Swing State Ohio

From Congressional Quarterly:

A close past association with now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff has put long-popular Republican Rep. Bob Ney at risk as he seeks a seventh term in Ohio’s 18th District.

The Democrats’ intent to aim squarely at Ney’s Achilles’ heel was inherent in a TV ad released Monday by Chillicothe Mayor Joe Sulzer — which says “a culture of corruption in Washington” has rendered the government incapable of curbing rising gas prices and the outsourcing of Americans’ jobs to other countries, issues troubling many voters in the mainly working-class 18th.

With an ongoing continuing federal investigation into Abramoff’s Capitol Hill contacts clouding Ney’s re-election prospects, CQPolitics.com has moved the 18th District race into its No Clear Favorite, or tossup, category, from Leans Republican.

The fact is, the district does more than lean repubilcan, it is republican. Fortunately for democrats, Ney is unwilling to step out of the race despite the fact that he will likely be indicted before the general election. Stick in there Bob, you can do it!

Howard Wilkinson, of the Cincinnati Enquirer - "The scandals that have rocked Columbus over the past year have the Ohio GOP nervous about losing their long-lived grip on state government."

State Sen. Tom Niehaus, R-New Richmond - "It's going to be a tough year for Republicans no matter who we run for governor."

Ohio GOP Chairman Robert T. Bennett - "My hope is that we emerge from this primary without too much blood on the floor within the family."

A recent Washington Post article points out that "some Republicans say privately they hope that Rep. Bob Ney, mentioned in the scandal spawned by lobbyist Jack Abramoff, will withdraw after he wins his primary on May 2."

Mike Dewine - "We all run in the environment that exists. I can't change it."

Of the Gubernatorial race, Bob Bennett predicted that "It's going to be a $20 million race in an environment that is gloomy right now, but it's early yet."

James Harris, Replubican challenger to Bob Ney in the 18th district said of Ney, ""I think he’s running scared. I think he’s worried about his waiver running out and a possible indictment in April."

Meanwhile, on the National front Rumsfeld has a few reasons to be scared as well.

Have more examples? Share them in the comments.

Dictionary.com defines a pathological liar as "a person who lies to the point of it being considered a disease or condition, an abnormally habitual liar."

Most politicians tend to stretch the truth a bit while they are in office. Whether is is George Bush's assertion that "Iraq has WMD's" or Bill Clinton's "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." examples can be found throughout American history. The distinction lies in the last part of the definition quoted above: an abnormally habitual liar.

In the paragraphs below, I'll explain why I feel that Jean Schmidt is an abnormally habitual liar. To make my point, I've numbered several instances in which Schmidt has not only stretched the truth, but has intentionally lied to voters in an attempt to make herself look better, or her opponent look worse.


Lie #1: Denied that she knew Tom Noe

July 31st 2005, from Swing State Project:

This morning's CBS 12 "Newsmakers" program, Jean Schmidt lied to the voters – only two days before the election. In an effort to cover up Jean Schmidt's involvement in the scandalous culture of corruption, Schmidt said she didn't know Tom Noe. Schmidt said she'd never met Tom Noe. Schmidt said she had never even heard of Tom Noe. The woman with the "file-card memory" lied.

You see, Jean Schmidt was Vice Chair of the Higher Education
Subcommittee of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee. During
the same period, Tom Noe was a member of the Board of Regents.

In fact, on March 21, 2002, official state documents prove Jean Schmidt testified before Tom Noe's committee.

Lie #2: Swift-Boated a veteran on the day of the primary

August 2nd 2005, from Cincinnati News:

The Schmidt Campaign released a press release Monday alleging that Paul Hackett has been misleading voters by "touting that he will be the first Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran to serve in Congress." According to the press release, "that is untrue."

The release goes on to explain that "Republican Congressman Mark Steven Kirk of Illinois served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Kirk is a Naval Reserve intelligence officer who is the only member of Congress to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom."

According to a USA Today Candidate Profile, Kirk "continues to serve one weekend a month in the Pentagon, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff war room during Operation Iraqi Freedom."

I went on to explain at Cincinnati News that:

I would hardly consider a politician spending "one weekend a month" in the Pentagon to be a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Most definitions of veteran include the phrase "active duty status." Active duty status refers to "full-time duty in the active military service of the United States." Given these criteria, the situation becomes much more clear. Mark Steven Kirk was a politican in D.C. when the conflict began, and he was a politician in D.C. when he spent one weekend a month at the Pentagon during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The DCCC Stakeholder blog put it this way:

And yes, this is a real press release, and yes putting that out on the last day of the campaign so that nobody has a chance to blast you for it is one of the most pathetically cowardly things I've seen.

Incredibly, the original press release is still hosted on Jean Schmidt's website.

Lie #3: Tried to blame shameful comments on Ohio State Rep. Danny Bubp.

November 22nd 2005, from Think Progress(emphasis added):

During Rep. Jean Schmidt’s (R-OH) shameful attack on Rep. Jack Murtha (D-PA) on the House Floor she said she was communicating a message from Marine Colonel Danny Bubp:

A few minutes ago I received a call from Colonel Danny Bubp, Ohio Representative from the 88th district in the House of Representatives. He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do. Danny and the rest of America and the world want the assurance from this body – that we will see this through.

