Proud Member of The Moms Clean Air Force
Print This Post
Oct
21
Cease-fire in effect for Ohio voter registration lawsuits
Filed Under Ohio, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 4 Comments
Makes you hope that wonders will, in fact, never cease.
From the Plain Dealer’s OPENERS’ blog, first:
Columbus-area GOP fund-raiser David Myhal has dropped his case — before a single hearing — in which he hoped to get the Ohio Supreme Court to force Jennifer Brunner, the secretary of state, to undertake a massive double-check of new voter registrants. One of Myhal’s attorneys tells The Plain Dealer that Myhal decided the flurry of litigation needed to end.
I wrote about this case on Monday.
Second, Ohio Republican Party Chair Bob Bennett, who, along with his deputy, Kevin DeWine, have repeatedly described Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s actions as partisan, even as members of their party have initiated multiple legal actions related to voter registration, now says,
“We didn’t file this lawsuit, but I’ve asked that it be withdrawn in the interest of negotiating a solution out of court,” Ohio Republican chairman Bob Bennett said in a statement. “The legal wrangling on this issue has gone on long enough.”
The Ohio GOP hopes to meet today with state Attorney General Nancy Rogers “to begin a dialogue” on ways to validate questionable voter registrations, Bennett said. “While she understandably could not make any guarantees, we have agreed to meet on Wednesday to begin discussions in good faith. I’m hopeful that we can work together on a solution that will give Ohioans greater confidence in the integrity of this election.”
The PD report was filed at about 5:30pm but I’ll see what I can dredge up about any meeting.
Third, and last: Read more
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:54 pm October 21st, 2008 in Ohio, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 4 Comments
Print This Post
Oct
21
Chicken Soup for the Swing State Soul
Filed Under Chicken Soup, Elections, Ohio, Politics, Writing | 8 Comments
For real. As in, really for real. Because frankly, I will not make it to November 4th if I don’t get to hear some good stories about voting, democracy and learning about what makes our country strong, not senile.
So find them and send them or write them. I’ll go first:
As some readers may know, I was really unhappy that my town only allowed one yard sign per yard. I know, I know, yard signs don’t vote and all that. And in point of fact, I never allowed us to put up signs in the first place because of my writing.
But you know what? People really like to put up yard signs – there is just something, oh, how shall I say it like Michele Bachmann might? Something just very American-democracy-election-y about yard signs. I mean, I can’t even see my own yard’s signs but just knowing that they’re there? I like that.
Well, anyhow, over the years, residents of Pepper Pike have worked on and off to challenge and complain that the one political yard sign per yard rule was unconstitutional. Finally, this year, after I sent the mayor and the city council a list of towns comparable to and/or adjacent to Pepper Pike, all of which had more lenient rules about yard signs, and particularly in the number allowed, and I included an article from outside Cincinnati where a town was being taken to court for its yard sign restrictions, the city council and law director and mayor agreed to rescind the old restrictions and write and approve new ones. We received a flyer with the new ordinance in it but I can’t seem to locate it online at the moment. Looks like Chillicothe had some problems and suspended its restrictions too.
Okay – so – where’s the chicken soup? Ah….not in the change in the law, although that is indeed good for the soul and for democracy. But rather…
Today, as I was driving my kids home after one of my kids’ after-school volunteer stint teaching computers to senior citizens, my oldest said, “Mom! Look! Three yard sigs in one yard!” and high-fived me.
Now, given that I’m hearing from people I know that yard signs all around them are disappearing, I’m very pleased to say that so far, the Obama, McCain, O’Connell/Stratton, Mandel, Belovich, Fudge and Lawson Jones signs that I’ve been seeing everyday up and down my pretty main drag are all still up.
So – eat this chicken soup: I got the ordinance changed, Republicans and Democrats are putting up three signs in their yard and so far, no one’s signs have disappeared.
And, my kids made the connection between what mom was trying to accomplish by pressing and pushing her elected officials, properly and with evidence and support, about changing a law she felt was unconstitutional, and implementing that change in the law so that everyone can exercise their right to political speech. Not just one candidate or issue per election year.
So feed me – whatcha got?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:32 pm October 21st, 2008 in Chicken Soup, Elections, Ohio, Politics, Writing | 8 Comments
Print This Post
Oct
21
How to take voter fraud seriously in Ohio
Filed Under Elections, Ohio, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 1 Comment
Brian Rothenberg, Executive Director of ProgressOhio.org sent out a plea for Ohioans to support equal prosecution of out-of-state campaign workers when it comes to voter registration irregularities. This request comes as evidence about how out-of-state campaign workers for both the Obama campaign and the McCain campaign may be violating Ohio voting law has been developing.
