Advocacy groups ask candidates to commit

By Joe Hallett

Columbus Dispatch Tuesday June 19, 2012 4:34 AM

Youre a first-time candidate for the Ohio legislature, and a survey arrives in the mail from the National Rifle Association.

Failure to answer the 29 questions and return the survey can be interpreted by our membership as indifference, if not outright hostility, toward Second Amendment-related issues, a cover letter warns.

Then come fancy pledge certificates from Americans for Tax Reform and U.S. Term Limits to sign promising that youll never support a tax increase or vote against term limits.

Your mailbox is deluged with questionnaires from Ohio Right to Life, Ohio ProLife Action, Democrats for Life of Ohio and Planned Parenthood wanting to know how you would vote on abortion issues.

The surveys and pledges keep coming a dozen, two dozen, three dozen. You look at the 75 questions from the Ohio Christian Alliance asking how you feel about teaching the Bible in school and adoption of children by homosexuals. You sigh deeply and wonder, Now why do I want to be a state legislator?

Candidates across the country are under siege from special-interests groups seeking adherents to their causes, dangling incentives for those who jump aboard and implied threats against those who dont. Business groups and labor unions, nurses and restaurateurs, sportsmen and environmentalists they all want to know: Are you with us, or are you against us?

The right answer might fetch you an endorsement or maybe a campaign contribution. The wrong answer could make you the target of an attack ad.

We all know examples of someone ending up in a TV commercial, said state Rep. Jay Hottinger, a Newark Republican and a 17-year legislator.

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Advocacy groups ask candidates to commit