OH-07: Mitchel is In

I'm coming to this party a little late, but I shouldn't be surprised at all to discover that on January 4th, John Mitchel filed for OH-07. His primary opponent is State Senator Steve Austria.

Mitchel has run for office before (DISCLOSURE: Mitchel dropped out of the DeWine/Pierce/Smith Senate primary after I had started working for Pierce) and has a LOT of good ideas. If my recollections are correct, he is a pretty strong libertarian-type conservative and is exactly the sort of voice that OH-07 conservatives ought to take a close look at...

"Every two years we go through the same drill. The candidates discuss the issues of the day and promise to make things right. Irresponsible spending, Social Security, healthcare, illegal immigration, gun control, abortion -- you name it. Talk is cheap before the primary and even cheaper leading up to election-day in November. However, nothing changes because they never address the root causes for failure of big government and its increasing tendency to control all aspects of our lives. These trends are clearly recognizable across America, but there's a strong argument that Ohio is leading the race to the bottom. For example:

* In terms of combined local, state and federal taxes, Ohio ranks in the top five in the U.S.
* Ohio is second last in the nation in job growth, and
* 25% above the national average in unemployment,
* Ohio ranks # 2 in foreclosed homes and delinquent mortgages,
* Ohio leads the nation in 20 to 39-year-olds leaving the state. That's one reason we lost five Congressional House seats since 1980 and will lose two more after the 2010 census,
* Fraud, waste, abuse and corruption continue to be growth industries in Ohio. Our last governor was Ohio's first governor to be convicted of a crime while in office, and we have two former Congressmen in federal prison, with at least one more waiting in the wings if justice is served."

Seriously, this guy needs to be representing us in Congress...he says all of the right things, and unlike most politicians, he means it.

Check out his website for more information.

UPDATE: I'm not thrilled with his Iraq policy: "It is time to leave Iraq to the Iraqis." That pretty much confirms Mitchel as the Ron Paul of Ohio...