It's over, it's finally over.
The Governor has signed HB 318, the budget fix.
edited by: Lisa Renee Ward,
Ohio Editor
BSB has a forum for just about anything: governor's races, statewide ballot issues, each individual congressional district. You name it, we've probably got a forum for it.
But until this afternoon, there was one glaring omission. BSB has never had a forum to discuss the Supreme Court races.
Well, it [...]
The budget fix has now passed in the House as well, by a vote of 54-42. It now heads to Governor Strickland to sign.
[...]One of the things that I really liked about Jennifer Brunner when I first met her at Netroots Nation this summer, was that she didn’t really act like most politicians. She’s candid and very direct, while Lee Fisher makes me think he consults with a PR team even on things [...]
Does it square things? Not really. But hey, every little bit helps...
[...]
Robert Portman’s intern caused a bit of a stir today with the following Twitter status message:
Wait, didn’t Robert Portman support the bailouts?
The Plain Dealer (emphasis added):
Portman, who served as President Bush's budget director and trade representative, described himself as [...]
Just got the following statement from the Governor on the new budget compromise:
“Across the country, some states have chosen to slash education budgets in an attempt to make it through the recession. Here in Ohio, investing in education is the cornerstone of our plan to rebuild Ohio’s economy from [...]
So says the Dispatch.
Apparently the House, Senate, and Governor have agreed on a new compromise bill expected to pass the Senate soon.
The construction reforms in the compromise have been scaled back to three pilot projects of various sizes to evaluate the effects of the reforms. The prison [...]
It may be a little past due, but it seems Governor Strickland is finally getting ready to play his ace: an executive session.
[...]I know there’s a lot of things you could call rep. John Boehner, but lets just focus on the word “coward” for today.
You see, Rep. Boehner is all worked up about the Obama Administration’s plan to house some of the Gitmo detainees at mostly vacant high security prison in [...]
The District of Columbia city council just voted to legalize gay marriage.
[...]It seems that some Senate Republicans are threatening to take this budget fight nuclear, by forcing a delay into next year. If they did this, the suggested tax freeze would then officially become a tax raise.
From the Dispatch:
"The world does not end Dec. 31 if we don't' [...]
Anthony over at Ohio Daily reports that Jennifer Garrison may have some company in the Democrats bid to hold the Secretary of State’s office.
Apparently a CSU Election Law Professor, Candice Hoke, is giving serious thought to jumping into the race.
While I think Garrison is a far cry [...]
There was a great editorial published on the Plain Dealer’s website yesterday summing up the budget situation.
The only surprise about the latest budget antics from the Ohio Senate's Republicans is how obvious they are. Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, who rates so-so in polls, is expected to seek re-election. [...]
All right BSB readers, the Senate Republicans have screwed around long enough. It’s time to start making them really own this.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it (and you do), is to bring up the budget battle to at least three people you know that don’t follow politics [...]
The folks behind Conservapedia, the conservative alternative to Wikipedia, have a new project up their sleeves: stamping that pesky liberal bias out of the bible.
Basically they are taking English translations and re-wording them (without consulting earlier copies written in other languages) to remove what they believe to be a [...]
I’ve been a little bit puzzled by something that happened this morning that really just didn’t add up right, Obama Campaign Manager David Plouffe endorsed Lee Fisher for Senate.
And why doesn’t this add up? Because I just finished reading Plouffe’s book. It’s filled with his thoughts about taking on [...]
Senate Republicans have called off all meetings this week regarding a much delayed budget fix, delaying any chance of a fix for at least another week.
They’ve basically tried to turn this into a giant game of chicken, with a budget needing to be passed before the end of [...]
Steve Austria thought he could get himself some good press by holding a Blue Ribbon Committee to find out how local businesses could create more profitable dealings with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
There’s just one little problem.
The OH-15 blog has been running the panel members names through OpenSecrets’org. [...]
As world leaders gather in Copenhagen for a major environmental conference, the Environmental Protection Agency has decided to make a rather major move.
The EPA is expected to declare greenhouse gasses a danger to human health and must be regulated. The Supreme Court had previously barred the [...]