Bubp denies he said that:

Danny Bubp, a freshman state representative who is a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, told The Enquirer that he never mentioned Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., by name when talking with Schmidt…”There was no discussion of him personally being a coward or about any person being a coward,” Bubp said.

Why can't Jean Schmidt take responsibility for her own ridiculous comments? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that she has made quite a habit of lying and getting away with it.

Lie #4: Stretched her bio to include two college degrees even though she only earned one.

April 4th 2006, From ChannelCincinnati.com(emphasis added):

The freshman congresswoman is facing a complaint about the truthfulness of her education and her endorsements.

The Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes, or COAST, has endorsed Schmidt's opponent in the GOP primary, Bob McEwen. The group claims that some of Schmidt's claimed endorsements are bogus, and instead of two bachelor degrees as stated on various biographical material, she has one.

"If it was one incident, I might think there was some merit in letting it go," COAST's Jim Urling said. "But we've got a very troubling, disconcerting pattern of misrepresentations here."

Schmidt's chief of staff, Barry Bennett, denied any such pattern. He told News 5 that a staffer mistakenly credited Schmidt with a second degree while creating a Web site six years ago, when Schmidt was in the Ohio House. Bennett said Schmidt's official Web sites were corrected a year ago.

However, News 5 found a mid-June survey from the League of Women Voters that reflects two college degrees.

I've laid out four examples with documentation that show that Jean Schmidt is an abnormally habitual liar. If I spent the time, I could probably find several more. I think Paul Hackett said it best in a recent interview with the Cincinnati Drinking Liberally group: "She's a pathological liar and we all know it..."

Perhaps someone from Schmidt's staff or even Jean herself will rebuke my claims in the comment section, but I'm not holding my breath.

He has already spent over $100,000 of campaign funds on lawyers this year, why stop there?

I initially wrote about this event here before attending.

I arrived at the new Butler County Democratic Party headquarters just before 7:00 Thursday night. When I got out of my car the first thing I saw was a smiling Paul Hackett walking toward the door. I quickly introduced myself and told Paul that it was good to see him out. He responded by saying that "it is good to be seen."

When I got into the new office (pretty nice BTW), I was disappointed by the turnout. At that point there were only 25-30 people there. Fortunately by about 7:15 another 20+ had shown up. The disappointment that stuck with me was related to the fact that I was one of the only people under the age of 35 in attendance. It would be nice to see more youthful enthusiasm for a Democratic event, especially one in which Paul Hackett was scheduled to speak.

The event finally got underway at about 7:30. BCDP Chair Dan Gattermeyer hosted the event, and began with some quick announcements. He then proceeded to introduce the first speaker, State Rep. Catherine Barrett. Barrett had a good message overall, mostly about supporting Strickland, but I wasn't really impressed with her charisma or presentation style.

Next up was Paul Hackett. Rather than standing behind the podium to address the crowd as Dan and Catherine had done, Paul chose to stand in the middle of the room so he could "move around a bit and make sure everyone heard him." Paul began by explaining that he was asked to speak at the event the day prior by Attorney General candidate Marc Dann. There was some confusion over this at the Buckeye State Blog but it seemed pretty clear to me. There was no implication that Paul was endorsing Dann, he was merely there to replace him as a keynote speaker at the event.

Paul's speech was passionate and well-prepared. He emphasized the importance of Ohio by saying that "the eyes of the nation are on Ohio in 2006." He further drove this point home by explaining that "if Ohio doesn't come through in 2006 and 2008 we will be written off for a long time." His message was mainly about the importance of supporting statewide democratic candidates such as Ted Strickland. Throughout the 15 minutes or so that he spoke, he refrained from mentioning or alluding to Sherrod Brown. The highlight for me came when Paul was talking about framing "limited government" as a democratic value. He explained that by limited government he meant that he wanted the government to stay "out of my bedroom, out of my gun safe, and out of my wife's doctor's office." At this point the crowd exploded into applause and shouts of approval. Paul then joked that he had to remind himself that he was not running for office and said "I actually believe this stuff."

After Hackett was done I quietly slipped out the back door and drove home, glad that I decided to attend.

From ohioelects.com:

Although the candidates in the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial primaries have been making speeches, meeting with editorial boards and running campaign ads, some Ohioans remain undecided about whom to support in the May 2 election.

Many Ohio voters who have made up their minds still want more details about their chosen candidates’ views on the issues.

In an effort to help Ohioans make informed choices on Election Day, The Columbus Dispatch, WBNS-10TV, the Ohio News Network and ThisWeek Community Newspapers — all members of the Dispatch Media Group — have come together to provide voters with an interactive feature called

Try Candidate Match to see how your positions line up with the four current candidates for Ohio Governor.

As I could have predicted, candidate match ranked my order of preference as: Strickland, Flannery, Petro, Blackwell.

