It looks like US Senate Candidate Rob Portman will be forced to waste money fighting an ad war with primary opponent Tom Ganley.  The Cleveland car dealer seems intent on spending millions of his own money despite little likelihood of winning.  He has made his first ad buy as part of that strategy:

Republican Senate candidate Tom Ganley, the car dealer from Cleveland who has said he will put up millions of dollars in his own money on the race, is on the air statewide with an ad that aims to highlight his ability to create jobs, according to his campaign.

Ganley is trying to buy his way into a competitive primary.  Unlike Portman who is well on his way to visiting all 88 counties in Ohio, and has been tirelessly campaigning, Ganley is simply vowing to spend millions on advertising.  The only winners in this battle are going to be TV stations and ad consultants.

Ganley has a mistaken view of the recent race in NY-23 and is going to waste a lot of time, effort and money as a result. For why, see below.

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This is great. Below is the screenshot of an email sent from Kellie Galan, the Vice President of the Ohio University College Democrats.

Every student who brings someone to the polls to vote in the city council elections in Athens, OH gets $5.00.

Nice. But is that illegal?

I have long argued that conservatives need to be strategic in their thinking when it comes to elections. While I will fully admit that balancing “the most electable” with “the most conservative” is rarely easy it is still a critical decision to make. “Throw all the bums out” is not a wise strategy for regaining the majority or implementing conservative policy.

This has recently been driven home to me as various groups, personalities, and candidates seek to use the Tea Parties, and other populist sentiments, to push their own agenda; an agenda that I think hurts both the GOP and efforts at conservative governance.

One example in particular stands out: Bay Buchanan, Tom Ganley and the attacks on Rob Portman. Portman and Ganley are competing for the Republican nomination for the Ohio US Senate seat open with the retirement of George Voinovich.

Portman is a former Congressman, US Trade Representative, and OMB Director. Ganley is highly successful auto dealer in the Cleveland area. To put it bluntly, the only reason Ganley is a part of this equation is the assertion, or threat depending on your perspective, that he is willing to spend $7 million dollars; most of it his own money.

Now there are problems with this scenario (more on that below), but recently Bay Buchanan has entered the fray in an attempt to make this an ideological battle. We would do well to ignore her advice and be suspicious about her motives.

Rather long rant argument follows below.

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Congressman Zack Space’s website is here. His Congressional site is is here.

There’s just one problem.

According to his campaign website, Congressman Space is no longer Zack Space, but Zach Space in the disclaimer.

Now, being named Erick, I get Eric with no “k”, Erik with no “c”, and Erich with an “h”, more frequently than I get my name spelled right.

But then I’m pretty sure if I were running for Congress or was a Congressman, I’d make sure my name was spelled right on my own website.

If he’s not paying attention to his own stuff, how exactly can we expect him to pay attention to your money?

I know what you are thinking.  Of course Obama’s speech didn’t convince those right-wing crazy’s who disrupt townhalls and yell things during presidential speeches; they’re close-minded yahoos.

But it seems the president’s strident insistence that action be taken has failed to convince the very people he needs to win over: Blue Dogs or Democrats in districts worried about getting re-elected.

John Boccieri, for example:

U.S. Rep. John Boccieri, D-Alliance, praised President Barack Obama’s speech on health care Wednesday night, calling him “clearly a good communicator,” but saying, “I don’t believe the president has shifted any of my opinions.”

“I still have concerns about some of the ideas that’ll be on the table. Concerns about how this will affect some of the small businesses in my district,” he said. “The question is will the House create a bill that looks like what the president said tonight.”

Boccieri said he has not yet decided if he would support the establishment of a public option, or a government-run health insurer to compete with private health insurance companies.

Wait.  So everyone who is holding up instant sweeping health care “reform” isn’t a deceptive, paid lackey of the powerful insurance lobby?  You mean people might have real concerns about the impact on small businesses and the economy?  You mean people aren’t just playing politics while people suffer?

Hmm, maybe the president should have acknowledged that in his rhetoric and demeanor last night instead of acting as if only selfish partisan interests are preventing his plan from being passed.

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He’s tanned (not really), toupee’d, and ready to… why, he’s ready to do anything at all for OH-17, really.

Anything.

BOARDMAN, Ohio — Seven years in prison doesn’t appear to have changed former U.S. Rep. James Traficant’s style whatsoever, and the 1,200 supporters who gathered at a Boardman banquet hall Sunday afternoon loved him for it.

