DU: WE IN OHIO NEED UR HELP NOW- 2 KEY RACES FOR IMPORTANT SEATS WE CAN PICK UP!!!

[Corey_Baker08]

(SORRY FOR THE CAPITAL LETTERS ON THE SUBJECT LINES I JUST REALLY BELIEVE THAT THESE ARE RACES WE COULD VERY POSSIBLY WIN WITH THE HELP OF GRASSROOTS SUPPORTERS LIKE MY FELLOW DU'ERS- I AM EXTREMELY PASSIONATE FOR THIS CAUSE AND I HOPE AFTER READING THIS YOU ARE ALSO!)


First of all I would to begin by stating the reason I am posting this in General Discussion and not the Ohio Forums is because in my opinion and I think most will agree that as a National Democratic Party, my state the great state of Ohio is one of the most important and hotly contested states in the Country in my opinion only behind Florida when it comes to Presidential Elections. Fortunately yet also Unfortunately there are several Key and Extremely Important races in Ohio this year that in the case of the Ohio S.O.S if the Republican candidate who is very well funded wins, than he has promised to re-install the policies of Former Ohio S.O.S Ken Blackwell who presided over the theft of Ohio for Bush in 2004. Maybe even more Importantly, We have a chance right here in Ohio which has turned Blue over the past 4 years, of electing a Democrat to the US Senate Seat being retired by George Voinovich. Just imagine what it would be like to have TWO Democratic Senators from the formerly Republican state of Ohio!!!

These races not only effect my state, but they affect not only our Country but are Party as well. I cannot stress enough the importance of these races. Should our S.O.S position go to a Republican Ohio will likely be stolen in 2012. We have a very unique, and in my opinion a very good chance of picking up another US Senate Seat.

Below I have laid out the circumstances behind the two key races in Ohio that I would appreciate very much if I could get a little DU help with. As a 20 year old College Student I am working my ass of to get the two very crucial seats in Democratic hands. Unfortunately I can only do the physical part of getting the vote out, knocking on doors. I am not fortunate enough to have money to contribute. Unfortunately my family is in a horrendous situation financially struggling day in and day out to figure out questions so basic, yet so profound to ever have to make like 'what are we going to have for supper the rest of the week until your mom gets paid'?

After you read my take on the races and the candidates that follows, I ask from the bottom of my heart if you have the ability donate or volunteer in some way, shape or form to help this candidates win these crucial races.

OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE RACE:
DEMOCRAT MARYELLEN O'SHAUGHNESSY VS WEALTHY REPUBLICAN BUSINESSMAN & CURRENT STATE REPRESENTATIVE JON HUSTED-

The Secretary of State Race in Ohio is extremely important to the future of open and fair elections in a very very important state here in Ohio. I might not have to remind anyone here of the consequences of a crooked Ohio S.O.S. We all remember in the 2004 Presidential Election when Republican S.O.S Ken Blackwell handed the Election to George Bush despite many counts of election fraud and irregularities resulting in many votes "automatically" switching Kerry votes to Bush. Even Many House Members as well as Sen. Barbara Boxer of California objected to the Certification of the official Certification of the votes.

Unfortunately the S.O.S position is an open race as the current S.O.S is running for the United States Senate Seat and a wonderful woman who invested massive amounts of time ensuring that early voting as well as other changes she had made in the electoral process in wake of the 2004 election, made it so that the election in Ohio in 2006 & 2008 both went down very smoothly with no reports or allegations of election fraud with, for the first time in my lifetime, a Democrat actually winning my state, the state of Ohio.

The Democratic Candidate in the Ohio S.O.S race is a wonderful woman who I have recently met personally by the name of MaryEllen O'Shaughnessy. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with her and discuss with her what I would like to know about what she believes is the best way to ensure that the election like the one in 2008 will always happen in the State of Ohio. She assured me that Early Voting, which I as a young voter as well as several hundred thousand young voters took advantage of and what was in my opinion what won the state for Obama. Her Opponent is a very wealthy young Republican Businessman vowing to repeal most acts that Mrs. Brunner has made as S.O.S therefore vowing to take every election back to the Ohio 2004 Presidential Election also wanting to end early voting to effectively decrease the youth turn out in the state because he knows it disadvantages his party.

Please Visit www.marryellenforohio.com today and if you can kick a few bucks to a campaign that could very much decide whether the 2012 Presidential Election in Ohio is Fair and Accurate!