Buckeye State Blog is reporting the following numbers from Rasmussen's April Gubernatorial and Senate race polls. The numbers are only available to "premium members" so I cannot access the information directly.

Strickland 52% (50%, 47%)
Blackwell 35% (40%, 35%)

Strickland 51% (47%, 44%)
Petro 31% (34%, 37%)

DeWine 43% (45%, 46%)
Brown 41% (42%, 37%)

Obviously, this is great news for Ted Strickland. If things keep going this way it may not even be a close race. The Senate numbers are a little harder to read but I still take it as a good sign for Brown. Although he lost 1 percentage point from last months poll, Dewine is down 2 points. It isn't much of a significant change but it does show him slowly closing the gap.

Subodh Chandra has a new campaign ad that is quickly gaining a lot of attention. The video is a Simpson's spoof that compares Subodh to Apu and Marc Dann to Homer. Click here to view the video.

Even the painfully conservative Cincinnati Enquirer endorsed Chandra this morning, pointing out that he has "a keen legal intellect, solid prosecutorial experience, management experience in a large public law firm, and an incisive view of what the AG can and should do to protect Ohioans."

From Subodh's Campaign site:

In the weeks that remain before the primary election I intend to talk with Ohioans about the squandered potential of the Ohio Attorney General's office that has been put at the disposal of the campaign contributors of the recent office holders instead of being used to further the interests of the Attorney General's real clients – the people of Ohio. I intend to make the case that – as every Ohioan already knows – our state is in trouble and that when they consider who to vote for as the next Attorney General, they should do just what they would do if their family were in trouble – hire the best attorney they can find.

Subodh Chandra is the real deal. I am confident that he will make a phenomenal attorney general and that he genuinely has the interests of Ohioans in his heart. Subodh will work tirelessly to put an end to the culture of corruption in Ohio. He has the experience, qualifications, and knowledge to get the job done; all he needs is your support.

From OH-02 Blog.

Paul Hackett, candidate for nothing, will be speaking tonight at the opening of the new Dem. Party Headquarters in Hamilton Ohio. He will be speaking at 7:00 pm at the new location of 633 High St., Ste. 105, Hamilton, OH 45011.

Any Questions about the event should be directed to the party.

Just called the party headquarters to confirm this but didn't get an answer. I'll be going to check this out shortly. If they have wireless access I'll liveblog the event, if not I'll take notes and update later.

Plunderbund actually pointed this out about six weeks ago. I came across it today and couldn't help myself.

Come on Bob, you might as well get Abramoff to stump for you.

Support Zack Space and/or Joe Sulzer.

Source.

Strong candidates and scandal-plagued Columbus Republicans give Democrats "a very good shot at running the table in Ohio" in November's election, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean opined today.

At a breakfast with reporters in Washington, Dean predicted that issues that "go to the president's and the Republicans' trustworthiness and honesty and their competency" will trump all else at the ballot box in Ohio and across the country.

Dean said he believes Franklin County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy has "a great shot" at unseating House Republican Conference Chairwoman Deborah Pryce of Columbus. He also touted the statewide candidacies of Akron's Barbara Sykes for state auditor, and Columbus' Jennifer Brunner for secretary of state.

NOW is the time to get involed in the 50 State Strategy in Ohio. If you don't have time to volunteer, you can always contribute monetarily.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

About 630,000 more people are eligible to vote May 2 than in the 2002 primary for governor and other statewide offices, but it's uncertain whether the passion of the new voters in the 2004 election will carry over to this year.

As of Tuesday, Ohio's voter rolls were 7.74 million, compared with 7.11 million for the 2002 election for governor, said James Lee, spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.

Given that turnout is historically much lower in non-presidential election years, there will be absolutely no excuse for the delays we will likely experience this November. Hopefully Blackwell doesn't try to rig this one by misappropriating voting machines again.

President Bush nominated a new White House Budget Director today.

President Bush on Tuesday nominated Trade Representative Rob Portman of Ohio as the White House budget director, turning to a Washington insider and longtime friend as part of an effort to re-energize the administration and boost the president’s record-low approval ratings.

It should come as no surprise that Portman is a true Bush loyalist with a history of sticking by the family. The Washington Post points out Portman’s longstanding ties to the Bush family.

For a White House that cherishes loyalty, it's difficult to find a more faithful supporter of the Bush dynasty than Portman, who cut his political teeth as a New Hampshire advance man on the elder Bush's 1980 presidential campaign.

Wikipedia points out that “Reagan won big in the New Hampshire primary.” This is nothing new, the Bush’s have developed a reputation for sticking by complete losers.

The WaPo article also points out several strange roles Portman has held within the Bush Jr. administration.

He also worked as a White House lobbyist in the first President Bush's administration and played the role of Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., in Dick Cheney's vice presidential debate preparations in 2000. Four years later, Portman impersonated Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., in Cheney's 2004 debate preparations.

As the transcript of Bush’s speech shows, Bush claims Portman will “be a powerful voice for spending restraint. Rob's a man of deep integrity. He knows the priorities of my administration. He can get things done.” Unfortunately for BushCo, reality paints a completely different picture of Bush’s economic agenda.

