This is what Democracy Looks Like, Literally

Monday morning lines to vote in Downtown Cincinnati. A wonderful sight!

Long Lines at the BOE

Today the line to vote at the Hamilton County Board of Elections at around 11:00 AM stretched to Eighth Street. I fully expect national media outlets be set up TV coverage from Cincinnati on election night. Hamilton County will be one of the most watched counties in the entire nation on Tuesday.

If President Obama wins here, he will most likely carry the state and win the election.

So, where should a political blogger hang out awaiting the returns? I personally want to be in hand in case something crazy happens here. I don't want the national media to fuck up the coverage of this area or our state, so I plan keeping my nose in the game, if it is close.

If one if the candidates is walking away with the election I plan on drinking heavily, very early, no matter who wins.

Political Intervention is Bad Business and Unethical

As a graduate of the Richard T. Farmer School of business I can tell you that I never learned it was a good business practice for a company, any company, to try to influence its employees' votes in an election. Why? For the same reason it is not a good reason to tell your employees what church they should go to. The head of Cintas, Scott Farmer, sent an email to Cintas employees that made it pretty clear how they should vote. It was the wrong thing to do. It creates a hostile workplace, literally. I would resent my CEO if he told me how to vote. The only thing the head of my company has ever done is to encourage us to vote and pass out League of Women Voters guides, the most non-partisan voter guides around.

A sane business manager worries about about attracting a large numbers of customers. A good business manager does not care how that customer votes, as long as they buy the product.  A good manager also attracts the best talent to work for them to attract those customers.  Voting choices don't determine job abilities.  It is a clear problem when bad managers state directly or imply success for employees depends on voting choices.

I don't know if it is egomania, fear, or ignorance that would cause Scott Farmer to cross this ethical line.  All I know is that he crossed it, and is showing he is not a good business manager.  I hope all of the current Richard T. Farmer school of business students pay attention.  If they like what they see in Farmer's actions, they should get an F in the capstone management course we all took as seniors.

So what do we know: at least a few CEOs feel fear from not having complete control over the government. If any Cintas voters were not put off by this, I hope they at least lose respect for their CEO. He obviously doesn't respect the rights and choices of the employees.

Richard T. Farmer's son, Scott, appears to not have learned enough at Miami. I fear that he learned too much from his father on the subject of politics, so that is clouding his judgement.

More from CityBeat.

Fingerman Running in the Ohio First Against Chabot?

Another candidate 'appears' to have entered the race for Ohio's First Congressional district and it is Mitch Fingerman.

In a district that lacks a real candidate to face the gerrymandered incumbent, it is great to have someone at least making an effort to go through the motions of running a campaign.

Thank you Mitch Fingerman!

He's having an event at Milton's on November 1st, 5:30 to 7:30. Come out and hear The Goodle Boys play and hear about Fingerman's first campaign.

The Cincinnati Herald’s Endorsements Are Out

The weekly newspaper The Cincinnati Herald has issued their endorsements for the 2012 Election. They pick mostly Democrats in the contested races. I'm surprised they picked anyone for the 1st or 2nd congressional districts, since those are effectively unopposed races.

Mandel Alters Abortion Position: He's Lying to Someone

The Enquirer Politics Extra blog is reporting that a statement issued by Republican Senate candidate Josh Mandel within the last 24 hours differs with a questionnaire he submitted to the Right to Life Cincinnati anti-abortion group. On the questionnaire he stated he does not believe in any abortion exceptions, at all. In the statement issued in response to questions surrounding the Indiana Republican Senate race, Mandel said he has "always" been clear on abortion: he's against it in all situations, except when the mother's life is "threatened."

So, when was Mandel lying in this case? Was it to the general public or to the RTL of Cincinnati?

Mandel has the reputation of talking out of both sides of his mouth, even more than the average Politician, but documenting it takes the cake.  If the RTL group has any credibility, yeah...a long shot, they would at least demand a clear explanation. Clear being the key word. Mandel needs an explanation that does not just indicate carelessness by a staffer. The buck stops higher than that.

TPM Points to Hamilton County as 'Clearest Swing' in Ohio

A very interesting article from Talking Points Memo that provides in-depth analysis of Ohio's points of focus for the Presidential election.

Hamilton County is labeled the clearest swing county in the state and is given lots of importance. We've been a high target for both campaigns and likely will see both candidates here the final week, assuming Ohio's numbers remain close.

I don't think either candidate can write off Ohio, so I expect to see multiple trips over the next 1.5 weeks. In less than 2 weeks it should be over. If not, then buckle up fit trouble.