Ohio 2nd Blog

Word is that Jean Schmidt is turning monied heads thanks to an internal poll showing the Congresswoman holding a 68% lead over Phil Heimlich in next year’s Republican primary. They’re also pleasantly surprised that her negatives are starting to go down now that her minority status has relegated her to naming post offices, flying around the world on the tax payer’s dime, and bringing the bacon to downtown Cincinnati. Republicans losing power was probably the best thing that could have happened to her. I’m told that they’re planning on releasing it in a few weeks. Schmidt released a similar one last time around against McEwen.

We’re also waiting for the announcement from “Time Waster” Tom Brinkman to enter the race as well so that he can insure a Schmidt primary victory by splitting the anti-mean vote. Personally, we here at the Ohio 2nd sports desk would love to see a Schmidt Brinkman one on one right wingnut v. right wingnuttier death match just for the pure blissful carnage that would ensue. Surely there must be a job as Indian Hill dog catcher that can be pawned off on Heimlich so that we can get the blood fest that the voters demand. If I were a Republican I’d be contacting my Party chair now.

This year your humble editor has been slacking pretty bad when it comes to updating everyone with the latest news about the district. While much of it can be chalked up to I’ve got my own damned problems, part of it comes from the fact that the district is so hot as a target, and Schmidt so wonderful as a nemesis that it blogs itself. I’ve reached a sort of zen nirvana where by doing nothing everything happens. It is a thing of beauty.

You can tell that we are witnessing the blessed final collapse of the Reagan revolution by how voraciously Republicans are eating themselves alive. What in the 80s was cynical, masterful hypocrisy has two decades later become the moronic rantings of a horribly inbred lineage. Bereft of ideas, goals, or moral compass, those of us who have suffered through decades of being right now get to enjoy as the devil collects his interest on their collective Faustian bargain.

Case in point the perverse orgy of self cannibalism currently going on in Southern Ohio.

Lets start with The Banks project. Congresswoman Schmidt, desperate to be able to take credit for anything besides turning Jack Murtha into a household word, does what any good Representative does by trying to bring some much needed public works projects to her district. But instead of having the measly few billions rubber stamped like everyone else’s, she gets hit by a massive smack down by neighboring Congressman Steve Chabot, Minority Leader Leader John Boehner, and the White House itself in the form of the locally beatified Budget Director Rob Portman.

When an entity stands for nothing but power, it’s easy to interpret its actions. In the case of a loyal right wing trooper like Congresswoman Schmidt becoming the cheese that stands alone, it’s obvious that the action tells us that she is completely on the outs from her own Party. Believe what you will from the mouthpieces, but in 08 Jean Schmidt will be fighting this one without the help from the beltway black hats.

In terms of tactics, it’s pretty understandable. Ask yourself, would you rather dump another million dollars on the political sinkhole that Jean Schmidt has turned the 2nd district into, or instead invest it in knocking out a lightweight like Zack Space and gaining some much needed momentum?

The other example that I’ve been enjoying has been the falling out of Tom Brinkman with his once patron The Whistleblower. Brinkman’s crime? Voting for the Strickland budget. God forbid you try to actually accomplish something.

There has been every indication that Brinkman will take on Schmidt again since he’s being term limited from his gig as State Rep. A bloody, I’m more right wing than you, three way slugfest will be the perfect prelude for liberals looking forward to the general: Jean Schmidt once again the Republican standard bearer holding a cool quarter of a million dollars of additional debt.

Brinkman is one of the tragic figures of the 2nd district. There’s a fine line between being an idealistic maverick and an opportunistic gray hat. Time and time again Brinkman has overplayed his hand placing him squarely in with the gray hats. And any follower of westerns knows what happens to gray hats.

It will be interesting to see what sort of career opportunities an unemployed, ineffective professional homophobe like Tom Brinkman might have in Southern Ohio. I hear they might be hiring in Piketon.

From the rumor mill…

Word is that Wulsin already has some DCCC muscle working with her: one for message, and one for finance. It seems that she’s already working the phones hard locking up the prized early bird cash.

