From cnn

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (CNN) – Just days before the Iowa caucuses, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter criticized the state’s privileged role in the presidential nominating process, forcing her campaign to declare that she did not agree with the assessment.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland was quoted in Sunday’s edition of The Columbus Dispatch as saying that it “makes no sense” to grant Iowa the right to hold the first contest of the 2008 race for the White House.

“I’d like to see both parties say, ‘We’re going to bring this to an end,’” Strickland told the newspaper.

Competing campaigns seized on the article and emailed it around to reporters to highlight Strickland’s comments late Sunday night. The Clinton campaign moved quickly, and issued a statement shortly after midnight distancing the New York senator from the governor’s remarks.

“Senator Clinton has worked her heart out campaigning in Iowa because she knows it plays a unique and special role in the nominating process and that process must be protected,” read the statement. “As she has said many times she is glad Iowans are entrusted with this responsibility because they take it so seriously. On this issue Hillary and Gov. Strickland strongly disagree.”

From the PD Editorial

The 11th-hour change in voting systems was ordered last week by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. Her decision came after the four-member county board deadlocked 2-2 on replacing the controversial and problem-plagued touch-screen system.

After ordering the dramatic and costly ($9 million) change, Brunner said, “I know Cuyahoga County is doing the right thing.”

We’ll assume this was merely a poor choice of words, because neither the Board of Elections nor anyone else in Cuyahoga County made this decision. Brunner made it - unilaterally.

The success or failure of what happens on March 4 in Cuyahoga County will be almost entirely Brunner’s doing. With her career and reputation on the line, it would behoove the state’s top election official to provide Cuyahoga County with as much assistance as possible in the weeks ahead.

History tells us that every time Cuyahoga County changes voting systems, Election Day chaos follows. As the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio warned Brunner last week, the decision “to switch technologies before the March primary could have disastrous effects.”

Earlier this year, Brunner fired all four Board of Elections members, appointed the four current members and placed the county’s entire elections operation under her administrative oversight. Now she has ordered the county to implement a huge change in election systems in less than six weeks.

If successful, Brunner will have justified the faith voters placed in her when they elected her to the job a year ago. If not . . .

From ohio.com

Attorney General Marc Dann’s right-hand man and communications director has joined the list of high-level aides who have been disciplined, fired or asked to resign by the office.

Dann reprimanded Communications Director Leo Jennings III in September for an expletive-laced e-mail he sent to a co-worker, calling it “inappropriate, unprofessional and unbecoming,” the Dayton Daily News reported Wednesday.

Jennings sent the e-mail Sept. 7 to Steve Lamantia, then the interim superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification. He was angry Lamantia had failed to keep him informed about a Summit County investigation.

“Steve the fact that you thought you could go around me to Jennifer Brindisi (an office spokeswoman) shows what an absolute (expletive) incompetent insubordinate moron you really are. You’ve completely botched this, I know it you know (it) and everyone else is going to know it you coward. If you have something to say to me call me and say it to me you (expletive). Leo”.

Dann placed a letter of reprimand in Jennings’ file four days later, after Lamantia brought the e-mail to the chief of staff’s attention.

From the Enquirer

He also explained why he supports Clinton as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, while praising fellow minister and governor, Republican Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.

From the Springfield News

Republicans, not surprisingly, said this was a victory for their message. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, sent out a statement saying as much. But he also poured staff and money into the race, helping to raise at least $250,000 for Latta.

Weirauch, meanwhile, trying for the third time to win the district, got about $250,000 from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The AFL-CIO made 30,000 phone calls for her and Gov. Ted Strickland and Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama backed her.

So Latta’s decisive victory seemed to, for an instant, take some wind out of the Democrats’ sails, until they started spinning it.

Democrats said despite the solid Latta victory, Republicans were nonetheless “more vulnerable than ever in Ohio.” Chris Redfern, chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, said “the GOP had to scramble to win a special election that should have been a cake walk.”

Ohio Republican Party Deputy Chairman Kevin DeWine, meanwhile, was all too happy to serve up some tasty crow to Strickland, pointing out that Weirauch actually did better in her 2006 race than in this one.

“Ted, Ted, Ted. This looks like a whole Latta votes against the governor and his so-called popularity,” DeWine said in a statement.

Bob Bennett, meanwhile, also got in a dig at Strickland, calling the results “a clear rejection of a popular governor who spent enormous political capital on this race.”

Not to be ignored

All this naval-gazing ignored a few facts. Weirauch did better against Gillmor in 2006 in part because neither side poured the resources into the 2006 race that they did into the special election. That year, you’ll remember, was toxic for Republicans everywhere, and Republicans were too busy scrambling to hold other districts to concentrate on Gillmor’s race.

From the Western Star

Ohio may be at the epicenter of the general election, but its products — Ohio natives — are at the heart of the presidential primaries and caucuses that will decide voters’ options in November 2008.

