Lets play compare and contrast with liberal snobs:

From The Columbus Dispatch:

In the last meeting of Franklin County commissioners before next week's election, Republican Dewey Stokes called for an immediate repeal this morning of a half-cent sales-tax increase enacted in 2005.

Better-than-expected investment returns and higher-than-projected retail sales have swelled county cash reserves to more than $100 million, he said.

That figure is higher than commissioners expected to set aside before the end of 2007, when a quarter-cent of the tax was set to expire.

€�”The figures show we overtaxed our citizens,” said Stokes…

I realize that Deborah Pryce is not as conservative as some would like, but she is much better than her opponent: Franklin County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy. Kilroy and her Democrat partner rushed to raise the sales tax almost immediately after Taft made permanent most of his "temporary" increase.

Pryce is an idealistic leader and she deserves your support.

I saw this ad twice this evening…

Let me get this straight, Joe Hallett likes Guliani because he supports killing kids and guys doing guys?

The rest of the world, including me, admires Rudy because he turned New York around, majorly reduced crime and became a hero after 9/11 and Joe likes him because he supports killing kids and guys doing guys?

Figures.

from the PD�

Bennett: Dems are lying about House candidate

Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett teed off on Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern and House Democrats today over disclosures that the Democratic candidate for the 50th District House seat is sitting in the Stark County Jail.

John Johnson, who is running against GOP incumbent Rep. John Hagan of Alliance, was arrested by Canton police last Thursday after being indicted on a felony charge of sexual battery and two misdemeanor counts of sexual imposition involving a minor.

"We have a history in this party of going after the wrongdoers in the Republican Party, and being aggressive about it," Bennett said at a news conference at party headquarters. "It was Republican prosecutors that went after Tom Noe at both the federal and state level. . . . The difference is that Republicans weed out the wrongdoers while the Democrats just try to sweep these issues under the rug."

Bennett handed out copies of a Stark County sample ballot that includes Johnson's name, in the process accusing Redfern's spokesman, Randy Borntrager, of lying when Borntrager told the Associated Press today, "We have done nothing to promote this man's candidacy. He is not on the sample ballot we send out, telling people what our slate is."

You won't be able to find it anywhere, since it would be good news for the Republicans, but…

Ohio's unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent in September from 5.7 percent in August.�

This is in today's Canton Respository

CANTON - A state representative hopeful was in jail Monday and not on the campaign trail after his secret indictment on sexual battery and other charges.

John Johnson, 41, of 1708 Jackson Ave. NW in Perry Township is the Democratic candidate for the 50th District. His opponent is State Rep. John Hagan, R-Marlboro, who is the incumbent.

Police arrested Johnson on Thursday, court records show. He remained in the Stark County Jail on Monday evening on $250,000 bond, charged with a felony count of sexual battery and two misdemeanor counts of sexual imposition.

The allegations involve a minor female relative and cover a time span from January 2003 to July 2006, said Stark County Prosecutor John D. Ferrero.

Johnson works as an auditor for Ohio Savings Bank, according to a campaign biography. Before that, he worked for the federal Department of Transportation, was a Postal Service contractor and served 10 years in the Air Force.

“He denies all allegations and looks forward to going to trial,” defense attorney Rick Pitinii said.

A message seeking comment was left at Johnson’s campaign phone listing.

Stark County Democratic Chairman Johnnie Maier said the party has not been in contact with Johnson since the primary in May, nor has Johnson been actively campaigning.

Earlier this month, Johnson failed to appear for a Repository endorsement interview.

“Quite frankly, he was a name on the ballot,” Maier said.“He recruited himself to run. I think I met him twice and he just disappeared.”

John Kohlstrand, spokesman for the Ohio House Democratic Caucus, said the group has tried unsuccessfully for a month to reach Johnson by phone, mail and e-mail.

“We don’t support him,” Kohlstrand said.

