Congressman Speaks Out on Porno-Scanners and TSA Sexual Assaults

Good to see at least one Congressman gets that this is a problem.  Rep. John Duncan (R-TN) blasted TSA's Porno-Scanners and their sexual assaults on the floor of the US House of Representatives.

Sure wish I would hear of something like this coming from Steve Driehaus, Jean Schmidt, Mike Turner, Jim Jordan, Bob Latta, Charlie Wilson, Steve Austria, John Boehner, Marcy Kaptur, Dennis Kucinich, Marcia Fudge, Pat Tiberi, Betty Sutton, Steven LaTourette, Mary Jo Kilroy, John Boccieri, Tim Ryan, or Zach Space.  But so far, all I'm hearing out of our Members of Congress is...

...

...which is a real shame since at least one sexual assault occured right here in Ohio at the Dayton Internal Airport.

Meanwhile, I can't contain my disappointment in EVERY member of the Ohio House of Representatives and all but ONE Ohio Senator (thank you Gary Cates!).  Glad to see you all are right on top of protecting Ohioans...

Speaking of that, Governor Ted Strickland and Attorney General Rich Cordray can't be found with a search warrant on this issue.  Which puts them in the same category as John Kasich and Mike DeWine. 

Unbelieveable.  You people ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

Cincy Public Schools Are STILL Indoctrinating Students for Democrats

An email from COAST:

As of Monday, the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers has resumed mis-using school property and personnel for partisan political purposes, aimed at securing the election of liberal democrats Congressman Steve Driehaus and Governor Ted Strickland.

COAST is sending a letter to Steve Driehaus and Governor Strickland today asking that they demand the electioneering inside Cincinnati Public Schools on their behalf cease immediately.
Many folks have commented to COAST that the CPS voting scandal is so outrageous that they would not believe the facts if COAST's attorneys had not established an iron-clad case in Court. After all, why would largely honest public servants allow this abuse of tax resources to be used for political purposes?
Thus, imagine COAST's surprise Tuesday morning when CPS's attorney announced to COAST about new campaign activities of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers using the property of Cincinnati Public Schools:

We learned that the CFT through its building representative placed in the mailboxes of its members at Western Hills High School the attached material that you may regard as a political advertisement within the scope of the 2002 Agreement. We are told that the material is paid for and prepared by AFT/OFT/CFT.
A copy of the attachment to the e-mail is here. You really will not believe it. It is overt electioneering on behalf of democrats Steve Driehaus and Ted Strickland. COASTers may recall that the activists taking three van loads of CPS students to the Board of Elections to vote democrat were wearing Driehaus campaign stickers and handing out democrat sample ballots.
COAST attorneys then inquired whether the abuse of school property for political purposes was going to spread to all CPS schools. CPS' attorney responded:

CFT counsel confirms today that the materials at Western Hills Engineering were to be delivered by CFT building reps to all CPS schools for distribution to teachers through the mailbox. While we have not polled every school, we have no reason at this time to think that is not the case. Let me know if your client would like to reciprocate.

We know COASTers are speechless in reading this. We were speechless when our attorneys forwarded us these messages as well.

After a week of withering criticism in the media and from the public about the ice-cream-for-votes scandal, CFT and CPS are again shamelessly mis-using government property for partisan political purposes. And the center of that political activity seems to be Congressman Steve Driehaus.
There appears to be no way to stop the use of CPS property before the election for political purposes. Rather than educate our children, CPS appears hopelessly dedicated to advancing the agenda of the ideological left -- and to use our tax dollars in doing so.
So, Congressman Driehaus and Governr Strickland, please instruct your minions to stop the abuse - and stop it now!

Public schools should not be used for indoctrination...but they are...and this is further evidence of it.

