The OH-18 special primary is today (Go join 10% of your friends by voting if you live in that district...)

To commemorate, I have an extensive interview with Senator Padgett at Lincoln Logs.

Part I

Part II

Part III

I will once again miss Sir James after today, although he has been much quieter this time around. Perhaps one of two things is behind this - 1. he realized that attempting to trade silence for a political office doesn't work and has given up, or 2. He is busy looking for a job.

I have no great love for those who run the Ohio Republican Party, but I must admit to being stunned at the record of mediocrity that they were able to document from the liberal Ohio media:

Heather Rutz, Lima News: ''After the meeting, many criticized Strickland, saying he offered no specifics. 'Strickland danced around the issues and never gave us the answers,' said Jerry Suter, a farmer of sweet corn and strawberries.'' (Heather Rutz, Lima News, 9/12/06)

Phillip Morris, The Plain Dealer: ''Strickland has yet to evidence anything approaching talented, senior-level leadership, either in his past or in his current uninspired and timid campaign for governor.'' (Strickland plods out of the gate, Phillip Morris, The Plain Dealer, 8/29/06)

Bill Cohen, Ohio Public Radio: ''Strickland almost admittedly doesn't have as great a grasp on state issues. You won't hear him give a lot of details or offer risk-taking ideas.'' (Race for governor of Ohio heating up, Middletown Journal, August 18, 2006)

Jim Siegel, Columbus Dispatch: ''He provided no details, and asked afterward when he would unveil those details, Strickland said, 'I will do that if I win this election.''' (Strickland mum on details of his school funding plan, Columbus Dispatch, August 18, 2006)

Jim Tankersley, Toledo Blade: ''In a brief press conference afterward, Mr. Strickland struggled to answer a basic question about the plan: How much would it cost? He told a television reporter the figure was on his Web site, and that he couldn't remember it not because he didn't know it, he said, but because he didn't have it in front of him.'' (Jim Tankersley, Toledo Blade, 9/5/06)

Joe Hallett, Columbus Dispatch: ''So far, Strickland has played it safe, eschewing sweeping proposals for fixing Ohio's economy and schools in favor of a series of relative baby steps encompassed in his 'Turnaround Ohio' plan.'' (Joe Hallett, The Columbus Dispatch, 9/3/06)

Dennis J. Willard, Akron Beacon Journal: ''...Strickland admits his plans are still in the developmental stage.'' (Politics of ethics play out on trail, Dennis J. Willard, Akron Beacon Journal, 8/27/06)

Aaron Marshall, Cleveland Plain Dealer: ''The Democrat offered no plan to fix school funding'' (Candidates for governor give educators contrasting views, Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 18, 2006)

I realize that as a man, Strickland is quite unimpressive, but I am blown away to see just how little the politician has to offer.

From the ol' mailbag:

Slop & Sour Grapes

The Truth about "Republicans for Strickland"

Ted Strickland was endorsed yesterday by Tom Noe's defense attorney, an associate of the man who authorized state investments in Tom Noe's coin fund, and the defeated primary opponent of Ken Blackwell's running mate.

Who's Dan Slane?

Slane was an associate of the late Paul Mifsud, Gov. George Voinovich's chief of staff who spent time in jail for accepting discounts on home improvements by a state contractor.

Who's Paul Mifsud?

It was Mifsud who, as Voinovich's top aide, helped steer business to the crooked Toledo coin dealer, Tom Noe. It was Mifsud who, as Voinovich's top aide, ordered the hiring of the crooked Terry Gasper… And it was Mifsud who helped lobby the legislature to change the state laws to make all this thievery possible.

Mifsud left Voinovich's employ in 1996. The following year, he spent six months in jail on ethics charges for improperly accepting and concealing free home-remodeling work from a state contractor. (Brent Larkin, The Plain Dealer, 6/25/06)

Slane, too, has bellied up to the state government trough in recent years.

Mr. Slane is the co-owner of the Slane Company, Ltd., which received much of the subcontracting work for the Multi-Agency Radio Communications System (MARCs) that took 15 years to complete and cost more than $270 million. (Gongwer News Service, 9/12/06)

Is it surprising, then, that Mr. Slane would support Ted Strickland, a candidate who has "collected nearly $1 million in campaign donations from former supporters of the Republican governor's administration that he has derided on the campaign trail" (Associated Press)?

Who's Rocky Saxbe?

Tom Noe's defense lawyer.

