Trying to Manufacture a Win Democratic Senators Are Seeking to Benefit From Obama's Job-Growth Strategy in Rust Belt States

• Published in: Roll call (Washington, D.C.)
• Main Author: Meredith Shinerand Steven T Dennis
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, D.C CQ Roll Call 31.01.2012
• ISSN: 0035-788X

"They've started to get [it]," said [Sherrod Brown], who along with Democratic Sens. Bob Casey (Pa.) and Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), is in the best position to benefit from a strong presidential campaign on manufacturing. "I think he's getting there." The Ohio Democrat even noted that former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) has made manufacturing a key platform in his run for the GOP presidential nomination. "I don't agree with Sen. Santorum a whole lot, but his emphasis on manufacturing is right," Brown said. "I think there is a real opportunity here for bipartisanship." "I think it's a strategic decision they're making, but the problem is there's a pessimism among voters paying attention to those issues, and that pessimism is real and it's palpable, and I don't know if half-measures from D.C. will help turn things around for those voters," said one Senate GOP aide familiar with Rust Belt politics. "The leadership in the manufacturing world has been very concerned where the administration is from a regulation perspective."