Also, many are giving Vic props for the early declaration move stifling primary competition. That hasn’t stopped several potential players from considering a stab at it. Personally, your humble editor feels that the state house races offer greater potential gains than a single term Dem in the House and wonders if some of the talent couldn’t be distributed all along the ticket. Ted could definitely use some help out there in Columbus.

The big question has to be about what the landscape will look like in a Presidential year. Turnout is going to be high… that means Republican turnout is going to be very high. Will the person the Dems serve up be able to draw away straight thinking Republicans? Will Republicans be thinking that the Schmidt they know is better than the…?

Finally, on the Schmidt front, word has it that a dark horse local blue blood is considering a run in an attempt to restore dignity to the house that Rob built. With Brinkman chumming up the waters it’s difficult to see how anyone can take the Congresswoman in the primary. Nevertheless, many Dems are concerned that their beloved foe won’t be available to kick around come November. One can only hope.

p.s. it’s good to see that Barry Bennett reads our humble little publication.

It’s been a while, but I couldn’t really sit on this one:

Word has it that Russ Arey, Democratic State Central Member for the 14th District, and Vice-Chair of the Clermont County Democratic Party has been indicating to local playas that he’s intending to run in the 2nd. Supposedly it’s with the encouragement of Governor Ted Strickland and ODP Chair Chris “Talk To Me” Redfern. Certainly two good friends to have in your corner. Russ is a one of the most dynamic figures in Southern Ohio politics. It will be fun to see him on the stump.

As for Dr. Vic Wulsin, whose razor thin loss embarrassed the local and national Democratic power brokers, she has been sited in the Beltway since being rejected for a cabinet position in the Strickland administration. Many think she deserves another match against the Congresswoman. Personally, I wonder what she can bring to the table to match the perfect storm that was 2006.

On the Republican side Phil Heimlich, Tom Brinkman, and Joe “I like handing Republican seats to Democrats on a silver platter” Deters are rumored to be considering taking Congresswoman Schmidt on. At this point I don’t see any of them as being serious threats against her. Heimlich is damaged goods… Brinkman’s already blown his play… and Dieters, well nuff said. Besides, Schmidt’s survived two of the most grueling, back to back, elections one could imagine. Her minority status actually gives her a nice buffer since she can no longer be blamed for not accomplishing anything. Keep her head down and she’ll be almost impossible to beat. That is, unless…

The big question on everyone’s lips is what about Paul. Certainly, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters all but made the seat a lock for Major Hackett. However, these days the I just want to serve my county fresh from Iraq political neophyte has been ground into dust and replaced with a weary, battle scarred, cynical veteran thanks to the criminal conspiracy known as American politics. Talk to him about Congress and he’s got much worst things to say about the Democrats and their non binding resolutions than either Jean Schmidt or George “son of a bitch” Bush. As for his legacy: Hell, I got to call the President of the United States a chicken hawk on the cover of the New York Times. I’m happy with that. Legacy indeed.

You do have to ask yourself how serious Ted Strickland, Chris Redfern and the DCCC are about winning the 2nd when they haven’t even spoken to Paul Hackett about running again. Word is from many circles that the Governor simply doesn’t like the man who raised so much money for him in the past. What politics and like have to do with each other is beyond me. You couldn’t kill for the press Hackett’s been getting, and his hash criticism of both sides on such issues as immigration and the Iraq war would make sure that he’ll move a conservative lock like the 2nd straight into the top tier for the Democrats. Not that he wants the job, but it does make you wonder how strong the Democrats will to win really is.

The one thing that I really hate about Democratic politics in Ohio is that it resembles more a high school clique than a political machine. Say what you will about Karl Rove, but he never let his feelings distract him from the score board.

UPDATE: Ironic that this was happening in Hackett’s neighborhood last night.