In Iowa, Anne Filipic, 26, a Columbus native whose father works at Wright State University, is helping to lead the state’s grassroots effort for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama.

Elsewhere in the Hawkeye State, Caroline Merkel, 23, a Cincinnati native, is knocking on doors in Dubuque to convince voters to back Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton during Iowa’s first-in-the nation caucuses on Jan. 3.

Mike Dew, 30, a Lima native with 12 years of political experience, meanwhile, makes frequent trips with Republican presidential contender Fred Thompson, a former senator from Tennessee. Dew’s responsibilities include planning for Thompson’s trips and making sure they run smoothly.

And Toledo native P.J. Wenzel, 25, coordinates support for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, in 11 states, including Michigan, a key early primary state.

That so many campaigns are populated by promising young Ohioans is of little surprise, said Wenzel .

“There are so many talented people that come out of Ohio,” he said.

Links to Ohio

Ohio has other links to the campaign as well, albeit not homegrown links. Jeff Sadosky, a Thompson spokesman, worked as a spokesman for Sen. Mike DeWine’s Senate office. Sadosky is a California native.

Similarly, Kevin Madden, the Ohio communications director for Bush-Cheney in 2004, is a spokesman for Romney. Madden is an upstate New Yorker, but his most recent job was as a spokesman for then-House Majority Leader John Boehner. Isaac Baker, a Clinton spokesman, worked as a spokesman for Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland’s 2006 gubernatorial campaign. And Ben LaBolt, an Obama spokesman who hails from Chicago, served as a spokesman for now-Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, during his Senate race in 2006.

On the job

The jobs often mean long hours away from home. Dew expects to be traveling for his job during the holidays. Merkel, meanwhile, plans to have her parents spend Christmas with her in Dubuque. Both of her parents are Clinton backers, and Merkel hopes to enlist them in a little last-minute stumping for the former first lady.

Merkel has campaigned through more than six inches of snow, knocking on doors only to receive offers of hot cocoa from the voters she’s hoping to sway. One selling point she offers voters: She was so inspired by Clinton that she chose to move nine hours away from her family to help get her elected.

“I’m more or less the eyes and ears for the campaign out here in Dubuque,” she said. Filipic, meanwhile, may be spending all of her time in Iowa, but she’s not about to pander to University of Iowa graduates to garner votes. Her boss, Mitch Stewart, the caucus director for Obama in Iowa, said Filipic comes in on game days wearing her Ohio State Buckeyes football jersey.

“She corrects me daily that Ohio State University is ‘the’ Ohio State University,” he said.

Wenzel gets to stick a little closer to home. He covers 11 states as the Midwest Regional Political Director, including Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri, but his job keeps him based in Columbus.

Wenzel, 25, is a seasoned political veteran. In 2006, he served as political director for Republican Ken Blackwell’s gubernatorial campaign in

Ohio. Before that, he served as coalitions director at the state Republican party.

His current job has him working with state leaders to build grassroots support for Romney and making sure Romney is on the ballot, among other tasks.

The job, though, “really does change every week,” he said. “It’s hard to describe a traditional week.”

Dew began working for Thompson in September, when Thompson declared his candidacy. Rather than directly hire campaign staff to do advance work, Thompson contracted with Event Strategies, the company Dew works for.

Before that, Dew worked for the Bush-Cheney campaign in Ohio in 2000 as a special projects director, coordinating between the political side of the campaign and the advance side of the campaign. In 2004, he was a full-time advance person for Mrs. Bush.

Constantly moving

Some weeks, Dew works as a trip director, accompanying Thompson to trips to New Hampshire and Iowa.

“We have a lot of moving parts,” he said. “It’s our job to make sure they’re all moving in the right direction – in the direction that the senator needs.”

He likens his job to that of a “traffic cop,” making sure everything is set up to run smoothly for Thompson when he travels. He laughs that his mother couldn’t describe his job, “even though I’ve done it for awhile.”

The job has its perks. Dew is based in Virginia, but last Friday, he traveled to Ohio for a fundraiser with Thompson. In Ohio, he met up with his family – his parents, both grandmas, an aunt, an uncle and three cousins in Columbus for dinner, at Eddie George’s 27 Grille on Ohio State’s campus, a Christmas visit of sorts.

“I don’t mind missing Christmas,” he said. “But spending the (OSU) national championships in Manchester, N.H.? That’s going to try my patience.”

From the PD

Trakas said he hopes that their campaigns generate criticisms of Kucinich, making him easier to beat in the general election.

Trakas scheduled his official kick-off for Saturday, the anniversary of the day Cleveland slid into default during Kucinich’s mayoral administration.

From the PD

At least Cuyahoga County’s persistently dreadful economy hasn’t reached the depths of a depression.