FACTCHECK on the Federal Deficit: The President promised to curb deficit spending, but said nothing about where the deficits come from.

BUSH: We can cut the deficit in half over the next five years.

FACTCHECK: Not mentioned: The projected federal surplus at the end of Bill Clinton's term have now turned to a projected federal deficit of $1.4 trillion over the next 10 years, due to Bush's two large tax cuts, large increases in federal spending, and an economic downturn. Also not mentioned: A 12.3% rise in discretionary federal spending last fiscal year followed by a 9% rise this fiscal year, as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office.

Additionally, Wikipedia notes that “Federal spending in constant dollars increased under Bush by 26% in his first four and one-half years.”

The point of all of this is quite simple: Don’t get your hopes up. When Bush says “A” he really means “B.” When he says “spending restraint” he means “record deficits.” It looks as if Rob Portman will fit into this administration quite well.

From his website.

I strongly endorse the re-election of Ohio Senator Mike DeWine in 2006. Laura and I consider Mike and Fran DeWine good friends. Mike DeWine and I share a firm commitment to keeping America safe, strengthening our education system, creating jobs, providing quality health care, and holding the line on taxes. I need Mike DeWine in Washington to continue fighting for the values we believe in.

George W. Bush
Leaker-in-Chief

If that doesn't say Rubber-Stamp I don't know what does. Bush needs Mike Dewine in Washington to maintain fundamentalist control of all three branches of the federal government. Also, unfortunately for Bush (and Dewine), only 40% of Americans approve of the president's handling of the economy. A mere 37% approve of his handling of the situation in Iraq. These two issues encompass 3 of the 5 firm commitments Dewine and Bush share.

Senator DeWine has a long and distinguished record of accomplishment for the people of Ohio, and he's earned our endorsement.

Bob Bennett
Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party

This is the same Bob Bennett that referred to Coingate as a "bipartisan scandal" and initally defended Gov. Taft despite his obvious ethical shortcomings.

One final endorsement comes from the battered Ohio Republican Party. Chris at AmericaBlog recently wrote, "The Ohio GOP is a classic example of the arrogance of power." Down With Tyranny recently noted that "The one party state of Ohio (all statewide officials and both U.S. Senators are Republicans) is notorious for allowing favored GOP campaign contributors illegal access to taxpayer funds."

If you believe in the timeless concept that "a man is known by the company he keeps," Senator Dewine will have a tough re-election campaign ahead of him.

From The Toledo Blade via Buckeye State Blog.

COLUMBUS - Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican candidate for governor, has accepted more than $1 million in contributions from employees of firms seeking business with the statewide offices he's held over the past 12 years, a Blade investigation shows.

The Blade's analysis also found that financial institutions contributing to the campaigns of Mr. Blackwell, who became secretary of state in 1999 after nearly five years as state treasurer, have given at least $1.34 million to the Ohio Republican Party. In turn, the party has shipped at least $1.29 million to Mr. Blackwell's campaigns.

In addition, firms that have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in business from the secretary of state's office under Mr. Blackwell's watch have been hired to do work for his political campaigns.

ODP Chairman Chris Redfern responded by saying that "That's the way business is done in Columbus. Want a contract? Write a check."

This is a filthy process and it should be illegal. Companies that make political contributions should be uneligible for contracts from the politicians they contribute to. The system that is set up now encourages, and even legitimizes rampant corruption.

For more info contact jessgoode@tedstrickland.com or tedstrickland.com.

Strickland to Announce Turnaround Ohio
Proposal to Improve Investment in Ohio Jobs

Also Campaigning for Sue Morano in Lorain Today

Columbus, Ohio – Ohio gubernatorial candidate Congressman Ted Strickland and running-mate Lee Fisher will announce a proposal to improve Ohio's economic development investments in order to retain, create, and attract jobs worthy of Ohio workers today at Nanofilm in Valley View.

Strickland will also attend a fundraiser for Sue Morano, the endorsed Democratic candidate for State Senate District 13, in Lorain.

Following is Strickland's public schedule for Monday, April 10, 2006.

CUYAHOGA COUNTY

WHO: Congressman Ted Strickland, candidate for Ohio governor and
Lee Fisher, candidate for lieutenant governor

WHAT: Turnaround Ohio proposal to improve investment in Ohio jobs

WHEN: 1:30 PM

WHERE: Nanofilm
10111 Sweet Valley Dr.
Valley View, Ohio 44125

LORAIN COUNTY

WHO: Congressman Ted Strickland, candidate for Ohio governor and
Sue Morano, candidate for state senate

WHAT: Speaking at fundraiser/dinner for Sue Morano

WHEN: 7:30 PM

WHERE: Lorain Party Center
2501 Leavitt Road
Lorain, Ohio 44052

This is yet another great idea from the guys at Meet The Bloggers. The political blogs in Ohio have a massive combined audience that could be very useful to candidates, businesses, etc. I like this idea a lot because it brings the control of the project into local hands. While there is nothing wrong with larger blog advertising networks like blogads, this if obviously more ideal due to the highly targeted readership. I would be interested in being involved in something like this. Hopefully I can get my traffic up to the point where this site could be useful to the network.