In a thread over at Project Logic I was asked about my opinion of the poll leaked by the Wulsin campaign and the validity of what it said as well as comparing Vic’s performance to Paul’s. Here’s an updated version of my reply:

(more…)

I’m going to be posting links here in the comments as I find them. If you’ve got anything, stand up.

• Blue Chip Review > Tom Brinkman Sounds Off On Jean Schmidt
• The Fix > Ohio Primary Day Primer
  Dems in the 2nd should read this just to get an idea of how the beltway views this race.
• BizzyBlog > Second District 2006 Primary Collection
  BizzyBlog is the keeper of the case against Bob McEwen.
• BSB > Those Pesky Undecideds - Subodh Close
• ODP chimes in on the situation in Clermont County.

UPDATE: From the Strickland for Governor campaign:

We’ve been hearing reports of irregularities and malfunctions today with new machines, particularly in Cleveland. If you hear anything or have a specific story about a voting experience gone wrong, we have a reporting function on the site that we’ll be using to press this issue over the coming days and weeks:

http://www.tedstrickland.com/blog/355/let-us-know-about-your-voting-experience

Let me know if you have any questions!

—-
Jesse Taylor
Director of Online Communications
Strickland for Governor

http://www.tedstrickland.com/blog

UPDATE 2: Handcounts in Clermont County?????

Lots of interesting Chandra news over @ BSB. Go check it out. Action items and everything. Keep scrolling and go back a page of two. This story is intense. This one is fun too… Chandra is relentless. Imagine having someone that’s that much of a fighter and that right and that good on our side.

Jacobs for Congress has a lot of GOTV events happening going up to the primary. I’ve added some pics from them too. I haven’t heard anything from the other candidates.

I’ll be honest with you. I’m worried about the 2nd. McEwen and Schmidt are so tainted, and so bad, and so out of touch with reality that it should be possible for someone serious to knock a few out of the park. Everyone’s written off the 2nd even thought we’ve got two of the biggest jokes in Congress trying to out sue and out extreme and out wacko each other. Will someone step up? This isn’t about what you want. This isn’t about what’s important to you. This isn’t about how frustrated or angry or idealistic you are. This is about convincing… yes selling voters the idea that you can best serve their interests in Washington.

Right now we’ve got two guys that have convinced enough people that what’s really important to people in the 2nd district is families not having the right to make their own medical decisions, and everyone following their faith, and protecting HMOs instead of your grandparents, and wasting trillions on corporate welfare, and invading every Middle Eastern country that even looks at us funny. What person living in the real world puts these things on the top of their TODO list? Please… somebody… show them that these twisted, corrupt, hateful, opportunistic, shells of human beings are wrong. Is it really that hard? Can you put down the idealistic frustration and anger long enough to show people a better way?

Go read the local Republican blogs. It’s not like anyone is bursting at the seams waiting to vote for these guys. How many times do you have to read Hey… I voted for Minamyer or don’t blame me, I voted for Tom Brinkman to realize that they’ve got nothing? NOTHING. Still… folks… I don’t care how much they suck… people ain’t switching teams unless you bring a realistic, rational, simple, human alternative that they are willing to support. You’ve got five minutes before they’re gone. Ready? Tell them: why you? GO.

OK… enough from me. I’m tired and off to bed. Wake me if a candidate does anything.

The Republican side of the primary continues to be the most dramatic. After weeks of bad press for Congresswoman Jean Schmidt it’s time for Bob McEwen to be on the receiving end.

The Enquirer today came out with a pair of in depth stories on McEwen, detailing his recent career as a Washington lobbyist as well as the continuing questions of his residency. McEwen campion The Whistleblower was quick to label them as smears and hit pieces in tomorrow’s issue. Blogger Axinar came down on the side of McEwen really being a resident of Virginia.

While the general information contained in the pieces is nothing new, one specific bit did stand out:

…McEwen, who served on the House Intelligence Committee while in Congress, said most of his lobbying has been for international clients, such as the Republic of Uzbekistan, which hired the firm in 2002 to help the country secure U.S. aid after it helped with the war on terror in Afghanistan. “We could not have done the operation in Afghanistan without the cooperation of Uzbekistan,” McEwen said.