But the economy has lagged longer than usual, the county’s budget director said, causing several years of declining government revenues.

To compensate, the county is cutting costs next year — for the fourth time in seven years — and will institute a hiring and wage freeze beginning Jan. 1, said Sandy Turk, director of the county’s Office of Budget and Management.

REPUBLICAN EVENT ADVISORY

For several months, Chairman Rob Frost has worked to recruit a top tier candidate for The United States Congress in the seat abandoned by Presidential Candidate Dennis J. Kucinich, who recently denounced the United States of America on Syrian state television and voted against a memorial resolution commemorating the lives of those lost in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

We are pleased to announce that The Republican Party will vigorously contest the 10th Congressional District with a high profile, established and seasoned candidate. With the strong cooperation of Ohio Republican Party Chairman Robert T. Bennett, Vice Chairman Kevin DeWine, Chairman Rob Frost and the leadership of The Republican Party of Cuyahoga County, Former State Representative Jim Trakas of Independence will announce his candidacy for The United States Congress this Saturday.

We are inviting anyone who wants to be part of this effort to attend Jim’s announcement to the public. Below are the details, and coffee and donuts will be served.

WHAT: Announcement of Jim Trakas, Candidate for The U.S. House of Representatives District 10

WHEN: Saturday December 15, 2007 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

WHERE: City of Independence City Hall Council Chambers, 6800 Brecksville Road

Independence, Ohio 44131. City Hall is located on State Route 21, Brecksville Road on the Northwest Quadrant of Selig and Brecksville Roads, North of Rockside and South of

Pleasant Valley Roads in the city of Independence.

If you would like to join Jim in the announcement, please contact Steven Backiel at RPCC HQ at 216-621-5417 or [email protected] so that we may plan accordingly.

Be a part of political history for this special announcement of the campaign that will restore effective, in touch and rational leadership to Greater Cleveland’s West Side

You need coolin, Robin, Im not foolin,
Im gonna send you back to campaign schoolin,
Way down inside honey, you need it,
Im not gonna give you my vote,
Im not gonna give you my vote.

BSB Wanna whole latta love?
DNC Wanna whole latta love?
DCCC Wanna whole latta love?
ODP Wanna whole latta love?

From the Blade

BOWLING GREEN — State Rep. Bob Latta (R., Bowling Green) yesterday won by a large margin the 5th District congressional seat that he lost by 27 votes almost 20 years ago.

With all precincts in the 16 counties that make up the sprawling district reporting, Mr. Latta beat Robin Weirauch of Napoleon 56.8 per cent to 42.9 percent to replace the late U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor (R., Tiffin), who died Sept. 5 of an accidental fall in his Virginia residence. Mr. Gillmor had represented the district since 1989.

Mr. Latta won in each of the counties that make up the district, which extends from the Indiana border to northeast Ohio.

From the PD

Ohio’s elections chief has no confidence in Cuyahoga County’s current voting system and has suggested dumping the more than $20 million touch-screen voting system before the March 4 presidential primary.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is pushing the Board of Elections for a quick decision because of the time needed to roll out a new system.

“We all understand there is not a lot of time to delay,” said Sandy McNair, one of the four members on the elections board.

Another great legacy of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

From Ken Blackwell’s latest column on Townhall.com, “Giving the Gift of English”:

One of the most unreported stories of the past month is Democrats in Congress refusing to protect the Salvation Army and other similar organizations from lawsuits for requiring their employees to be able to speak English on the job. This policy issue is also important politically, and Republicans will benefit politically by doing the right thing.

John Fund’s recent Wall Street Journal article reveals this absurd situation. Lawsuits have been brought by individuals and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against employers like the Salvation Army for requiring their employees to learn English within one year. The Salvation Army is only requiring English in performing work duties, not what language workers use in the break room, and gives them a full 12 months to learn the language. Yet the EEOC and certain groups are suing.

Read the rest of Ken’s Column here.

Anyone interested in the history of Cleveland politics should read this surprisingly good profile piece on Dennis Kucinich from Denise Grollmus in the far-left Cleveland Scene. America has been introduced to him as a caricature of a liberal, but I bet many people would be surprised that not only was he once pro-life and pro-traditional marriage, but he also got involved in racial politics!

Here are two interesting paragraphs:

At the time, Kucinich was running for Congress. Perk’s campaign proved a perfect aqueduct for spreading Kucinich’s own word — which increasingly played on race. At one point, Kucinich even ridiculed his congressional opponent, Robert Minshall, for supporting the creation of a Martin Luther King holiday. To West Side ethnics, the message was clear.

And

With his run for president, Kucinich is no longer catering to the blue-collar West Side, but the American left. He’s no longer anti-gay, anti-abortion Cleveland Catholic, but a pro-choice, anti-war vegan bent on being the most liberal of the Democratic field. Ask supporters for his greatest accomplishments, and they’ll inevitably raise the myth of Muny Light. But Kucinich carefully avoids the rest of his past.

