Ohio 2nd Blog

Steven Clemens gives an interesting perspective on a lunch that the American Strategy Program of the New America Foundation hosted with Richard Clarke that was written up today in the Washington Post.

In yesterday’s Post:

Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken and newly elected U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt are vowing to find out who is responsible for a hazardous railroad chemical car leak that forced more than a thousand residents out of their homes.

“Everybody is just furious about what happened, and we will leave no stone unturned finding out why it happened,” Luken said Monday. “It is inexcusable. My guess is that several laws or regulations have been violated.”

Schmidt said finding out what went wrong and trying to prevent similar problems in the future is “my No. 1 priority.”

Some good press from Congresswoman-elect Jean Schmidt in the last day. Yesterday’s Enquirer on her apartment hunting on Washington D.C. And then in several articles on the Cincinnati Tanker Spill:

ChannelCincinnati:

Rep. Jean Schmidt said the incident pointed out a loophole in the law and a need for closer regulation of dangerous chemicals in railroad cars. She said her office would make that a top priority.

Today’s Enquirer:

Rep. Jean Schmidt, newly elected to the district that includes the tanker scene, said a congressional hearing may be needed to sort things out. We urge her not to let up until these questions are answered.

From today’s Dayton Daily News:

The Midwest was the only region in the country in which income levels declined and poverty levels increased in 2004, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The data, released Tuesday, showed that Ohio was one of only seven states in which the poverty rate increased last year, compared to 2003._(more…)

Mark Tapscott of The Heritage Foundation in his article Is it time for conservatives to dump the GOP states that the GOP is in serious need of an intervention:

Incredibly, after a decade of GOP control, the federal government is bigger, more powerful, costs more and is less accountable than it was when the Democrats were thrown out by voters in 1994 after four decades of mostly uncontested rule.

How would an intervention work on the political scene? I don’t have that answer. Some people suggest withholding campaign contributions. Others predict conservatives will stay at home in droves in the 2006 elections, possibly handing the Democrats a bunch of new seats in Congress and revived hopes of taking back the White House in 2008. (more…)

The easiest and only proven legal way for the public to send a message to a politician is to vote them out of office.

(via Porkopolis)

Interesting piece by Joe Gandelman on the quality of political dialog in this country.

Somewhere along the line it became fashionable and in the eyes of some intelligent to simply dump on political opponents. Blast them. Insult them. Demonize them. Suggest that they rub the palms of their hands in glee, with a mad look in their eyes, and seek to destroy the country. _(more…)

I’m beginning to wonder if the Club for Growth has a problem with female Republicans? They tried this against now Congresswoman-elect Schmidt in the primary.

Potential politicians that might not suck

Not sucking is very important in the blogosphere.

There is something very important to be said about being real. Ross Perot was the all time master of it, IMHO. You can get alot of people behind you simply by being real.

Every now and then I coin phrases. Here’s my latest:

I’m not anti-war. I’m anti-stupid.

I’d like to read press reports that start with lines like: Anti-stupid activists gathered in Crawford Texas…

Jean Schmidt’s night of dinner and football gifted to her by the California biotech company Chiron Corporation that she failed to report is back in the news. AP is reporting that the legislative inspector general sent information on lobbyist Richard Colby to Attorney General Jim Petro on Friday. Although Congresswoman-elect Schmidt is no longer under the committee’s jurisdiction since she was voted out of office, one could assume if the three lawmakers are charged with the same failure to report charge that Gov. Bob Taft was convicted of any legal action by the Attorney General could also be applied to Ms. Schmidt.