Let's be realisitic about Ohio

[LynneSin]

I'm saddened by what I read in Rolling Stones Magazine because clearly Kenneth Black"Not-so"Well has screwed over the state of Ohio in such horrible knots with the voting system that even with recent polls favoring democrats, I can't put Ohio in the "D" column.

Blackwell and Dewine just need to get within 10% to screw over the state and secure the win. And obviously if Blackwell fixed it so he wins but doesn't fix the DeWine race - it would look very obviously if Blackwell wins with a DeWine loss since DeWine has been polling better than Blackwell. So he has to fix both elections to make it look clean.

I think I'd rather just put Ohio Governor & Senate in the Republican column. Perhaps I'll be plesantly suprised in November but I'm not holding my breath

[IndependentVoice]

1. Don't worry

Stricktland is leading by 17 points

[LynneSin]

3. Now, but you know how these races are

they'll get dirtier closer to election day, Kerry was leading going into the Novemeber election and he still lost Ohio

[liberal N proud]

2. The polls are looking good right now for Strickland

Last I saw had him up by 20 points. That would make it fairly obvious to the rest of the country if Blackwell flipped the number as he did for bu$h 04. The polls need to be broadcast far and wide to insure the public knows the truth.
I am not saying it will not be done but if Strickland can stay that far out in front or even further it raises the possibility that the scum bag will have to abandon his endeavor.
Now I am not so comfortable about the Senate race, there is too much KKKarl factor playing into the Dewine smears of Sherrod Brown and the polls just are not has far apart as I would like, considering the scheming by Blackwell and friends at Diebold.

[Doctor_J]

8. So what?

"That would make it fairly obvious to the rest of the country if Blackwell flipped the number"

So what? It was fairly obvious in 2004. That just made Whitewell bolder this time around. And if there aren't any voting machines in Cleveland on election day, what exactly can anyone do about it?

:shrug:

[blm]

4. I agree, Lynne - the problem in Ohio is NOT the candidates but a weak Dem

party infrastructure that collapsed years ago. They have been unable to counter the years of dirty tricks that have been developed there to suppress and steal Dem votes.

Dean has to work overtime in Ohio to make up for the DNC's ten years of total neglect in that crucial state.

[partylessinOhio]

5. Remember Dewine's "doctored" towers ad, cute cartoon:

[OzarkDem]

6. RFK, Jr. has met w/ Ohio Dem leaders

They are well aware of the problem and I've been told several times by people from the top that they are planning to deal with any voting problems "pre-emptively" before election day.

They're focusing now on key problem areas, putting problem BOE's under the spotlight in front of judges to come up with concrete plans to avoid problems in November. They have a large team of lawyers working on it. I'm not saying the GOP won't try to pull dirty tricks again, but they'll have a much harder time getting it done this time around.

[LynneSin]

7. But as long as Blackwell is also in charge of the Ohio Voting system

it's like the Fox ensuring us that yes, the hen house is well protected.

Some form of legislation needs to be passed that says that those who are in charge of a state voting system cannot also be the ones running for office. I do realize that for most states, the person in charge of this system is either nominated by the governor or elected by the people so there will always be a bit of bias. But if I was Secretary of State in charge of the elections AND running for office, I suppose I'd have some motivations of trying to tilt the election in my favor.

[Doctor_J]

9. And, also,

"if I was Secretary of State in charge of the elections AND running for office, I suppose I'd have some motivations of trying to tilt the election in my favor"

and if you were also a republican, you'd also be completely immoral, and wouldn't thin ktwice about cheating.

The only way things will change in OH is if, the day after Whitewell declares himself the winner, the inner cities erupt in protest - with people marching by the millions, and shutting Ohio down cmpletely.

As I have said before, when the next civil wars breaks out, it will be in Ohio.

[pscot]

12. LynneSin, You make the guy sound like Superman

when he's really just another malevolent, right-wing asshole who's acquired a taste for power. His behaviour suggests a man who is losing his grip on reality. I'm more optimistic than you are. I think the GOP is riding for a fall. They will fall hardest in places where they have been most promiscuously abusive of their power. I think we'll see some surprises in November. The electorate may be pretty dumb, collectively, but every so often something jolts them out of their stupor. I think this is one of those times.

[blm]

11. Thanks Ozark - That is exactly what we need to hear about, the COUNTERING

of the GOPs ploys for the many months BEFORE the vote.

I hope all states are doing the same to counter the RNC's bag of dirty tricks.

[Awsi Dooger]

10. We'll win the gov, and the senate race is 50/50

I put much more faith in common sense than polls. Blackwell is stamped as a partisan hack, which is not exactly appealing to middle roaders and inspires the wrath of Democrats, who will turn out in unusually high numbers to defeat him. Plus he's black in a slightly red state, in a country that doesn't elect black governors. We've had what, one? Wilder in Virginia. Let's face it, if there's ever a way to get the backwards white male GOP to abandon one of their own, it's for them to nominate an African American. In fact, I'm all for Condi in '08, and '12, and however many consecutive times they want to lose.

Blackwell is probably 10-13 points behind right now, not the 20 in that Dispatch poll, but he'll never make it up. When a state economy is going bad, the voters inevitably throw out the party in charge of the gov mansion, if it's not an incumbent who can sometimes pretend he's a swell guy and not to blame.

The senate race is 50/50. As TheVirginian pointed out yesterday, Brown's big lead in some polls is strange because he's a liberal Democrat in a slightly red leaning state, and going up against a Republican incumbent who is considered moderate in that state. I've learned over the years to be skeptical of early polls that drift oddly against common sense of the race and the natural partisanship of the state, and this one absolutely fits that rejection criteria. I continue to believe it's a 50/50 race.

[cookiebird]

13. From OH

I'm agreeing with Awsi Dooger. I hope the Dem's do not manage to screw up a possible win in OH--unfortunately, they have a history of that in this state. Please, please, please run on a platform that does not say "at least I'm not a Repub"