If Republicans Want to Help Voters, Then Include Auto Registratrion

Two local Republicans are pushing a bill to reduce the number of voters, yet claim this will prevent voter fraud. Alex Triantafilou, chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party and chair of the Hamilton County Board of Elections thinks by making it more difficult to vote, it protects the right to vote. His logic escapes me and anyone else looking to increase voter turnout.

If Republicans want to make assure their identity, but also are for more people voting, then there two things they can do:

1. Investigate the 14% voter fraud in Indian Hill (I am half kidding on this.)
2. If they require a state ID to vote, make it law that anyone with a valid State ID is then automatically registered to vote and you stay registered to vote as long as your ID is valid. Why would they be against this, unless they really don't want more people to vote?

I'm not expecting either because the point of requiring photo ID is to reduce poorer, inner city, and minority voters. In other words, Democratic voters. Denying that is like denying water is wet or that Germans love David Hasselhoff.

For Kasich It's Not About the Streetcar, It's All About His Political Agenda

If anyone tells you that the reason Governor Kasich is pulling funding for Cincinnati Streetcar is anything other than Politics, then they are a fucking liar. You can tell them I am calling them a liar and you can put these simple political reasons back in their face:

Kasich is pulling funding because:

• He's looking to screw those that don't vote for him and the City of Cincinnati really didn't vote for him with only 28.77% supporting him, so Kasich plays hardball with State funds for revenge.
• He's looking to do what his fellow Republicans want and Most (not all) of Cincinnati area Republican leaders are against the Streetcar as they are against nearly anything good for Cincinnati. If you don't think Kasich heard anti-Streetcar views from Hartman, Monzel, Ghiz, Winburn, Deters, Brinkman, Finney, Chabot, Triantafilou & Boehner, then you should get your head out of your ass.
• He's anti-Urban, plain and simple, something that is a growing theme for Republicans. It fits the divide of much of the political sphere. The Exurbs and Rural areas are where Republican voters lives so they are going to get more money from Republicans.
• He's anti-Rail. He's against anything that does not make it easier for Republican voters drive their cars.  He's also is looking to promote the automotive industry and asphalt/concrete/road construction industries.  It is like he's living in 1955 and can't get his head out of his ass.

What is more insulting is how Kasich did this.  He didn't do what normal respectable Governors do when breaking bad news, namely call the Mayor and issue a press release.  Instead Kasich makes flippant and arrogant comments to the media right here in Cincinnati.  He comes into our town and insults us.  Kasich shows he is a jerk.  I'm not name calling, I'm being nice.  The term "jerk" is not the first one to come to mind, but I'm trying to be a little more classy.  I'm not above being crass (as I'm first to admit), but as I make this point, I'll try and be far more classy that he was.

If you are not convinced yet of Republicans out to ruin cities, then read Urbancincy's article documenting the efforts for the Republicans on the Ohio Senate Sub Committee on Transportation to directly defund the Cincinnati Streetcar.  Not just any streetcar or rail system, but Cincinnati's alone.  Guess who sits on the committee: Senator Gary Cates (R) of West Chester.  So, did he propose this effort to hurt Cincinnati? Who's ideas was it and where did it originate? To bad there is not more than one professional reporter in Columbus to ask these questions.  It would be even better if that newspaper would actually print anything about it.

CityKin points out evidence of Mr. AssfaultAsphalt's problem and what I would call corruption.  He makes a bad Sheriff to Kasich's Prince John, but the if the parallel fits, wear it.

Reminder: Cincinnati Imports Event Tonight - Monday March 21st at MOTR

Everyone is welcome to the Cincinnati Imports next event: happy hour at MOTR on 3/21, Here's the detail from the website:

"Join Cincinnati Imports on Monday, March 21 from 6-9 p.m. for a Happy Hour at MOTR Pub at 1345 Main Street. MOTR Pub is a newish bar and restaurant specializing in local music--they also have great beer and food.

All are welcome! Cincinnati Imports Happy Hours are low-key, and it's a fantastic way to meet new people.

MOTR is extending their awesome happy hour prices to 9 p.m., and they have great food, as well (with vegetarian options). Monday night has a $3 martini special, while Happy hour prices include:
$2.5 on select Draft
$3.25 Wells
$4 Wine"

Cincy Playhouse Announces 2011-2012 Season

Rick Pender at CityBeat has the full rundown of next year's season at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, which is the 20th and final season for Producing Artistic Director Ed Stern, who is retiring.

Someone at the Enquirer is Pushing an Anti-Downtown Bias, Again

I think someone at the Enquirer needs to buy a map. This article, which is titled: Ham. Co. taxpayers subsidizing downtown parking, talks about how County Commissioners are considering selling parking garages, which are located Downtown. The article also talks about how those Downtown lots are cheaper than many other lots and some of those lots are required to be provided as part of the Stadium leases.

Monzel is quoted as saying they are "subsidizing" these spaces. Something he would say because he wants the cost of everything to go up. Monzel likely loves the headline, but based on quotes I read in the article I don't read him painting this as subsidy of Downtown. Still don't need a map, yet, just maybe they don't need to spin the story so much.  But, hold on a second...