Uzbekistan has a very troubled recent history. From the Wikipedia:

…credible non-government human right watchdogs, such as IHF, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, as well as United States Department of State and Council of the European Union define Uzbekistan as “an authoritarian state with limited civil rights” and express profound concern about “wide-scale violation of virtually all basic human rights”. According to the reports, the most widespread violations are torture, arbitrary arrests, and various restrictions of freedoms: of religion, of speech and press, of free association and assembly. The reports maintain that the violations are most often committed against members of religious organizations, independent journalists, human right activists, and political activists, including members of the banned opposition parties. In 2005, Uzbekistan was included into Freedom House’s “The Worst of the Worst: The World’s Most Repressive Societies”

Still, I can’t really see Republicans having a problem with McEwen’s lobbying for foreign dictatorships given the activities on behave of such nations as Saudi Arabia by the Bush clan and their allies.

On the plus side the McEwen campaign issued a press release stating that most of the candidates that ran in last years special election are backing him for Congress. Included in the release were Doug Mink, Eric Minamyer, Tom Brinkman, and Steve Austin. The most surprising endorsement comes from Eric Minamyer who was a big backer of Jean Schmidt when she was running against Paul Hackett.

BizzyBlog gives a breakdown of each of the endorsers.

Bad news for Congresswoman Schmidt. No split to the anti-Schmidt vote.

“It’s more important that we restore integrity and honor to that office than that I become a congressman,’’ Brinkman said in endorsing McEwen Wednesday.

In a press conference at Hamilton County Republican Party headquarters Wednesday morning, Brinkman said he had polling done in the seven-county congressional district which he said showed that either he or McEwen could defeat Schmidt in a head-to-head race, but that Schmidt would win a three-way race.

The Enquirer “blog” has an angry reply to Brinkman cutting off a cake version of her head in effigy by the Congresswoman. This is going to be fun!

Proving once again that Tom Brinkman’s reputation as one of the least effective members of the Ohio House Legislature is well earned, the Columbus Dispatch is reporting that the bill Brinkman is sponsoring to prevent gays from adopting Children is already being slammed by Republican and Democrat leaders. Speaker Jon A. Husted’s Chief of Staff Scott Borgemenke commented yesterday:

“Most reasonable people would have a preference for being in a loving, alternative setting rather than an abusive, heterosexual setting. I don’t think that’s a partisan issue. I think that’s the truth. There’s a growing concern within the Republican party of continuing to introduce this divisive legislation. We don’t think there’s some cottage industry of homosexual adoptions. We do believe people are losing their jobs.“

HOLY COW! A Republican that actually cares about all the jobs sailing out of Ohio.

Ohio Democratic Party Chair Rep. Chris Redfern added the final nail on this waste of time, indicating that Democrats will join with Republicans to ensure the bill never gets to a vote. It’s nice to see some bipartisanship in Columbus for a change!

Ashville Republican Ron Hood, the legislation’s chief sponsor, has indicated that he will introduce it again and against until it reaches the floor. Cincinnati’s own Citizens for Community Values has lauded Rep. Hood’s efforts.

Ohio 2nd’s villiage idiot The Whistleblower in tomorrows edition makes the case for why this exercise is nothing more than gay bashing hate at the tax payer’s expense:

Left-wing blogs are now calling “TaxKiller Tom” a “Gay Basher,” just because he’s supporting a bill trying to prevent perverts from adopting children. Maybe why won’t they mention his new campaign slogan that says, “I May Be Misguided and Cruel, But At Least I’m Not a Flaming Faggot.”

Promoting unpassable or unconstitutional legislation as a method of grabbing headlines is a tremendous waste of tax payer dollars. If Brinkman was really such a “Tax Killer” he’d resign and save us all a lot of money.

A Republican would really have to work hard to make themselves look worst than Jean Schmidt. Congratulations Tom Brinkman!