“I was a quarterback. I was a congressman. Now I’m a convict,” Traficant said, his signature toupee firmly back atop his head. “I wouldn’t change one single thing. And to the powerful enemies that I have, I’ll just say this to you: They had to cheat to convict me.”

The crowd roared. After 15 minutes of remarks, hundreds swarmed the make-shift stage to shake his hand or ask for an autograph.

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You don’t have to be an economist to understand the economic situation.  Unemployment has hit double digits in many states and is growing (in Ohio: 340,000 jobs lost since Ted Strickland and Lee Fisher took office) and everyone is paying the price.    The stimulus has accomplished nothing (Again, in Ohio, in the neighborhood of 100,000 jobs lost since its passage) and yet the Democrats in Congress are intent on making a bad situation worse by passing legislation that would cripple American businesses and devastate families.

The focus lately has been on health care, and for good reason, but energy is an issue that should not be lost in the debate about the economy.  Because Cap and Trade (H.R. 2454, the Waxman- Markey bill) is a dagger aimed at the heart of our economy.

More below.

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The Dispatch offers this short report on Mary Jo Kilroy’s health care tele-townhall:

U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy last night insisted that congressional Democrats are not considering “socialized medicine’” in their efforts to approve a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health-care system.

In a town-hall meeting she conducted last night by telephone, Kilroy said any reform of the health system will result in private insurance companies still covering two-thirds of Americans. “We want to be sure at the end of the day we will be lowering the costs of health care,” she said. “Nothing to be afraid of there.”

But Kilroy, D-Columbus, asserted that any reform plan should include a federal insurance program that would compete with private insurers, saying that “a public option in competition with private insurance can reduce costs for all of us.”

“If you have insurance right now, you shouldn’t worry about a public option,” she said.

If you believe that then I have some ocean front property in Kilroy’s district I would like to sell you.

First of all, no matter how much they squawk, the Democrats do want to socialize health care. On a basic level they want to use government to spread the costs over a larger group to save money (at least in theory).  The healthy and wealthy pay more so the sick and poor pay less (or nothing).  This could be good or bad (most everyone is in favor of a basic safety net) depending on the scope and the mechanism (I prefer direct payments for those at the very bottom and a larger role for private charity but that is another post).  The problem comes when socialize means more than helping the less fortunate and means a takeover of a huge chunk of the economy.  But regardless the left should quite pretending they don’t want to socialize the process.

And more specifically, government mandates on who is covered and how combined with a dominant government option leads inexorably to a socialized system (which was the point from the start).

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Democrats and their lefty blog supporters have been trying to pin whatever negative association they can find on Rob Portman.  The primary one being that he worked for George W. Bush (in one giggle inducing stunt they called him the “architect” of the Bush economy which was news to Portman and Bush I am sure).

They must be getting tired of that particular tune because now they are branching out in ever greater desperation [$ sub req].  They are now combing through the cases of the law firm Squire Sanders, & Dempsey and associating anything that might be seen as negative with Portman.

The firm is involved in a trade dispute?  Blame Portman.  Connected with the government bailout? Blame Portman.

Now this is pretty much deceptive campaign tactics 101.  Anyone familiar with the workings of a large law firm knows that mere employment does not mean approval of every case handled or client represented.

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For whatever reason — perhaps it was Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick’s stubborn insistence on a fully-funded, competitive “public option” for her black constituents, whom she seems to think have no other option in life but to be on the public dole — Rep. Zack Space (D-OH) is rumored to have withdrawn his support from the ongoing negotiations over HR 3200, the Orwellianly-titled “Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009.”

One of four Blue Dog Democrats whose willingness to continue negotiating about the fine points of the thousand-page bill was the only thing keeping the possibility of a pre-recess vote on life support, a withdrawal by Space would effectively end E&C’s ability to continue marking up the health overhaul bill, at least for the present.

Even if he relented this evening and returned to the negotiating table, though, the compromise amendment stemming from the Blue Dog capitulation — which has not yet been written — would have to be completed by noon Friday if it is going to be considered by E&C during the markup period, which Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) has said would end at 2:00pm.

Additionally, the four Blue Dogs whose compliance has allowed the bill to remain alive in the Energy and Commerce Committee had predicated their support on their inspection of a Congressional Budget Office scoring of the compromise bill they are helping to craft — and, reportedly, no such score has been forthcoming to date.

This afternoon I took a trip to downtown Circleville, Ohio to catch a stop on Rob Portman’s just launched RV Tour.  Rob spoke to grassroots leaders from the area and stressed the importance of this race; and Ohio in general in 2010.

He stressed how important it was to avoid giving President Obama and Democrats in Congress another rubber stamp for their liberal agenda.  He noted that on a host of issues (health care, energy, taxes, the deficit, etc.) the Democrats are pushing liberal policies out of line with the common sense conservatism and values of Ohio.

He noted that the stimulus was rushed through and yet is having little to no positive impact on Ohio despite the Democrats grandiose promises.  He noted that on issues like Cap and Trade and Health Care the Democrat proposals are simply going to raise taxes and kill job growth in Ohio.

I was lucky enough to have a chance to talk with Rob briefly on the RV.  In the video clip below he stressed these same issues and highlighted why this race is so important.

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Last week, the New York Times reported that the inaptly named “Employee Free Choice Act” was losing the most controversial and highest-profile provision: card check. Card check legislation, contrary to the title of the act, would take away fair choice for employees by doing away with the secret ballot, opening workers to intimidation from both the unions and the employers. As has been belabored at Redstate, destroying the secret ballot takes away the worker’s freedom to vote his conscience without fear of retribution.

The labor unions, special interests, and Democrats pushing for it not only know this, it’s the point. Intimidating workers into voting to unionize would vastly increase the size and power of the unions and, by extension, the Democratic party. These are all things you already know.

So in light of the Times article, is card check dead? Are workers rights being protected? Don’t answer too quickly.

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When the media uses the word “trounces” in the headline in reference to your fundraising lead over your opponents that is a good thing:

Republican Rob Portman raised $1.7 million for his U.S. Senate campaign during the second quarter of 2009 — more money than both his Democratic rivals combined.

“I’m very pleased with it,” Portman said at Washington, D.C. press conference. “We had a great response from all corners of the state.”

Portman, a former Cincinnati-area congressman who held two Cabinet posts under President George W. Bush, ended the quarter with $4.3 million in the bank. About $1.4 million of that was left over from the war chest he accumulated in the House of Representatives. He’s raised $3.4 million during the election cycle.

Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, one of two Democrats seeking the Senate seat to be vacated by George Voinovich’s retirement, raised more than $900,000 in the quarter, bringing his fund-raising total to $1.9 million. Fisher has about $1.48 million left in the bank.

His competition in the Democratic primary, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, raised $228,000 in the second quarter, slightly more than the first quarter total of $207,000.

So Portman raised more money this quarter than Fisher has on hand and more money that Fisher and Brunner (whose money woes are continuing) combined.  Ouch!

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Has anyone combined righteous indignation and humiliation -and a fat dollop of hypocrisy - quite like Ohio Governor Ted Strickland?  You be the judge:

(via Athens Runaway)

Why am I taking the time to show an attack ad by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee?  Because I think it is far from damaging and I think it highlights a number of things.

First of all, the Ds must be worried about Portman because why else would they offer an attack ad this early? They know Portman is raising serious money and that his numbers are improving.  So why not take swipe at him and try and slow his momentum.

Second, how lame is this ad? Put aside the debate about trade - and the claim that Portman sent jobs overseas - are they actually accusing Portman of increasing the debt?!?  Do we have a chart?  Chart after the fold:

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Ohio Right to Life released a new poll which they describe as the Ohio Cultural Index.  The index’s significant findings include:

• 72% of Ohioans’ surveyed strongly believe in God;
• 60% oppose abortion;
• 54% believe abortion has a negative effect on women who have them;
• 70% oppose use of taxpayer dollars to pay for abortion;
• 45% believe entertainment today negatively impacts families;
• 51% believe government policies are harming traditional family values;
• 54% believe schools undermine values taught at home; and
• 54% believe families do a worse job of developing character than a generation ago.

Some pretty interesting results:

The score indicates Ohioans are generally center-right in their social outlook, and hold an overall positive view of the state’s culture. However, on seven of the 10 questions, Ohioans have a more negative than positive perception. “Ohioans’ belief in God, their belief that tax dollars should not be used to pay for abortions, and their belief that abortions have a negative effect on the women who have them pushed the index above the ‘break-even’ mark of 50,” said Fritz Wenzel, president of Wenzel Strategies and a former pollster with Zogby International.

You can dig into the findings here (PDF).

Stivers announced his intentions on Twitter (@Steve_Stivers) this morning: “I’m Running for Congress in 2010!”

The Dispatch has the details and some quotes:

Republican Steve Stivers today will announce his candidacy for the 15th Congressional District of Ohio, setting up a 2010 rematch against Democratic Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, who narrowly beat him last year.