Update: Swing State Ohio is now a member of the network. This is an important project and I'd like to see more area bloggers take advantage of it. Contact Tim Russo via email to join the network.

Fellow Ohio bloggers,

As you know, we have been seeking ways to fund Meet The Bloggers, and would like to propose to all the bloggers in Ohio a creative way to do so.

We are exploring creating an MTB Ad Network across the blogs in Ohio, designed to create revenue which will be split among the bloggers signed onto the network, and MTB. The MTB portion of the revenue will be used exclusively to fund MTB podcast production and transcription, with the ultimate goal of creating a solid funding source for MTB going forward.

George & I have been bouncing around this idea for some time, and now that George has come up with a model for selling ads at BFD, we’d like to explore replicating it across a network of Ohio blogs. The combined audience at Ohio blogs is substantial, their demographics are attractive to advertisers, and we think by combining our readership, we can make sure that MTB will be able to continue providing high quality content.

If you are interested in signing onto the MTB Ad Network, please let us know, and give us a sense of the traffic which your blog generates daily. (email either me or George) We haven’t quite decided how to organize the network, but part of the idea is for each blog in the network to take ads statewide, and also seek out advertisers in their locality for ads targeted to your specific audience. Send us your thoughts, ideas, concerns. Once we have a good idea of which blogs want to participate, and the traffic which we can present to advertisers statewide, we’ll go from there.

Ohio Senator	9-21-05	10-31-05	1-13-06	3-27-06
Brown (D)	N/A	40%	41%	46%
DeWine* (R)	N/A	37%	37%	37%

Link.

With Ohio Gov. Bob Taft’s job approval numbers continuing as the worst in the nation, and with just over one in four (28%) giving incumbent Republican Sen. Mike DeWine good marks for his work in Washington, one of the nation’s premiere swing states appears ready for a Democratic take-over, a new Zogby Interactive poll shows.

Just 6% give Taft good marks for the job he is doing leading the state, the survey shows. In the Senate race, a head-to-head match-up against Democrat Sherrod Brown, the congressman from northeast Ohio who is giving up his seat to challenge Senator DeWine this year, Brown leads DeWine by a 46% to 37% margin.

Brown’s margin over DeWine closely mirrors the sentiments of voters statewide, who said that, by a 43% to 35% margin, Democratic Party leaders more reflect their values than Republican Party leaders. Asked whether Democratic or Republican members of the Ohio congressional delegation more shared their values, respondents favored Democrats by a 42% to 37% margin.

The good news for Ohio Republicans: likely voters statewide said that, when they think about the national congressional leaders in both parties, 40% think Republicans more share their values, and 40% think Democrats more share their values. The balance of respondents were either not sure or said neither party’s leaders reflect their values.

In the race for governor, both leading Democrats enjoyed leads over their Republican counterparts. Democratic Congressman Ted Strickland leads Republican Ken Blackwell, the secretary of state, by six points – 47% to 41% - and leads GOP state Attorney General James Petro, 46% to 31%.

Democrat Brian Flannery, a former state representative, holds small advantages over both Blackwell and Petro.

Compared to previous Zogby polls, Brown's lead was just 3% in October and 4% in January. The boost to 9% is probably a result of his improved statewide name recognition as well as the string of scandals involving the Ohio GOP.

At Ohio University.

In April 2006 the Ohio University Institute for Applied and Professional Ethics and the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism will host Blogging and Online Journalism: New Media, New Challenges, New Ethics (BOJ).

BOJ will provide an opportunity for a small group of select students to join forces with leading figures in journalism and media ethics for an intimate, in-depth exploration of one of the most interesting and dynamic areas in applied ethics.

Half conference and half workshop, BOJ is split into two sections. Each includes an introductory public lecture (see keynotes on left), a public discussion of topic by a panel of experts (see panels on left), and student workshops (see workshops on left). During the workshops, student participants will present original work for discussion by their peers and by the invited panelists.

I'm leaving for this in a few minutes, looks like it should be pretty interesting. Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to blog from there unless I find the computer lab on campus. I'll try to do so this evening and give an update.

If you are interested in checking out the keynote speeches via webcast, I've provided links below. All times are Eastern.

We The Media

Click HERE between 11:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., April 7, 2006, for a live broadcastof Dan Gillmor's keynote presentation to the 2006 Ohio University Student Conference, Blogging and Online Journalism: New Media, New Challenges, New Ethics.

Media Ethics in a Digital Age

Click HERE between 11:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on April 8, 2006, for a live broadcast of Clifford Christian's keynote presentation to the 2006 Ohio University Student Conference, Blogging and Online Journalism: New Media, New Challenges, New Ethics.

Cross-posted at My Daily Kos Diary.  Future Parts in this series include but are not limited to:  The Role of Diebold, Ken Blackwell, 2004, Voter Suppression, Swing State Status, and The Ohio GOP History of Corruption.  I will do my best to publish a new section at the rate of at least one per week.  If you would like to be notified when the other sections become available online, or if you have other information related to this you'd like to share, please contact me at josh_nelson_513@yahoo.com.


