This year, Benishek, a physician, is striking a kinder and gentler tone. One of his commercials highlights his efforts to address health care issues for seniors and includes a testimonial from a woman who says, “Dr. Dan had a very special place in his heart for seniors.” Another ad showcases a constituent who says, “I think being a doctor makes him different. He’s more aware of needs, and families’ needs.” In another, Benishek is portrayed as a doting grandfather.
Four years ago, Ohio Republican Bill Johnson was a favorite at tea party rallies, where he railed against entitlement programs — or “handouts,” in his words — and vowed to “send a message to those free-spenders in Washington.” Now listen to his campaign rhetoric: “To be a leader, first you have to be a listener,” he says in his most recent TV ad. “And to solve problems, first you have to understand the problem.”
The shift speaks volumes about how the political environment has evolved since the red wave of 2010. Smash-mouth and deeply partisan rhetoric was popular then, when voters were looking to take their anger out on a president whose ambitious agenda was widely perceived as overreaching. But Republican officials and operatives say that after four years of tea party stridency that led to a government shutdown, the public has grown weary with the conservative antics. Now it’s just seen as more strident partisanship coming out of a dysfunctional, gridlocked capitol.
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