Saturday, May 5, 2012

Arshinkoff's salute to Josh Mandel

Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, the Republican whiz kid running for the U.S. Senate, has an ebullient supporter in Summit County Republican chairman Alex Arshinkoff these days.   In a phone conversation, Arshinkoff left no doubt that he subscribes to one of Mandel's recurring  campaign themes that he served two tours as an Iraqi war veteran.

Describing the 34-year-old Mandel as a "decent kid",  Arshinkoff took  it to the next level by citing Mandel's courage thusly:
"It takes a set of balls to be Jewish and fight in the Iraq war."
Huh? Right.

No one should dishonor military service.  But how far can he take his stars and stripes in major league politics? Ask Jimmy Carter,  a submarine officer, who was defeated by Ronald Reagan, who never left California during the war.  Or Al Gore and John Kerry, both veterans who lost to a guy who dodged the draft.  And was there a more celebrated military hero than John McCain?  You know the rest.

If you want to talk  about courage, how can a fellow like Mandel face the voters after pledging to serve out a full four-year term as Ohio treasurer only to change his mind shortly after his election to seek the senate seat held by Sen. Sherrod Brown.  It really shouldn't surprise anyone since Mandel has been a habitual candidate for one job or another.

Arshinkoff says Mandel has a "great future".  National ticket in 2016?  Don't be surprised.  Fair warning.







2 comments:

mencken said...

Someone should remind Alex that military service is mandatory for all non-Arab Israeli citizens over the age of 18, regardless of gender. So it follows that a set of balls isn't a requirement for an Israeli to fight in the Middle East.

But we know Alex was tossing out here, empty rhetoric that will resonate with the porch swing patriots.

JLM said...

Arshinkoff the Janitor is a weasel of the lowest order. That's the sort of comment one would expect from a weasel. He's doing what comes naturally.