When most people think of unscrupulous elections and malfunctions with voting equipment in Ohio, they immediately think of Diebold.  Unfortunately, Diebold does not have a monopoly on such occurences, in fact, another company may be even more suspicious than Diebold.  In 2006, 28 of Ohio's 88 counties are using voting equipment purchases from Election Systems and Software, a Nebraska company that seems to have difficulties fulfilling contractual agreements to Boards of Elections throughout Ohio and the rest of the country.

"We can't guarantee anything 100 percent."  This was the official response to a reporter's question at the Summit County board meeting Tuesday regarding the reliablity of ES&S's voting equipment.  The purpose of the meeting was to provide ES&S an opportunity to explain the repeated voting equipment failues that the County has experienced in testing.

Here is what the fuss in Summit county is about:

The manufacturer of Summit County's new voting machines replaced memory cards in the machines Tuesday after continued problems in tests, the second time the cards have been replaced leading up to the May 2 primary, company and elections officials said.

During a test in March, 30 percent failed among the first batch of cards that should read and store vote tabulations, elections officials said. ES&S blamed faulty batteries embedded in each card.

ES&S's difficulties in fulfilling it's obligations are not limited to Ohio.  This example from Indiana illustrates the incompetence that ES&S is developing a reputation for.

Luzerne County officials gave their electronic voting machine vendor until noon Friday to divulge in writing whether it intends to supply machines and training in time for the primary election May 16.

The county, in a letter, threatened legal action against Election Systems & Software regarding the penalties and loss of $3 million in federal funding the county could face for missing the May 16 deadline.

ES&S had not responded to the county as of 4 p.m. Friday, said county Solicitor Neil O'Donnell.

This is not the first time ES&S equipment has caused people to doubt the validity of elections.  

One such example is the Hawaii elections in 1998:

Statement by Marion Higa, State Auditor, and Chair of Elections Oversight Committee:  "There was an obvious problem with seven voting units from Election Systems and Software -- out of 361 units used on Election Day..."  As a result of the problems, the integrity of the election was called into question. The controversy was compounded by close races which led to charges made - but with no proof offered - of all kinds of voting irregularities.

Believe it or not, this is also not the second time ES&S has been involved in headlines related to questionable business practices prior to counties in Ohio signing contracts with the company.

Election Systems and Software reached a one-point-two million dollar settlement with Marion County, Indiana.  The county clerk accused Election Systems and Software of installing uncertified software in its electronic voting machines.

Also, in Arkansas, former Election Systems and Software executive Tom Eschberger was granted immunity for his cooperation in a 2002 kickback and bribery investigation that ended with a conviction of Arkansas'secretary of state. At the time, Eschberger worked for Business Records Corporation, which later was acquired by Election Systems and Software.

As of late February 2006, Eschberger still works for ES&S.

ES&S makes the claim that "Maintaining voter confidence -- and enhancing the voting experience -- is at the core of our mission as a company."

This excerpt from an interview with ES&S executive Ken Carbullido, however, gives an entirely different impression.

I-Team: U.S. Senator Charles (Chuck) Hagel, a Republican, used to be chairman of this company when it operated as American Information Systems (AIS). The Hill, a political trade publication, reports that a Nebraska state official said ES&S machines tallied most of the senator's votes in his two elections. An investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee showed he still has financial and personal ties to your parent company, The McCarthy Group.

Carbullido: Obviously Senator Hagel, I know what his party affiliation is. But that has absolutely no influence at all in the day-to-day running and development of our equipment, running of our operations and our services. Senator Hagel might have had an affiliation some years ago, some role in the company.  He's completely out of the operation at all, has nothing to do with what we do, what we sell, how we service.  

I-Team: Aren't you concerned about appearances? What people might think?

Carbullido:  We take very seriously the responsibility we have as the world's largest provider of election systems to run and support the democratic process.

This seems like a stock answer and it also seems to me as if they do not take this responsibility seriously enough.

Additionally, this Free Press article outlines a few of the problems ES&S created in Ohio in 2004.

AUGLAIZE COUNTY -  A former employee of ES&S, "the company that provides the voting systems in Auglaize County, had access to and used the main computer that is used to create the ballot and compile election results...a violation of county board of election protocol...Mr. Nuss was suspended and then resigned."

MAHONING COUNTY - (1) voting machine errors included one precinct "recorded a negative 25 million votes"; (2) twenty to thirty "ES&S iVotronic machines needed to be recalibrated during the voting process because some votes for a candidate were being counted for that candidate's opponent"; (3) about a dozen of these machines had to be reset because they "essentially froze."  And, (4) "there were numerous reported instances of vote hopping (in which a voter selecting Kerry for President saw the choice displayed on the machine `hop' to Bush for President)."

To me, the circumstance in Mahoning County is the most frightening.  Having your vote not count is bad enough but the thought of having your vote count for your candidate's opponent is enough to make my stomach turn.