Andrew Sullivan wants to know, who is the mother of Trig Palin?
Of course that’s not the real issue here. Instead it all relates to Palin’s recent comments that seem to support the idea that President Barack Obama isn’t a U.S. citizen.
If she thinks that’s fair, than this [...]
You may remember from several months ago that Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman was tapped to serve on the Democratic Change Commission, a panel formed to review the 2008 Democratic Primary and suggest reforms. Back then, the role of superdelegates seemed to be the hot issue.
Well it’s been over [...]
Last Tuesday (December 1st), I spent the time between 7:30 P.M. and 9:00 P.M. at a Jennifer Brunner Woman’s Forum in Marietta, Ohio. While there, I posted several updates to the BSB Twitter account.
I also received the following email:
I’d been [...]
The Democratic Governor’s Association has listed Ohio as one of the five states in it’s new “GOP Accountability Project”. The program is aimed at taking on Republican’s who have supported the bad policies that has left our nation in such a fragile state.
Of course, John Kasich was an executive [...]
Last night in Marietta, Senate Candidate Jennifer Brunner kicked off a series of “Women’s Forums” that will be held all over the state.
It’s a really interesting concept that she’s having events as a candidate, yet not shoving the campaign in people’s faces. The event I went to last [...]
It just keeps narrowing down. We started off very vague, narrowed it down to three people, and now I can confidently knock two of them off the list.
When we last left off, the three people on the list were:
Guernsey County Sheriff Michael R. McCauley Marietta Mayor Michael [...]With the pressure mounting and opposition starting to crumble, the State Senate Republicans have put forth a new budget deal offer.
In a desperate attempt to not look powerless though, they’ve tacked on prison and construction reforms into the bill. As these issues haven’t really had any debate, it’s [...]
On Black Friday Jim Parker sent out a rather odd email (pasted after the break) about the status of his campaign. I say odd, because it almost seems to completely contradict itself several times.
I think you need to read the email for the full effect, but the gist is [...]
Mike Huckabee’s statement on his commutation of Maurice Clemmons’ sentence:
“The senseless and savage execution of police officers in Washington State has saddened the nation, and early reports indicate that a person of interest is a repeat offender who once lived in Arkansas and was wanted on outstanding warrants here [...]
Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman has become the latest entity to endorse Lee Fisher’s U.S. Senate campaign.
I can just see the back story to this one from here:
Scene:
{Lee Fisher sits with campaign manager Geri Prado in a dimly lit office}
Prado: Shit, Brunner’s managed to crack into the [...]
In a move that Krikorian supporters have been harping about for days now, State Rep. Todd Book has ended his run for Congress.
His statement:
Since I announced my intent to run for Congress I have been humbled and grateful for the support I have received from the district. It [...]
Something interesting happened on the Sunday talk show circuit yesterday, a politician bluntly put his beliefs before his job.
Freshman Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) told John King that he would support healthcare reform, even if it meant losing his seat.
“If you get to the final point and you [...]
It’s not exactly an epiphany, but a PPP Poll has shown that Democrats will suffer if they can’t manage to pass a healthcare bill.
"Most voters aren't following this debate really closely and don't understand the nuances of it all. At the end of the day voters are likely [...]
It’s that time of year again. On this day every year, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents all over the state unite behind a common cause: hating Michigan.
[...]Okay, feedback time here at BSB. Last weekend over 60% of you said you supported Brunner over Fisher, but the public narrative seems to be overwhelmingly the exact opposite. So what is she doing wrong? Money is obviously important, but it’s not everything. How does she wrestle control of the [...]
Governor Strickland isn’t all that happy with the Republican controlled Senate’s decision to recess for the holiday without passing a budget fix.
“I think it would be unseemly for the legislature to leave this town with this matter unresolved. I understand next week is a holiday period of time. [...]
There’s no question that we need to be watching the Ohio House races very closely this cycle, as Democrats have only a narrow majority.
In that light, it was some relief to hear that Lou Gentile is running to replace the term limited John Domenick in the 95th [...]
There’s some varying claims about a possible budget deal in the works in the Senate.
The Plain Dealer is reporting that the Republicans in the Senate seem to have reached a deal to pass a slightly altered version of Governor Strickland’s plan to balance the budget by delaying a [...]
Sure he’s no Ken Blackwell, but “Big Head” Bill Todd is back in the spotlight after running two disastrous Columbus political campaigns.
So what’s he trying to do now that he isn’t mayor and his anti-tax rhetoric failed miserably? He’s running for the State House of Representatives!
It seems [...]
I’d like a little input on something from the readers of this blog. BSB has been asked to be one of the first participants of a new program from the Progressive Book Club (PBC), and I’m seriously leaning towards approving it.
But first, I want to make sure you’re [...]
We’ve seen the RNC pick their House targets for 2010 a few times now, but the DNC is finally picking some targets of it’s own. They’ve picked a large handful of Republican held districts that went for Obama for a radio ad buy.
And on that list is none [...]
We’ve seen the scientific poll on the Ohio Senate race, but now it’s time for a poll of our own.
Lets see who BSB’s readers are supporting for the Democratic nomination in this race.
[...]Since Sarah Palin is coming to Ohio to sell her new book, ODP has decided to get in touch with her. They think this would be a perfect opportunity for her to campaign with John Kasich, and they’ve written her a letter saying as much.
At great expense (to whomever [...]
While Robert Portman has moved ahead slightly in a new Quinnipiac Poll on the Ohio Senate race, it seems that the race has become a huge tie. Portman doesn’t lead either Democratic candidate enough to claim a firm lead.
If the race was held today, here’s how it would go:
[...]Earlier today President Obama told veterans gathered at Arlington National Cemetery that “there is no tribute, no commemoration, no praise that can truly match the magnitude of your service and your sacrifice.”
I’m not sure I could have said it that eloquently, but I feel much the same way. [...]
Republicans may have a Senate primary on their hands after all, because news of challenger Tom Ganley seems to just keep coming and coming.
Right now, the big story is that Ganley seems to be the first Senate candidate on the airwaves. Yes, the self-financed candidate has made a [...]
Let’s get right down to the point, the date for the 2008 Democratic National Convention was announced on November 4th, 2005. You’ll notice that we’ve already passed that point in this election cycle. November 2005 was also the month where interested cities were formally invited to submit a bid on [...]
I knew it would be close, but I had hoped Strickland would come away with a slight lead. In actual fact, he’s tied 40-40 with Republican John Kasich.
So why am I not really worried about this poll? Because it shows people favoring John Kasich 42-34 on the economy.
Yes, [...]
Well, it’s finally that time again. I got the notification this morning that I can expect new Quinnipiac poll results on next years governors race to hit my inbox tomorrow.
So, what do expect them to be? Personally, I think it won’t be a blowout either way but Strickland will [...]
It’s being reported that the DNC has begun contacting cities about the possibility of hosting the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
This got me thinking, why not here in Ohio? Well, let’s take a look at where it’s been the last few times first…
Year City 1968 Chicago 1972 Miami 1976 New York City 1980 New York City 1984 San Francisco 1988 Atlanta 1992 New York City 1996 Chicago 2000 Los [...]This is almost too stupid, but a conservative in Florida has actually filed to create the Tea Party. Yes, a political party named Tea.
I’m impressed, I never thought there would be a 3rd party more of a joke than “Lieberman for Connecticut”.
[...]
The man pictured above made quite a pest of himself at one of Jennifer Brunner’s recent speaking engagements at the Elyria YWCA Board Dinner.
Apparently this guy showed up outside of the closed door event YWCA fundraiser, planted himself just outside the room door, [...]
Let me make this clear, Dennis Kucinich annoys the Hell out of me. He likes to grandstand and make all these speeches about helping people. But when he actually has a chance to vote on something we can really accomplish, he always backs off because it doesn’t fit with own [...]
I haven’t really heard from any Democrat who’s happy about Rep. John Boccieri’s votes last night. Specifically, he voted yes on Stupak and No on passage. He’s for 2!
Here’s Boccieri’s statement on why he backed down when we needed him:
"After nearly 150 roundtables and meetings in my district, [...]
I wrote the other day about how blogger support for Jennifer Brunner has been anemic at best, specifically mentioning the lack of fundraising efforts we’ve seen. At the time I claimed that no blog had raised money for Brunner, and was corrected by one blogger in the comments.
[...]I thought I made this pretty clear, but I’ve gotten many questions and concerns. So let me say this once again:
BSB Is NOT shutting down.
That said, I think BSB will be changing its tone somewhat. I know people (even me) appreciate the much more neutral tone the site [...]
There were three Ohio Reps. really mentioned as toss ups on this bill, and here's how they voted
Rep. Driehaus - AyeRep. Space - AyeRep. Boccieri - NoDennis Kucinich also voted against the bill, because he's Dennis Kucinich and he thinks he's special. Charlie Wilson, despite some speculation, stuck to his [...]
Healthcare reform has just passed in the U.S. House, with bipartisan (1 Republican vote) support no less.
Still waiting on the vote to close, but the number of votes needed to pass has been reached.
UPDATE: It's official, it passed. Now just to wait on the roll call vote to be [...]
If you haven't been paying attention, the House vote on the healthcare reform bill is just a few minutes away.
We'll finally find out exactly where Ohio's representatives stand on this bill, and it will be one of the votes that stays with them for the rest of their career.
So [...]
Earlier today I mentioned that there were some issues facing all blogs in Ohio, and in this post I’d like to share some of my thoughts. First up, the identity crisis many bloggers (including myself) seem to be having.
The simple fact is this: blogging went mainstream, and we didn’t [...]
The last 24 hours have probably been the most tumultuous period of time for this site since I took sole control over BSB several months ago.
If you haven’t already noticed, Plunderbund is down in preparation of a re-launch.
The bombshell concerning this site however, is that ModernEsquire [...]
Congressmen Steve Driehaus, John Boccieri, and Zack Space all have one thing in common. So far, all three of them have refused to pick a side on the upcoming healthcare reform bill vote.
While others like Tim Ryan Charlie Wilson have came out in support of the bill, these three [...]
Getting cocky after Tuesday’s election, the Ohio Republican Party has decided to take a major swing at Governor Ted Strickland. And I use the word “major” compared relative to running a joke like John Kasich against him.
Their new push, called “Turn Around Ted”, includes all the sorts of things [...]
Let’s not sugar coat this, we lost some big races in Ohio tonight.
There was the major upset of Mayor Rhine McLin in Dayton for starters. I don’t know anyone who saw this coming. And we also lost Toledo, with Democrat Keith Wilkowski conceding to Independent Mike Bell.
But [...]
NBC’s First Read blog is reporting that DSCC Chair Bob Menendez may have already reached a decision when it comes to the Ohio Senate race.
“When Chuck asked Menendez about key Senate pick-up opportunities for Democrats next year, the chairman singled out Ohio and Fisher. But he barely referred [...]
Polls close in a little over 3 hours, so now is the time to vote if you haven’t yet. If you go now, you might miss the after-work rush.
And if you’ve already voted, how did it go?
I was in and out in 5 minutes, but it seems [...]
There’s been an awful lot of hot air blowing around the conservative blogs about something going on down in Athens. Basically, it seems someone had the idea to offer college students $5 to bring a friend with them to vote.
Was it the greatest plan in the world? Probably [...]
It just wouldn’t be an election in Ohio without some sort of attempt to legalize gambling, and this year it takes the form of Issue 3.
Ballot Language
TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION TO ALLOW FOR ONE CASINO EACH IN
CINCINNATI, CLEVELAND, COLUMBUS, AND TOLEDO AND DISTRIBUTE
TO ALL [...]
A far-right primary challenger against Steve Stivers for the Republican nomination in the 15th district has jumped ship. Instead, David B. Ryon will be run as a Constitution Party candidate.
Ryon, as the Dispatch notes, is firmly anti-choice. Stivers, on the other hand, tends to lean pro-choice.
As you [...]
Good old “Turncoat Joe” Lieberman has stuck yet another knife in the back of the Democratic Party, promising to filibuster the current healthcare plan in the Senate.
So Harry Reid, why exactly does Lieberman still have his committee chairmanship?
[...]Ballot Language
2 PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
TO CREATE THE OHIO LIVESTOCK CARE STANDARDS BOARD TO ESTABLISH
AND IMPLEMENT STANDARDS OF CARE FOR LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY
Proposed by Joint Resolution of the General Assembly
To adopt Section 1 of Article XIV of the Constitution of the State of Ohio
[...]Here it is, the first of the BSB “We Have Issues” series. Issue 1 was fairly hard to write up, as it really doesn’t seem to be a hotly contested issue.
As for format, I tried to stay neutral. Below you’ll find the ballot language, some notable supporters and opponents, [...]
Question: Has anyone heard of any serious efforts here in Ohio to take away people’s guns? You know, by our NRA endorsed Governor?
So why are the OH-House Republicans rallying around a new bill aimed at (no pun intended, I’m not that corny) protecting people’s access to guns?
*cough* wedge [...]
We pretty much knew that last quarter wasn’t a good one for the Brunner Campaign, but I think the damage may have been far deeper than anyone expected.
So just how much did Brunner bring in last quarter?
About -$54,000. That’s right negative.
It’s not really fair to put [...]
Following up on Modern’s post earlier, it’s time to check back in on another at risk State House district. Specifically the 93rd, which is currently held by Secretary of State candidate Jennifer Garrison.
Last time around I was incredibly vague because the potential candidates and local party officials [...]
The 2009 Election is coming up quickly, and this year we have three statewide issues on the ballot. So far, we’ve only briefly touched on these issues at best, but that’s about to change.
Since ballot issues can be confusing or misleading, I think we should put together some sort [...]
Lost in all the other fundraising news was this little jewel, OH-12 candidate Paula Brooks has raked in $161,861 so far.
Her opponent, incumbent Patrick Tiberi raised $331,904.
But the kicker? She’s only been in this race for 5 weeks. Tiberi’s was raised over 13 weeks (7/1 – 9/30)
Lets [...]
Following on the heals of Brunner firing her finance team, Lee Fisher has released some information about his fundraising numbers.
Basically, Fisher raised $620,000 last quarter and now has $1.6 million on hand.
[...]According to the Dispatch, Jennifer Brunner’s campaign has fired their finance team.
It’s well known that Brunner has lagged behind in fundraising. Perhaps fresh people will be able to make more progress.
One things for sure though, this doesn’t spell encouragement for her numbers from last quarter. And the [...]
The statewide AFL-CIO has endorsed several Democrats running for statewide offices, including:
Ted Strickland for Governor Richard Cordray for Attorney General Kevin Boyce for Treasurer David Pepped for Auditor And Jennifer Garrison for Secretary of StateGranted none of them have serious primary opponents, but the AFL-CIO is always a [...]
As we get closer to Election Day 2009, there’s one local race candidate that I really think we need to highlight. That is, of course, the one of fellow blogger Jill Miller Zimon.
I often like to refer to Jill as the voice [...]
Lee Fisher just picked up yet another Congressional endorsement for his U.S. Senate bid, that of the 16th district’s John Boccieri.
"I know that, as our next U.S. Senator, Lee will be a leader on behalf of all Ohioans. Lee will work tirelessly to bring new economic development to our [...]
Joseph over at Plunderbund points out the odd reversal that ProgressOhio has done on Citizens for Community Values in the last few years.
In addition to Joe’s points, I’d like to add this. How in Hell could any progressive organization partner up with a group the [...]
You may remember Congressman John Boehner saying a few weeks ago that he hadn’t heard from a single American in support of a public option. Now it appears that he certainly didn’t check with his own district before opening his mouth.
DailyKos commissioned Research 2000 to poll Boehner’s district. [...]
A pretty incredible thing happened in the debate on healthcare reform in the Senate. Thirty Senators, over half of the Democratic caucus, signed a letter to Harry Reid demanding a public option.
And the first signature on this letter? None other than Ohio’s own Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Dear Majority [...]
After the last administration, I though it would be decades before the rest of the world would give an American president any kind of peace prize, but I guess I was wrong.
This morning it was announced that President Barack Obama was this years Nobel Peace Prize winner, the [...]
