The Hamilton paper had a feature on one of Ken Blackwell's senior staffers that is an interesting read. One of those local boys does good sort of things...
Blackwell received an award from the Catholic Inner-City Schools Education (CISE) Fund.
The Faith in Education Award is presented to those who have provided outstanding support for the advancement of the mission of CISE, which is to help in providing meaningful education to children attending CISE schools. Recipients are honored for their generosity and dedication. The awards were presented by Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk.Rad the whole thing here.
Blackwell served from 1982 until 1987 on the CISE advisory board, including a term as board chairman. Twenty-five year board member Pete Bushelman credits Blackwell’s leadership with much of the early growth of the fund.
The big news of the day, though, is an article which will appear in the October 10 issue of National Review by John J. Miller entitled "A Taft Too Far: The Ohio GOP is in shambles - can Blackwell save it?:
Because of his stance on taxes and other issues, Blackwell currently leads his opponents for the GOP nomination. A Fred Steeper poll of Republican primary voters, paid for by Blackwell, showed 36 percent of those polled supporting the secretary of state, compared with 21 percent for Montgomery and 20 percent for Petro. The other candidates have seen similar numbers in their own research, but counter that Blackwell wouldn't perform well in a general election. "He's far too conservative for Ohio's moderates," says a campaign aide for one of Blackwell's GOP rivals. There has been concern that Blackwell can't raise enough funds, especially among business leaders who traditionally support Republicans but fought last year's marriage amendment on the grounds that it might dissuade gays from taking jobs in the state. Although Blackwell trails both Montgomery and Petro in overall fundraising, he has raised more money than either of them so far this year.Be sure to check out the full article when it hits the newsstands...
He also promises to become a national spokesman for the conservative movement. The Chicago Tribune has called Blackwell "the anti-Obama," in reference to Democratic senator Barack Obama of Illinois, who is sensationally popular among liberals. Steve Forbes, Jack Kemp, and Phyllis Schlafly already support Blackwell. The Club for Growth, which has played a crucial role in several federal elections, may also weigh in for him. "Because Ohio is politically dysfunctional, and Ken Blackwell is such a compelling candidate, we are seriously considering making an exception to our policy of not getting involved in state races," says Club for Growth president Pat Toomey. Some of the Club's favorite politicians have also endorsed Blackwell, including former Democratic senator Zell Miller of Georgia and Republican governors Rick Perry of Texas and Mark Sanford of South Carolina.
Blackwell is clearly the nominee the Democrats fear most. If he weren't, the Ohio Democratic party would not recently have draped a "Stop Ken Blackwell!" banner across the top of its website. In the wake of George W. Bush's reelection, Democrats tried to demonize Blackwell for a supposed election scandal just as other Democrats had lambasted Florida's Katherine Harris four years earlier. But the attempt went nowhere in part because the vote in Ohio wasn't nearly as close as it had been in Florida, but also because Blackwell couldn't plausibly be caricatured as an establishment yes man. Not only is he out of favor with the Taft crowd in Columbus, he also managed to irritate the Bush-Cheney campaign by refusing to certify Ralph Nader for the Ohio ballot an act that almost certainly bolstered Kerry's chances on Election Day. "Nader wasn't on the ballot because he didn't deserve to be on the ballot," says Blackwell. "I wasn't going to bend the rules for anybody."
