From Openers

Rabbi Richard Block of The Temple-Tifereth Israel, who co-chairs We Believe Cleveland, said the group will not endorse candidates and will avoid partisan politics.

“The key issue — where the line gets crossed — is whereby explicitly or by obvious implication — there is endorsement of candidates. That is a boundary we consider impermissible,” he said. “I don’t believe that God is affiliated with a political party.”

But Block said that We Believe will openly campaign against Ken Blackwell’s proposed constitutional state spending cap and promote a proposal to raise the state’s minimum wage, which has not qualified yet for the November ballot.

While We Believe speakers didn’t mention Democratic candidates, one clergy member on stage displayed a sticker promoting Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland. Representatives from Stickland's campaign attended the event.

Avoid partisan politics?

From the PD

Ohio ranks last in the nation for protecting people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered, according to a study released Wednesday by an organization that advocates for those groups.

Equality Ohio, a grass-roots group that conducted the study, organized a conference of more than 500 people at the state capital Wednesday with the goal of educating lawmakers about issues of discrimination against gays, lesbians and others. It marked the first "lobby day" for the group, a gathering organizers hope to turn into an annual event.

How do we do this, they mention no specifics. They all said that Issue 1 just reaffirmed existing laws, so why is Ohio so bad?

From the PD

TEL LITE

A proposed state law.

Would impose the same spending formula as the TEL.

Would limit the spending of state tax dollars only, not local dollars, capital spending, fees or university proceeds from ticket and concession sales.

Would create a mechanism in the law to withdraw the current TEL proposal from the ballot.

From the PD

Republican legislators have found a way to make Ken Blackwell's heavily criticized constitutional amendment to limit government spending disappear -- along with some of the political baggage that accompanies it.

In its place, they proposed a scaled-down version that would cap only state spending and put the limit in state law, not in the Constitution.

The top two legislative leaders said Wednesday the compromise shows that Blackwell, their nominee for governor, gets results -- even before he gets elected.

In all fairness, until the TEL was brought up Ken Blackwell always talked about state government spending, he never really mentioned the local spending.

Is Blackwell negotiating away the governorship? I don't think this is overstating the issue. Today's Dispatch proclaims TEL D.O.A. Then after a year of railing about the evils of TEL, they write an editorial in the same issue complaining that Blackwell painted GOP into corner.

Like it or not, Blackwell = TEL. To turn his back on TEL now will be a seriously self-inflicted political disaster from which his campaign may not be able to recover. I understand the seemingly sound logic behind this attempt to mollify the ORP and their legislators-- "We'll support you if..."-- but one has to question the soundness and veracity of their motives. Afterall, these are the same people that gave us a bloated government, the third highest tax burden in the country, uniformly backed a candidate that finished a distant second in the primary, and have made no attempt to hide their disdain for Blackwell and conservatives in general. To think that they truly have the best interests of the Blackwell campaign as their motivation stretches credulity. To take advice from a group of people who have been so wrong so often reflects poorly on the decision-making ability of the campaign heirarchy.

In my opinion, the motivation of those that KB is now courting is to retain the ability to overtax and overspend unchecked. All of the wailing blather is from tax-dependent oxen who are in fear of being gored. This should be a political signal as to the rectitude of the position. From the Dispatch article:

"'I’m just floored that we just witnessed the entire political underpinnings of a campaign being ripped away,' said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern.'"

Redfern is right! This decision-- as it stands now-- will demoralize those conservatives who have supported KB from the beginning as well as call into question that which has attracted such national support for him-- his unwavering defense of his principles despite overwhelming oppostion by the Media, Democrats, and the elites in his own party. It is this perception and not whether TEL passes or not that will ultimately doom his election. This and Redfern foreshadow what will become the focal point in the campaign for Strickland and the Democrats. When the ensuing heat occurs, those that are pushing this retreat will bail on KB and head for the tall grass. Those that feign their support now will inevitably seek the good graces of the Media as their default position and turn on Blackwell again. The deal will only be good until it is rescinded after the election. If the invertebrate nature of these people isn't clear by now, I don't know what more evidence can be provided.

So what should KB do now? He should push for this legislative compromise and get it to look as much like TEL as possible. He should withhold his full support until it is signed. Once signed, he should screw 'em,-- as they planned to do to him. His support for the legislation and TEL is in no way inconsistent or mutually exclusive. His efforts to pass TEL then can be subsumed to his ability to get things done legislatively before he is even governor and portends more to come. Voters love a David vs. Goliath story, especially when David wins. That will be the story, not the "flip-flop". David played chicken with Goliath, and made Goliath blink. The resultant ballyhoo by the Media and legislators will only help the campaign in the general as it did in the primary, and enhance the David vs. Goliath story. This will garner more support nationally and statewide, and will solidify his reputation as a defender of conservative principles. Strickland will become an afterthought as the story will become how KB wanted the whole loaf and got a loaf and a half.

Without hyperbole, if KB backs away from TEL-- whether he believes it is flawed or not-- he is handing the election to Strickland. At this point, it's 50/50 that TEL passes; however, it is a certainty that it won't pass if Strickland is going to win, and any legislative compromise will be repealed shortly thereafter. So you might as well go balls to the wall, and let the chips fall where they may. At the end of the day, people will be able to say, "For him or against him, at least you know what you're getting. He says what he means and he stands behind his decisions." In reality, that's all voters want-- conservatives, moderates, and maybe even liberals.

from Tom:

I know some people are upset that the local governmental units are off the hook, but I believe for a lot of reasons that I thankfully won’t have to slog through that TEL would have been a straitjacket on local governmental units, particularly those in growing areas, which Mr. Blackwell hopefully create more of when he becomes governor. And besides, Colorado’s TABOR has never had local governmental restrictions; yet it enabled the state to achieve stellar growth in its first five years of existence, and growth that matched the rest of the country since then.

Hopefully, this will light fires in many more states.

As I said last night elsewhere, it looks like Mr. Blackwell is effectively governing even before he’s elected!

... and it is a win win situation, for drivers and for investors.

Ken Blackwell's website posted an article from Barron's. Check it out.

COLUMBUS -- Ohio Auditor of State Betty Montgomery is being treated for Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), an inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nerves. According to a statement from Montgomery's office, the condition is not life-threatening, but progression of the disorder can be unpredictable. Montgomery is being treated in The Ohio State University Medical Center's intensive care unit.

The statement from the Auditor's office says treatment in the intensive care unit is typical for most cases of GBS. Testing is still ongoing.

Its nice to hear it isn't life threatening. I hope she feels better soon.

From redstate.com

No wonder the Dems are mad. They had hoped to use the TEL against Blackwell - particularly at the local level - and were crossing their fingers that the GOP would split on the issue. Now that the GOP is coming together to find a solution that accomplishes most of what Blackwell wants and helps bring the party together, the Ds are complaining about politics. What do you suppose Ted Strickland is up to these days, tiddlywinks?

I for one think this is a great move. It shows that the General Assembly and Blackwell can work together. It removes a potentially powerful opposition to Blackwell's campaign. And it avoids unintended litigation and confusion over the ballot initiative.

The fact of the matter is that the GOP led legislature has shown the ability to take action and make changes when they are needed. They have a pretty good record to run on. Unfortunately they have been overshadowed by the "Coingate" mess surrounding the remarkably unpopular Governor Taft.