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There has not been a Democrat elected to statewide office in Ohio since 1992, when John Glenn won his fourth term in the Senate. Glenn is also the last Democrat to defeat Mike DeWine in an election. Republican control of the Buckeye state's senate seats, Republican control of the state house, and Republican control of Secretary of State's office has led to failures of leadership within Ohio and arguably cost John Kerry the presidency in 2004. Fortunately Glenn's title of "Last Democrat to Win A Statewide Election" is about to be passed off in what may be a clean sweep of Dems into statewide office.
Last night I sat in the pews of the Living Faith Apostolic Church, where their predominantly black congregation had welcomed the entire Democratic ticket for statewide offices (as well as Bob Shamansky and Mary Jo Kilroy) into their sanctuary for a voter education and outreach rally. The candidates were introduced in turn by an historic slate of Ohio Democrats: Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, State Senator Ray Miller, State Representative Joyce Beatty, and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones.
There are two waves breaking blue in Ohio. The anti-Bush wave has been seen around the country, but a number of campaign workers I've talked to said that Ohio Democrats are also benefitting from the Ted Strickland wave. A Columbus Dispatch poll released yesterday shows Democrats poised to win every statewide office in Ohio. Ted Strickland is up 36%, Sherrod Brown is up 24% and in a race that Democratic partisans nationwide should be tracking closely, Secretary of State candidate Jennifer Brunner is up 21%. The Democratic revolution doesn't stop there: Auditor candidate Barbara Sykes, Treasurer candidate Richard Cordray, and Attorney General Candidate Marc Dann all have significant leads on their opponents. Supreme Court candidates Ben Espy and William O'Neill are within striking distance in the Dispatch poll, though the court is technically non-partisan.
Senator Glenn introduced Rep. Sherrod Brown by chronicling the sad state of our country. "The Constitution has been weakened under this administration." His endorsement of Brown focused around Sherrod's support for good jobs, workers' rights, and raising the minimum wage. "Democrats created minimum wage," Glenn added, "I know about minimum wage because my first job paid minimum wage: $0.25 an hour in 1938."
Ballot Issue 2, which will raise the minimum wage in Ohio from $5.15 to $6.85, may well be the Democratic answer to anti-gay marriage initiatives. Senator Glenn told me that he thinks Ohio is a proving ground for political trends, "If it sells in Ohio, it will sell nationally. Thus we must run on all the things that make America great." Minimum wage, Glenn added, is one of the things that Democrats will win on.
I spoke with Keary McCarthy, communications director of Ohioans For a Fair Minimum Wage, and he made a sharper distinction between a minimum wage ballot initiative and past anti-gay marriage ones. "Raising the minimum wage is a bridge issue and not a wedge issue. The fundamental premise is that you put something on the ballot that will give people the incentive to get out the vote. Minimum wage impacts people lives directly."
The minimum wage referendum is mobilizing working families and union members in Ohio, while simultaneously giving Democratic candidates the opportunity to talk about workers' rights. Sherrod Brown is using Issue 2 to talk about the power of the voters have to improve their lot. "We have the chance to give a raise to 500,000 Ohioans. The federal government has failed them - we can make up for it."
Ohio has about 1.1 million union and Working America members and the AFL-CIO and SEIU, among others, are running huge canvasses to get out the vote for the Democratic ticket. If Strickland, Brown, and other candidates for statewide office win, their victories will be a statement about Ohioans' desire to have politicians in office who will fight to protect working Americans and build a fair economy. Beltway cognoscenti take note: They will have won as Democrats who demanded accountability and who unabashedly spoke to voters about their support for workers' rights.
I've been in Columbus, Ohio since Saturday morning as part of the AFL-CIO's Labor 2006 program that's sending bloggers to cover key races and the voter mobilizations that are taking place to achieve victory on November 7th. Adam Conner and Nancy Scola are blogging the Midwest and Pennsylvania, respectively, as part of the same program and their fantastic work can be found on MyDD. Photos from my trip can be seen on my Flickr feed.
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Blue Nation!
FYI - This is my last scheduled FDL post on Ohio, but I will continue to post updates on my personal blog, Emboldened.
Thanks to Jane giving me the space to post here.
Matt Browner Hamlin -
Good on ‘ya for your work in the Buckeye state. My mom’s family is from Hocking County, my uncle is in Worthington - good people all ’round.