Word from Republican sources is that his name was not on their local printed slate because the Democrats knew about this situation and wanted to cover themselves if it became public. Developing…

Protecting pedophiles and covering up sex crimes- This is what the Democrat party does.

According to some new polls out and some soon to break Democrat scandals of their own, Ohio Democrats may have peaked. Right Angle Blog reports that a new poll out today shows that DeWine is now down just 1 point and Blackwell has closed to 7 points.

A key fact in the Blackwell numbers is that he is quickly solidifying his support among the GOP base. As discussed here previously, prior polls show that Blackwell was only earning the support of 60-65% of GOP voters. Zogby now shows that 85% of Republicans support Blackwell.

At the same time, we hear that new facts will soon emerge in the Ted Strickland staffer sex scandal. In addition, we will be posting shortly on a story that will likely take down the Sykes campaign. Stay tuned.

Check out this new website from Betty Montgomery's campaign

www.goodintentionsdann.com

Very well done. Marc Dann's campaign is sinking faster than Marc Dann's client's pants when close to young children.

(Thank you Alo for catching the typo)

From NEW Zogby / Wall Street Journal Numbers:

With the polls getting tight, the GOP's superior ground game will win the day.

From Joe "I love pedophiles" Hallett in The Columbus Dispatch:

After being off the air for roughly a month, Blackwell is beginning his stretch-run television advertising blitz with a positive spot running in Ohio’s major media markets. The testimonial by Giuliani, still widely revered for his leadership after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, is designed to appeal to independents and moderate Republican voters who might have drifted away from Blackwell because of his close association with the Christian right and staunchly conservative causes. Meanwhile, the ad’s producers likely are hoping that conservative voters are unaware that Giuliani favors abortion rights and supports civil unions, contrary to Blackwell’s positions. With Giuliani’s reputation as a politician more interested in results than partisanship, he brings a moderating credibility to Blackwell. Giuliani’s characterization of Blackwell as a leader with the experience to administer a big government and the policies to entice jobs is a potentially powerful endorsement. In a TV ad environment of nonstop negative spots, Blackwell’s commercial is welcome relief, pleasing to watch and effective.

A pleasure to watch and effective? I agree with Joe, but I'm surprised he took the time to write this ad watch, when there are plenty of wonderful things to say about Strickland's former campaign manager who masturbated in front of 2 young girls and then went off to Italy, alone with Ted Strickland.

I have a feeling that if and when that ad is cut and on air, Joe will not be so happy.

From The Wall Street Journal (NO subscription required)

In congressional districts from Ohio and Florida to New Mexico and Arizona, Republicans report that their get-out-the-vote organization is gaining traction a week ahead of Election Day. The aim of the effort generally is to maximize turnout among their most loyal and reliable voters. If successful, it could help them to hold down their losses in this election cycle and perhaps even retain their majorities in the House and Senate.

and

Meanwhile, in the bellwether Ohio district held by Republican Steve Chabot, about 60% of all early votes are coming from the roughly 40% of the electorate that the party has targeted for early voting. That's the highest rate in the country, according to an internal party memo, and good news — "provided they vote the way we predict," the memo adds.

When it comes to early voting in Ohio, the GOP has the Dems beat.

From cleveland.com

The Postal Service on Monday ordered every post office in the nation to deliver all absentee ballots to boards of elections even if voters send in the ballots without enough stamps.

A Cleveland postal official said he had never seen such a far-reaching directive.

"It's getting close to the election, and we recognize the role we play," said Victor Dubina, Postal Service spokesman. "Every vote counts, and every individual vote weighs heavily, and we want to get the ballots to the boards of election."

From cleveland.com

Some voters are so frustrated with Ohio's voter-identification rules that they've stuffed their entire wallets into their absentee ballot envelopes.

Others have dropped in their driver's licenses, hoping the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections will give them back once the state figures out the rules.

These people's vote count just as much as ours.�

Giving�it up for Space!

