:  

Mandel is running for Congress, having served as an Intelligence Specialist in the Marine Corps Reserves, after graduating first in his class from Marine Corps Boot Camp and first in his class from Marine Corps Intelligence School. He has served two tours in Iraq, where he operated throughout the Al Anbar Province. During both tours, he received the Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal for "superior performance of his duties." 

 (Rick also has a video of a speech Mandel recently gave).     

Powerline picks up a story written by journalist Joel Mowbray on Mandel:  

Given that he's a Republican in a two-to-one Democrat district in the Cleveland area, Mandel will need to give a lot more sterling speeches -- and raise another $400,000 -- to stay in his current job.

While Mandel could give almost any speaker a run for his money, the secret to his winning a state representative seat two years ago was knocking on almost 20,000 doors -- wearing through three pairs of shoes in the process. But with the GOP having a razor-thin four seat majority in the Ohio House, Mandel will be facing a tidal wave of cash from his opponent, the state Democratic party, and independent political groups, including so-called "527s."

If Mandel survives this November, expect to hear a lot more about him. Not only does he give a "world-class" speech, but he already has an impressive legislative track record. In his first (and only) term, he introduced Iran divestment legislation, and he successfully led the effort to force Ohio's massive pension funds to stop investing in companies that do business in Iran.


A fuller appreciation of Josh Mandel's career and plans can be found on his website.

Ohio is a crucial state for the Republican party and promises to be so in the Presidential election in November. The state is headed by a popular Democratic Governor and the Democratic party is pouring resources into the state-recognizing its importance to both Barack Obama and John McCain.


Mandel faces tough odds-but then again he always has and he has always risen to the challenge. We hope he continues to do so.

Posted at 08:36 AM | Email |

Comments

True Conservatives are all about tough odds. That is what makes liberals and conservatives divides apart. Liberals are about the comfort zone.
I doubt even if he loses we hear the last of him...

Posted by: DaveT | July 3, 2008 09:01 AM

That's an interesting webpage.

'Josh Mandel's grandparents, like many, came to this country seeking a chance at the American Dream. His Grandpa Joe was from Poland' - WOW!

Posted by: Zbigniew Mazurak | July 3, 2008 10:29 AM

We should all send him money surely we can spare 10.00

Posted by: okie/paul | July 3, 2008 01:24 PM

In the last several months, I have had the thought that there will be new and fresh faces from our military seeking political office. A couple of weeks ago I first learned of Lt. Col. William Russell, who served in both Iraq wars and in Bosnia, I believe, and who is now running against the traitor John Murtha in PA. Today I was delighted to hear about Josh Mandel -- God bless him!! Can't remember where I saw it today, but there are 17 other former military heros, all Republican, who are seeking elected office this fall. I'm so pleased that my hopes were confirmed. It will be very interesting to see what happens. They may not all win, but I believe our soldiers are not going to forget how they have been treated by the media and the Left, and I hope more of them will follow in Josh's footsteps.

Posted by: Jeanne T. | July 3, 2008 10:34 PM

As a Buckeye, I am thrilled to see some young, conservative leadership developing in the Ohio legislature. We have been dominated by the Taft-Voinovich wing of the party for far too long.

Posted by: Tess | July 4, 2008 07:29 AM

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

at-store.gif