Partisan Games Should Lead To Bi-Partisan Prosecution or Be Dropped
COLUMBUS - ProgressOhio.org today called on the Franklin County Board of Elections to investigate and refer to the Franklin County Prosecutor evidence that out-of-state McCain/Palin campaign workers have registered to vote in Ohio with no intent to stay in-state.
The Complaint here:
http://pnohio.3cdn.net/dc3e5231706a69e17d_bom6i24bl.pdf
Research by ProgressOhio confirms what has appeared in numerous Ohio blogs, including Blue Bexley.
Ryan Meerstein is currently the State Director for McCain’s campaign in Ohio. Online biographies indicate he has worked for political campaigns or parties in four different states during the past two years (for the RNC in Virginia, for Sen. Corker’s campaign in Tennessee, for Rudy Giuliani in South Carolina1 and McCain in Ohio). He attended college in a fifth state2, and his given hometown is in a sixth state3.
The Franklin County Board of Elections reports receiving his completed absentee ballot on October 14th.
Record that indicates Mr. Meerstein is also currently registered to vote in South Carolina:
http://www.progressohio.org/page/-/Documents/South%20Carolina%20State%20Electi…pdf
Other high-level McCain Ohio staffers like Paul Lindsay and Jason Levine also appear to have recently moved to the state and registered to vote, while displaying no greater or lesser likelihood to remain a resident than some of the Vote From Home volunteers.
“The Franklin County Board of Elections made national news last week by referring 13 volunteers from the Vote From Home project to the Franklin County Prosecutor alleging they are not eligible to vote because they are not from Ohio and have no intent to stay in Ohio,” said Brian Rothenberg, Executive Director of the non-partisan ProgressOhio.org. “If this is how they interpret the law, it should be applied equally, without regard to political affiliation or belief, or not at all.
“We call on the Franklin County Board of Elections to investigate this accusation, and any similar accusations that may arise and to forward the information in similar fashion to the Franklin County Prosecutor,” said Rothenberg.
“We don’t believe the Vote From Home volunteers are any more or less guilty than these McCain/Palin campaign workers,” said Rothenberg. “You can’t selectively prosecute. Either drop the investigation to all concerned or expand it to all concerned. Otherwise this smacks of a partisan game.”
Rothenberg said given past practice in Ohio the best thing for Prosecutors and the Franklin County Board of Elections to do would be to drop the whole issue. “The state of Ohio has been around for 205 years and campaign workers have probably done this riding in from horseback, stagecoach, steam locomotive and airplanes. This is partisan hype singling out 13 kids for simply trying to help people exercise their rights to vote. If you are going to investigate them, then all ‘out-of-state’ campaign workers, should be subjected to the same standards.”
1 http://shotpolitics.com/the-crew-giuliani-campaign-announces-south-carolina-staff.htm
2 http://www.allegheny.edu/athletics/menbb/menbb_history.php
3 http://otb.huffingtonpost.com/wiki/index.php/Rudolph_Giuliani_Staff_Y2007Q2
Glass City Jungle’s post on the letter contains an active comment thread about the proposal.
As I wrote in my comment there, the Ohio Revised Code does not appear to contain any working definition of “temporary” or “resident” that could easily resolve this situation. As a person with a legal education, this kind of vagueness is often intentional, for a variety of reasons but causes enormous tzuras in situations like this election. Only a review of case law can really help, in addition to identifying some specific standards that everyone would apply and would apply uniformly.
Ha.
