Strickland has suffered through a pretty brutal week. From should-be allies endorsing his opponent, to reporting poor fundraising numbers and being called out for his inconsistent position on guns – Strickland is ready for the weekend.
But not before another merciless editorial debunking Strickland’s position on guns as a "despicable political stunt":
Ex-Gov. Strickland’s despicable gun lie: Brent Larkin
Northeast Ohio Media Group
Opinion: Brent Larkin
Former Gov. Ted Strickland wants to use the 20 children massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary School as a shield against his lifelong record of being a stooge for the gun lobby.
It’s all so nauseating. And it’s also part of an elaborate lie exposed Wednesday during a Statehouse news conference by Strickland’s opponent in the March 15 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, Cincinnati City Councilman PG Sittenfeld.
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Now, running for the Senate in a year when fellow Democrats Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama are focusing relentlessly on the need for sensible restrictions on guns, Strickland wants us to believe what happened the morning of Dec. 14, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, moved him to change his mind.
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Using Strickland’s own words, captured on tape, Sittenfeld exposed the former governor’s Sandy Hook-inspired conversion as a despicable political stunt.
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That evidence was found in an interview Strickland did with Ann Fisher, host of a regular program on WOSU radio in Columbus. The interview was conducted March 10, 2015 — more than two years after Sandy Hook allegedly caused Strickland to reconsider his views.
When "Jeffrey in Circleville" telephoned the program to ask about reports that Strickland was supporting tougher gun-control laws, the former governor denied it, adding:
"My brother, let me put my record in front of you. As a congressman, I had an ‘A’ and most of the time an ‘A-plus’ rating with the National Rifle Association. That has been my position and it is my position. So I know I have some political enemies that would like to re-interpret my beliefs, but they don’t have a right to do that."
Then it gets worse.
"I was the guy who voted against the assault weapon ban," said Strickland, referring to a type of weapon used in the genocide at Sandy Hook. "The current governor of Ohio, John Kasich, voted for the assault weapon ban. So I will put my record up against anyone’s record when it comes to defending the Second Amendment."
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Strickland finished his answer to "Jeffrey in Circleville" with this:
"Ann, I try to be who I am. I don’t try to tailor myself depending on the particular audience that I am addressing. So people can take me as I am, or then can reject me as I am."
Good advice.