OPEN UNITED STATES SENATE SEAT BEING RETIRED BY VOINOVICH: PRIMARY BATTLE ON THE DEMOCRATIC SIDE BETWEEN CURRENT LT GOVERNOR LEE FISHER & CURRENT S.O.S JENNIFER BRUNNER (whom I personally support in the primary) VS REPUBLICAN ROB PORTMAN

The 2010 United States Senate election in Ohio will take place on November 2, 2010, as one of many Ohio Elections in 2010. In the Democratic primary on May 4, 2010, Lee Fisher, Ohio's Lieutenant Govenor, will face Jennifer Brunner, Ohio's Secretary of State. The winner of the Democratic primary will run against Republican Rob Portman, a former US Representative, as well as the Constitution Party candidate Eric Deaton, an Electrical Engineer with GE, a Socialist Party candidate and several independent candidates, in the general election. The winner will replace two term Republican Senator George Voinovich, who is retiring after his current term.

In 2006, in the wake of Ohio's troubled 2004 election process, Jennifer was elected Secretary of State, pledging elections that were free, fair, open and honest.

As a small business owner, she recognized the need to improve Ohio's job creation climate by providing better service to businesses. She returned outsourced customer service jobs to the office, created a customer task force, made the website an easier and more effective place for business filings, and created a life quality index to attract new and better jobs to Ohio. One of Jennifer's most significant accomplishments as Secretary of State was to overhaul the operations of the troubled Cuyahoga County Board of Elections in Cleveland, ensuring a smooth 2008 presidential election. As part of an overall effort to restore trust to elections, Jennifer spearheaded a massive voting machine study to solve problems with the security and reliability of voting machines.Tests of all five voting systems used in Ohio revealed major flaws in security, reliability, and local election procedures.

During the contentious 2008 presidential election in which Ohio was a key battleground state, Jennifer defended Ohioans' voting rights in numerous cases in both state and federal court, eventually winning in the United States Supreme Court to protect voters and their ballots from being targeted for election challenges by partisan operatives. Her achievement in reforming Ohio's election system resulted in a markedly improved process, with a record number of Ohioans voting in 2008. Her efforts earned her a Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

I have personally met current S.O.S Jennifer Brunner and she is one of the most down to earth politicians I have ever met. Her and I talked prior to her winning the 2006 S.O.S Election and she agreed with me that she objected to 2004 Presidential Election here in Ohio and advised me that as S.O.S she would assure me that there would never again be another charge of election fraud that didn't go un-investigated, sure enough the 2008 Presidential Election was the smoothest, highest turnout election in the states history, and also highest youth turn out in the state history because of the Early Voting she enacted. Jennifer Brunner is one of us, she is a down right liberal who believes in the causes that we fight for here on Democratic Underground. I cannot say enough about her as a person, or as a candidate. She has done more for the S.O.S's office than anyone who previously held the office, she inherited an office plagued with corruption and scandal. She went through and revamped that entire office so that no Ohioan or no American would ever again have to wonder whether or not their vote was going to count or even be counted.

I could only imagine how progressively liberal (as I call it) she would be as a United State Senator from the State of Ohio. Please, I am begging you, visit www.jenniferbrunner.com and if you have the means kick her $5 or whatever you have the means to!

Her Primary Opponent is Current Lt. Governor Lee Fisher-After 10 years in the state legislature, Lee decided his commitment to creating positive change for Ohioans could best be fulfilled as our state’s attorney general. Lee was elected as Ohio Attorney General in 1990. Lee successfully defended the constitutionality of the Ohio Hate Crime law before the Ohio Supreme Court. When Ted Strickland asked Lee to run as his running mate in 2006, Ohio was just beginning to feel the effects of the Bush Administration’s misguided trade policies, failed economic program, and disastrous fiscal stewardship that ran up our national debt and cost thousands of Ohioans their jobs.

As our Lieutenant Governor and Director of the Ohio Department of Development for the first two years of the Strickland-Fisher administration, Lee has worked tirelessly alongside Governor Ted Strickland, to retain, attract, and create jobs to grow Ohio’s economy.

Either One of these candidates would be a great US Senator from the Great State of Ohio, Please if you have the ability visit www.fisherforohio.com and kick his campaign a few bucks to help gain another seat in the US Senate for the Democratic Party

[samplegirl]

1. I hear ya.......

Working on Strickland vs. Kasich

[ChoppinBroccoli]

3. I Think Once The Campaigns Start In Earnest, Strickland Will Mop The Floor With Kasich

I truly believe that all Strickland needs to do is hammer on Kasich's connection to Lehman Brothers. People are so sour on Wall Street right now that I think they'd really turn on Kasich if they found out that he was instrumental in causing the Lehman economic collapse. I think that would be powerful enough to even overcome Santa Claus Kasich's promise to swoop in and eliminate the State Income Tax (as well as his promises to give out free ponies and to bring Florida's weather to Ohio), a promise that when asked how it was possible, even his running mate, supposedly the top accountant in the entire State of Ohio, couldn't answer. The guy's a con artist, and there are already anti-Kasich sites popping up all over the internet. For just one example, check out http://www.kasichfacts.com

It's very easy. Just point out that the struggles we're experiencing now are directly the result of the last 16 years of Republican mismanagement, draw parallels between Kasich and Taft, and then tie Kasich to the Lehman Brothers collapse, and you've got a laugher on your hands.