Yeah, I know.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:58 pm October 21st, 2008 in Elections, Ohio, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 1 Comment
Print This Post
Oct
21
[video] Women for McCain
Filed Under Abortion, John McCain, Sarah Palin, WH2008, Women | 1 Comment
From Katie Halper via tweet.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:01 pm October 21st, 2008 in Abortion, John McCain, Sarah Palin, WH2008, Women | 1 Comment
Print This Post
Oct
21
For those who mocked alleged Obama Waldorf visit, the yoke’s on you
Filed Under Media, Michelle Obama | Comments Off
The New York Post issues a retraction:
October 21, 2008 –
THE source who told us last week about Michelle Obama getting lobster and caviar delivered to her room at the Waldorf-Astoria must have been under the influence of a mind-altering drug. She was not even staying at the Waldorf. We regret the mistake, and our former source is going to regret it, too. Bread and water would be too good for such disinformation.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:42 pm October 21st, 2008 in Media, Michelle Obama | Comments Off
Print This Post
Oct
21
MN Rep. Michele Bachmann’s op-ed on…Michele Bachmann
Filed Under Barack Obama, Campaigning, Elections, michele bachmann, Politics, Republicans | Comments Off
You can read the entire op-ed column by embattled Minnesota Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann here. An excerpt:
Despite the way the blogs and the Democratic Party are spinning it, I never called all liberals anti-American, I never questioned Barack Obama’s patriotism, and I never asked for some House Un-American Activities Committee witch hunt into my colleagues in Congress.
What I did was ask legitimate questions that Minnesotans have been asking me: What does Barack Obama mean by change?
…
It’s like a political version of the children’s game of telephone. I make a statement in an interview. Chris Matthews distorts it — as he is paid so well to do. The liberal blogs contort it even more. The speaker of the House and other Democrat leaders utter absolute lies about what was said in the interview. Then the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee picks it up and runs with it, buying $1 million for negative ads so that they don’t have to talk about the issues.
…
But when you can’t win on the issues, you steal the election with a couple of lies and $1 million worth of mud. And the media reports and Democrat responses to my interview on “Hardball” have been echoing the outright lies of the liberal blogs. Is it really any wonder people are so cynical about politics?
Wow – seriously – this is not like the game of telephone. This is more of the retort, “I know you are but what am I” given how much Bachmann planned to spend and efforts to backtrack not only what she actually said, but on what it’s obvious she meant or wanted people to infer.
Again – here is the transcript from Bachmann’s appearance on Hardball. At no time whatsoever does she say or even intimate that, as she does in her op-ed that, “What I did was ask legitimate questions that Minnesotans have been asking me: What does Barack Obama mean by change?”
Bachmann never said to Matthews, “I don’t know about your anti-American question – that’s not anything I’d think of. But rather, my constituents keep asking me, “What does Barack Obama mean by change” and I want to know that too.” Nothing even remotely close to that. Not even close.
Here, again, is the section of the transcript where she embraces the use of the phrase anti-American and interweaves it with constant references to what she calls the “troika of the most leftist administration” (Barack Obama, Nancy Pelois, Harry Reid):
MR. MATTHEWS: I mean, we’ve got a lot of problems in this country. Why is this [Obama's connection back in the 1990s with Bill Ayers] so important that it’s being pushed out on telephone calls to all the key states now with two weeks to go?
REP. BACHMANN: It’s important because we look at the collection of friends that Barack Obama has had over his life, and usually we associate with people who have similar ideas to us. And it seems that it calls into question what Barack Obama’s true beliefs and values and thoughts are — his attitudes, values and beliefs with Jeremiah Wright on his view of the United States –
MR. MATTHEWS: Okay –
REP. BACHMANN: — which is negative; Bill Ayers, his negative view of the United States. We’ve seen one friend after another. It calls into question his judgment, but also what is it that Barack Obama really believes? And we know that he’s the most liberal senator in the United States Senate, and that’s just after one year after being there. He’s the most liberal. Joe Biden is the third most liberal. You’ve got Harry Reid who’s liberal, Nancy Pelosi who’s liberal.
MR. MATTHEWS: Right. What’s the connection?
REP. BACHMANN: You have a troika of the most leftist administration in the history of our country.
MR. MATTHEWS: If you have liberal views, does that mean you have anti-American views? What’s the connection? I don’t get the connection. What’s the connection between liberal and leftist and anti-American?
REP. BACHMANN: Anti-American is the point, because –
MR. MATTHEWS: I mean, if you’re liberal, are you anti-American?
REP. BACHMANN: Well, the liberals that are Jeremiah Wright and that are Bill Ayers, they’re over-the-top anti-American. And that’s the question that Americans have. Remember, it was Michelle Obama who said she’s only recently proud of her country. And so these are very anti-American views.
Finally, in her op-ed, she writes,
I never asked for some House Un-American Activities Committee witch hunt into my colleagues in Congress.
Here’s what she asked for:
REP. BACHMANN: What I would say — what I would say is that the news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look. I wish they would. I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America? I think people would love to see an expose like that.
