21 comments:

1. Jerid, 19. November 2007, 12:58
   Didn’t you have this same article up about a week ago?
   I know it’s a slow day.

    
2. Matthew, 19. November 2007, 12:59
   Nope. Pay attention, Chuckles.

    
3. Joe Amschlinger, 19. November 2007, 14:17
   RUN JIM RUN!!!!!!!!!

    
4. JOB Squad, 19. November 2007, 15:32
   This is all well and good, but aren’t you ignoring the 800 pound gorilla in the room? Will Trakas be able to beat Jason Werner in a primary (insert heavy sarcasm)?

    
5. Mark McNally, 19. November 2007, 15:49
   I heard this rumor last month.

   He’s thinking about it.

    
6. marc, 19. November 2007, 17:25
   Kucinich is terrible but, Jim Trakas is an out of touch retread who had lost a significant of respect in Columbus before he was termed out…. He will lose.

    
7. Mark McNally, 19. November 2007, 18:31
   Columbus isn’t exactly respected right now. That could only help Jim.

    
8. Joe Amschlinger, 19. November 2007, 20:54
   Columbus has done such a whiz bang job for the party, wouldn’t want to cross them.

    
9. birdman, 19. November 2007, 21:02
   Actually Trakas is very well respected despite, what out of touch Marc has to say. He would make an excellent Congressman, and with an ethnic name like Trakas, he would do well in Kucinich’s district. Only problem is that Kucinich likely won’t be the Democratic candidate for that house seat. I have a feeling he will lose in the primary.

    
10. jorchew, 19. November 2007, 21:17
    Jim will run. He will announce in mid-December. But he has to get committments from the Party money folks who are asking him to do this to avoid an expensive and devisive primary battle with Tom Patton for Spada’s seat. Jim will need to raise 1 million dollars to have a chance. But birdman is correct in his assessment of the district.

     
11. Ben Keeler, 19. November 2007, 22:29
    I think Dennis will hold on and win a closer than usual primary vs. Palmer.

     
12. Greg Helms, 20. November 2007, 7:06
    I’m curious why people think Palmer will legitimately challenge Kucinich? Are the seniors who rely on Dennis’ constituent services (and who don’t use the internet nearly to the extent that we do) going to 1) know about Palmer and 2) abandon DK? And when I talk about constituent services I’m not talking about the fact that DK is a congressman in absentia. Rather his staff who responds to their calls regarding their social security checks, passport problems, etc. Second, the 10th District with Brook Park, Parma, and the west side of Cleveland is one of the areas where union support is critical. How is Palmer going to combat and overcome that?

    I’d love to be proven wrong, but the blogosphere’s hard-on for Palmer’s chances seem to me very reminiscent of the blinders people had regarding Bill Pierce’s primary against DeWine after Pierce was able to nab several county endorsements.

     
13. Marc, 20. November 2007, 15:44
    No Birdman, you are wrong. Clearly, if you claim that Trakas will win the district where Kucinch presently rules, you have no clue as to the politics of the area. Futher, trust me, you are wrong about Trakas last few years in Columbus. Further, Trakas should stick to sales rather than running for political office. He likes to hear himself talk, just like Birdman….

     
14. Joe Amschlinger, 20. November 2007, 22:03
    All politicians like to hear themselves talk, that is the nature of the beast. Who knows what could happen between now and Nov. ‘08? If (R)’s don’t have a viable candidate and if something happens where Denni is disgraced then we are screwed. Whenever there is an
    upset, no one beleives that the incumbent can be unseated, until it happens. I prefer that to rolling over Marc, unless of course you think 2 more years of Denni is a good idea.

     
15. Mike, 21. November 2007, 0:57
    Jim running will finally be the downfall of Rob Frost and the whole old boy network. These self serving “big fish” have done nothing to advance the agenda of true conservatives. This will be the end of JK’s political “career” (finally), and will prove to so many of us that Rob doesn’t have the clout to attract real candidates that can make a real difference. Local business men and women on both sides of the fence are laughing at our party as much as they laugh at Dennis!

     
16. Greg Helms, 21. November 2007, 7:45
    Mike,

    In a perfect world, who would you consider to be a real candidate for the 10th District?