���� Forget about fair play,�forget about the truth. Most of all, forget about presenting both sides of the political debate on public airwaves. WAIS KOOK Radio has become the democrat mouthpiece.�

���� Monday, October 30, 2006�WAIS 770 AM KOOK Radio gave a lesson in media�bias.�No half measures at this Kook station. On the morning "View Point" call in show, Sharon Elliott, moderator announced she was having a special guest at 9:45 for the last 15 minutes of the hour program. However, Elliott did not identify the guest. The guest turned out to be Zach Space, (D) running for 18th District U.S. House.

Most�commercial radio stations with a pending interview with a�major political�candidate would promote the interview.� A simple question is why would Elliott hide the identity of a guest and not promote his appearance.��Simple answer is Elliott didn't want people who would challenge Space to call the program.�

Once Space appeared he quickly gave a little stump speech then started taking phone calls. The lines�were�loaded with political friends. Space�took three�questions that came directly from his web sites talking points, and�gave�rehearsed answers.

Elliott then quickly stated that she knew�Space was busy and had to leave. Elliott then said, "all you people on hold are not going to get to ask questions". Even though there was still nine minutes left in the program.�

Elliott routinely belittles Joy Padgett (R), which is the republican candidate for this office. Before ending the program, Elliott said, I was really impressed with the questions the callers had for Zach Space.�

www.nokooks.blog.com

Nothing like County races to get the blood flowing.� From Franklin County comes a warning that democrats may be in for a BIG surprise in the next day or so�when a certain democratic candidate for commissioner begins airing an ad she recently produced.� While the site isn't up yet, I understand that we should all keep an eye on www.MudSlingingMarilyn.com�and the TV ads that follow.

Someone e-mailed us to say Greg Hartman is now running radio spots.� Take it for what it's worth.

From openers

Asked about rumors that Strickland, up by large double-digits in the polls, is getting pressure to give up air time to down-ticket candidates, spokesman Keith Dailey treated the question liked he had just been asked about nuclear secrets.�

From Ohio's own Jonathan Adler of Case Western Law School

Among the many ballot issues facing Ohio voters this November is a proposal to enshrine the minimum wage in the state constitution. The so-called“Ohio Fair Wage Amendment,” a.k.a.“Issue Two,” would amend the Ohio constitution to increase the state minimum wage to $6.85 in 2007, and then index the minimum wage to inflation thereafter. Additional provisions in the 1,000-word proposal would impose new record-keeping requirements on employers and facilitate class-action litigation. Ohio already suffers from an unfavorable business climate. Passing Issue Two would make it much worse.

The economic case against a minimum wage increase is well known. Raising the minimum wage slows job growth by increasing the cost of labor. It is a basic economic truth that when the price of something goes up, the amount demanded declines. So, when the government mandates higher wages, unemployment rises as a direct result. Those workers who keep their jobs may earn more, but this comes at the expense of those who are left without jobs.

Despite recent studies purporting to show that increases in the minimum wage can lead to increased employment, surveys of economists continue to demonstrate that this is a minority view. Only one in four economists disagree with the statement that“minimum wages increase unemployment among young and unskilled workers.” A wealth of empirical data and research documents demonstrate that increasing the minimum wage reduces employment, particularly in the retail and small business sectors.

His entire column is over at NRO here.

Issue 2 is a horribly written amendment, and its severe elevator clause makes this amendment seem as if we are in a race to see how quickly we could make our state's economy uncompetitive with other states.

And the passage of Issue 2 will simply show the failure of Ohio's public education system to teach basic economics to our children.

Make sure to visit http://www.otppp.com/ for more information about Issue 2.

National Review Online, before today (see here, here, here, here, here, and here) has otherwise been surprisingly quiet about Ohio politics. Instead they focus more on other states, such as Pennsylvania and Massachusetts- Probably because editor Kathryn Jean Lopez has obvious crushes on Mitt Romney & Rick Santorum.