CONSERVATIVE STATES ADRIFT: Buckeye Blues
Myers, Steve
In Ohio. scandals surroundingTaft grandson RobertA.Taft II have made that state's long-dominant GOP suddenly vulnerable up and down the ticket just as Kenneth Blackwell. a favorite among...
...Do people expect France to return Alsace-Lorraine to Germany...
...One of DeWine's ads plays up the down-home image of the senator, who hosts a picnic and ice cream social at his home in Cedarville every year...
...B LACKWELL BECAME CHRISTIAN conservatives' standard-bearer when he campaigned for *Ohio's gay marriage ban in 2004...
...2006 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR 31 CONSERVATIVE STATES ADRIFT and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity...
...Church-connected groups are registering voters, holding rallies around the state, and cultivating a network of"Patriot Pastors...
...Its purpose is the research and publication of the facts regarding developments in the Middle East and exposing false propaganda that might harm the interests of the United States and its allies in that area of the world...
...nd the sooner he does go to jail.., the sooner Ohioans will see that this has been fully exposed and [the guilty] been brought to justice...
...Republican Gov...
...When the Egyptians were in possession of Gaza for almost twenty years nobody accused them of being occupiers...
...Judd Slivka is a freelance writer and former newspaper reporter based in Phoenix...
...That sentiment is reflected nationally...
...Brown recently earned a rating of zero from National Right to Life, a measly 4 rating from the American Conservative Union, and a perfect 100 from the liberal Americans for Democratic Action...
...He casts the race as a choice between DeWine, who Brown contends is on the side of oil and drug companies, and middle-class 0hioans...
...He wants to replace Ohio's graduated income tax, featuring a top rate of 7.125 percent, with a single rate of about 3.25 percent, and eliminate the state estate tax...
...Though Blackwell has trumpeted his social conservatism lately, he hasn't abandoned the fiscal conservatism for which he has been known nationally...
...The state is also reeling from the loss of $215 million, also for the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, that was invested in a risky hedge fund...
...There is still plenty of uncertainty in the race...
...That amendment will not be on November's ballot because the Republicanled GeneralAssembly passed a similar law after Blackwell won the primary...
...Mike doesn't draw the same amount of enthusiasm nor does he have people that tremendously dislike him...
...Blackwell's strategy to avoid guilt by association with less palatable Republicans has been to trumpet his role as an outsider from the political establishment...
...The Jordanians, who were in possession of Judea/Samaria (the "West Bank") and much of Jerusalem for the same length of time, were not considered occupiers by the nations of the world and by the inhabitants of the area...
...Blackwell said one of his most popular lines during the primary was, "I'm Ken Blackwell, and I'm a Republican for a change...
...I think Sherrod can win it, but I would say if the situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate I don't think there's any doubt that he'll win-because that's been the litmus test of success" for Republicans...
...In the decades in which the Israeli-Arab conflict has raged, certain myths have been repeated so often and so insistently by Arab propaganda that most of the world has come to believe them...
...Sometimes the party itself needs to renew itself...
...Blackwell to pull out a gubernatorial victory in Ohio...
...Bennett has embraced Blackwell's approach...
...I think it's a really tough thing to do...
...My strength," Blackwell told conservative bloggers at a Heritage Foundation meeting in late July, "is in being a 'total package' conservative...
...What I am seeing is abit of a malaise.., there's not the same energy to do stuff and get involved as two years ago," said Ohio Right to Life's Denise Mackura...
...Tipps said Brown will have a better shot if the race centers around Iraq instead of the economy...
...He wants to associate me with scandal at the Statehouse and guilt by association," DeWine said...
...lllt,] il is m)w lllt)rt, it~.'O.l r;)l t. lhiJn ~.,v~.,l...
...He became the first Ohio governor to be convicted of a crime, and several of his top aides also have been convicted of ethics violations...
...He has failed to speak up and speak out and to provide leadership in challenging the corruption that has occurred in this state...
...Now in his third election, Renzi has faced a succession of everweaker challengers and has been remarkably successful securing appropriations for his district...
...Yet Butland noted that the Ohio Democratic Party has a "history of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory...