     
17. birdman, 21. November 2007, 13:15
    Folks, so-called “true” conservatives can’t win the Kucinich’s district. Go ahead and get someone that is extremely right winged and run for that seat. You will be pissing up a rope. I don’t understand why all Republicans have to be cookie-cutter. At one point that is what made the GOP so popular. Quite honestly, the Dems are getting the same way. The small but vocal minority of each party pushes good candidates out and puts in place candidates that don’t have a shot.

    Jim Jordan is perfect for his congressional seat. It is a very conservative district. Trakas wouldn’t win a primary in Jordan’s seat. That being said, Jordan wouldn’t have a shot at winning the primary in Trakas’s seat.

    Let’s get behind the candidate that can win, not behind the candidate that displays the most conservative credentials. In a lot of cases, those credintials don’t mean squat.

     
18. Joe Amschlinger, 21. November 2007, 13:42
    birdman,

    You bring up an interesting point. I would also ask what is a true conservative? I have always felt that being a fiscal conservative was a true conservative. As I lived a few years in Rocky River, I know many, including the likes of perennially and perpetual 10th congressional candidate Jason Werner, accuse Rocky River Republicans of being social liberals. I would argue that a true conservative, a fiscal one, constricts the size and scope of government which in turn prevents programs like government funded abortion or condoms for kindergarteners from using taxpayer resources to proselytize leftist social experiments/values. Those that campaign on getting laws passed against abortion or getting prayer in schools are just paying lip service. Laws and grand gestures don’t stop the corruption of our culture via government subsidization (which is the only way Liberals can implement their social agenda), but fiscal restraint can. However, when Republicans spend like drunken sailors, like Democrats, there really is no alternative for people. Give people a real fiscal conservative, (R) or (D) and you can get them elected. This is what worries me about the ascendance of Debbie Sutherland, Bay Village mayor, to the “next big thing in the county Republican party.” She lobbied hard for the Medical Mart tax increase along with Bruce Ackers. How is she an alternative to Dimora or Hagan? Maybe her campaign will be against Lawson Jones to ensure 3-0 votes for tax increases not voted on by the people. Maybe Jimmy Dimora will throw a few bucks in her campaign coffers.

     
19. birdman, 22. November 2007, 19:27
    Joe,

    I guess everyone’s definition of a true conservative is different. My definition fits closely with yours. I am a fiscal conservative, probably more moderate on social issues, b/c I simply believe the government should not be involved in my or anyone else’s daily life.

    I think others on here feel that you can’t be a true conservative just by being a fiscal conservative, there are too many other issues that if you don’t meet every criteria, you are simply a Taft/Voinovich/DeWine liberal.

    I would agree with your assessment that reducing the amount of governmnet funded social programs is probably the major definition in my opinion of a true conservative.

    I would also agree with you, especially in Kucinich’s multi-ethnic district, while the majority of folks are Democrats, most are pretty fiscally tight. If the R’s can get a good solid fiscal conservative in there they have a shot, albeit a long one.

     
20. straightarrow, 23. November 2007, 22:08
    Trakas has made it clear to party officials that he will run as long as they ante up a significant amount of cash first. The $250K that Chairman Bob Bullshit promised Trakas to get out of the Secretary Of State’s race, none of which Trakas has received, is one of the pre-requisites to a Trakas candidacy.

    Assuming party leadership comes up with the money, Jim is believed to be planning a campaign annpuncement on Decmber 14, which would be the 29th anniversary of Cleveland’s default under Mayor Kucinich.

    Trakas is not making the same mistakes he made in ‘06. He has laid down the gauntlet and made things very clear to party leadership - he gets real cash up front this time, or there is no race.

     
21. Craig, 24. November 2007, 12:46
    Where have all of you been? Trakas had eight years in Columbus to establish himself. Theonly thing he left with was a tainted reputation for failing to field candidates in almost all of the local races and a hard earned rep for never missing a lobbyist’s free meal and drink. He couldn’t raise any $$ for his Secretary of State race for a good reason…..no one wants him in office.

     

Write a comment: