Gov. T-Shirt Ted Pulls Latest Scheme Off the Table

Did you hear the one about the governor who wants to open a t-shirt shop in Florida instead of running for a second term? Well, maybe if the 527 media had asked the governor a few serious questions about his actual plan to Turn Around Ohio instead of the usual antics to depress Republican voters, we might have actually learned ahead of time that Governor Strickland has no plan. His latest scheme involved using electronic bingo games called Keno to plug budget deficits. One problem with the plan: Ohioans have voted down gambling time and again.

The Cincinnati Enquirer picks up the story...

The Ohio Lottery Commission was hoping the state Controlling Board on Monday would approve nearly $18 million for equipment to operate keno, a video lottery game resembling bingo, at various locations such as taverns and restaurants.

Strickland wanted the money approved quickly so the games could begin bringing in revenue to patch education department cuts following the projection of a statewide budget deficit.

But Republican lawmakers who are the majority on the board said they would oppose the Democratic governor's request. The four lawmakers, two from the House and two from the Senate, want public hearings on the proposal before voting on it.

They believe the measure should also be approved by a legislative panel that oversees changes to agency rules.

Also missing from all of this fantastic 527 media coverage of these events is Ohio's Eliot Spitzer: Marc Dann. You see, Marc Dann had this great idea to bust everybody in the state who had an electronic gaming machine. At the time, everybody thought this was a little odd seeing as all of the gaming lobbyist types had been donating to Democrats...but Ohio Democrats had a plan after all! By getting rid of the machines that were making money for businesses in the state, then Gov. T-Shirt could propose this ridiculous idea and everybody would be happy again.

Uhh...not so much...

If this is Turning Around Ohio, I think we're better off the direction we were headed...and THAT is saying a lot...



UPDATE: More details and comments from the Columbus Dispatch story:

"You can't gamble your way to prosperity," said state Sen. Joy Padgett, R-Coshocton, a member of the Controlling Board. "People who can least afford it will be spending money on it. For a lot of people, hope can become extremely expensive."

Sen. John A. Carey Jr., a Wellston Republican and board member, said he, too, opposes Ohio's expansion into Keno.

"We just had voters vote down slot machines, and they have consistently," he said. "I just don't think an expansion of gambling is something the public wants and I don't think it's good fiscal policy."

Also yesterday, state Sen. Ron Amstutz, R-Wooster, announced that he will introduce legislation to ban Keno and similar games. Amstutz did not reveal details of his proposal.

But here is the key point that most 527 media outlets are forgetting to include in their reporting:

Many lawmakers, including several who sit on the Controlling Board, say Keno resembles casino-style games that Ohio voters have rejected three times since 1990.

Bravo to the Dispatch for doing so...

OH-18: Phillips on Race, Gender, and Republican Politics

In response to this release published on WMD yesterday regarding a Jeanette Moll event, her opponent Paul Phillips says "I look forward to the day when Republicans can be blind to race and gender and simply support the best qualified candidate. My wife, a hard working mother and professsional, is also a minority (Asian). She is perhaps the most ardent opponent of any racial or gender preferences you will meet. I remember her looking at me with that "I don't think so" look when I first told her about the Offficer's Wives Club. She asked properly, "is there an Officer's Husbands Club"? She is also not a member of our county's Womens Republican Club. She will tell you she's happy being simply a Republican. Morgan Freeman said it well on a 60 Minutes interview when he was describing why he disliked Black History Month..it went something like this...."If you want to make race (or gender) a non-issue, don't make race (or gender) an issue."

Exit Question: I have to ask...has Joy Padgett endorsed Jeanette Moll? If not, why not?

State Sen. Padgett is NOT Running Again

The Zanesville Times Recorder has the news:

COSHOCTON — State Senator Joy Padgett has announced that she will not run for re-election in the 2008 election.

In a Sept. 4 letter to Ohio Senate President Bill Harris, Padgett told Harris “the time has come for me to change direction and, therefore, I will not be running for the Senate in 2008.”

“Things happen in life and then you put them all together in a package and make a decision and I am 100 percent at peace with this,” she said. “I just know that the time has come for me to do something else.”

Previously on WMD, we reported that it looked as if Padgett were planning to run again.

She was quoted as saying at the time that she hadn't decided not to run, so what happened in the last three weeks to make her change her mind? Curious...

9/7 Update

The Post Online reports that State Rep Jimmy Stewart (R) plans to run for this seat.

Why is The Accidental Congressman Campaigning Already?

There are tons of things left unsaid in this New York Times piece on Zack Space. Among them:

Space will not be able to run against Ney and Abramoff

The district is more conservative than he is.

The NRCC is determined to get the seat back:

“We will do what it takes to win back a seat that we believe is rightfully ours,” said Ken Spain, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

He's not running against Joy Padgett in a last minute effort.

Space has "voted for one of the largest tax increases in history."

Space has voted to "provide public health insurance for children" of illegal aliens. (Of course, the NYT left out the actual substance of that attack...)

Space is still running his last campaign and failed to meet his target for fundraising at that:

Mr. Space never bothered taking down his campaign Web site, he said. Within weeks of being sworn in, he was told by the Democratic campaign committee that he was expected to raise $600,000 by June 30, said Ryan Rudominer, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Mr. Space held his first fund-raiser as a congressman at a Washington hotel on Feb. 28. By the end of June, he had raised $542,363, according to filings with the Federal Elections Commission.

Space will not be facing an opponent with a criminal record this time.

“This district was safe for any Republican incumbent that wasn’t going to jail,” Dr. Cohen said.

Space is a rubber stamp for Speaker of State Nancy Pelosi while claiming to be an independent "Blue Dog" Democrat:

Mr. Space has shown an acute awareness of his vulnerability. He voted with Republicans 14 percent of the time, more than all but 10 other House Democrats, according to an analysis in June by Congressional Quarterly.

100% - 14% = 86% of the time, Zack Space can be counted on to vote for the liberal agenda that is out of step with the district. That's some "acute awareness" there...

This is just too funny:

At the Muskingum County Fair, Mr. Space gave an update on the farm bill. Most farmers in attendance described themselves as Republicans, and all of those interviewed said they supported Mr. Space.

BWA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

8/29 Update

Another log to throw on the fire comes from the Northwest Territory Blogger:

[H]e won't be getting much money from the Netroots and Move-on types because he doesn't follow them like a lap poodle.

This is also true...

Joy Padgett is Still Planning on Running

Joy Padgett has had her share of political and business problems in the last year or so, but she is still planning on running for re-election to her State Senate seat. The Post Online reports:

The senator is serving her second term after taking office in January of 2004 and has met all filing deadlines. It appears she might run unopposed in her own party.

“(I) certainly haven’t decided not to run,” she said.

Because she had filed her semiannual finance report before July 31, Padgett is up to date on all deadlines thus far to run again according to Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office.

“As far as I know, she’s set to run,” said Brunner’s spokesman Jeff Ortega.

At this point, Padgett is the only Republican candidate that is moving to run for the seat, said Pete Couladis, chair of the Athens County Republican Party.

Who might the Democrats run against her?

Athens County Democratic Party Chair Susan Gwinn refused to release the names of any candidates, but rumors abound with familiar names; those of outgoing Mayor Ric Abel and even Councilwoman Deborah Phillips D-4th ward.

“I’m not at liberty to disclose that, but we have a couple of serious candidates,” Gwinn said.

Phillips said that she hasn’t considered running for the seat, while Abel said, “(I) hadn’t thought about it. When’s her term up?”

That doesn't sound like a serious effort to me...

One of 13 Republicans up for re-election in 2008, Padgett is in a majority that has an 11-seat advantage - 21 to 12. Every race in the State Senate will be important for the Ohio GOP this year.

UPDATE: Welcome readers from RightAngleBlog, BuckeyeStateBlog and One Oar in the Water

9/6 UPDATE: Joy Padgett is NOT Running Again