CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Rep Jim Renacci's last ditch personal attacks on Sen. Sherrod Brown reek of desperation and backfired during Saturday night's debate in Columbus.
Trailing 16 points, reeling and reeking Renacci had first dredged up Brown's nasty 1986 divorce from his first wife Larke Recchie. At the time, Recchie had sought a restraining order claiming Brown had shoved and bullied her while picking up their daughters for visitation.
Renacci's gutter punch has been a swing and a miss in large part because Recchie and her current husband support Brown's re-election, even holding a fundraiser for him at their home.
"I was proud to support Sherrod in 2006 and 2012, just as I am this time around. Anyone who suggests he is not an honorable man is just wrong. He's a great father to our daughters Emily and Liz and he's a wonderful grandfather to our grandchildren."
When Brown ran for congress in 1992, Recchie said, "Divorce can often be an unfriendly ordeal, and ours was no exception. There was a lot of hurt on both sides, and it led only to angry words."
Recchie is also featured in campaign commercial for Brown, repudiating Renacci for the attack saying he should be ashamed.
Renacci had brought up Brown's divorce, as an example of Democrats' hypocrisy in going after Brett Kavanaugh over unsubstantiated allegations, when in Brown's case, there were court records.
Yet Renacci soon became guilty of the same thing he accused the Democrats of when he 'Kavanaughed' Brown by making new unsubstantiated claims that he had assaulted multiple women in the 1980's.
In an endorsement interview, Renacci told the Cincinnati Enquirer, he had multiple women contact him to say they were assaulted by Sherrod Brown. Renacci did not substantiate the claims, which allegedly occurred in the period between Brown's divorce and second marriage to Connie Schultz. Schultz is a Pulitzer Prize winning former columnist for The Plain Dealer. The now syndicated columnist left the paper several years ago. Renacci said he referred the women to a lawyer.
By the end of the week, "multiple women" became one woman, and the lawyer Renacci referenced turned out to be his former business partner and current campaign donor.
Renacci released a statement from the former business partner, attorney Laura Mills, detailing an allegation from an unnamed woman that Brown had made a "sudden, unwanted advance" when the two found themselves alone sometime in the 1980's. What the statement describes was the then single Brown making what amounts to a hard pass at woman that was rejected and not further pursued by Brown. The claim is unsubstantiated and Brown called it false. His attorney threatened legal action in cease and desist letter.
Renacci supports dbl standards for Trump.
During Saturday's debate, Renacci posed a question to Brown, suggesting that an allegation of sexual assault or domestic violence should disqualify someone from serving in congress. It was an obvious reference to Brown's divorce.
Renacci's question backfired on him moments later when the debate moderator, NBC4 Columbus anchor Colleen Marshall, asked Renacci if the allegations of assault that Trump's ex-wife made against him in their nasty divorce should have disqualified Trump from being president. Renacci failed to answer the question directly, twice.
The lame Renacci lamely replied, "Look, if the Senator wants to run against the president in 2020, he can use that information against him. But this race is about Sherrod Brown and Jim Renacci, and he should be disqualified."
Since Renacci doesn't believe similar accusations shouldn't disqualify Trump as president, does that mean Renacci would theoretically endorse a Brown 2020 presidential run? Sounds like it.