Read the rest here. Could you imagine a Republican being elected as a big-city mayor and hiring a bunch of snot nosed undergrads to run the city government?

If you have about 20 minutes to spare, click here and take the quiz. Many of the statements to choose from are feel-good statements of rhetoric (ie., There is a big difference between supporting the FairTax and actually implementing an absurdly high national 40%+ sales tax.), but fluffy policy positions are usually all voters hear.

Please post your results in the comments. Here are my results. Does this make me a Fredhead or a moRON?:

Fred Thompson- 63 points
Ron Paul-33 points
John McCain- 5 points
Rudy Giuliani- 5 points
Mitt Romney- 3 points
Mike Huckabee- 0 points

Walter Williams takes on the class warfare rhetoric of Lou Dobbs, Mike Huckabee, and John Edwards:

What about claims of a disappearing middle class? Let’s do some detective work. Controlling for inflation, in 1967, 8 percent of households had an annual income of $75,000 and up; in 2003, more than 26 percent did. In 1967, 17 percent of households had a $50,000 to $75,000 income; in 2003, it was 18 percent. In 1967, 22 percent of households were in the $35,000 to $50,000 income group; by 2003, it had fallen to 15 percent. During the same period, the $15,000 to $35,000 category fell from 31 percent to 25 percent, and the under $15,000 category fell from 21 percent to 16 percent. The only reasonable conclusion from this evidence is that if the middle class is disappearing, it’s doing so by swelling the ranks of the upper classes.

What about the concentration of wealth? In 1918, John D. Rockefeller’s fortune accounted for more than half of one percent of total private wealth. To compile the same half of one percent of the private wealth in the United States today, you’d have to combine the fortunes of Microsoft’s Bill Gates ($53 billion) and Paul Allen ($16 billion), Oracle’s Larry Ellison ($19 billion), and a third of Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett’s $46 billion. In 1920, America’s richest one percent held about 40 percent of private wealth; by 1980, the private wealth held by the richest one percent fell to about 20 percent and has remained stable at that level since.

Demagogues duping Americans about stagnant and declining income give politicians justification to raise taxes and place regulatory obstacles in the path of risk-taking, productivity and hard work that will impede the enviable income mobility that has become a part of American tradition. Raising taxes on capital formation reduces the rate of capital formation. Raising taxes on income reduces incentives to work. Unfortunately, because so many Americans buy into the politics of envy, politicians have a leg up in enacting measures that cripple economic growth.

From the Washington Post:

“If I can marry this incredibly brilliant, beautiful woman, I mean, why wouldn’t I think I can be president of the United States?”

From The Dispatch:

Barbara A. Sykes, the former lawmaker who heads the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, could become a casualty of the panel’s unsuccessful bid to require employers to offer 12 weeks of pregnancy leave.

Gov. Ted Strickland, who appointed the Akron Democrat as chairwoman of the five-member panel, “is not inclined” to support Sykes when she faces the state Senate for confirmation, Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey said yesterday. Sykes has been serving on the commission since her appointment in August.[…]

“I think it’s very unfortunate that the commission chose to disregard the concerns that I raised,” Strickland said, adding that he is not inclined to support “people who do not feel as if they could cooperate with me on such a reasonable request.”

On this occasion, I will post my favorite YouTube production ever to come out of the Ohio GOP:

From James Nash in The Dispatch:

It may not look like Charlie Brown or even Joe Camel, but a recent advertising campaign by the maker of Camel cigarettes still featured cartoons and thus broke the law, Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann alleges in a lawsuit filed today.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. violated the terms of the 1998 settlement between tobacco companies and states by using cartoon imagery in a series of advertisements in Rolling Stone magazine last month, Dann’s office said.

The attorney general is seeking $5 million in damages. The figure represents $100 per person who bought the Nov. 15 issue of Rolling Stone in Ohio, plus $100 per Ohioan who registered for an R.J. Reynolds web site that promoted the campaign.

The advertising campaign touted the tobacco company’s support for indie rock.

The prohibition against cartoons in tobacco advertising grew out of the immensely successful Joe Camel campaign, also the brainchild of R.J. Reynolds, which was shown to increase youth smoking. The cartoons at the center of Dann’s lawsuit, however, are more impressionistic and less obviously kid-friendly.

First of all, children should not be reading Rolling Stone magazine.

Secondly, take a look at the supposed “cartoon” here. It clearly is not what Dann claims it is, but that fact won’t stop our employee-screwing Attorney General from grabbing more headlines by suing the EVIL tobacco companies.

And if this lawsuit is successful, who pays the settlement? The cost of any settlement will be simply another tax on lower and middle class workers who smoke.