What the writing of the headline (again which read "Ham. Co. taxpayers subsidizing downtown parking") forgets is that DOWNTOWN IS LOCATED IN HAMILTON COUNTY. Downtown is NOT some foreign country. Downtown is NOT in Kentucky. Downtown is WHERE THE HAMILTON COUNTY COMMISSION MEETS. Do the Commission members park in lots that the County owns when they are doing County Business?  I am betting they do.  I wouldn't be surprised to learn they get free parking in county lots.

The headline, whether intentional or not, states that Hamilton County Tax payers are subsidizing Downtown.  The grammar which the editor likely would point to may not have been intended, but I doubt that.  There was no need to state in the headline where the parking lots were located.  The context of the article did that quite clearly.  All you would have to do is drop the word "downtown" and it wouldn't have been a problem. (At least not the headline.)  There is an anti-City and specifically anti-Downtown elements in parts of the County and the headline makes a tax payer in Anderson Township or Montgomery (or even Westwood) more likely draw an unrelated conclusion that would build the anti-Downtown attitude.  Too many non-city and non-urban (in the case of the some parts of Westwood) still will bad mouth Downtown, but we don't need the local media giving them false impressions feeding their hate.

I have repeatedly written about the need for headline writers to be VERY CAREFUL when they are writing.  People far too often only read the headlines and don't pay attention to the grammar subtleties.  Furthermore those who read the article are greatly influenced by the headline.  People might think Monzel bad mouthed Downtown if they read that headline.  I didn't read that in the body of the article, but you could have that impression.  I don't doubt Monzel has a disdain for Downtown, which his votes in the past have shown, but we don't need bias in our headlines.  Save that for the Editorial page.

Also, shouldn't the lead of the article been about parking rates at some county owned lots are going up?  That was buried.  That's odd.

Census Numbers Conflict With Voter Registration

Bill Sloat at the Daily Bellwether is reporting on a key problem with the 2010 Census numbers.  Sloat reports the Adult vs Child population breakdown from the 2010 Census.  The total City of Cincinnati Population listed is 296,943 of which 231,237 are adult, aged 18 or older.  That leaves 65,706 children.

Now, let's compare this to the last few years totals of registered voters:

Year	Registered Voters	%
2010	209,259	90.50%
2009	225,680	97.60%
2008	229,413	99.21%
2007	212,303	91.81%
2005	212,202	91.77%
2004	215,454	93.17%

The % above is based on registered voters divided by the 2010 adult population of 231,237.

So, a few months before the Census time frame (April 1, 2010) we had approximately 98% voter registration. I had no idea we did that well. Similarly, seven months later we had 91% voter registration, a large drop, but it continued the normal drop from a presidential election, yet still very high.

What gives? We obviously don't have that high of a registration rate. We obvioulsy don't have that much voter registration error or fraud, no matter how many Republicans want claim such. We know both points are true because the article points out that similar rates can be seen county wide.  We also know this to be valid if we look at some other municipalities within the County.  As an example take Cheviot, not known as a liberal bastion, which has a 2010 population according to the census of 8,375 with 6,547 adults aged 18 years or more.  The voting registration for Cheviot in November for 2010 was 5,293 or 81%.

So, I'm sure that Republicans are thinking, hmmm, that is 10% lower than Cincinnati, must be something fishy going there.  Well, before you worry about Cincinnati, you might want to take a look at Indian Hill.  The Village of Indian Hill (actually a city) has a 2010 population of 5,785 with adults over age 18 totaling 4,221.  In the November election Indian Hill had a voter registration of 4,797.  If you know your math, and I know you do, that would equal a registration rate of 114%.  Sure, 500 kids could have turned 18 after April 1st, 2010, but before election day and they all could have registered to vote.  I doubt that.

No, I'm not claiming voter fraud is occurring en masse in Indian Hill, nor am I saying our Board of Election is careless. Instead I suggest the census numbers are wrong. There is little doubt that the entire county was undercounted.

Enquirer Covers Small Protest in Mason, But What About Thousands Downtown?

Yes, it is a good thing that the Enquirer covered a protest in Mason, even though it attracts a slue of idiotic comments. The protest had a few dozen people, so was it worth it in the big picture?

I ask if it was worth it because yesterday afternoon there were reportedly 3 to 4 thousand people on Fountain Square, protesting the Governor's plan to gut the State Budget in his plan to destroy many public services. I can't find a word about it online in the Enquirer. I understand this took place during part of the first play-in game for the NCAA basketball tournament, but I figured it would at least get mentioned in the politics blog.

700WLW has a Story on it. WVXU also has a story. Local Radio represents!

Local TV was pretty weak, but had some presence. WCPO had a story. FOX19 had a story, but claimed "hundreds", which by all other report was just incorrect. I found nothing on WLWT and nothing on WKRC.

We have local news events happening and we don't have local news reporters covering them. Our local media is failing, again.

So Radio ruled, local TV was weak, and the Enquirer cared more about a couple dozen people in Mason than thousands in Downtown Cincinnati.

The local media have starved themselves down to so few reporters they can't do the job. I am holding back from saying that the Enquirer purposely ignored this rally for political reasons, but just couldn't one editor have asked a reporter who maybe doesn't normally cover local politics to walk, just WALK, over to the rally a few blocks away and file a story? No one has to expense anything, but maybe one less sports story or human interest fluff piece gets printed. I know, a big sacrifice, but someone must bare it.

There wasn't even an AP story on this, but that I think falls to the Enquirer's failure.

P.S. If someone actually finds a story in the Enquirer on this, then someone over there needs to improve the search function or at least get it indexed in Google.