Wilkinson Joins Korte

It is good to see that Howard Wilkinson has joined Greg Korte on the Enquirer's Cincinnati Political Blog. When I worked downtown I would see him eating lunch in Skyline all the time. It is good to see him in the blog world.

Bronson Takes Sides

I don't think Bronson cares who wins the Mayor Race. His man, Nutty Charlie Winburn, lost big. This column suggests that Bronson is leaning towards Pepper. The column for some reason brings another TV show into a political column. I really must suggest to Peter, who I may meet at next Week's CinAd Debate, that he needs to start getting out a little more. He is watching way too much TV. It seems he attacks a TV show every week because they don't portray something, twice recently women, that don't act they way he wants or think they should act. Leave television shows out of it.

Pepper vs. Mallory

Things got a little bit testy last night. Pepper did at least two things wrong. First, he boosted the importance of the "Black Fist" by saying their opinion matters too anyone outside of the three members of the group. Second, he got petty and got negative. Endorsements are not substantial political issues. Actions matter, who is listed on your website is not.

I can feel Pepper's desperation like a fog in a river valley. It is as if he is reaching for anything to hit Mallory with: a stuffed animal, a feather, anything. He is starting to signal a massive move to the right. I would guess he would ride the crime issue all the way into November, but say little about how he would change what exists. What exists is his membership on the governing body of the City that has the perceived extreme problems on crime.

I don't know how much these debates change anyone's opinions. Those attending may form an opinion, so I guess more people need to attend or listen to the debates. Stay tuned to WAIF-FM 88.3. Cincinnati Advance will have their debate covered and covered in a big way.

UPDATE: Well, I was extra rushed today and bit out of it, so my bad typing and lack of proof reading was bad.

Miers for SCOTUS

In what so far seems like a pick few are happy with, I myself don't know what to make of this nominee. She appears short on experience and big on being a Bush Crony. She has no record on much of anything to suggest that she has much of a judicial philosophy formed. She seems like too much of a politico, one of Bush's people who is there because Bush wants her there, not because she is the right person for the job.

She may turn out to be a Souter or a Scalia. I think she is heading for tough questions from both sides of the aisle, which gives the Dems more room to hit her on any soft spots.

It is not unthinkable that she would not make it out of committee. That would take the right wing to do that, but that could happen. I can't imagine the Dems would want to join forces with the right wing on this, but who knows what will happen. It all depends on how much she states her views. If she doesn't, then I expect she could lose a vote on the floor and lose fairly largely. Keep in mind we are talking about the Republicans here, and if they are nothing else, they are good little soldiers.

The NYTimes has a story that does make me sick. It is amazing how BushCo has to reach out to extremists, dare I say theocratic fascists, like James C. Dobson. When Bushco has to spin like this, you know they are dealing with a group of people who are extremists:

Beginning at 9 a.m., the White House and the Republican Party began organizing a series of nearly a half-dozen conference calls with conservative organizers to relieve anxieties about Ms. Miers's views. In one call, friends of Ms. Miers, including Justice Nathan Hecht of the Texas Supreme Court, testified to her evangelical Christian faith and devoted participation in the theologically conservative Valley View Christian Church in Dallas.

Mr. Hecht, in particular, assured them that she personally opposed abortion and had once attended "pro-life" events with him, said participants in the call. (He made similar statements in an interview with Marvin Olasky, editor of the Christian conservative World magazine, published on its Web site.)

When it matters that she is a "evangelical Christian," then you know there is a problem. If there are those on the right, and I think there are MANY like this but more than will admit it, who honestly want or need her to be a particular religion, than how long will it be before our political battles become something closer to the Sunni-Shiite battles in Iraq. When I say battles, I don't mean a war of words. I sound like Chicken Little here, but the divide in this country on religion is growing. This pick may try and soothe that divide, but in the end she may just do what the extreme right wing wants out of political fear.