...That figure was 24 percent in July...
...My money (figuratively speaking), by the way...
...But the larger issue here is the scandal known as "Coingate:' invoMng Republican Party actMst Thomas Noe...
...32 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR SEPTEMBER 2006 STEVE MYERS Most people see both candidates as having "significant religious grounding," said lobbyist and former Democratic Party chairman Paul Tipps, noting that Strickland is a former minister...
...But Renzi has his own problems: In 2004, the Federal Election Commission found he illegally financed his 2002 campaign to the tune of $369,090 and he's come under fire for directing defense contracts to his father's company...
...Bob Ney implicated in guilty pleas by others involved in the scandal, though the congressman has not been charged with a crime...
...It's been a few minutes since Allen has discussed Rosati's attacks on her by leveling one of her own...
...He tells people to vote for Striekland if they want a "status quo" governor...
...Not a single Israeli citizen, not a single Israeli soldier, remains in Gaza...
...Ken Blackwell has a well-deserved reputation as an extremist," said Democratic consultant Butland, noting Blackwell's opposition to abortion and his campaign to pass a constitutional amendment limiting government spending...
...This year, too, he is campaigning to reduce taxes...
...It makes life on Israel's northern frontier almost unbearable...
...But tht' r11ottc~ wils prl'lly ;Jt.'~.'UrillL" in tt'nllS cff C)hi, l~4itics...
...That could bring new voters to the polls for Democrats just as the gay marriage referendum did for Republicans in 2004...
...Other variables make the Ohio races good fodder for handicapping...
...John Glenn and now a Democratic consultant running a congressional campaign near Columbus...
...There is talk that he'll make a run for governor in 2010...
...Now that the elder DeWine is in his own race for re-election, Snyder said there could be a small protest vote among social conservatives...
...Israel's population centers, Israel's military installations, Israel's industrial capacity, Israel's utilities, and Israel's international airport would be in the gunsights of the Arabs, sworn to the destruction of Israel...
...Political observers and consultants in both parties sayDeWine is in a stronger position than Blackwell because he's the incumbent, and because from his perch in Washington he has an easier time distancing himself from the problems at the Statehouse...
...lllt,J ( ) h i t ) .-;4 ) t'Jtn.'t~ )nil I.v i n l l x ) r l i | J l t, t ]lilt .,~ )Jilt' I )eJn~'rats still claim (:J~;linst :ill (tfl]cial findings) that the r:iuL' w;is sh~l~.n...
...On the contrary, it would bring about bloody warfare, just as in Gaza and Lebanon, and could well be the the end of Israel...
...I get down on my knees every night and give thanks to God that the Democratic Party is worse at this than we are...
...But Republicans nationwide are dealing with unease about Iraq and the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, and Ohio is a microcosm of the national scene--concerns about Iraq, dissatisfaction with a comparatively stagnant Rust Belt economy, and disgust with a political scandal that has cast its shadow on the governor's mansion...
...The younger DeWine was trounced by the more openly conservative Jean Schmidt and Bob McEwen...
...What are the facts...
...Brown, he said, is "an extraordinarily good campaigner...
...Republican lobbyist Nell Clark, a Blackwell supporter, said he thinks Blackwell has begun to do so, without abandoning his positions...
...Butland has some experience in this arena, given that Glenn was the last Democrat to win any statewide non-judicial office, in 1992...
...Ted Strickland...
...crucial al~,dn hi till, ~(M)~ pn.,.,qdenti,d elo.'tion, thi.,, ve;w's t, JL,~.-t io11.~ fibr ~l}~,'t, r l l t ) r ;lllt,] [ '..~, ~,l.,n:|t t, Jl;t'r stx'cial wt'igilt t'vidt'nctxl by tht" frt'(tut'ncy w i t h which he;txTwcights fr~ml tx~til p;irlit,s, including Prt, sident (;e~)r~e W. Bush ;Jnd ~,n,flt~rs Ilill;Jrx C l i n t t m :lnd J~)hn Mc('atin...
