Connie Schultz: Speak your mind even if your voice shakes

Connie's latest entry on Huffington Post:

One of the bigger untold stories in Ohio this year is what is happening with so many progressive women, right here in the Midwest.

They're done waiting for the invitation. They are no longer standing in the shadows, being good sports about their anonymity while secretly stewing that no one has recognized them for the leaders they are meant to be.

Instead, armed with checkbooks funded by the force of their own labor and address books full of the evidence of friendships, they are throwing their own party, for the party, and they are helping to change the political landscape of this bellwether state.

I meet these women, day after day, week after week, as the heat rises in this year's race in Ohio for the U.S. Senate. My husband, Democratic Congressman Sherrod Brown, is taking on the Republican incumbent, Mike DeWine. Sherrod is ahead in all recent polls, despite early and ugly television ads by his opponent. Sherrod's race, and that of his friend and fellow Democratic Congressman Ted Strickland who is running for governor, are two of the most high-profile in the country. Once again, all eyes turn to Ohio. And more often than any other time in Ohio's history, they are meeting the gaze of women.

Click here to read Connie's full post. 

09/06/2006 / Permalink / Blogging, Connie, Hometown Tour, (all tags)

Connie Schultz: Karl Rove’s Playbook Goes Up in Smoke

From Connie's latest blog entry at Huffington Post:

It's impossible to gauge how many Americans were hurt or offended by Mike DeWine's attack ad that used a doctored image of the 9/11 tragedy to smear my husband, Sherrod Brown.

There are all the families, of course, the ones who lost loved ones when the Twin Towers burst into flames and disintegrated into mounds of smoldering rubble.

I thought of their anguish when I saw the ad, which starts with Mike DeWine insisting that he approved it and then turns to a fake image of the blazing towers.

I also wondered how many children saw the ad, which was the handiwork of the same firm that produced the 2004 Swift Boat ads against John Kerry. There are so many children whose hearts must still race at the sight of the horrifying images forever seared into their memories. It was, after all, a day that changed all of us.

Far more selfishly, I thought of our own family - our four grown children, and especially Sherrod's elderly mother. As soon as Sherrod learned about the ad, he picked up the phone and called her. "I don't want you finding out about this on TV," he said.

Click here to read the full post. 

07/26/2006 / Permalink / 2006, Connie, Hometown Tour, (all tags)

Hometown Journal Updates Coming Soon

Keep a look out for more installments in Connie's Hometown Journal later this week. Updates will include stops to Ironton, Porsmouth, Gallia, Marietta, Urbana, Sidney, and Troy.

In the meantime, make sure to check out Connie's entry on Huffington Post, "We are not afraid."

07/11/2006 / Permalink / Hometown Tour, (all tags)

Two Counties Down, 86 To Go

The Red Hatted LadyBugs of Putnam County assured Connie she's not old enough to wear a red hat -- yet.

Betty Hauenstein, a member of the Red Hatted Ladybugs, shows off her red hatted socks at the Putnam County Fair.

Ann Dillinger, from Ottawa, showed up to say hi to Connie at the Putnam County Fair.

Nothing like a room full of community acitivists to get the conversation going -- this time at Woodlands Restaurant in Findlay.

Ottawa (Putnam), Findlay (Hancock)
June 22, 2006

by Connie Schultz 

I was thrilled when Sherrod decided to run for the U.S. Senate, but I have to admit I had some adjusting to do. The hardest part, after taking a leave of absence from my job at The Plain Dealer, was figuring out how I could best help with the campaign. I've been a journalist all my adult life, and for the last three or so years I've been paid to give my opinion, week in and week out. I wasn't sure what else I could do besides give Sherrod the same free and abundant advice he's been getting from me since the day we met.   

What a deal, eh?  

Fortunately, we came up with a better idea. We decided I could draw on what I've learned over the years as a journalist, but also what I know as the daughter of proud, working class parents from small-town Ashtabula.   

I moved away from Ashtabula when I was 18, but over the years I realized I never really left. You are who you come from, and in many ways I will always be that small-town girl where everybody knew my name and who to call if I was even thinking of getting into trouble.  

There are towns like Ashtabula all across Ohio, full of hard-working people who still believe in the power of community and friendship. So that's where I'm headed - to all those communities that are the lifeblood of this great state of ours. We're calling it our Hometown Tour.  Two Counties Down, 86 To Go

This is my first journal entry from the road. The idea is for me to be Sherrod's eyes and ears in all the nooks and crannies of this 88-county race. We want to hear what's on your minds.

06/27/2006 / Permalink / Connie, Hometown Tour, Northwest Ohio, (all tags)

Connie’s Hometown Tour Hits Southeast Ohio

Sherrod's wife, Connie Schultz, is taking her Hometown Tour to southeast Ohio this Thursday.

Connie will appear at events in Gallia, Jackson, and Washington Counties to meet local supporters and talk about both Sherrod's campaign for the U.S. Senate and a new direction for Ohio in 2006.

Click here to get the latest event information.

In conjuction with the tour, the campaign released this radio ad.

Connie is well known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning column in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. A collection of her best columns, which celebrate the daily lives of Ohioans, was recently published under the title "Life Happens: and other unavoidable truths."

She took an unpaid leave of absence this February to volunteer full time on her husband's campaign.

Connie is excited to hit the road on the Hometown Tour. She loves to share her experiences as a wife, mother and Ohioan, and hear people's stories and dreams for a better Ohio.

We hope to see you there.

06/26/2006 / Permalink / Audio, Connie, Hometown Tour, Southeast Ohio, (all tags)

Connie Tells Knox Co. Women to Turn Up the Volume

Connie speaks to Knox Co. Democratic Women

It was easy for Connie to feel at home with the Democratic Women of Knox County. Both are dedicated to electing Democrats, and neither are shy about sharing that opinion with just about everyone.

The group, which boasts more than 100 members, was founded by local women last January and is already having a major impact on Knox County politics.

The event took place at The Inn at Hillenvale, where Connie had dinner with the board members before event.

Connie spoke about the importance of running an 88-county race that reaches out to voters in every part of the state.  She stressed that women can make a big difference in this election, and then offered ways they can get more involved in the campaign.

Quoting Maggie Kuhn, founder of the Gray Panthers, Connie urged the women to, "Speak out - even if your voice shakes."

The Mount Vernon News wrote a lengthy write up of the event:

Schultz, who has taken a leave of absence from her job during her husband's campaign, kept nearly 75 Democratic women laughing, listening and thinking as she regaled them with stories about politics, women's voting rights, writing and her life growing up the daughter of a staunch union worker.

...Schultz explained her background, telling the members how she introduced herself as a columnist -- as the daughter of a union man who brought his lunchbox to work every day. She also kept the audience in stitches with stories of her and her husband, Sherrod Brown, buying what turned out to be a $9 red, white and blue donkey for $75 at an auction in Adams County, and about the power of women speaking up.

...Schultz also encouraged the women to find five people who are undecided about who to vote for and take them under their wing, encouraging them to vote Democrat, but mainly to vote.

"All we need this time is to be truthful. We are ready this time and are not afraid," Schultz said. "If you join us, and we're not taking any voter for granted -- if you do this, there are two headlines that I predict will be written in all the papers. One, Democrats take back the House and Senate. And, two, Ohio turns blue. 

Click here to read the full article.

06/12/2006 / Permalink / Central Ohio, Connie, Hometown Tour, Women, (all tags)