You decide for yourself what she was asking for.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:51 pm October 21st, 2008 in Barack Obama, Campaigning, Elections, michele bachmann, Politics, Republicans | Comments Off
Print This Post
Oct
21
[updated] Newspaper endorsement update: Obama 122, McCain 39
Filed Under Barack Obama, Endorsements, John McCain, Media, WH2008 | 4 Comments
Wikipedia as of 10am this morning:
Editor & Publisher reports that, as of last night, there are actually 4 party switcher endorsements for McCain. Here’s a list of all party switcher papers from E&P:
BARACK OBAMA (26)
CALIFORNIA
Long Beach Press Telegram (B): 85,595
Pasadena Star-News (B): 27,894
San Gabriel Valley Tribune (B): 40,051
The (Stockton) Record (B): 57,486
San Bernardino Sun (B): 54,315
Tri-Valley Herald (B): 29,759COLORADO
The Denver Post (B): 225,193CONNECTICUT
New Haven Register (B): 72,613FLORIDA
Naples Daily-News (B): 66,272ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune (B): 541,663
INDIANA
Palladium-Item (Richmond) (B): 15,453IOWA
Mason City Globe Gazette (B): 17,666NEW JERSEY
Asbury Park Press (Neptune) (B): 140,882NEW MEXICO
Las Cruces Sun-News (B): 21,341NEW YORK
Daily News (B): 703,137OHIO
Hamilton Journal-News (B): 19,432
The Repository (Canton) (B): 65,789
The Times-Reporter (New Philadelphia) (B): 22,428OREGON
Yamhill Valley News-Register (McMinnville) (B): 10,921PENNSYLVANIA
The Express-Times (Easton) (B): 44,561TEXAS
Austin American-Statesman (B): 170,309
Houston Chronicle (B): 494,131UTAH
The Salt Lake Tribune (B): 121,699WASHINGTON
The Columbian (B): 44,623
Yakima Herald-Republic (B): 38,077WISCONSIN
Wisconsin State Journal (Madison) (B): 87,930JOHN McCAIN (4)
FLORIDA
Bradenton Herald (K): 48,618TENNESSEE
The Jackson Sun (K): 32,121TEXAS
Corpus Christi Caller-Times (K): 53,368VIRGINIA
Daily Press (Newport News) (K): 91,508
And remember what E&P’s Greg Mitchell said about the importance of battleground states, which I’ve bolded.
UPDATE: E&P lists Obama at 121 and McCain at 42.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:06 am October 21st, 2008 in Barack Obama, Endorsements, John McCain, Media, WH2008 | 4 Comments
Print This Post
Oct
21
Bachmann district: higher foreclosure rate than rest of MN or USA, biggest donor=mortgage lender
Filed Under Economy, Elections, Housing, michele bachmann, Politics | 4 Comments
Looks like MN Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is really in for a tough election, and probably should have been anyway. I really didn’t know much more about her beyond the George Bush kiss until last Friday when she suggested that the media needs to investigate the members of Congress to see who is pro-America and who is anti-America.
According to the Minnesota Independent, however, Bachmann’s district (the 6th) faces serious troubles:
…according to the most recent study released by Housing Link in Minnesota, Bachmann’s district has a higher foreclosure rate than the rest of Minnesota and the rest of the country. While in 2007 the national average hovered at around one percent, or one out of every 100 mortgages went into foreclosure, Sherburne and Wright were actually at 1.5 to 2 percent that year, and the rest of her district was between 1.01 and 1.5 percent. What’s more, Housing Link’s numbers represent only the total foreclosure sheriff sales and don’t include the high number of foreclosure filings and notices of default that are pervasive throughout the suburbs right now, numbers often cited by many housing analysts as actual foreclosures.
…
In Bachmann’s district, foreclosures in Sherburne rose by 97 percent last year. Hennepin County, which suffered from more than 5,000 foreclosures last year, saw its foreclosures rise by 83 percent.
“It’s a huge issue out there,” Ireland says. “And I don’t think anyone was willing to believe it, partly because these folks made poor financial decisions, getting into homes that were $300,000 and more. They’re not going to have the blight that city’s have out there, because it’s a little more spread out. A house every acre. But you are going to have issues of houses that were just slopped up with pretty low quality materials,” he says. [my emphasis]
What does Bachmann intend to do to help her constituents?
…so far, Bachmann’s allegiances have been clear. She’s voted against any help for homeowners and continually sides with banks and the financial services industry as member of the House Financial Services Committee. Her number one campaign contributor is TCF Bank, which is also one of the top-ten mortgage lenders in the state.