The bureau requested Wednesday that Mr. Noe's auditors, Plante & Moran, do a full audit this year instead of a financial review. In the letter to Mr. Noe's attorney, Charles Saxbe, the bureau said it would look into "other options" if Plante & Moran could not begin the audit within a couple of weeks. (James Drew & Mike Wilkinson, Toledo Blade, 5/17/05)

That's right. Rocky Saxbe was hired to defend Mr. Corruption himself, the infamous coin-dealer Tom Noe.

Saxbe also reaped a windfall doing business with the state:

Mr. Saxbe's law firm, Chester, Willcox, & Saxbe, netted millions of dollars for their efforts as Ohio's head litigation team during the $206 billion settlement with tobacco companies. (Gongwer News Service, 9/12/06)

No surprise he'd want to defend the status quo in Columbus. It's certainly been good for his bank account.

Who's Betty Davis?

In Warren County, Tom Raga, a first-term Deerfield Twp. Trustee, defeated Betty Davis, a 19-year Mason City Councilwoman, to win the party nomination in the House 2nd District. Raga won despite Davis' backing from GOP heavyweights that included former state Rep. Corwin Nixon. (Mike Wagner, Dayton Daily News, 3/9/00)

Sour grapes.

From openers

Jesse Jackson is coming to the state capital on Monday to host a Rainbow-PUSH Coalition event called "Creating Connections for Change."

The meeting is being marketed as "an opportunity for people who don't regularly talk to each other to come together, learn about each others' issues and organize to make a difference in the state."

Left unsaid: By helping elect Ted Strickland and other Ohio Democrats.

Don't know if Ted Strickland's moderate image will be helped by Jesse.

This is From Equality Ohio

Representative Strickland has long been an ally of and advocate for LGBT people. He maintained a 100% rating with the Human Rights Campaign's Congressional Scorecard while in Congress. He voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment.

I would assume Blackwell's campaign didn't bend over backwards trying to earn this endorsement.

Think again. A recent Plain Dealer article reminds us that Democrat fingerprints are all over the troubles with Ohio's Worker's Compensation system:

The formation and operation of CareWorks, Ohio's biggest managed-care organization for Workers' Comp, brought together a cadre of powerful insiders from both political parties.

William Pfeiffer, president and chief executive of CareWorks, was a top aide to House Speaker Vern Riffe, a Democrat whose control of the legislative process and mastery of political fund raising made many regard him as the source of the pay-to-play mentality in Columbus.

Have you ever wondered why the government is so inefficient in getting things done and why so many of its rules seem to make no human sense? Well, when you take into account the "favors" that politicians do for their friends and contributors, the problem should become less of a mystery to you.

As bad as Republicans have been and as much as they do not deserve reelection, the Democrats are the masters of "Pay to Play" and would only fall right back into their natural method of operation. The only hope that we have is for the Republicans to clean house and live up to their promise of limited government -- the single biggest factor in eliminating government waste and corruption.

From HipHop DX:

BET's "Cousin Jeff" Johnson of Rap City and Jeff Johnson Chronicles fame recently signed on to represent Ohio Gubernatorial candidate Kenneth Blackwell, who some suspect of helping George W. Bush "steal" the 2004 presidential election. The question remains however, if the television star's new role as Blackwell's campaign advocate to young and urban voters is worth the cost.

Since his endorsement Johnson, who owns a political consulting firm called Truth to Power, has been praised by a few who see his support of the Republican politician as a power move, and bashed by many more who are confused and upset by his latest alliance.

Blackwell, currently Ohio's Secretary of State, has been under an umbrella of suspicion after several well-documented voting irregularities occurred in Ohio during the 2004 presidential election which affected mostly poor and minority voters. At the time of the election, Blackwell was also serving as co-chair of the Ohio Committee to Re-Elect George Bush. Due to the incessant rumors and outright accusations of his involvement in "handing" Bush the election, today he continues to be vilified by many Democrats as nothing short of a black devil.

...with Strickland [Blackwell's opponent in the race] I see visionary rhetoric and with Blackwell I see strategy. I hear Strickland saying he wants to support public education, but I don't hear him saying how. I hear him talking about economic development but I don't hear him saying how. I hear him talking about supporting black people, not necessarily within his agenda, but within some of his speeches, but he never showed what his agenda for black people is, nor does he have a record of hiring black people, nor does he have a record of encouraging black business, nor does he have a record of utilizing black contractors within the offices he's held. Blackwell on the flip side, even as a conservative -- somebody who supports vouchers, which I've never been a fan of -- I believe his 65 percent plan is a step in the right direction for public schools…a strategy that says we need to begin reforming public schools in a way where 65 % of every dollar follows the student. We don't see that in many other urban school centers. And if you did not know, Cleveland again was labeled the poorest city in the country. So we've got one of the poorest cities in the country, one of the worst public school systems in the country, and we need to begin having real conversations and strategies about reform and that's what I'm seeing from Blackwell's 65 % plan. As it relates to economic stimulus packages, and increasing jobs, he's hired on average 40 percent people of color on his own staff and with the state of Ohio in the positions that he's served in, from 27 to 42 percent of all the contracts that he's utilized state funds for have been with black firms, so this is not rhetoric that he's serving, this is substantiated fact.