Hackett to Challenge DeWine for Senate

Here is your answer. This is interesting. Hackett could tap into the Southwest Ohio GOP strong hold. If He does that and carries the middle, he can win this. Poll numbers are not proof of anything but possibility at this stage of the game. DeWine is not the worst Republican in the world, but the far reaching extremism of much of the GOP in this state, may be the ruin of him and their chances. The bloody GOP governors primary will be an illustration of that. The race is on and Hackett is out with a good start, but there is a long way to go.

Hackett Over DeWine in WSJ Poll

Daily Kos reports what I frankly find surprising. Paul Hackett leads Mike DeWine 44 to 36 percent in a WSJ Poll. This is huge news for Paul Hackett and will put wind under his sails. I don't know how it plays for other Democrats looking to get in the Race. The GOP is behind mike, but with a big statewide push for Governor and Senate, the Dems have a chance to take both.

I am surprised DeWine is that far behind. Hackett's name really carried over from his strong showing down here back in August. Will he run for Senate?

Cincy Blogging & Politics

The local mainstream press is giving blogs a little attention today, but instead of discussion more about what we post on, this is more about the efforts of the Bush Administration to limit Free Speech. So this is an article about political blogging. Talk Radio is allowed to attack every Democrat out there, yet no one in the Bush administration lifts a finger. A few Dem bloggers raised a little bit of money for candidates by having a few links on their site, and WOW we have a federal case.

Leave blogs alone. We are the embodiment of Freedom of the Press for the 21st Century. You don't need a corporation or a license to be protected both under Freedom of the Press and Speech clauses of the 1st Amendment. I for one will not be changing anything that I do. I can saw that because on a local level I generally try to cover everyone. I don't do it fairly. I am a liberal and I favor liberals. I can be fair. I am far more fair to local Republicans than WLW is to Democrats. That may have to do with their willingness to bash or just ignore the City of Cincinnati. I respect most Republicans running for City Council in at least as much as I am convinced they support and like the city. They want to succeed. I think many or even most Republicans outside the City would rather see it fail, and come in and scoop up the power for themselves 10 years from now. This is why I believe Metro Government is making a push in Republican circles around here, not Democratic circles.

Council Race

Hey, does everyone remember Cincinnati City Council has an election this year? The mayor's race has been getting the ink lately, so lets at least recap who is on the ballot:

Charter:
Chris Bortz
Chris Smitherman
Nick Spencer
Jim Tarbell

Democrats
Jeff Berding
Eve Bolton
Laketa Cole
John Cranley
David C. Crowley
Samantha Herd
Damon Lynch, III
Cecil Thomas
Wendell Young

Republicans
John Eby
Leslie Ghiz
Sam Malone
Chris Monzel

And the Rest
Bill Barron
Bennie Green
Antonio Hodge
Gerry Kraus
William S. Mathews, II
Paul McGhee
Ishaq Nadir
Michael Earl Patton
Victor Phillips
Ronnie Stallworth
Curtis Wells
Robert J. Wilking
Eric Wilson
Robert Wilson

Tour of Downtown Living

Those living downtown may have had a few vistors today: The Tour of Downtown Living started this morning. Anyone go? Any views on the types of places available?

Midpoint Concert Photos by Scott Preston

Check out a wide variety of Midpoint Photos from Caribou Studios.

Things You Don't Know

A very interesting interview with Norma Rashid. I never knew why she left television, but viral cardiomyopathy does explain why.

Smoked Filled Room

The Ohio Republican party wasted no time endorsing Mike DeWine's re-election bid. You don't suppose Mike's involvement with the Gang of 14 worried GOP leaders that he might face a bloody primary challenge next year from the right wing of the party?

20 Days and 20 Nights: Photo Contest

Send a Blog Entry and Photo to the folks at ETA and you could win a membership. Details are here.

He Just Hates Gays

I will never understand the Log Cabin Republicans. In today’s political climate they are roundly hated by the power structure of the GOP. When I say hate I use it in the context that the GOP Power Structures uses the hate and fear of gays as one of the main issues they use to rally the voters.