Questions for discussion:

1.  Why isn't there more accountability required for the companies that sell the equipment Ohioans use to vote?

2.  Why do so many Ohio counties blindly trust a company that has had so many well documented issues in previous elections?

3.  What kind of image does this send to Ohio's, and the country's already apathetic potential voters?

Part two on The role of Diebold will be available in the coming days.

The Associated Press reports:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell revealed Monday he accidentally invested in shares of voting-machine manufacturer Diebold Inc. last year, a period when he was sued by other manufacturers over contracts that Diebold was up for.

In a required ethics filing, Blackwell, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, said his investments are directed by an accountant and financial adviser without his knowledge or help, "similar to a blind trust."

He said a manager of his investments account at Credit Suisse First Boston bought 178 shares of Diebold stock at $53.67 per share in January 2005.

Blackwell said the manager did not follow instructions to avoid such investments.

He said 95 shares were later sold at a loss but he still held 83 shares until discovering them and liquidating them Monday, also at a loss.

He discovered them while reviewing his 2005 investments to prepare for Monday's filing with the Ohio Ethics Commission, a form required of all statewide candidates.

"While I was unaware of this stock in my portfolio, its mere presence may be viewed as a conflict and is therefore not acceptable," Blackwell said in a letter dated Monday included in his filing.

And yes, this is the same Diebold:

The head of a company vying to sell voting machines in Ohio told Republicans in a recent fund-raising letter that he is "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year."

I think anyone, especially someone involved in politics, should be aware of the fact that they own stock in such a controversial company. The kicker for me is the fact that it took him over a year to realize that he even owned the stock. This tells me that, at best, this is a case of severe negligience. How can someone who can't keep track of their own investments claim to be capable of running a state? This is yet another example of good old-fashioned Republican incompetence.

AP was kind enough to include a brief Democratic response to this news:

"If he can't manage to know what's in his checkbook, why would the people of Ohio want to trust this man with the state's checkbook?" said Brian Rothenberg, spokesman for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Brian got it right. Ken Blackwell clearly cannot be trusted.

Update: Commenter KingOneEye on My Daily Kos Diary raised some worthwhile questions:

I don't know what the laws are in Ohio regarding public officials investments, but if they are required to have blind trusts, then how did he ever find out about the Diebold stock? If blind trusts are not required, then how did the stock ever get purchased in the first place?

As far as I can tell, according to Ohio Ethics Law, it does not specify that they are required to have blind trusts. The only requirement regarding investments seems to be that anything over $1000 must be reported.

From DownWithTyranny! via Upper Arlington Progressive Action:

Earlier today a friend of mine who works at MoveOn.org sent me an incredible ad that explains to Columbus, Ohio voters what a total doofus they have for a representative in Congress, Deborah Pryce.

Anyway, this same friend writes me a few hours later to tell me that the NBC-owned station in Columbus, WCMH (as well as the NBC station in Connecticut, WVIT) rejected the ads. The reason I'm so angry is because the Columbus station ran the fraudulent and slanderous Swift Boat ads against John Kerry.

Move on responded almost immediately:

"Today we launched our campaign to let voters know that their representatives have consistently sided with corporate interests over the interests of their constituents. We expected Republicans to respond, but we didn't expect two local NBC stations owned by GE to refuse to run our ad. Isn't it ironic that Swift Boat Veterans can lie on TV but we can't tell the truth?

"We think it's outrageous for NBC to censor our ad, and wonder if this reflects the well-known right-wing leanings of their parent company, GE. What other explanation could there be for an Ohio NBC station refusing to run our well-sourced, entirely factual ad, while airing the Swift Boat Veterans' deceptive ads in 2004? NBC has a responsibility to be balanced and serve the public, just like the 33 other stations that are running the ad.

"NBC claims the ad is misleading, but they refuse to say specifically what is misleading about the ad. We provided evidence for every fact in our ads in the substantiation document which was sent to all of the stations, and can be viewed on our website at: http://www.MoveOn.org . The facts are clear because the total PAC contributions received by the members of Congress and their votes are matters of public record.

"This smells of NBC pursuing its own political agenda at the expense of free speech and balance."

This is just plain rotten. Way to go NBC!

The playing field obviously isn't level. Contribute to Mary Jo Kilroy, Democratic candidate in OH-15.

From Talking Points Memo

Uh-oh, Coingate reaches Bush administration, Treasury Department, Denny Hastert. The Toledo Blade, as usual, has the story.

Read the full story at The Toledo Blade.

If you are a huge fan of anything that connects Ohio GOP corruption to Bush administration corruption (as I am), you'll enjoy the article.

Kudos to Buckeye State Blog for this one.




Make sure to Click the link to get the explanation.

Source.

April 1, 2006--The latest Rasmussen Reports survey of the Ohio Senate race shows Republican Senator Mike DeWine now leading Democratic Congressman Sherrod Brown by just a few percentage points, 45% to 42%, with 9% Not Sure.