There's a lot more; make sure that you check it out.

NOTE: Cross-posted from the State of Ohio Blog Alliance.

Steve Hoffman of the Akron Beacon Journal was absolutely correct when he typed:

Don't get me wrong, Ohio Democrats really, really want to win back the governor's office after 16 years in the political wilderness. Some are desperate to change the declining trajectory of a once-prosperous state by creating good jobs and expanding access to health care and higher education. Others want to get their snouts in the trough.

But Democrats may have a chance to seize another prize, control of the shape of legislative districts, by winning just the right statewide races down the ticket. While the campaigns of Democrat Ted Strickland and Republican Ken Blackwell for governor will hurtle through their final weeks in a very public way, this secondary drama could begin playing out quietly in the races for auditor and secretary of state.

But if Strickland has a comfortable lead in the polls and resources can be redirected at the last minute, the Democrats would like nothing more than to set themselves up for controlling an obscure body called the state apportionment board after the 2010 census. To do that, they would need to win (in addition to the governor's office) either the race for auditor or secretary of state.

The winners this year would be positioned to win re-election just before new census numbers will be used to draw new districts.

Mr. Hoffman put aside the keyboard, reached for the crack pipe about a dozen times and then proceeded to type:

If Republicans control the apportionment board, they will draw districts that tend to concentrate Democrats, especially loyal black Democrats, into urban areas, giving Republicans an edge in the suburbs. Because the suburbs are growing, the GOP would have a built-in advantage. Such districts make compromise tough because the programs Democrats want don't necessarily match what's important in the suburbs, especially when suburban voters figure out they are the ones who will be paying most of the bills.

Democratic control of the apportionment board after the 2010 census would steer the state back toward the kind of legislative districts that were in effect under the late Vern Riffe, longest-serving speaker of the Ohio House. Riffe's districts blended urban with suburban, neutralizing the Republican-leaning suburbs as much as possible.

Legislators from those districts tended to be more pragmatic than ideological because they had to pay attention to a wider variety of points of view.

What in the name of Thomas Jefferson is he talking about????

Democrats segregated blacks into urban districts as well (they were the ones who thought up "majority-minority" districts after all); they just included a few blacks within white districts created to elect white Democrats -- none of them pragmatic (unless Dennis Kucinich is your idea of a rational, boring, down-the-middle moderate).

Maybe it would be easier for liberal Democrats to get elected if they were indeed members of the reality based community.

Blackwell has a new ad out that demolishes Strickland's claim that he supports tax cuts because he once grudgingly backed four.

83 votes for higher taxes kind of overshadows that, eh? Beautiful.

In addition to the ad Eric just posted, Common Sense Ohio has been playing another tv ad during the NBC evening news in my area. I posted the first 2 here, and here is the latest! Ohio would have to be an idiot to vote for this guy

From the AP:

WASHINGTON Democratic Senator Russ Feingold wants President Bush to stop using the phrase "Islamic fascists."

The prospective 2008 presidential candidate says the term is offensive and misleading. And Feingold says it has nothing to do with the terrorists fighting the U-S.

In a speech to the Arab American Institute on Capitol Hill, Feingold says such terms link Islam with those who subvert or distort the teachings of what he says is a "great religion."

The Wisconsin senator also says fascist ideology has nothing to do with the way terrorist networks think or operate. And he says it shouldn't be connected to an "overwhelming majority of Muslims around the world who practice the peaceful teachings of Islam."

I think Ohio will hear the same limp wrist rhetoric from Brown if he’s elected.

Joy Padgett won the Republican primay today. She will face Zack Space, who seems to have a very lame campaign thus far.

In other news, it is over the Drudge Report that Bob Ney will pled guilty to atleast one charge and will probably include some jail time. This story is obviously developing.

Joy is a solid Republican and she deserves your support. If you live in or close to the 18th District, sign up to volunteer on her website, Joy Padgett.com.