...Duffy said she will be surprised if Blackwell doesn't start to portray himself more moderately, for example by simply Blackwell has "to walk this fine line between being the Republican nominee and distancing himself from the current state of affairs...
...I've said and I continue to say during this campaign that there's no more important job for the next governor than getting our economy moving again, expanding and creating jobs and opportunities, and that I have a plan to get that done," he said...
...We have virtually no overhead...
...DeWine has said he has delivered adoption and foster care legislation and supported national security measures such as the USA Patriot Act...
...He has cast DeWine as part of the same Republican power structure that has engaged in "pay to play" politics while neglecting Ohioans...
...Your tax-deductible contributions are welcome...
...It is only a matter of time until one of those devices will crash into a school or into a hospital causing untold casualties and destroying vital infrastructure...
...11io's Rt, publican Party rt,'mains ! , " ~ ~ ~ THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR 27 JUDD SLIVKA/STEVE MYERS Still, it would take an unprecedented voter mobilization to beat Hayworth in the November general election, and as an incumbent and former sportscaster, he has money and name recognition to spare...
...But she said that, given the two recent additions to the Supreme Court, in retrospect the strategy looks prettywise...
...Backlash over the Gang of 14 was blamed in part for the senator's son Pat DeWine's unexpectedly poor showing in the 2005 special election primary for the 2nd Congressional District east of Cincinnati...
...They have demolished and vandalized the valuable and extensive greenhouse installations that the Israelis had created, which could have been the basis for a prosperous agricultural economy and of substantial export income...
...But, in the few months since it has abandoned that territory, Israel has been provoked to bloody warfare and has been subjected to daily attacks by Qassam rockets...
...The attack against Israel, the hoped-for final assault against the hated Jews, would begin within days or weeks and might well be successful...
...THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR SEPTEMBER 2006 You deserve a factual look a t . . . ]01 Myths About the Israeli-Arab Conflict ( I ) Is "occupation" the cause o f t h i s conflict...
...John Kerry's loss in Ohio...
...Conservatives nationwide therefore ought to pay close attention to elections in Arizona and Ohio this year...
...and world opinion - would commit the folly of abandoning Judea/Samaria (the "West Bank...
...Strickland has been leading in polls...
...Qu~N HtLL~r Buckeye Blues i:, % ; ; "'" : ;" F q m s j_~tL~, q ~HI~ "~ sit x ; ~, was "'T|I~' h~.;t,rt ~fl" it ;t]j.'" it ViI~LIt' .~tiJtt'Inl'nl lhilt lllitt,]t' rt, sidt, nls pr~)ud cff tht'ir .\litlwt'stt'm-rlt'ss...
...He's not flashy, but Mike DeWine gets things done," says a firefighter, praising a law DeWine wrote that funded fire departments...
...The Republican-leaning district is now held by Republican Pat Tiberi...
...One Democratic consultant said Blackwell has been "turning himself into a pretzel" with that strategy, and Strickland said it won't work...
...Buckeye Blues, continued from page 27 powerful nationally: Cincinnati's John Boehner is the newly elected House Majority Leader, and the Columbus area's Jo Ann Davidson is co-chairman of the Republican National Committee...
...There's a portrait of Barry Goldwater on the wall, and Salmon is talking...
...Blackwell said he expects to do well among African-Americans, but some blacks blame him for Sen...
...This circling of the wagons by Republicans and firing at will is destroying this party...
...On the contrary, lured by the prosperity the Israelis have created, tens of thousands of Arabs from adjacent Syria and Jordan have come to live there...
...A Democrat hasn't taken the governor's office in 20 years...
...I'm a supplysider unabashedly and a Christian activist...
...Allen knows her crowd-they mostly like her in this room and she's enough of a politician to know what she can get away with...
...The very concept of "occupation," as applied to Gaza and Judea/Samaria (the "West Bank"), is a myth...
...T HOUGH OFF-YEAR ELECTIONS are always less of a draw among voters, some conservatives said the GOP's scandals are weighing down the rank-and-file...
...Sen...
...Noe also pleaded guilty to three federal charges involving illegal campaign contributions to the Bush-Cheney campaign...