In our mid-February survey, DeWine led Brown 46% to 37%, an improvement for DeWine attributable to Democratic in-fighting in the wake of Democrat Paul Hackett's controversial departure from the race. At the time, Brown's support among fellow Democrats had slumped by eight points, and it was unclear whether this would prove a hiccup or a persistent problem.

It seems to be a hiccup. Brown has now recaptured six percentage points from Democrats, attracting 75% support, the same percentage DeWine wins from Republicans.

DeWine is viewed favorably by 57% of likely voters, unfavorably by 38%. That's an improvement of six points compared to a month ago. Brown is viewed favorably by 46%, unfavorably by 35%.

Brown has more room than the incumbent to improve his standing both with all voters and with fellow party members. Nineteen percent (19%) are still Not Sure what to think about Brown, versus 5% Not Sure of DeWine. Sixteen percent (16%) of Democrats are also Not Sure of Brown. Only 2% of the GOP aren't sure about DeWine.

It is worth pointing out that the 45-42 lead Dewine currently holds is well within the margin of error (4.5%). Given this and the recent Zogby poll the case could be made that Brown actually has higher support than Dewine, even given his lower name recognition. The 19% of those polled who are still "not sure" about Brown gives him even more room to improve his standing. I think it is safe to say that a large majority of the undecided will go to Brown as they become familiar with his character and impressive record in the House.

At the end of the report, Rasmussen makes this note:

The rolling average of the last three Rasmussen Reports polls shows DeWine leading Brown 45% to 40%. It's also worth noting that while the race has remained close, Brown has never held the lead over DeWine in any of our Ohio election polls.

My prediction is that as the Hackett supporters get their act together and rally behind Brown this will be changing. I would be surprised if Brown didn't surpass Dewine by May or June at the latest.

The report included some other interesting information as well:

Half of all Ohio voters say elections are generally fair to voters, 37% say No. Fifty-nine percent (59%) believe most politicians would change their vote for a contribution, but 56% also oppose public funding of campaigns.

About as many voters place their highest trust in churches and civic organizations as sources of campaign information as award such trust to the media.

The fact that only half of all voters say elections are generally fair to voters speaks volumes about our current Secretary of State and GOP Gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell. I'm glad they were aware enough to poll and report on this crucial issue. The part about people trusting churches as much as media outlets is a bit frightening to folks like me. In Ohio at least, it is the churches that mobilize voters on issues such as bans on abortion and gay marriage. This conjures up images of church busses full of country folk flocking to the polls to elect Republicans solely on these and other "religious/family" issues. Let's hope that is not the case.

Send Bush a message. Defeat Deb Pryce. Deborah Pryce has been a leader in the Bush Congress that has let our country down for six years. Now it's our turn to send a message to Bush and the Bush Congress that they work for us, not themselves. This is the year. Mary Jo Kilroy is the candidate. Act now. Read More...

(Hat tip: UAPA)

Ken Blackwell has a new slogan for some of his internet advertisements: "Ken Blackwell, A Republican for a Change." What a load of shit. This is clearly an attempt to confuse uninformed Independent voters into supporting Blackwell's campaign. Those that keep up on these sort of things are well aware of the fact that Blackwell is one of the most prominent members of the highly corrupt Ohio Republican party. Blackwell's campaign would undoubtedly say that the slogan means that he is a different kind of republican, but the fact is, this couldn't be further from the truth. The American Conservative Union has "honored" him with the John M. Ashbrook award, whose previous recipients include Ronald Reagan and Charlton Heston. Not the best company to be in for a republican that is trying to distance himself from the rest of the swine. Additionally, Blackwell is a firm supporter of not only a gay-marriage ban but also a ban on civil unions. Ohioans deserve a Governor that respects and fights for all of us, regardless of sexual orientation. This does not sound like a Republican for a change to me. All in all, this effort by Blackwell to downplay his connections to and association with Taft comes across as forced and downright deceptive. We can expect more of the same from Blackwell in the coming months.

Dan Saks sent this email out on Friday:

To All:

Last fall, the Democratic National Committee called on Democrats to challenge Republicans in every race at every level. When it appeared that Rep. Dave Hobson might run unopposed, I committed myself to challenging him for his seat as the Representative from Ohio’s 7th district.

Now, with the utmost disappointment and regret, I am withdrawing from the campaign. Health problems which I thought were behind me have resurfaced. The likelihood that these problems will distract me from my campaign and diminish my effectiveness is too great to ignore. I cannot ask for commitments from others knowing that I myself might not keep up with those commitments.

I want to express my warmest thanks to those who have supported me. To the extent that I can, I will remain active in Democratic politics and support Democratic candidates in the fall, as I hope you will, too. The world is what we make it, and we have to make it better.

Thanks again and regards,

Dan Saks

Hopefully Dan recovers soon. My thoughts go to him and his family in this difficult time.

Thanks to Buckeye State Blog for the heads up.

More great news for the Brown campaign.



From Ohio 2006

I've just created the Swing State Ohio ActBlue page. The candidates I've chosen are Ted Strickland, Sherrod Brown, Subodh Chandra, and Jennifer Brunner. Please check it out now and make a contribution if you can.