Wishing you all success on Tuesday!
John Glenn - there’s a name that lights up the sky!
what is being done in Ohio to ensure that this time there’s more than enough voting machines/ballots in heavily Democratic areas so that people don’t have to stand in line for hours?
Good luck, and fight hard!
The Dispatch poll numbers look wonderful, and it would be a blast if the results turn out that way, but a lot of people think it’s an outlier. Every other poll has the leads for Strickland and Brown at about 15 points lower than what the Dispatch is showing.
Even so, a sweep of the statewide offices is quite possible for the Democrats. According to the Dispatch, it would be the first time since 1883. This is by far the best lineup the Democrats have presented in Ohio that I can ever remember.
The Dispatch also says that the Republicans are leading the Supreme Court races — generally, the judicial races are the only one in which they’re doing well, since party affiliation is not listed. If the Republicans win both open seats in the Supreme Court, they’ll have a unanimous hold on it.
Ruby Tuesday @ 4
I’ve heard that there are supposed to be more machines available statewide this election, but how they are distributed is obviously what matters. I don’t have a read on whether or not there will be lines, but if the (partially successful) GOP effort to change ID requirements to vote is any indicator, the Republicans will do all in their power to suppress the Democratic vote.
The question is once they take office will they begin to build a real Democratic majority to serve the people of Ahia or will they degenerate into the regional tribalism that has always plagued the party?
fitz
GET OUT
THE VOTE
Matt Browner Hamlin @ 7
A woman I work with told me she had to wait 4 hours to vote in 2004. Even with the voting id requirements, I don’t think it will be as bad this year.
Normally, you have less voters in non presidential years. A heck of a lot of people have voted early. And the requirements don’t look that tough…a current electric bill would do it.
Having said that, there may be shenangans with counting the early and absentee ballots. Early voting at the machines was similiar to an absentee ballot…you filled out the absentee ballot, and then instead of having it mailed to you, a poll worker took you to a voting machine.
The id requirements for that were either an Ohio drivers license, or the last four digits of your Social Security number.
Another significant difference from 2004: then, the Republicans could be, and were, resolutely feckless in their subversion of democracy. This year, they have to reckon on being punished (I’m counting on Ted Strickland being elected governor. If that doesn’t happen, the excrement has truly hit the air circulation device, and it’s time to take to the streets.)
Speaking of vote suppression, remember that if you have any problems voting or witness any potential voter suppression efforts by the GOP, please call 1-800-DEM-VOTE.
Great work, Matt. Looking forward to the day we see your name on a ballot. ;-)
The minimum wage ballot initiative in Ohio explains why Michigan’s Republican majority legislature hurried up and passed a minimum wage bill earlier this year, in spite of being against it only a handful of months earlier. They didn’t want this to appear on the November ballot in this state — and now they use it as campaign fodder in their advertising. Repugs who voted for the bill that passed use it to their advantage, while bashing Dems who voted for a better minimum wage bill sponsored by Dems. Thank goodness Ohio’s initiative panned out as it did, the timing is excellent!!
And now back to the phones to make GOTV calls…
Lest we forget and I certainly don’t intend to. Sherrod Brown as well as Ford in Tennessee backed torture and kangaroo courts when they voted for the Military Commissions Act. Their Republican opposition may be worse but these guys are very much Republican-lite.
OT - shrubya in FL - “gimme a F!” “gimme a U!” “Gimme a….”
he shoulda been a professional cheerleader!
oh wait…
Was that a troll I saw a few comments above. Do. Not. Feed.
go OHIO ! The news you bring is so uplifting to me- Ohio knows how dirty voting is done and the fact that they are going Blue instead gives me hope….
retirin’ in five @ 15
Well, that was probably referring to me. I am not a troll but I would love to hear your justification for a vote on torture and kangaroo courts. Election year politicking? Business as usual? The last thread dealt with NARAL’s hypocrisy. Is Sherrod Brown’s any different?
Rayne @ 11
The thing I love about the minimum wage campaign is McCarthy’s take of it as a bridge issue. Ohio Republican voters support this measure in large numbers. They are intrinsically getting the unfairness in having minimum wage stuck at $5.15 for year after year after year.
The minimum wage conversation helps get past wedge issues and bring back voters who, per Tom Frank, should be Democratic voters. We should always be looking to convert new members to the Democratic cause and this allows us to do so without sacrificing our principles, but educating people about what we believe in.