...I'm gonna be a person who has a consistent record of challenging the Republican Party that has drifted from Republican principles," he said on a Youngstown radio show earlier this year...
...Matt Salmon is sitting in a conference room at the state GOP headquarters, a low-slung cement block building in a forget-about-it part of east-central Phoenix...
...While DeWine has supported free trade agreements, Brown blames them for taking jobs away from Ohio workers...
...Instead of using their newly won "liberty from occupation," the Gazans have engaged in what is practically a bloody civil war and have destroyed most of their meager infrastructure...
...Up to $i3 million of the original amount could be missing according to lawyers...
...Besides, Tipps said, for most people, economic issues will outweigh religious ones...
...Bob Taft has pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor charges of ethics violations for not reporting gifts, two of them from Noe, including golf trips, dinners, and other entertainment...
...Blackwell's strategy to avoid guilt by association with less palatable Republicans has been to trumpet his role as an outsider from the political establishment...
...Then she drops her voice...
...Right now, he's clearly the underdog," Clark said...
...Which, for the modern conservative movement, really does sound like the heart of it all...
...N Steve Myers,formerly a reporter for the Mobile (AL) Press-Register and the Raleigh (NC) News & Observer, has just finished a fellowship at the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism at Ohio State University...
...It's the only choice he has...
...But "he relishes the role of the underdog...
...Some of the crowd laughs at this, some of the crowd gasps...
...Butland, the Democratic consultant, is handling the campaign of Bob Shemansky for the 12th Congressional District, which covers the suburban, ex-urban, and rural areas north and northeast of Columbus...
...Those who advocate the ending of the "occupation" do so either out of ignorance or because they have a death wish for Israel...
...The average age in the room looks to be about 58...
...Supreme Court nominees...
...None of DeWine's risk factors have to do with DeWine," the Cook Political Report's Duffy said, "which is the first clue that this race isn't about DeWine...
...Tilt' 2~>~)4 prt, s i d e n t i a l electi~n was ~ clo...
...The senator is a "comfortable fit" for Ohio and a good brand name, while Brown "can't get past his liberal record," said Mark Weaver, a Republican consultant running several statewide campaigns this year...
...Of course not...
...Israel, in contrast, has never evicted a single Arab from these territories...
...According to an AP/Ipsos poll taken in June, 30 percent of conservatives wanted Democrats to win control of Congress...
...Three minutes later, Allen delivers her best line to the crowd, the one where she tells them Rosati told a newspaper reporter she was a "socialist, almost a communist...
...Do they "Those who advocate the ending of the "occupation" do so either out of ignorance or because they have a death wish for Israel...
...DeWine hesitated to draw a lot of generalities about this year's campaign, but he noted that he has been victorious in years when Republicans in general have not, such as when he won his first House race in 1982--when Reaganomics was a bad word...
...If we can't win this year, I don't know when we win...
...Ney's open seat is one of four considered by Democrats to be competitive this year...
...Though that has won fans among social conservatives, people in both parties say their support is a double-edged sword...
...l;.JVt, |k~t, tl v i s i t i n g tilt, st;fie t h i s ~Urlllllt, r. Meanwhih...
...Though he has a consistent record of voting against abortion, he has at times been at odds with social conservatives...
...In order to establish peaceful relations with its northern neighbor Lebanon, Israel abandoned the security zone of southern Lebanon...
...The pastors have said they've done nothing wrong...
...He talks a lot, but I'm the one who has gotten things done for Ohio families day after day...
...Within days of Israel's abandonment of that territory, Syrian tanks, Syrian aircraft, Syrian artillery, and Syrian and perhaps even Iranian troops would be stationed on the ridges of the Judean hills that dominate Israel's heartland...
...The Israelis were considered "occupiers" when, after a war of extermination against them, they prevailed and came into possession of these territories...
...The duf1 - - ~ fers outside are beginning to wilt as the temper. l _ ~ a t u r e crests 95 degrees...
...One thing going for Republicans, according to people in both parties: their get-out-the-vote efforts, especially what is known as the "72-hour program...
...National conservatives, especially, are following the campaign of their rising star Blackwell...
