Renee Ellmers and the “Two Bobs”

by admin on August 18, 2010 in In The News

– Kim Strassel, Wall Street Journal Political Diary

If Democrats are discovering one thing in this brutal election environment, it’s that there’s little room for error. Just ask North Carolina Rep. Bob Etheridge.

Mr. Etheridge is the congressman who in June was caught on video manhandling two students who approached him on the street with a camcorder to ask if the seven-term Democrat supported the Obama agenda. Mr. Etheridge has fundraised well and was supposed to be an example of an entrenched incumbent who would cruise to victory in the state’s 2nd district. But the videotape incident has given a surprise opening to Renee Ellmers, the GOP challenger.

In a recent interview outside a Washington, D.C., coffee shop, Mrs. Ellmers said that the video incident had allowed her campaign to emphasize the “Two Bobs” message. She explained that she’s been trying to draw a distinction between “the North Carolina Bob” who presents himself as “the good ol’ country boy who is fiscally and socially conservative,” and “the Washington Bob” who “has voted for cap-and-trade, for stimulus, for TARP, for health care and who is in favor of card check.”

The North Carolina Bob up to now has done well convincing the largely rural and slightly Republican district that he’s in tune with its concerns. Mrs. Ellmers, a nurse who has been active in the local chamber of commerce, says the episode shows the Washington Bob at his finest.

In the weeks following the video, says Mrs. Ellmers, donations flowed in “from all over the country,” and at least one poll showed her leading Mr. Etheridge. Mrs. Ellmers is married to a surgeon and decided to run for Congress in response to ObamaCare. Her focus has been on “out of control debt,” the need for “lower taxes” and “slowing down the Obama agenda.” More recently, she’s been demanding that her opponent explain his claim that the Obama stimulus has created jobs, given the struggles of his district.

Mrs. Ellmers remains the underdog in the race. The incumbent retains a war chest of more than $1 million, and the video incident is no longer in the headlines. Then again, the poll that showed Mrs. Ellmers in the lead also showed her resonating strongly with independents. These are the folks who remain most unhappy with Washington and Democrats like Mr. Etheridge who have voted for Washington’s agenda.

——————–