Me? Run? I won’t talk about my plans for the future until after Tuesday, it would be impolitic.
Thanks again for all your hard work Matt.
Hugh @ 13
I’d love to give Brown and Ford an opportunity to . . . ahem . . . revisit their positions and vote to approve a revision of the laws to which you refer.
Matt, thanks for pinch hitting today. Great info.
One question, this Church that invited the democratic ticket, did they invite all candidates.
Can activities like this jeopardize their tax status?
I know I get really pissed when I see all the fundies railroading their congregations into voting republicrook and maintaining exempt tax status.
Peterr @ 19
Great answer Peterr.
Matt Browner Hamlin @ 2
Thank you, Matt.
Peterr @
20
Very well said.
T- @ 20
I don’t know that if all candidates were invited, but it was not a sermon and it was not the full congregation. It was an optional even scheduled on a Sunday evening that was open to all community members. I don’t know if opening the doors to share the space runs afoul of any laws. Also, i don’t believe a single Republican’s name was mentioned all night - it was a very positive rally.
RBG @ 24
Yes, first things first, brothers and sisters.
Democracy was not built in a day
OT. Vote-electoral.com has up a map and polls suggesting that currently it is 50 Dem to 49 Rep for the Senate with 1 state (Virginia ) still essentially up in the air. They are figuring Missouri, Montana and R.I will go Dem. I don’t know if I can trust the site, but I like the findings I am seeing.
Matt Browner Hamlin @ 25
T- @ 21
Re tax status stuff, it depends how the event was set up, and there’s a wide spectrum of possibilities. At one extreme would be that this was a regular church service with these kinds of activities in place. Big no-no, as far as the IRS goes. The other end of the spectrum would be that a group other than the church organized the event, but it is held in the church building. No problems there, generally speaking.
I share your fears about mis-use of tax exempt property, and thus the parishes I have served have always been leery of sponsoring anything that is one-sided.
Thanks Matt and Peterr,
I’d like for all of us to be cognizant of this issue.
Breaking the political backs of Falwell and Dobson and the rest of those yayhoos should be a priority task undertaken by a Democratic congress. And, not having something the repugs can point to and muddy the waters will be important to this end.
OT
George Allen is about to have a macaca moment:
“Democrat Jim Webb has surged ahead of Republican George Allen in the last poll of the campaign, conducted for News-7 by SurveyUSA.
The survey shows Webb with 52% of the likely voters, with 44% going to Allen.”
http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=5639356
The religious leaders who spoke at the rally talked about social justice and constructive change for America’s working poor and sick. No one said a word about what God thought about the Republicans or Republican voters and their beliefs. I think that’s an important distinction when talking about religion and politics crossing paths. The people supporting the Democratic ticket are not at all like Dobson, Falwell, Robertson, or Haggard.
ot: Bush in Florida, and the GOP candidate for governor ducked Shrub at a campaign rally:
http://rawstory.com/showarticl.....NT200.html
What a riot- people from his own party don’t want to be seen with him! He’s an albatross. Let’s throw all his cronies overboard tomorrow, and then send him to the Hague to celebrate.
mc @ 31
I hope the ma- caca runs into his fake cowboy boots!
Go WEBB!
David Shuster is in Richmond today. This VA race is a very big deal, imho. If we can turn Virginia blue with a thinking dem tomorrow, we will be in a position to turn the South in 2008!
Go Ned, Go Webb!
GOTV and save America!
Peterr,
I am still deeply angry about the Military Commissions Act and the gutting of habeas corpus. I do not think you can have a functioning judicial system without it. The conservatives on the Roberts-Alito Supreme Court may still not be so lost as to see this but I doubt it. In any case, it will likely be a few years minimum before they hear and rule on any challenge, if they choose to do so. As for Brown and Ford revisiting their positions, that will be useless during the remainder of the Bush Administration since Bush will veto any revision of the Military Commissions Act or, if folded into a larger piece of legislation that may be more difficult to veto, “signing statment” it away.
So we are stuck with this reprehensible and barbaric act for at least 2 years. I personally could not in conscience vote for anyone who supported it. This is why, as per usual, I will vote against my Republican representative who voted for it. Everyone has to make their own decisions but I think it is important that we vote with our eyes open. My guess is that, best case scenario, Brown and Ford coming from red to reddish states voted with the election in mind. Worse case: they actually believe that torture in a good cause is justified and effective and that habeas corpus is a sometime thing. I don’t find either rationale sufficient.
not that any of us need convincing, but Salon.com is featuring this:
Just so you know:
If you’re suddenly hospitalized, you can still vote.
