There was a time when Kirk Schuring was a very public person who wanted to take on all comers on real issues. The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) asks: What has happened in the political life of Schuring (candidate for the 16th Congressional district), to effect the marked change that The Report notes.
When Schuring's opponent John Boccieri held his energy event at the Sunoco station on West Tusc. in Canton, media types were abuzz about Schuring's new style of campaigning.
In former campaigns Schuring was all over the place and you could count on him as he approached an election to introduce a spate of bills in the Ohio General Assembly in order to get "earned media" to bolster his current campaign.
In fact, it was exactly this Schuring that The Report would bore in on in The Rep (letters to the editor and comments) because The Report views this political strategy as "gaming the media" with no intent to follow through with a real legislative agenda.
The Report was convinced that Schuring was up to his old tricks when earlier this year he tried to get the Legislature to approve a constitutional amendment to change the way Ohio funds public education.
But all of a sudden Schuring dropped off the public radar screen and is now living in the protective environment the Republican National Congressional Committee (RNCC). Schuring is now a cautious man who only speaks to "friendly media" (The Rep be the foremost example) and has based his campaign on whether or not John Boccieri lives in the 16th, and now, on how long Boccieri has lived in the district compared to Schuring himself.
The Report remembers Schuring coming to the Lake Rotary Club some years ago and guess what his topic was? Financing of public education. Specifically, he was addressing a new lottery proposal that was in the offing.
The Report put Schuring through an nth degree of questioning. Schuring held up well and over the years since, has referred to this Q&A session frequently in public setting when The Report was present.
The Report's take on Schuring over the years is that he is, perhaps, the most mature politician in Stark County. From all appearances, he took criticism well and embraced questioners with a smile and handshake.
These days The Report is not so sure that same Schuring exists. Now that he is holed up with the Washingtonian RNCC folks, he appears to be a changed man.
In a strange twist of circumstances, The Report now wonders:
Who is more in touch with the 16th? Boccieri who just moved into the district or Schuring who appears to The Report to have been taken over by the Washington folks. What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment