Ohio 2nd Blog

Rep. Tim Ryan on the House floor.

(via BSB)

DKos has a diary remembering some prophetic words by Lloyd Bentsen from the VP debate against Dan Quayle:

BROKAW: Senator Bentsen, you were a businessman before you entered the U.S. Senate. Let me offer you an inventory if I may: Lower interest rates, lower unemployment, lower inflation and an arms control deal with the Soviet Union. Now two guys come through your door at your business and say, “We’d like you to change,” without offering a lot of specifics. Why would you accept their deal?

BENTSEN: You know, if you let me write $200 billion worth of hot checks every year, I could give you an illusion of prosperity, too. (Laughter and applause) This is an administration that has more than doubled the national debt, and they’ve done that in less than eight years. They have taken this country from the No. 1 lender nation in the world to the No. 1 debtor nation in the world. And the interest on that debt next year, on this Reagan-Bush debt of our nation, is going to be $640 for every man, woman, and child in America because of this kind of a credit-card mentality. So we go out and we try to sell our securities every week, and hope that the foreigners will buy them. And they do buy them. But every time they do, we lose some of our economic independence for the future. Now they’ve turned around and they’ve bought 10 percent of the manufacturing base of this country. They bought 20 percent of the banks. They own 46 percent of the commercial real estate in Los Angeles. They are buying America on the cheap. Now, when we have other countries that can’t manage their economy down in Central and South America, we send down the American ambassador, we send down the International Monetary Fund, and we tell them what they can buy and what they can sell and how to run their economies. The ultimate irony would be to have that happen to us, because foreigners finally quit buying our securities.

Go Vote.

BTW, check out the new NBS blog for blow by blow coverage.

No squeakers this time for Congresswoman Schmidt in her decisive victory for the wild card spot to take on Katherine Harris in Wonkette’s Congressional Catfight.

Please Congress… please censure Jimmy Carter. Man that would be so great! Just what Americans are looking for in these upcoming elections. LOL

It’s like watching a giant slow motion train wreck. Let’s just hope that they don’t drag us all down with them. (If they haven’t already)

(via Crooks & Liars)

Today I ‘m happy to confirm Editor’s earlier comment and officially announce that I am now working as Communications Director for Bob Shamansky’s campaign in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District.

I’ve spent most of the past year working as an aide to Maj. Paul Hackett. Shortly after that race ended, I came to Columbus to have breakfast with Dale Butland, Col. John Glenn’s former campaign manager and one of the top advisors on the Hackett for Senate Campaign. He told me he had signed on as a sr. consultant to the Shamansky Campaign, and encouraged me to check out Bob’s campaign.

I looked at Shamansky’s website and his issues – which are all spot on – but what’s really inspiring are his personal story and the reason’s he is running.

Bob Shamansky isn’t a career politician. Bob’s a Korean War veteran. He served from 1950-52 as a Special Agent in the United States Army’s Counter-Intelligence Corps (CIC). He’s an Ohio State University and Harvard Law graduate and a successful businessman. In 1980, the year of the “Reagan Revolution” Bob was the only Democrat to defeat an incumbent Republican congressman.

I got the opportunity to talk to Bob before coming on board. He told me he didn’t need a job – that he’s not running because he wants to make some kind of career move. He’s genuinely concerned about the direction our country has taken, the war in Iraq, access to affordable health care and the energy crisis that we’re all facing.

When I first started working in politics – as an intern for Ted Strickland in his Marietta office – Ted’s communications director Jess Goode (now communications director on the gubernatorial race) told me to “never work for a guy you don’t believe in.” I’ve taken that advice to heart. I believe in Bob for a lot of the same reasons I believed in Hackett. Check him out… I think you’ll believe in him too.

With a comfortable 300 point margin over 2nd place Tom Tancredo (R-CO) Congresswoman Jean Schmidt is so far blowing away the competition in the voting for the wildcard spot in Wonkette’s Congressional Catfight. The winner will take on the victor of the Harris vs. Pelosi battle.

DL Cincinnati has up an interview with Democratic 35th district State Representative candidate Karen Adams. Karen was one of the main boots on the ground in the Hackett phenom, so it’s great to see her getting out in front of the podium.

Republican Congressional candidate Deborah Kraus has turned her campaign site into a blog. Smart way to keep her voice out there.

Congresswoman Jean Schmidt was one of four members of the House Committee on Government Reform to vote against giving citizens of the District of Columbia a voting representative in the House. The bill had one Conservative Republican heavy hitter lobbying for the legislation:

In a highly unusual move, one legislator who initially gave a speech denouncing the bill as unconstitutional wound up changing his mind after he conferred outside the room with former GOP congressmen Jack Kemp, who is working with (chairman) Davis on the issue.

In announcing his turnabout, Dan Burton (R-Ind.) declared: “I’d like to say we should support this as a civil rights step.”

(via DCist)