I was in the hospital on the day of the primary, and missed voting. A friend told me later that Board of Elections volunteers will bring ballots to anyone in hospitals. Hospital didn’t tell me this!
Matt Browner Hamlin @ 32
Amen!err . . .
Right on!
;)
Should anyone care, Times Select is free this week.
OK, I’ve already been told I’m stupid on FDL so. . .who or what is Fitz?
Hugh @ 35
I share your anger, but to paraphrase Rummy, tomorrow we have to choose between the candidates we have, not the candidates we want. I don’t like holding my nose, but compared with the alternatives . . .
Of course, all this leads to the inescapable conclusion that we need to work harder sooner the next time around, so that candidates with a progressive vision of the constitution are on the ballot come November 2008.
raven @ 40
Patrick Fitzgerald, scourge of Irving “Scooter” Libby, and nemesis of those hiding behind his skirts at the White House.
punaise,
Criminal enterprises will go to the wall rather than change because if they could have done it another way they would have. These guys behave in criminal ways because they are criminal in their thinking. For them, there was no other way. There will be no other way.
Pat Buchanon’s American Conservative says -
GOP Must Go
whoa
Would have been nice to see it last month.
Need a laugh from Fox?Fox News
All right, I had it right. Thank goodness!
Peterr @ 42
Matt @ 32
Agreed. I think the left needs to do a better job of articulating how moral principles and religion intersect with Democratic ideals and not concede that ground to the religious right (which is neither). In addition, this dialogue must not alienate persons with different beliefs.
A few great examples to lead this dialogue are right here in our comments section, as well as Jimmy Carter and Jim Wallis.
Hi Peterr. RevDeb, you around?
Hugh @ 43
that explains the robo-calls. nothing is too low for these scum.
Peterr @ 41
And a hell of a civil servant who believes in the rule of law.
ruffian @ 16
Be careful, in Ohio “Go Blue” means you are rooting for OSU’s arch rival U. Michigan. Touchy phrase.
egregious @ 50
Especially this year . . . 10-0 vs 10-0.
Hugh- I’m with you. My understanding is that third party candidates do exist as alternatives and even if not, I couldn’t pick to vote between two candidates who each were happy to take torture, which Negroponte said had stopped pending the MCA, and re-start it. Candidates who took hundreds of cases in the court system - of people sold like cattle for cash and held with no evidence for years while they were dehumanized - and destroyed their hope. Candidates who never took the floor to even begin to question the torture and kidnap of hundreds and thousands of innocent people, and instead triangulated, then went out for a nice meal and to see their family.
My straight Democratic party-line vote will be interrupted only by my refusal to vote for DiFi Inc. (DiFink).
punaise @ 53
Great minds . . .
Peterr @ 54
fink alike
punaise @ 55
That’s us - just two p’s in a pod
Hugh @ 17
I will try. NARAL has been making poor legislative and judicial recommendations since the middle 70’s which is when I quit them in disgust. They actually WANT things to go badly so that more people will become upset about how bad they are.
This was explained to me in exactly those terms by a staff member after the one particularly egregious decision on their part.
Sherrod Brown must be judged, like any other candidate, on his whole record with emphasis on what he has done lately. He is in general a beacon for progressives, which is not so easy to pull off in Ohio. It is tempting to sit in a liberal area and make judgements about what someone from a more conservative state should do.
At the time of the torture vote his Senate race did not look as if they could win, and they judged that a negative vote would hand the Republicans ammunition that he was “soft on terror.” You may decry that this should work, but what if that is where Ohio voters currently are? We desperately need progressive voices in the Senate, Brown is lightyears ahead of DeWine, and while I loathe the torture bill I can understand Brown’s reasoning.
In contrast Lieberman used to be liberal but now…not so much. Brown is a progressive who made one vote that we disagree with. Let’s work with him.
Hey, pups, let’s all go to TimesSelect this week for the free reading. And maybe they’ll get a clue that using a sponsor instead of the financial firewall might actually be a smart way to do business.
At the very least, you’ll be able to read in full Frank Rich, whose Sunday column started out talking about the smackdown between Lynnie Chee-knee and Wolfie about lesbian sex when she was in the SitRoom hyping her children’s book. Sheeesh….
Here’s the link, save it for after the polls close: http://select.nytimes.com/2006.....Editorials and Op-Ed/Op-Ed/Columnists/Frank Rich
Hugh and Mary singing my folk songs!
I would not be able to vote for Ford or Corker due to their torture positions. Green or write in I suppose.
Mary in case this pased by your sharp net eye last week.
http://www.time.com/time/world.....26,00.html
lol Cnn just had an interview with CT journalists and one of them described Joe’s position on the ballot as on the down low
They actually WANT things to go badly so that more people will become upset about how bad they are.
This was explained to me in exactly those terms by a staff member after the one particularly egregious decision on their part.
wow - they actually copped to that?
Moral reasoning: a lot more people are going to be tortured and killed by our vanity war in Iraq, thanks to the current Congress, than will be tortured and killed in the black prisons. Even if they killed all of the estimated 14,000 that’s going to be less than the deaths of Iraqi civilians we will be responsible for in the coming months. At 100 a day that’s 4 1/2 months.
We HAVE to take back the Congress and we HAVE to stop this war. NOW.
Then we can argue about other lesser problems of which I cheerfully agree the torture bill is extremely high on the list.
I have the deepest respect for you guys arguing to the contrary on this issue. Hope we are able to achieve our common goals, for the good of the country.
punaise @ 60
Ya I almost dropped the phone after she said that. That’s when I realized I couldn’t support them any more.
sort of off topic, but skippy found a powerful, albeit disturbing youtube video about the war: psycho killer.
.
.
Hugh @ 17
Let me echo egregious @ 57. Here in NJ, Senator Menendez also voted for the torture bill. It was a deal-breaker for Mr. NJProgressive, who will not vote for Menendez [he won’t vote for Baby Kean, either]. Me, I’m holding my nose and voting for Menendez because the most important issue for me in 2006 is which party will have the majority in the coming congress. I would much rather have Patrick Leahy [heaven preserve him] as chair of the Judiciary Committee than Arlen Specter, who hopes that the courts will overturn the torture bill.
Off-topic but important and useful (I wont make a habit of off-topics, I promise). DKos has a useful diary up on responding to the dirty trick robocall scandel going on now via the GOP. There are reporters interested in the story and desiring to hear from targets. There is another diary with info on how you can deal with robocalls in a manner that will lead to a nice lawsuit (against the perps, not you). When you get a chance take a read.
Where does it stop? You hold your nose and vote for someone who probably held their nose when they voted for torture (which is exactly what they did).
And we triangulate with the best of them. Not criticizing because I understand the pragmatist’s view. But I made my peace with NO votes for any rep who condoned torture with their “aye”. That’s my benchmark.
punaise @ 53
me too!
egregious @ 50
Arch-revival……checking in. Semi. Wife U of M grad
As a former constiuent. Bless the anti-difink souls. As Jennyftb mentioned and I would add in difinks honor. How long must one hold their nose?
Eureka - yes, I saw that. What a perfect choice to send to Iraq to train Iraqi police.
I’m glad they won’t be sending him to be “targeted” and I hope that everyone else who is there and currently being targeted because of his actions and decisions, and because of command failure after failure (including the nonsense of not giving this guy a dishonorable discharge and/or sufficient sentence to make Iraqis feel as if justice was done). After all - why have one of the guys who started the fire burn in it?
Egregious - love you, don’t agree, and don’t begin to understand the reasoning, unless you are saying that Brown was ‘forced’ to support torture so he could be a Senator. If so, what kind of person makes that choice? Not a good one.
If I refused to do anything until faced with a pure choice, then I wouldn’t be defending my country.
That’s my view, and I totally respect other people that view the torture bill as a complete line in the sand.
I am only trying to plead that we have multiple goals and need to carry them out in order, which might barely work IF we all pull together.
I do not consider this triangulating.
Eureka Springs, AR @ 69
Eureka, my poor nose is red from holding it all these years. Basta!
Egregious -
I respect you too.
Mary4, yes, that is the basis of my argument, that his choice was vote yes or lose the Senate race. He viewed that the greater good would be served by joining the Senate and pushing for changes once there.
If he continues to vote against our conscience once he’s in the Senate, I will be in the vanguard of running someone against him the next primary.