None-the-less, the local Log Cabin Republicans have issued their endorsements for council and pick Leslie Ghiz, and to a lesser degree John Eby and Paul McGee.

What caught my eye from Korte's blog post was ending which included a quote from local Log Cabin Republican President Ted Jackson:

Not endorsed were incumbent Republican Councilmen Sam Malone and Chris Monzel. Malone, who ran the campaign last year opposing the repeal of Article XII, wouldn't even talk to the group, Jackson said. Monzel was more receptive, but stuck to his opposition to gay rights.

"That was one, for me personally, that kind of tore me up," Jackson said. "Chris is a great Republican and a good guy."

While I have never met Chris Monzel, I have heard from everyone that is a very good guy. That said, how can you really be so great if you oppose Gay Rights? Or more to the point, how can people be called a good guy by a group who Monzel believes do not deserve equal rights? He is a great guy, I guess, he just hates gays.

I guess this is crutch of many people who are not on board with support for Gay rights. This also applies to some Democrats out there, but not on the scale that it hits the GOP. People can go on about how they are good people and don't discriminate based on race or religion or gender or nationality or even to a degree on sexual orientation. When it comes to granting Gays equal rights under the law, many otherwise good people just say no.

Malone Trial Put Off

Councilman and accused child abuser Sam Malone, had his trail postponed until after the election. I don't know if this will help his election chances or not. If he is "innocent," which I personally doubt, he would gain vindication of sorts with an acquittal before the election. He would get doubly screwed if he was convicted. So, he is likely helped, as much as it can help with his horrible reputation. I seriously doubt he can be elected, even with the GOP endorsement. The GOP I think put all of their chances with getting Winburn in the top two for the Mayor’s race. Once he was crushed, so was the GOP’s chances to gain anything on council.

City Council Candidates Speak

City Council candidates answer your questions

Follow the Money

The battle for the buck

In case you missed it: David Pepper is not Adolph Hitler

Greg Korte has the full background, but evidently David Pepper is not Adolph Hitler. Mark Mallory was happy to point this out and showed humor and a bit of class in how he responded to David Pepper's overzealous campaign staff out to try and blame Mark Mallory for every bad thing said about David Pepper.

The Classy move for Mallory should go down as a classic political move:

Concerned that denouncing mean statements against David Pepper could be an on-going problem, the Mallory campaign has taken the proactive step of requesting that the Pepper Campaign send daily e-mail updates about any new mean statements made by anyone that need to be denounced. The Mallory Campaign is hopeful that all denouncements can be completed by 10:00 am daily, so that the campaign can return to the normal business of discussing real issues.

In one press release, Mallory is able to make Pepper's campaign look childish, make people paying attention like my laugh my ass off, and distance himself from Nate Livingston. Brilliant!

MIAMI 44, UC 16

Love and honor to Miami,
Our college old and grand,
Proudly we shall ever hail thee,
Over all the land.

Alma mater now we praise thee,
Sing joyfully this lay,
Love and honor to Miami,
Forever and a day.

RedHawks get offensive

Ring that Bell!

Mayoral Campaign Getting Negative

Despite what Pepper is saying, both candidates are playing on the negatives of the other candidate. There is nothing wrong with doing it, but when you say your not trying to be "negative" and then you are negative, well, you look like you are making a very poor argument, and are talking out of both sides of your mouth.

Negative is not being dirty. Negative is saying "my opponent is not good," and then adding something they did wrong or associating them with a problem. Mallory has done it, fairly effectively. Pepper has been avoiding it, until yesterday. Does this suggest that Pepper senses he could lose or is behind in the polls? I know of no polls out there, outside of the 146 vote difference in the primary, to suggest Pepper need worry. The primary result should have made him more than worried; it should have put the fear of Zeus into him. I expect the negative attacks to continue. I don't think they will work for Pepper. They do work for Mallory.