[samplegirl]

5. Thank you!!!!

and best of luck to you on your campaign.

:hi:

[Corey_Baker08]

6. I Too Feel Very Optimistic Governor Strickland Will Be Re-Elected Very Easily!!!

I have personally met Gov Strickland on numerous occasions some during his campaign for the Governorship. I have always found his accomplishments in Pubic Service and Politics. I truly believe that he has done the absolute best as Governor as he could have seeing that we are in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression during the past three years of his run as Governor. Ohio has been one of the hardest hit states economically particularly in the auto manufacturing industry in which both of my parents were layed off indefinitely from their jobs.

Sure We Do have a pretty high unemployment rate especially in my area (Dayton,OH) Massive job losses have mainly been attributed to the previous fall of the auto industry in an area that relied very heavily on Manufacturing in the Automotive Industry for work. I believe Many of my fellow Buckeyes are truly aware that the economy crashed during the Bush Presidency because of policies that did nothing to help preventing or regulating these giant companies from failing and not doing anything about the obvious predatory risky mortgage loans these banks were making to make huge profits quick not even giving a shit that a year or so later most of these families would lose their jobs and their monthly payments increased so much because of the banks unscrupulous lending policy that would lead to many families defaulting on their mortgage, losing their home falling into poverty because they were suckered into these loans.

Gov Ted Stricland is in my opinion one of the nations, if not the finest Governor in the Nation. He has done all he can to help working Ohio families and to create jobs and his work on education was outstanding.

[ChoppinBroccoli]

2. A Word About Husted

I left a lengthy comment on what I personally know about Husted (and I know plenty) on his political ad video over in the video section. You should seek it out if you're interested. However, since I left those comments, I read an interesting article about him in Columbus' The Other Paper.

Apparently, Ohio's version of the Tea Party (whatever they happen to be calling it here) is running their own candidate for SOS AGAINST Husted in the Republican Primary. And here's how much we have to fear Jon Husted: according to the polls, Husted is LOSING. Here's a link to the article: http://www.theotherpaper.com/articles/2010/04/15/front/doc4bc72382041fc307913640.txt

Husted is a dead duck. Maryellen's got the SOS job locked up.

[gmoney]

4. Husted is the worst.

Even a teabagger would be better.

[Corey_Baker08]

7. Wow Thanks For This-Best News I've Heard On the Campaign So Far For SOS....

Are you a resident of Ohio? Also Do you know of any good websites to go on that will give me updates on the top races in Ohio that may include things like polling data or columns on who might be leading or endorsing who?

Thanks in Advance! I have been in touch with MaryEllen O'Shaughnessy's Campaign Staff and I will have to inform them of this article.

[sabrina 1]

8. Jennifer Brunner ~ I remember how she stood up

against the attempt by Republicans to steal yet another election. She was threatened and intimidated, but managed to get the same Judges who had ruled in favor of Blackwell in 2004, to rule in favor of not eliminating voters from the roles. To this day, I don't know understand why they did that, but Jennifer fought hard and although I don't know much else about her, for that alone, I remember her.

Thanks for the thread. I will look at her site to see how progressive she is on other issues. At this point, I think it is extremely important to start electing real progressives, such as Marcy Winograd so we can really take back this party that has swung so far to the right.

K&R

[Corey_Baker08]

9. Honestly I Feel As Though S.O.S Mrs. Brunner Could Be Our First Female President in 2016!!!

I know this may sound far fetched and she may be too old by then,not sure of her age now, she honestly is personally an extremely nice, humbyling individual and Professionally She is one of the Smartest, Sharpest Women I have Ever Had The Privelage of Meeting.

Go Jennifer!!! She is my pick over Fisher because for one I just think that Lt Gov Fisher is a fine accomplished man but Mrs. Brunner is just something different that voters will take into account. She is a Very Successful Female Politician That has Been the S.O.S for the past 4 years in which she was elected bi-partisanly and she is a true liberal where as I am afraid Lt. Gov Fisher would be more Conservative as a U.S. Senator!

[sabrina 1]

10. She is certainly very courageous. She played a very

significant role in avoiding another stolen election. If a Republican had been SOS at that time, I wonder how differently things might have turned out. She fought the Republicans attempts to deprive voters of their right to vote every step of the way, in court.

I just read that she received the JFK award for courage after that election. That is very appropriate imo. Regarding a run for president, I could imagine her doing that. She is certainly qualified. She would probably be around 58 years old in 2016 so, not too old at all.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

11. Proud to send you to the Greatest Page!

:kick:

[onestepforward]

12. K&R!

Thanks for the great information!