Industrial states turn to Democrats while GOP reigns in Ohio

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Sun, Feb. 12, 2006
Industrial states turn to Democrats while GOP reigns in Ohio
JOHN McCARTHY
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Twelve years after the GOP reigned in five industrial, mainly Midwestern states, only Ohio is still governed by a Republican.

Democrats lead Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin but have been shut out in Ohio since Richard Celeste left office in 1991. Geography, finances and political farm systems have played a role.

This year's race for Ohio governor is open for the first time since 1998. It is vying for voters' attention with state and national ethics scandals two years after the Republican stronghold returned President Bush to the White House.

Ohio stayed under a GOP administration mostly for two reasons, said Paul Beck, a political scientist at Ohio State University. While far from prosperous, the state's economy was in better shape four years ago than many industrial states, especially Michigan, and the Democratic parties in the other states are better organized than Ohio's, he said.
(snip/...)

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/13851752.htm

[Wilms]

1. Ohio is the an election fraud poster child. n/t

[Straight Shooter]

2. LOL, governed by a Repub with something like a 15% approval rating.

:rofl:

[Botany]

3. 11% now

But funny last november the ballot issue he wanted won ....
but the election reform issues that were winning in the polls by
63% to 35 % lost.

And Hackett was even w/ Schmidt until the "humidity" shut down the vote count

And HB 3 .........

But we have Taft, Blackwell, Ney, Boner, and LaTourette

Ohio is so fucking dirty.

[Lasher]

4. About those 5 Ohio ballot initiatives last year

One of the most wildly inaccurate pre-election polls in memory, which was off by over 40 points on some predictions, may prove to be deadly accurate as an indicator of the problems we face as a nation with our voting process - and democracy itself.

<snip>

Of the five proposed amendments on the ballot, only the first - a $2 billion state bond initiative to promote high-tech industry - was not related to the conduct of elections, and oddly enough its results were accurately forecast in the poll (predicted yes vote, 53 percent; final yes vote, 54 percent). Then it gets hairy.

Issue 2 would have made absentee voting easier in the state. It had lots of high-profile support, and the Dispatch poll predicted a cakewalk for it: 59 percent yes, 33 percent no, 9 percent undecided. The actual result: 36 percent yes, a whopping 63 percent no.

Then there was issue 3, which would have lowered the campaign-contribution limits that a lame-duck state legislature had raised a year ago. Prediction: 61 percent yes, 25 percent no, 14 percent undecided. Actual result: 33 percent yes, 66 percent no.

The results of issue 4, to control gerrymandering by establishing an independent board to draw congressional districts, were only slightly less dramatic. Prediction: 31 percent yes, 45 percent no, 25 percent undecided. Result: 30 percent yes, 69 percent no. And for issue 5, to establish an independent board instead of the secretary of state's office to oversee elections, a 41 percent predicted yes vote shrank to 29 percent, while the no vote ballooned from 43 to 70 percent.

http://www.tmsfeatures.com/tmsfeatures/subcategory.jsp?file=20051124ctnbk-a.txt&catid=1824&code=ctnbk

[Botany]

5. Funny but the Columbus Dispatch Poll has been within

1.5 to 2.5% on issues polls just like the ones last november ...... they and
the University of Akron's Bliss center where also way off on their polls too.

Funny I canvassed for those issues (2 - 5) and got 2 negative comments in
4 days of work but the area I canvassed showed a 2 and 3 to 1 vote
against the issues.

The level of corruption in Ohio is Amazing

[Kolesar]

6. A swing that big still indicates the poll was off

Electoral fraud is not out of the question. RON had a great idea but they wrote long & incomprehensible ballot language and they did not do enough of a long term message development. You cannot win a ballot initiative in just a few months of work.

[Botany]

9. But Issue #1 which was supported by the Gov. also was very wordy .....

..... as it was written on the ballot and it was within a point of the Dispatch and
University of Akron's polling and it won. For the #s to be what they were; Columbus
Voters had to vote 2 to 1 and 3 to 1 against issues 2 through 5 (election reform)
which were progressive ideas and then turn around a vote for progressive democratic
candidates for city consul, judge, and what have you.


In an off year election with a much lower voter turn out you tend to have only
motivated voters turn out to vote. They tend to much more informed on the
issues so I really doubt that the ballot language was as off putting as has been
indicated. Everybody from the middle and to to the left knows in their guts
Ohio is dirty (the right knows too ...... that is why they pushed through HB 3)
and high % want it cleaned up. To me @ least the results just fail to pass the smell
test and do not match the feelings I got canvassing for 4 days.

peace

[Kolesar]

10. I was well received at the houses I canvassed, too

We had to walk far to find anybody who was home. I talked to a few registered Rs, also.

[Botany]

11. i checked the voting from the precinct that

represented the ward I walked and was stunned. Either almost everybody lied
to me or somebody was flipping votes.

[Kolesar]

12. "well, that's a thinker" like they say on King of the Hill

and I will be thinking about it.

[Marie26]

16. Ancedotally, people were confused

I was shocked when the RON initiatives didn't pass, and even thought it could suggest election fraud. But when I asked some people (all Democrats) how they'd voted, nobody I knew had voted for the initiatives. It was partly because of the ad campaign, but it was also because the ballots were just incomprehensible. It was long legalese that most laymen cannot make sense of- and most people are very wary of voting for something they don't understand. They could've maybe simplified the ballots, & received more support. It was a great idea, though, and even getting it on the ballot was a victory for the reformists.

[truthisfreedom]

7. hey, ho, way to go Ohio!

Chrissie Hynde.

[bleedingheart]

8. Republicans actually Rule in Pennsylvania....

Sorry folks..just because we have a Democrat in the Governor's office...it means squat. He has to contend with a Republican controlled legislature. Both houses are controlled by Repukes...

[nolies32fouettes]

13. Oh someone (or MANY) please please please post to this

"uninformed citizen" over here!
(dgras)
http://www.progressiveu.org/171302-how-much-do-we-need-another-saint


UNBELIEVABLE!!!

[Marie26]

14. Not for long...

There's a tonof anger against Republican leadership in Ohio. They'll probably get tossed out in 2006 (or at least be very reduced in numbers).

[0rganism]

15. With Blackwell's voting machines producing 30-point swings from polls...

...I wouldn't bet the farm on it. We're going to have to look elsewhere for change.

[Marie26]

17. Maybe, but

I still have faith in Ohio. Even most Republicans are disgusted by the corruption right now. But if the Republicans somehow do pull off another sweeping victory, I'll probably join you on giving up on change there.

[nolies32fouettes]

18. you think so? What about this Hackett thing?

[Ken M]

19. I don't know

The Ohio Democrats are doing pretty much everything wrong. Strickland's top notch, but his people have angered the Cuyahoga County party and the black leadership. The ODP just can't seem to excite people, and that's why there hasn't been a Democratic non-judge elected statewide in over a decade. That and the moral majorettes being mobilized.

Paul Hackett could have changed all that but Sherrod Brown is business as usual. They keep running these candidates that could put my niece to sleep after she snuck a whole bag of candy. :banghead: