Voter Intimidation in Ohio

The Sheriff of Greene County, a republican, has asked for the registration cards of all 302 newly registered voters in his area. Greene County is located in southwest Ohio and is home to several colleges, including historically black , Central State College and Wilberforce University. Wright State, Antioch and Cedarville are also located in this area. Most of the students are thought to lean toward the democrats. Antioch in particular is famously noted for its rebellious, left leaning attitudes.

Sheriff Gene Fischer says he is not politically motivated, he’s just reacting to complaints from his constituents who fear there may be some fraud going on. It should be noted that the Greene County prosecutor who is representing Fischer, is a former law partner of former GOP Senator Mike DeWine, who is chairman of John McCain’s Ohio organization.

The Ohio GOP has been upset, issuing legal challenge after legal challenge against the State’s window allowing voter registration and early voting on the same day. The early voting window was put into place during Republican Bob Taft’s regime in 2006. This is the same regime which installed Ken Blackwell a former Cincinnatian, as Secretary of State. Blackwell is believed to have led the charge in tampering with the 2004 presidential election. After being voted out of office, Blackwell went to work for a GOP conservative think tank. Ohio went to Bush by a mere 118,000 or so votes. The GOP had no problem with it until the new law began to benefit Democrats as well as Republicans.

Brunner says her office will turn over the requested records with the names, telephone numbers and social security numbers blacked out.

Fischer acted yesterday, after a federal judge in Columbus issued a ruling ordering Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to verify all new registrations against government data bases, specifically, Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, or Social Security records.

The order was prompted by a lawsuit filed against Brunner by the Ohio Republican Party. Some 666,000 people have registered to vote in this election since the beginning of the year.

The GOP says its just trying to prevent fraud in the upcoming presidential election. The state already makes these checks, but Brunner is appealing the ruling because she says federal law has no recourse if a mismatch is found in the first place.

The GOP claims Brunner is being partisan and doesn’t want to make the checks because to do so would harm Barack Obama’s chances in Ohio.

© 2008 Jo Anne Moore, JAM Publications

Preaching to the Choir

I have a problem with the Democratic candidates for president refusing to take part in debates sponsored by Fox News and The Congressional Black Caucus Institute.

Yes, we know that Fox is the ministry of information for the neocons, but the neocons still have a large audience that needs to be educated and informed. Wouldn’t it be more practical to take the platform offered and try to win over some folks, rather than simply give up on them? Isn’t that just playing into Fox Noise’s hands, allowing them to level claims of liberal bias?

Playing to liberal or independent audiences is simply preaching to the choir. It’s what Shrub’s been doing for the past six years. He never holds a news conference or a photo op that is not filled with his sycophantic followers. He never allows dissension of any kind. Are we, as a people in for the same kind of thing, if we elect a democrat to the White House?

What has happened to debate in this country? Debates are for looking at all sides of the issues. Good debates teach and inform. A good debate may not ultimately change your mind, but it will have given you something to think about. I don’t give a damn about who sponsors a debate. I only care about what I hear from the candidates.

Shrub has trampled the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He has shown his fear of free speech, free thought, free debate and expression.

By refusing to take part in what could be a hostile debate, Democrats are showing their true strips...that they are just as chicken sh** and ignorant of what makes us Americans as Dubya and the Neocons.

Condi Rising

All right, everybody sing that song from THE WIZ....

“Can you feel a brand new day, can you feel a brand new day!”

Condolezza finally gets some help. Her old playmates Robert Gates and Jim Baker are back in the picture. That means that Brent Skowcroft will also be lurking, giving advice off the record.

Looks like Daddy Bush got tired of junior screwing up and took back the reins of power on foreign policy. Daddy Bush is the expert after all. Both Gates and Baker are long time allies of Daddy.

And while I can understand Bush lite’s hesitation to dump Rumsfeld, losing Congress for one man was just plain stupid. We all have good friends who mess up everything around them. You help them as much as you can, but you don’t let them jeopardize your lifestyle with their stupidity.

That’s what Dubya did. If he hadn’t endorsed Rummy and Cheney days before the vote, the GOP would probably still be in power today. Arrogance, plain and simple.

I’ll bet he’s probably trying to figure out what to do with Cheney, too. But that’s a more difficult situation. Bush can isolate him, but unless Cheney does something illegal like Spiro Agnew (remember him) ain’t gonna happen.

But I still don’t think Bush gets it. He came out in conciliatory mode at his news conference yesterday, but then he proceeded to blame everyone and everything for his incompetence.

He even called the American population stupid, alleging voters didn’t really understand the issues, or they would’ve stayed the course.

I have to tell you, between Bush calling voters stupid and Rumsfeld telling citizens we’re confused and that the war and terror issues are too complicated for us to understand, I wish we’d been able to vote all of them out of office.

Now I hope Democrats can buy a clue and come up with a rational plan. Put revenge on the back burner and get on with governing this country correctly.

I know that’s a lot to ask. Democrats are just another species of politician and my jaw is clenched just waiting for the new stuff to hit the fan.

Some good things though..........more women than ever before in Congress.....Condi seems to be a better infighter than most of us imagined, but she could still buy a vowel and a clue on the Middle East (calling Madeline Albright)......Nancy Pelosi is expected to become the first female Speaker of the House, and that is a very big deal...makes her third in line behind the President and Vice President.....Condi’s in that succession line, too.

I’m not sure how things have opened up for Hilary.....To me she doesn’t feel like such a lock to run anymore.

I’m not a Hilary supporter. She needs a sense of humor. But I would love to see Bill back in the White House, even if he is only the wife and not the President.

The GOP doesn’t stand a chance when that man is on his game, as he was in the final days of the campaign.

Yeah, Hillary’s got some competition. Can you say Barack and Deval? Deval Patrick became this country’s second black Governor.

Everyone was mourning the loss of Ford in Tennessee. Not me. That race was a choice between bigots. I have no use for either one of them Don’t care if he is black.