Stivers, 44, plans to kick off his campaign this morning from the steps of the Union County Courthouse in Marysville. He hopes to unseat Kilroy in a district ranked among the most competitive in the nation.

“It was a pretty close race last year, and I expect it will be a hard-fought and close race next year,” Stivers said yesterday.

Kilroy defeated Stivers by 2,312 votes out of more than 304,000 cast in the district, which includes all of Union and Madison counties and parts of Columbus and the western suburbs of Franklin County.

Stivers notes that a lot has changed already in the political climate:

Incumbency has made Kilroy more vulnerable, Stivers said, because she has compiled a voting record that is too liberal for a district known to be moderate.

Stivers and his wife, Karen, are expecting a daughter in September, and he decided to run, in part, because he fears “out-of-control federal spending” is mortgaging the future for young people.

“The day she is born in September, she’ll owe $35,000 as her part of the national debt,” Stivers said. “There’s a ton of wild spending going on, and we’ve got to figure out how to rein it in.”

This was expected to a certain degree, but good to have it confirmed.  The GOP has to be happy about this one.  Let’s hope conservatives and others opposed to Kilroy don’t cut off their nose to spite their face this time around.

It is not a big surprise given the circumstances, and his lack of political experience, but Tom Ganley is clearly planning on running a populist anti-Washington campaign for the US Senate seat open thanks to George Voinovich’s retirement.  His announcement speech today in Brecksville was not particularly polished but its message was that politicians in DC are threatening the American way of life and it takes a honest citizen to make things right.

His speech didn’t give any indication that specific issues will be the focus of this campaign (he denigrated the bailout, run away deficits, cap and trade, and vaguely hinted at unfair trade policies).  He didn’t say anything that most Republicans would have a problem with necessarily.  The speech certainly had a populist edge, however, and it seems clear that he will attack - if that is the right word - Portman for being a career politician with all that that supposedly entails.

But the question that, in my opinion, will come to define this campaign is why is he perpared to run for the US Senate let alone win both the priamry and the general election and serve in such a capacity.  One doesn’t have to be an elistist to wonder if a person’s very first political campaign should be the US Senate.

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As I noted previously, and as Politics Extra notes today, it looks like Rob Portman will have competition in the GOP primary to replace George Voinovich:

Former congressman and Bush administration Rob Portman has a boatload of money and the support of the Ohio Republican Party establishment in his 2010 bid for the U.S. Senate. He even has the endorsement of the man he wants to replace, retiring Sen. George Voinovich.

But it looks as if he won’t get a free ride in the GOP primary next spring. Word is that Tom Ganley, a car dealer from northeast Ohio, will announce his candidacy Wednesday in Cleveland.

The Columbus dispatch has more, including quotes:

Cleveland-area auto dealer Tom Ganley will announce Wednesday his Republican candidacy for the U.S. Senate, setting up a potentially expensive 2010 primary election against former U.S. Rep. Rob Portman of Cincinnati.

Although he has never served in elected office, Ganley, 65, said today that he thinks he can win the seat to be vacated at the end of next year by retiring Republican Sen. George V. Voinovich.

“I have a great passion to see this through to a conclusion, to a victory,” said Ganley, who will kick off his campaign with a speech in his hometown of Brecksville.

A millionaire, Ganley indicated that he is willing to spend a considerable chunk of his fortune to win the GOP nomination against Portman.

“The campaign will be well-funded,” Ganley said. “It will be very well-funded.”

By virtue of his auto dealerships’ heavy advertising, Ganley said he has “tremendous name recognition in northern Ohio.”

I plan to attend the announcement/press conference tomorrow so be sure to check back tomorrow afternoon for the details (including video, I hope).

We are finally getting to the bottom of that mess up in Cuyahoga County:

Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora on Monday accused the U.S. Department of Justice of launching its local public corruption probe two years ago in a conspiracy with Republicans to undermine the Democratic turnout for Barack Obama.

Dimora said he and his lawyers will ask the Justice Department and Congress to investigate the motives behind the corruption probe, which became public last July when FBI agents raided the commissioner’s home and office and the home and office of political ally Frank Russo, the county auditor.

“This is a Republican-driven prosecution,” Dimora said during a late-afternoon news conference at the county administration building. He said he believes national Republican Party strategist Karl Rove helped initiate the probe.

That’s right folks, Karl Rove is behind it all.

Which makes sense if you think about it.  Because Cuyuhoga County doesn’t have a history of political corruption or anything.  So what else could be behind this effort except the dastardly politics of the GOP.

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