OH-01: Chabot Understands What Has Happened to Driehaus

Check out his latest blog entry for the whole story, but after learning that the DCCC has pulled funding for Driehaus, this is the lesson Chabot relays:

So there you have it. The election’s over, right? We’ve got it in the bag. Uh, NO. We’ve got three more weeks of hard work to do. No one rests. No getting complacent. Confidence, yes. Overconfidence, no.

Let’s face it, it all comes down to which candidate gets the most votes BY Election Day, Tuesday, November 2nd, exactly 20 days from today. And although most of the votes will actually be cast on Election Day, up to 40% of the votes could be cast during the 35 day period before the election, between September 28th and November 2nd. In Ohio votes can cast by absentee ballot, or one can go to the Board of Elections at 824 Broadway.

The game is still on...let's run up the score!

OH-01: National Right to Life Refutes Driehaus

Release:

Congressman Driehaus uses criminal complaint in attempt to gag critics;

NRLC refutes his claims with sworn affidavit and documents


WASHINGTON -- The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) has produced a sworn affidavit, submitted today to the Ohio Elections Commission, demonstrating that the Obama health care law does in fact provide federal subsidies for elective abortion.


NRLC's statement was filed at the request of attorneys for the Susan B. Anthony List ("SBA List"), a pro-life political action committee. On billboards posted in the Cincinnati area, and in other public utterances, officials of the SBA List have asserted that Congressman Steve Driehaus (D-Ohio, First District) "voted for taxpayer-funded abortion" when he voted to enact the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the Obama health care law.


In reaction to the SBA List's statements, Rep. Driehaus on October 5 filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission, utilizing a peculiar Ohio statute under which it is a violation to make "a false statement concerning the voting record of a candidate or public official," or to "post, publish, circulate, distribute, or otherwise disseminate a false statement concerning a candidate, either knowing the same to be false or with reckless disregard of whether it is false or not . . ." [Ohio Revised Code 3517.21(B)(9) and (B)(10)] If the Commission votes that the disputed SBA List's statements were "false," the statute gives the Commission the power to either issue a public reprimand or to refer the matter to a county prosecutor with a recommendation for criminal prosecution. A criminal conviction under the statute is punishable by up to six months in jail and/or fine of $5,000.


A three-member panel of the Commission will hold an initial hearing on the Driehaus complaint on Thursday, October 14, at 8:30 AM in Columbus, Ohio.


In his complaint, Driehaus asserted, "Congressman Driehaus and like-minded pro-life Democratic members of the House of Representatives were successful in securing language in both the PPACA and Executive Order 13535, ensuring that the PPACA would not permit or be construed as permitting taxpayer-funded abortions. . . . Despite the fact that the PPACA does not permit and in fact prohibits taxpayer-funded abortions, the SBA List and other groups opposed to Congressman Driehaus's reelection have published and disseminated the false statement about Congressman Driehaus . . ."


At the request of the SBA List, NRLC submitted a 23-page affidavit, prepared and sworn to by veteran Federal Legislative Director Douglas Johnson, consisting of 65 numbered paragraphs, refuting Driehaus's claims. Paragraph 15 explains that the law that Driehaus voted for "contained multiple provisions that do in fact authorize (i.e., create legal authority for) taxpayer funding of abortion, and that predictably will result in such funding in the future -- unless the law itself is repealed, or unless the law is revised by a future Congress to include statutory language long the lines of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment." Paragraph 32 explains, "Some of these provisions are entirely untouched by any limitation on abortion in existing law or in the PCACA itself, and others are subject only to limitations that are temporary or contingent."


The affidavit provides detailed discussion of four specific programs under which abortion coverage is authorized by the PPACA -- the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Program (PCIP), the program of federal tax-based subsidies to purchase private health plans, the appropriation of $7 billion in new funding for Community Health Centers, and the section creating "multi-state" health plans to be administered by the federal Office of Personnel Management. The affidavit notes that these examples are not exhaustive.


In paragraphs 56-62, Johnson dismisses Driehaus's reliance on Executive Order 13535 as "highly misleading," noting, "There are no directives in the Order that apply to all, or even to most, of the provisions of the PPACA. The operative provisions that are actually contained in the Order are extremely narrow and highly qualified. . . Executive Order 13535 has the hallmarks of a primarily political document." Johnson also notes that the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America characterized the Executive Order as "a symbolic gesture."


NRLC attached 16 documents to the affidavit as exhibits, including a legal analysis of the abortion-related components of the law issued by the Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; documentation on state PCIP plans for Pennsylvania and New Mexico that were initially approved by DHHS although they covered elective abortions; a Congressional Research Service report that confirmed that nothing in the PPACA or the Executive Order prevented the use of PPACA-authorized PCIP funds from being used for abortions; and the texts of the Stupak-Pitts and Nelson-Hatch Amendments which were proposed to prevent any part of the legislation from subsidizing abortion -- but which were opposed by President Obama and congressional Democratic leaders, and which were not part of the law as enacted.


Both the NRLC affidavit and the collection of 16 documents can be viewed at or downloaded from the NRLC website at www.nrlc.org/AHC/DvSBA.


Beyond the contents of the affidavit, NRLC's Johnson offered these additional comments on the subject: "It is outrageous the Ohio law allows an incumbent politician, like Steve Driehaus, to haul citizens before an appointed government tribunal, under threat of potential criminal prosecution, for expressing an opinion about the public policy implications of a vote that he cast in Congress. This is an incumbent-protection law that is intended to intimidate critics, reminiscent of the methods used to chill criticism in certain countries run by presidents-for-life. In America, anyone should be free to express their views on the effects of the bills that Mr. Driehaus voted for, without fear of criminal prosecution or fines. Mr. Driehaus enjoys full freedom to dispute his critics, with the voters as the ultimate judges about whose claims are most credible. Mr. Driehaus apparently does not trust the voters to see things his way, and so he attempts to utilize criminal-law strong-arm tactics in a pathetic effort to intimidate and gag his critics."


As far as we know, Driehaus is the only incumbent, so far this year, to employ a criminal statute against his pro-life critics, but a number of other House Democrats are trying hard to suppress pro-life groups' criticism of their votes in favor of the health care law. For example, recently attorneys for Rep. Kathleen Dahlkemper (D-Pa., Third District) sent a letter to local radio stations suggesting that a radio ad charging that she voted for "taxpayer-funded abortions" was "slanderous."

DCCC Surrenders OH-01

Today's great news of the day is that the DCCC is pulling its ad buy in OH-01.  It sure looks like the DCCC has read the writing on the wall and decided not use what resources they have elsewhere.  As much as we like to call Zack Space the Accidental Congressman, Steve Driehaus probably deserves the title more...

Bottom line: This is fantastic news for Steve Chabot, a man who has worked hard and worked smart for his return to Congress.

UPDATE:  I just had an idea: Steve Chabot should buy that ad time.  Click here and donate to help Chabot get his message out to even more people!

Driehaus Smears Chabot in Despicable Ad

This ad is disgusting. 



Military honors ought not be a political issue.

Due to Driehaus' pathetic desperation, a number of veterans came together to defend Mr. Chabot.



Here is video from the press conference.



Steve Driehaus ought to be ashamed of himself.

As an aside, some 527 Media outlet ought to get around to asking Driehaus what he thinks about the Leavenworth 10...

OH-01: Libertarian Joins Debates

The Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that Libertarian candidate Jim Berns will join Congressman Steve Driehaus and former Congressman Steve Chabot for three debates.  Check out the link for dates, times and locations.

Two of Ohio's Democrat Congressmen Are Keeping Rangel's Dirty Money

We've mentioned Youngstown Johnny Boccieri before, but it confirmed that Steve Driehaus is also hanging on to donations from disgraced Charlie Rangel.

Mark Hemingway writes in the piece linked above:

Considering the seriousness of the extensive charges against Rangel, congressional ethics experts see little justification for members of Congress to hold on to campaign cash they got from the once-powerful New Yorker.

"It just shows how out of touch they are and certainly explains Congress' 11 percent approval rating," said Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center. "It's a case where greed trumps common sense and everybody knows that returning the money is the ethical thing to do."

This is a big effin' deal... Watch this space for reaction from Steve Chabot.

Another Driehaus Lie: Franking

Cincinnati Enquirer:

"For a guy who goes around town claiming he's a fiscal conservative, these figures amazingly contradict who Chabot portrays himself to be. He's not a 'fiscal conservative.' He is more like an opportunist politician who says one thing and does another."

In that same news release, Driehaus said: "I pledge to never abuse the franking privilege the way Chabot has done if I am elected to Congress in November."

How much taxpayer dollars did Steve Driehaus just use with the very same franking privlege?  So glad you asked, the answer is: $125,421.

Just another Democrat liar willing to say whatever it takes to get people to vote for him...

Driehaus Sucker Punches Pro-Life Movement

This just in from one of my DeeCee sources:

Driehaus today voted against the Pence amendment to prevent funding of Planned Parenthood. This was a roll call vote which Right to Life and other prolife groups was tracking.

Yup. That Steve Driehaus sure is a pro-life supporting guy... This sort of thing really reflects the values and principles of OH-01...

Uh-huh. Sure it does...

As usual, Lapdog Steve did Bullwhip Pelosi's bidding...

You can pretty much put this in with the file of evidence that proves that Steve Driehaus is a liar.

Driehaus (of all people) Disses Republican Integrity on Cap and Tax

What we have below is an excerpt from the Special Order that Rep. Steve Driehaus delivered in a pathetic attempt to defend his vote to raise your taxes and your energy bill. Driehaus goes in to this ridiculous tirade about how them evil Republicans were spreading misinformation (read "the truth") about Cap and Tax, but was trying to do so in the sleaziest of ways: without stating what his specific complaint was or who's alleged offense this was. Fortunately, Rep. King was there to illustrate what a sleazebag Steve Driehaus (and Rep. Boccieri, too, for that matter) in this whole affair.

The whole bit can be found in the accompanying Scribd document.

Mr. KING of Iowa. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. DRIEHAUS. No.

Mr. KING of Iowa. The gentleman made an allegation, and I would be very happy to respond to that. I appreciate it if the gentleman would yield.

Mr. DRIEHAUS. I’m talking about the misinformation.

Mr. KING of Iowa. That’s what I hear, and that challenges the integrity of some of the Members. I asked the gentleman to kindly yield. It’s a courtesy that’s commonly offered.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. BOCCIERI) controls the time.

Mr. BOCCIERI. It is up to the gentleman from Cincinnati if he would yield.

Mr. DRIEHAUS. No, I won’t yield. I have heard misinformation after misinformation come to this floor, and the American people deserve the truth. They deserve the truth.

PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY

Mr. KING of Iowa. Parliamentary inquiry.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Ohio will suspend. The gentleman will state his parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, is it inappropriate under the rules of the House to challenge the mendacity of any of the Members in this House?

Mr. DRIEHAUS. Mr. Speaker, point of clarification. I am challenging the facts.

Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I made a proper parliamentary inquiry.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman’s remarks did not target any individual Member.

Mr. KING of Iowa. I’m sorry, Mr. Speaker. I can’t hear you.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman’s did not target any individual Member.

Mr. KING of Iowa. Further parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. KING of Iowa. The gentlemen from Ohio alleged intentional misinformation on the part of members of my conference, and that, I believe, challenges the mendacity of Members of this Congress.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman’s remarks did not specify any individual Member.

Mr. KING of Iowa. Further parliamentary inquiry.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. KING of Iowa. Is it the ruling of the Chair that the gentleman from Ohio can challenge the mendacity of a Member provided he doesn’t name them specifically?

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded not to engage in personalities.

Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I think everybody gets the message here.

Driehaus-Cap&Trade Special Order

How dare Steve Driehaus promote falsehoods on the floor of the United States House of Representatives. Shame on him. It is time for Steve Driehaus to go. He just raised your taxes and your energy bill and has the gall to attempt to shift blame to unnamed Republicans for misleading information. the only misleading information I see here is what came out of Steve Driehaus' mouth.

Space and Driehaus Betrays Constituents by Voting for Increasing Energy Prices

Zack Space and Steve Driehaus sent a loud and clear signal to the people of Ohio about where his priorities lie today by siding with their Democrat leaders and voting for their disastrous National Energy Tax. With the outcome of the vote in question until the last minute, their support was crucial to passing the latest installment in the Democrats’ ongoing crusade against economic recovery.

The National Energy Tax will have a devastating effect on the economy:

• It’s a massive energy tax
• It will not make a substantive impact on the environment
• It will kill jobs
• It will cause electricity bills and gas prices to sharply increase
• It will outsource manufacturing jobs and hurt free trade
• It will make you choose among energy, groceries, clothing, and haircuts
• It will be highly susceptible to fraud and corruption
• It will hurt senior citizens, the poor, and the unemployed the worst

SOURCE: (“The Cost of Cap and Trade: Why the EPA and CBO Are Wrong,” Heritage Foundation, 6/24/09)

Of Driehaus' vote, Hamilton County GOP Chairman Alex Alex M. Triantafilou says:

"This vote for "cap and trade" by Rep. Driehaus is further proof that he has forgotten his west-side roots and is now part of the big spending and big taxing Democratic majority in Washington. After his election in November, it was my hope that he would follow a more centrist course in Washington like some of his Democratic predecessors in the 1st Congressional district. He has done the opposite."

"Rep. Driehaus has demonstrated a history of voting just as the Democratic majority in Washington wants him to vote. He supported Nancy Pelosi as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. He voted for the nearly $800 billion stimulus package that will burden our great-grandchildren with debt and has yet to stimulate anything. Now, he has voted for a massive tax on energy at a time when our nation can least afford it."

"Mr. Driehaus' party-line voting history is a far departure from the independent voice of Steve Chabot. Mr. Driehaus has failed to put a CAP on frivolous spending and higher taxes in Washington so the voters should TRADE him for Steve Chabot in 2010."

NRCC Communications Driector Ken Spain:

“Zack Space's vote to kill jobs in his district and hand his constituents higher costs during these difficult times is nothing short of insulting.”

“The people of Ohio sent Zack Space to Washington to represent their values and restore prosperity, and he has returned the favor by once again bowing to his party bosses at the expense of middle class families. Unfortunately for Space, he will have to answer to Ohio voters rather than Nancy Pelosi when Election Day rolls around.”

Driehaus and Space Cast Deciding Votes on Bringing Terrorists to US

In an astonishing move on the House floor this week, Reps. Steve Driehaus (D-OH-01) and Zack Space (D-OH-05), sided with Speaker Nancy Pelosi in casting the deciding votes against preventing the use of taxpayer funds to implement President Obama’s highly-controversial decision to close the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (House Roll Call 361), thus potentially allowing dangerous terrorists to be imported onto U.S. soil.

They have disregarded the dangerous implications of this critical national security measure at the expense of the safety of families in their districts and across this nation.

By casting these votes, Driehaus and Space are not only paving the way for dangerous terrorists to be allowed into America’s backyards, but they have also shown us that their true allegiance lies with Nancy Pelosi and her dangerous political agenda.

The Associated Press describes the situation this way:

“…the chamber also rejected an amendment by Rep. Jerry Lewis, a Republican, that strengthened the prohibition by stopping in its tracks funding for any government activity related to closing the facility. The amendment first went down on a 216-212 vote. After Republicans demanded a recount, it was defeated again, 213-212.” (Jim Abrams, Associated Press, “House Rejects Measure on Guantanamo Closing, June 18, 2009)

If Steve Driehaus and Zack Space are interested in keeping Americans safe, they should start by standing up to their party leaders in Washington and siding with the families in their districts who oppose closing Gitmo.

“By more than 2-1, those surveyed say Guantanamo shouldn't be closed. By more than 3-1, they oppose moving some of the accused terrorists housed there to prisons in their own states….
“In the survey, Americans were inclined to accept the argument…that the detention center had made the United States safer. By 40%-18%, they said the prison had strengthened national security rather than weakened it….

“A 54% majority of those polled say the prison shouldn't be closed, and that they'll be upset if the administration moves forward to close it.

“Last month, Senate Democrats stripped $80 million to close Gitmo from a spending bill and blocked transfer of detainees to U.S. soil, at least for now.” (Susan Page, “Poll: Most Oppose Closing Gitmo,” USA Today, June 1, 2009)

UPDATE: You can add Ohio's own Marcy Kaptur (D), Tim Ryan (D), Betty Sutton (D), Charlie Wilson (D), and Dennis Kucinich (D) to the list of those who want to bring terrorists in to our back yards.

Votes yet to be tracked down: Austria (R), Boccieri (D), Fudge (D), and Kilroy(D).

Does Steve Driehaus Still Support "Stimulus" that Could Ship Jobs Out of Ohio?

NRCC:

Washington- As Ohio officials are up in arms by the misuse of the Democrat-passed “stimulus” plan to potentially assist in the removal of jobs from the Dayton community and relocate them to Georgia, Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH) remains silent on this harmful effect from the bill he supported. Columbus, Ga., Mayor Jim Wetherington has requested a “significant amount” of federal stimulus money at Ohio taxpayer expense to help facilitate the move of NCR Corp. headquarters to an Atlanta suburb:

“Although Columbus, Ga., Mayor Jim Wetherington said he does not know if the federal government will approve his request, he wants stimulus money to help refurbish a 340,000 square foot facility and construct a 100,000 square foot building for NCR to make ATMs…

“Wetherington said he ‘personally wouldn't have a problem’ using federal stimulus dollars to lure jobs from one state to another, although he acknowledged that ‘other people might. This money that we've applied for is what President Obama said is going to be available.’…

“NCR announced yesterday that it was moving its headquarters and about 1,200 jobs from Dayton to Duluth, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta. In addition, NCR plans to lease a new production facility in Columbus, Ga., creating an additional 860 jobs.” (Jack Torry, “Columbus, Ga., seeks federal stimulus money to help NCR move from Dayton,” The Columbus Dispatch, 06/03/09)

Even Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who cast the deciding vote in the Senate to pass the stimulus bill earlier this year, sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke urging him to prevent the misuse of federal stimulus dollars to lure jobs from one state to another:

“’He is writing Secretary Locke to urge him to prevent funds from being used for the purpose of building a new facility that would take jobs from Dayton, Ohio, to Columbus, Ga.,’ said Meghan Dubyak, a Brown spokeswoman. ‘The senator would say the Economic Recovery Package (stimulus bill) was passed to create jobs, not help relocate them.'’” (Jack Torry, “Columbus, Ga., seeks federal stimulus money to help NCR move from Dayton,” The Columbus Dispatch, 06/03/09)

“Because Steve Driehaus and his party leaders failed to apply even a minimal level of scrutiny to this massive spending bill, thousands more Ohio families could end up paying the price with further job losses,” said Ken Spain, NRCC Communications Director. “Does Driehaus still support the so-called ‘stimulus’ despite the fact that it ships jobs out of Ohio, or will he continue to back a bill that has yet to produce the results that Democrats promised it would?”

Same questions to Charlie Wilson, Mary Jo Kilroy, John Boccieri, Dennis the Menace Kucinich, Marcia Fudge, Tim Ryan, Betty Sutton, Marcy Kaptur and Zach Space...

Deregulation vs. Lack of Oversight

PolitickerOH has a piece on a forum that was held with Rep. Steve Chabot (R), his Democratic challenger, Steve Driehaus and two Also Rans... I need to highlight one part of the debate that just irritates me and it deals with the Bailout:

Driehaus said that he disagrees with Chabot on how the financial trouble came to pass. Driehaus blamed de-regulation of the financial industry for its current troubles. Driehaus said that the tools have existed to crack down on predatory lending and mortgage-backed securities. Driehaus said that no action was taken, however, on these issues.

There is a difference between deregulation and a lack of oversight. Deregulation, in and of itself, is not a bad thing and it certainly wasn't the cause of the mess. Lack of oversight did occur and it is at the very heart of the cause of the mess.

A relaxing of regulations governing the operation of an industry isn't a bad thing. The problem is that with the lowering of standards came a responsibility -- on the part of Congress -- to watchdog the issue. How many times have Republicans tried to put reform of Freddie and Fannie on the table over the years only to be demagogued out of it. Sure, we can say -- in hindsight -- that when Republicans had control that they should have done something about it but that also ignores the fact that Democrats have controlled the chambers of Congress for nearly two years and have done...nothing. And they still haven't done anything to address the root causes of the problem.

Deregulation was not the problem here...the problem was a total lack of oversight on the part of Congress.

Ohio Update

Here are a few notes and stories from Ohio...

OH-01: Steve Chabot thinks that Driehaus is actually an easier opponent than his last race. That last bout was one for the ages, and if anybody can pull this thing out, it's Steve Chabot.

Gov. Strickland: You stay classy, T-Shirt Ted. Question: Will Obama rebuke T-Shirt Ted for this despicable comments?

More of the Same From Gov. Strickland on Ohio's Economy: Check out this water-carrying piece in the Dispatch... This stuff doesn't work even if T-Shirt Ted is the one proposing it instead of Bob Taft.

Ohio GOP on Blackwell: I'm hoping that this didn't sound as cynical in person as it was reported. PolitickerOH's Justin is usually a pretty fair guy, but these quotes from communication director John McClelland are just awful.

Franko Rides to the Rescue Again

The Vindy's Todd Franko has been a real case study in Media Bias and today's offering is a classic.

It's completely silly to think that money Driehaus earned six months ago when Dann spoke at a fund-raiser is "tainted" money. Driehaus is no more tainted by Dann's visit than the caterer who fed the dinner and the band that played tunes at the event. I'd hate to think the caterer and the band should fork over their profits from that event because of what's now known about Dann.

Imagine, if you will, that we replaced the name "Driehaus" with any Republican from the 2006 cycle who reaped a benefit from any Tom Noe fundraiser and ponder whether or not Todd Franko would have been a-okay with that.

The answer, of course, is that Todd's feelings on the subject are tainted by the party affiliation of the politicians involved. And if that ain't media bias, I don't know what is...

Honestly, let's take another look at a quote from the press release that Franko is excoriating:

"Steve Driehaus can't have it both ways. Marc Dann's mismanagement and cronyism proved him unfit for office. If Driehaus truly believes Dann should go, he would reject Dann's financial support and return the tainted funds. Condemning Marc Dann while lining your campaign coffers with money he raised is just pure hypocrisy," said Ohio Republican Party Spokesman John McClelland.

Again, replace "Driehaus" with any Republican from the '06 cycle and put those words into whichever of Chris Redfern's cronies you feel appropriate and suddenly Todd Franko would be alright with it.

A note of caution to our friends in Columbus though... If your strategy is to play this the same way as the Democrats did in 2006 by playing the hypocrisy card, be prepared to lose. Democrats have no sense of shame and when it is their dollars on the line, it just doesn't matter who the money came from...and the press, as Todd Franko clearly demonstrates, isn't willing to play along for the GOP like they were for the Dems.