Stunningly Bad Surrogate of the Day: Stephanie Tubbs-Jones

Stephanie Tubbs-Jones is a nice person. I enjoyed her appearance on Colbert. She clearly cares about what she is doing. But I have no idea why the Clinton campaign is counting on her being a powerful surrogate. She’s has almost no competitive electoral experience, and only one competitive race since 1990 - the Democratic primary in 1998 when Louis Stokes retired.

She may be a fantastic representative, the best in the House; or conversely she might be the worst; I really don’t know. My point is that she’s not really the type of person you make a centerpiece of a national campaign. She has served a lot of time in government, but almost none of her resume has a lot to do with tough political wins.

How did she win a crowded primary in 1998? Big endorsements, like the AFL-CIO, and the pseudo endorsement of prior incumbent Louis Stokes. In fact, she deliberately avoided a debate at the time. Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 22, 1998:

Democratic Rep. Louis Stokes is putting money where his mouth isn’t.

While continuing to proclaim neutrality in the Democratic race to succeed him in the 11th Congressional District, Stokes was a headliner last night at a $1,000-a-person Washington fund-raiser for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

The event, held at the National Democratic Club, was sponsored by Missouri Rep. William L. Gray, one of Stokes’ closest friends in Congress, and Robert M. McGlotten, retired lobbyist for the AFL-CIO who now operates a Washington lobbying firm.

“Congressman Stokes has requested financial support for Stephanie Tubbs Jones,” Gray and McGlotten wrote in an April 2 letter of invitation to the fund-raiser.

Stokes said his fund-raising solicitation on behalf of Tubbs Jones should not be construed as an endorsement - although he seemed to be wavering.

“I think I’m still officially neutral,” he said.

Asked what he would do if Tubbs Jones’ top Democratic opponents, State Sen. Jeffrey D. Johnson and the Rev. Marvin McMickle, sought his fund-raising help, Stokes replied, “I don’t want to deal with a hypothetical like that.”

Tubbs Jones’ appearance at the fund-raiser last night caused her to miss a debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Cleveland at the Jewish Community Center. Tubbs Jones could not be reached for comment. Her campaign aides did not return phone calls.

Moreover, her toughest competitor was indicted two months before the primary for taking bribes. Since then, it’s been ten years since Tubbs Jones has had to seriously campaigned on her own behalf (Her district is absolutely safe for Democrats). That’s only two fewer than Bill Clinton.

Take her appearance on Morning Joe this morning (I’ll save you the painful video). She (probably inadvertantly) kept referring to Obama’s Somali dress as his native dress. There is no way the Clintons want her to take this angle; they are not going to win because of it, or gain a single point, even. (Name the odds someone who could be swayed by this was watching Morning Joe?) Instead, it just leads to more negative blog posts on their campaign and people shaking their heads.

I want to make perfectly clear I am not attacking Tubbs Jones’ character. She seems to have done a lot of good as a prosector in Cuyahoga County again, my home county), but I think she might be in a bit over her head as one of the top surrogates for the Clinton campaign all of a sudden. (This post might be slightly harsh … but the odd comments she made this morning do justify it. Barely.)