...is still on Mr...
...Blackwell was an honorary co-chairman for the Bush-Cheney campaign while overseeing the election...
...Not that Brown hasn't tried...
...scandals surroundingTaft grandson RobertA.Taft II have made that state's long-dominant GOP suddenly vulnerable up and down the ticket just as Kenneth Blackwell...
...Both Blackwell and DeWine "have benefited from the morally bankrupt and corrupt Republican machine," Brown said...
...It's always nice to throw out scurrilous things about your opponent when you don't have a record to stand on," she tells the crowd, a reference to Rosati's single term in the statehouse...
...His trial is set for October-bad timing for the GOP, unless the trial is moved back again...
...He has been critical of other Republicans, and I think that's good," he said...
...But I also am engaged enough to know that there are social and cultural issues that are not marginal issues...
...Though Blackwell has held statewide office since 1994, he bolstered his portrayal of himself as an outsider by referring to primary opponent Jim Petro as GOP state chairman Bennett's "favored son" and himself as the "prodigal son...
...That heartland is only nine miles wide at its narrow waist...
...Inside the golf course clubhouse, candidates are talking over the clink and clatter of Republicans eating scrambled eggs...
...Finally there's Rick Renzi, the congressman from the sprawling 1st Congressional District...
...Mike DeWine is also in a competitive race for re-election against U.S...
...And he says something unexpected, but then again, not as unexpected as it would have been just a few years ago...
...He highlighted that position and his support of a total ban on abortion during the primary...
...as important barometers of Republican and conservative strength heading into a possible 2008 presidential match-up against Hillary Clinton.The articles below describe the current layof-the-land in those two key states, unvarnished, as the 2006 elections approach...
...Instead, she agrees that his race is about Bush and Iracb which his opponent Sherrod Brown has targeted in his populist campaign...
...The myth of "occupation" being the cause of conflict...
...Blackwell has "to walk this fine line between being the Republican nominee and distancing himself from the current state of affairs," said Jennifer Duffy, editor of the Cook Political Report...
...And Democrats sense the opportunity...
...It has to stop...
...p EOPLE GENERALLY AGREE t h a t Mike DeWine's situation is quite different from Ken Blackwell's, though he too must deal with an uncomfortable environment...
...Hayworth was widely speculated to be a challenger for the governor's race, but he declined to run...
...Almost all of our revenue pays for our educational work, for these clarifying messages, and for related direct mail...
...But instead of acknowledgment and gratitude, the result has been neverending attacks with Katyusha rockets, led by Hizbullah, the "army of God," which is supported and egged on by Iran and by Syria...
...But Butland says Bush carried the district by just a couple of percentage points in 2004, back when Bush's approval rating was much higher than now...
...U NLIKE BLACKWELL, DeWine hasn't hitched himself to the conservative Christian wing of the party...
...Noe is a crook...
...l ~ ACK TO THAT SATURDAY MORNING in July...
...Vit h ( )lli~ {.Xl~,'t't cd t~ Ix...
...He deserves to go tojail," said state Republican chairman Bob Bennett, who argues that the election is about job creation and taxes, not scandal...
...SEPTEMBER 2006 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR 33 CONSERVATIVE STATES ADRIFT Two Democratic consultants said they think their party is behind on that front, though one said the new state party chairman is working on it...
...He was responsible for $50 million in investments for the state Bureau of Workers' Compensation...
...Noe has been charged with 53 counts of theft, money laundering, forgery, tampering with records, SEPT~!~B...
...Tipps, the former Democratic chairman, noted the difference in appeal between DeWine and Brown...
...From 2004 to last year's referendum on election law changes, and now this year's races, "We've worked so hard on so many issues," she said...
...They enable us to pursue these goals and to publish these messages in national newspapers and magazines...
...The oldest rule of warfare is that to the victor belong the spoils...
...Those countries evicted most of the original inhabitants or caused them to flee...
...Today, we briefly examine one of those myths...
...For Ken Blackwell to imply that he has no responsibility for the condition that Ohio faces today is just devoid of reality," he said, though he did not identify any specific malfeasance...