Alrighty then.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:51 am October 21st, 2008 in Economy, Elections, Housing, michele bachmann, Politics | 4 Comments
Print This Post
Oct
21
The Audacity of Palin: taxed oil corps, redistributed wealth, but calls Obama “The Wealth Spender”
Filed Under Barack Obama, Business, Economy, Government, Politics, Sarah Palin, Taxes, WH2008 | 3 Comments
No sooner do I get done being reminded about how Alaska Governor Sarah Palin taxed and took profits from oil companies and then redistributed their wealth to Alaska’s residents then I read about how she has now dubbed Barack Obama, “Barack the Wealth Spender.”
Okay oil companies, speak up, yah? Alaskans? Factcheck? The press?
Total case of I know you are but what am I, again.
See Crooks and Liars on this too (h/t Jeff’s tweet again).
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:28 am October 21st, 2008 in Barack Obama, Business, Economy, Government, Politics, Sarah Palin, Taxes, WH2008 | 3 Comments
Print This Post
Oct
21
[video] To the undecided in support of voting
Filed Under Barack Obama, Politics, Voting, WH2008, Youth | Comments Off
Hattip and nod to George Nemeth.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:15 am October 21st, 2008 in Barack Obama, Politics, Voting, WH2008, Youth | Comments Off
Print This Post
Oct
21
Ohio Governor wonders about effort to set up post-election challenge
Filed Under WH2008 | 2 Comments
Remember Hamilton County Prosecutor and McCain campaign SW Ohio chair, Joe Deters? Now we have this, from the Columbus Dispatch:
…prosecutors in at least three more Ohio counties — Delaware, Hamilton and Hardin — are looking into possible voter-registration fraud. And while Republicans continued to allege fraud in Ohio, Democrats accused McCain of running a dishonorable campaign and the GOP of “desperate tactics.”
“It causes me to wonder, quite frankly, if there may not be an effort to set up a scenario where the Ohio outcome could be challenged,” Gov. Ted Strickland said. “I think that would be terribly unfortunate if it happens.”
At the heart of the current dispute is a disagreement about what should be done when personal information from newly registered voters doesn’t match state motor-vehicle and federal Social Security databases.
Specifically:
Delaware County Prosecutor David Yost [a Republican] said his office is looking into two cases of potential voter-registration fraud that were referred to him by the board of elections.
One includes “a handful” of people whose registration confirmation cards were returned to the elections board because they were undeliverable.
The second involves a family of five, all of whom wrote on their registration cards that they were born on Jan. 1 but in different years.
The prosecutor’s office in Hardin County, about an hour northwest of Columbus, also is investigating possible registration fraud. No other information was available.
Hardin County prosecutor is Bradford Bailey who is a Republican.
Prosecutors are supposed to be non-partisan elected officials in Ohio but I confess, I would like to know which of the remaining 84 counties have GOP prosecutors and which have Democrats as prosecutors? I’m sure someone knows.
Hattip this tweet.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:10 am October 21st, 2008 in WH2008 | 2 Comments
Print This Post
Oct
21
How far are you willing to go? How threatened do you feel?
Filed Under Barack Obama, Elections, John McCain, Politics, WH2008 | 2 Comments
I want Barack Obama to win, but I’m not going to stand in front of Sarah Palin’s motorcade to help that happen.
If you want John McCain to win, are you willing to hang an effigy of Obama in your front yard?
What are the boundaries in our democratic society?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:48 am October 21st, 2008 in Barack Obama, Elections, John McCain, Politics, WH2008 | 2 Comments
Print This Post
Oct
21
[video] ACORN: The Fight Against Voter Suppression
Filed Under Barack Obama, Campaigning, Elections, Law, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 1 Comment
Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Films has produced ACORN: The Fight Against Voter Suppression. You can read more about Greenwald here. The most well-known film (that I know of) that he’s done is Wal-Mart: The High Price of Low Cost, the reviews of which were very strong. Hattip to Ohio Daily Blog for posting this video.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:25 am October 21st, 2008 in Barack Obama, Campaigning, Elections, Law, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 1 Comment
Voted into Top 25 Political Mom Blogs
Now on sale-WLST essay included!
Posts About Pepper Pike City Council2010 WE Magazine 101 Women Bloggers to Watch
Category Specific RSS
Pepper Pike Cleveland+ Politics Women Ohio Elections Law Jewish
