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By Kevin Holtsberry Posted in OH-18 | Ohio | Targets | Zach Space — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

The Columbus Dispatch's political blog, The Daily Briefing, had a nice post today on how Congressman Zach Space seems to be toning down the rhetoric he employed as candidate Zach Space:

Want to see a classic example of the difference between an aggressive candidate throwing caution to the wind and a cautious incumbent who weighs every word?

Look no further than the shifting stance and nuanced words of Rep. Zack Space, the Dover Democrat who replaced disgraced GOP Rep. Bob Ney of Heath, over the issue of indicted Democratic Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana.

Read on . . .

The post compares two of Zach's statements. Space's May 25, 2006 statement:

In the interest of keeping the highest ethical standards in the halls of Congress, I urge Representative Jefferson to take responsibility for his actions and step aside," Space said. "It's time for Rep. Jefferson to pull up his bootstraps, do the right thing, and save himself, the country and his constituents any further embarrassment.

And his recent statement after Jefferson's indictment:

Because I believe so strongly in the cornerstone of our American judicial system - that every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty - I do not believe that we have legal standing to force Mr. Jefferson to resign at this moment. But, for the sake of strengthening the integrity of our institution and restoring the trust of the American people in their elected officials, I strongly support a thorough and speedy investigation of Mr. Jefferson's actions to see whether he has violated the rules of the House of Representatives. If he has, then he should be punished in a manner that is commensurate with those findings.

Representing the constituents of a congressional district requires being focused and working virtually around-the-clock. For the sake of making sure that his constituents are getting the services they need, Mr. Jefferson should seriously consider going ahead and resigning, so that his constituents have someone who can devote himself or herself to the needs of the hundreds of thousands of people who make up a Congressional District.

Clearly, candidate Space running for Bob Ney's seat made ethics a central issue of his campaign and his fire breathing rhetoric echoes that mindset. Now that he is a congressman he worries about "strengthening the integrity of our institution and restoring the trust of the American people in their elected officials" so he is calling for a . . . "thorough and speedy investigation."

Oh, sure he goes on to volunteer that perhaps the man who stashed thousand of dollars in his fridge should resign - because he might not have time to help his constituents! A year ago it was about "doing the right thing" this year it is about being "punished in a manner that is commensurate with those findings." Seems Space has gone native.

For comic relief be sure to check out the update where Space's chief of staff, Stuart Chapman, argues that the two statements are perfectly consistent and the two comments from David Potts that accuses the Dispatch of cherry picking quotes.

Here is the June 4, 2007 statement and here is the May 25, 2006 release so you can compare them for yourself.