...I think Republicans have to take responsibility for the hiccups and missteps that have taken place on our watch...
...Though Strickland is ahead--Blackwell says so himself--people say things could tighten up once the two start debating and begin the media air war...
...The Palestinians, along with most other Arabs and Moslems, are single-mindedly focused on the destruction of Israel, to "wipe it off the map...
...Mackura said her Ohio Right to Life was one of the groups that disagreed with DeWine on the Gang of 14...
...a favorite among national conservatives, makes his long-awaited run for the Buckeye State's governorship...
...This ad has been published and paid for by FLAME Facts and Logic About the Middle East P.O...
...While Gaza is isolated, surrounded by Israel and the sea, the "West Bank" is connected to Syria and Jordan...
...Sherrod Brown, a Cleveland-area Democrat...
...Mr...
...Israel's "occupation" of those territories is a myth...
...Destruction and almost civil war...
...He has written for the Los Angeles Times, Slate, the Wall Street Journal, and other publications...
...Instead, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell is the GOP nominee, running against 6th District U.S...
...There is damn near a perfect storm that has brewed in Ohio," said Dale Butland, former chief of staff to Sen...
...It's a few days later...
...Pendra Lee Snyder, publisher of a Christian newspaper called Citizen USA, mainly distributed through churches, agreed that conservatives must be energized...
...The GOP nominee has charted an unconventional course so far, aligning himself with Christian conservatives who are ramping up their political activism after taking credit for delivering the state for Bush in 2004...
...It's just going to take a shot in the arm...
...For instance, he chaired Steve Forbes's flat-tax presidential campaign...
...He'sjust been asked about the state of the party in Arizona...
...Their activism has spurred opposing clergy to file complaints with the Internal Revenue Service, alleging that two conservative churches have broken the ban on electioneering...
...If Israel were pressured into ending the "occupation" of the territories, it would not bring peace...
...But the scandals extend to the governor's mansion...
...Israel, unilaterally and in order to appease the Palestinians, the United States and world opinion, vacated Gaza and evicted thousands of Israeli families and abandoned their homes, institutions, extensive agricultural installations, and valuable infrastructure...
...Democrats are trying to "paint him as a horrendous, right-wing moral crusader," said Ohio Right to Life executive director Denise Mackura...
...They were unhappy that he didn't support Ohio's gay marriage ban (DeWine said he had a problem with strict language banning marriage-like arrangements) and that he was part of the "Gang of 14" that brokered a deal that many conservatives believe will allow Democrats to continue filibustering U.S...
...The Abramoff scandal extends to Ohio, with Rep...
...Democrats are circulating a petition to raise Ohio's minimum wage in order to get around Congress's refusal to raise the federal baseline...
...But they focus their efforts and their energy on digging tunnels under the wall that separates them from Israel, in order to attack Israeli military, killing and kidnapping their soldiers, and thus bringing added misery upon themselves...
...Box 590359 _9 San Francisco, CA 94159 Gerardo Joffe, President FLAME is a tax-exempt, non-profit educational 501 (c)(3) organization...
...Ohio Democrats thus sense unprecedented opportunities...
...And this is the first time an African-American, Blackwell, is at the top of either party's ticket...
...Having the disastrous examples of the withdrawal from the southern Lebanon security zone and now from Gaza, it is easy to imagine what would happen if Israel would not have learned from experience and - under pressure from the U.S...
...F ORTUNATELY FOR REPUBLICANS, Taft can't r u n again because of term limits...
...She's right...
...ceasing to talk about social issues...
...expect the Czech Republic or Poland to return the German territories awarded to them after Germany's defeat in World War II...
...Now, there are whispers about him running for the Senate, if a vacant seat should come up...
...But most people will go along, she said, "because nobody really wants to face the alternative...
...That alternative of such a crucial and once-solidly GOP state flipping to the Democrats is why national Republicans are watching Ohio so closely this year...
...But even so, the hope that Israel's abandonment of any territory - the same old "land-for-peace" formula - would bring about peace is an illusion and a fallacy...
Vol. 39 • September 2006 • No. 7