Ask Don Young how pleasant it is to have me as an enemy, after Benson chases him out of Congress.
During the Viet Nam war, a protestor stood outside the White house, with a candle. Every
night, for weeks. He stood in the cold, in the rain. One day a reporter came up to him, and
asked, “Do you really think, with your candle, you’re going to change White House Policy?”
“No,” he said, “I’m sure I won’t change White House policy. But that’s not why I’m doing
this.”
“Then why are you doing this?” the reporter asked.
“So that White House policy doesn’t change me.”
And in a stunning surprise shocker driven by disaffection among bloggers, Dianne Feinstein loses to Dick Mountjoy, turning control of the Senate to the Republicans.
a symbolic non-vote for DiFink is easy - she’s going to win regardless, so there really is no hard choice. this is nowhere near the moral conundrum of the Brown/Menendez/torture scenario.
punaise @ 77
I agree. I am not noble here; if Difi were in danger of losing, I would vote for her.
punaise @ 77
It’s a tough one. Frankly, I was disappointed when Ned Lamont backed the Israeli massacre in Lebanon. He called it “Israel’s right to defend itself.” He only made one statement about it, to my knowledge, in answer to a direct question, and it was not widely publicized but it gave me pause. I understood why he said it but I disliked his view nonetheless.
Politics is basically a crummy game and there’s always going to be some issue that makes you unhappy. But torture is just too much.
whoa, Shuster reporting that Webb is gonna file charges against the Rethugs!
Sorry for the OT, but –
HEADS UP, EVERYONE!
Robocalled? A Kossack has lawyers and reporters from NATIONAL MEDIA lined up to talk to you!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/6/142133/889
angie @ 80
WOO WOO!!!!!
speaking of slam dunks, DEPU’d from last night:
punaise @
141
Primordial Ooze @ 76
It would almost be worth it to see feinstein gone. At least with a rethug in office you no where the enemy is and where he stands.
punaise @ 83
Vote soon, and often.
lol
I accidently lost a link to an article last week mentioning we had forty thousand detainees in Iraq (not the normally mentioned fourteen). Tried to find it with my non-existent google skills. If anyone runs across it sometime, please share.
Well punaise, at least we have a weed measure on our local ballot. On the state level a pro bingo for non profit fund raising measure. I like the Berkeley choice best, since it’s in Yoo’s neighborhood.
nj progressive @ 64
Not only Menendez, but also Lautenberg voted for the torture bill.
That’s why I have a Rush Holt, but no Bob Menendez sign in my front yard.
But I will vote for Menendez (this one time) for only one reason - he’s on the Democratic ticket. That said, anyone who voted for Military Commissions has a two stike count and a high fastball on the way.
angie @
80
Link please, Angie?
Balrog @ 88
No link– it was live on msnbc. I have been searching since, to no avail.
First thing I have heard repuking the bad info passed on by robocalling from the RNC…
new thread
Mary4,Thank You for that post.
What I am concerned about, and have seen little coverage about, is what will the Pres
do to punish those who do not support him.
Margot @ 37
you do NOT have to be hospitalized
if you call you local Registrar Of Voters office, inform them that you are a “shut-in” person, and ask them, they should send a Deputy Registrar Of Voters to your house to help you vote
in California, this service is available for 29 days before the election
I know this because I’ve been a deputy Registrar of voters in the past, and I’ve done this type of work before
Time to boycott Procter & Gamble. Executives there are the money and energy behind Common Sense
Ohio. Negative ads about dems, push-polling in Tennessee, big backers of Ohio Sec of State Blackwell, these guys are horror shows. They use all their P&G training to figure out how to target people. One guy was actually head of their global privacy/security effort. Learned a lot of this at tpmcafe.com
Boycotting P&G gets them where they live.
My biggest question right now is how much these leading margins the Dems appear to have in Ohio today will have shrunk by the time the Blackwell machinery gets through with them tomorrow. I think some of the Democrats in the state may still win, but having suffered through 04 in this state, I have no ability to hope left.
Unfortunately, as I’ve been saying, the only way to fix the electoral system in Ohio is to win a crooked election being run by a guy who’s running for Governor and will stop at nothing to get that office. (Ken Blackwell: Ohio’s answer to Tom DeLay).
Remember to vote for O’Neill and Espy for Ohio Supreme Court. That O’Neill with an “N” as in no money from no body.