It is hardly time for John Kasich’s campaign to declare victory, but this sort of mass email to Strickland supporters should be more exciting to Team Kasich than any of the recent polls:

From: “Erik Greathouse”
Date: September 1, 2010 8:12:58 PM EDT
Friends,

Many have asked me to send around a few bullet points to have regarding some of the recent polling news. While we hate that there is even one poll out there showing the Governor behind – - remain VERY confident in our campaign and our plan.

Here are some polling points for you to share:

There is no doubt that this is a very difficult political environment to run in this year

Voters like the Governor, they trust the Governor, but his job approval is down because voters are very anxious and want him to fix things

Public polls are all over the map this year, but generally have Democrats and incumbents in a challenging position

We probably are down a few points right now, but nowhere close to 10 points that was published in today’s Rasmussen Poll

An internal poll done by another statewide candidate in the last two weeks has the Governor down 3%.

In July and August, the Kasich campaign and the RGA spent $2.7 million dollars unanswered – bashing the Governor.

The Strickland for Governor campaign just started to engage with voters on TV and we will spend the next 9 weeks defining Kasich and talking about what the Governor has done and will do.

The Strickland for Governor campaign has a $3million dollar cash on hand advantage over Kasich and will spend our resources wisely.

We have a much superior field and GOTV apparatus. The Ohio Republican Party spokesman basically acknowledged that in a Youngstown Business Journal article today. http://www.business-journal.com/ohio-dems-count-on-doors-not-dollars-p17345-1.htm

The Republicans are banking on riding a wave – we will win because we have a better candidate and superior organization

John Kasich has never had a tough election – Ted Strickland has had multiple tough races and knows how to win them

Erik Greathouse
Finance Director
Strickland For Governor
614-207-2088(cell)
Greathouse@tedstrickland.com

A couple of points… It is true that crazy Bob Fitrakis of the socialist Free Press magazine wasn’t much of a challenge for John Kasich in 1992. But he did face a tough election 10 years before that in 1982, against well known Bob O’Shaughnessy for the Ohio Senate, and was the ONLY Republican in the nation that year to beat a Democrat incumbent.

Correction: from a reader: Kasich did not run against Bob O’Shaughnessy in 1982. He ran against him in 1978. In 1982, Kasich ran against Bob Schmansky (the one term Democrat incumbent) and that is when he was the only Republican in the nation to beat an incumbent.

And it’s easy to pick on Rasmussen’s methodology, but the Real Clear Politics average has Kasich up by 10.3%. And yesterday’s Rasmussen poll didn’t show Kasich up by 10… he was up by 8. The poll Kasich is up by 10 in is in PPP’s poll, a Democrat polling firm, which still lists Gov. Strickland as the most popular governor in a Big 10 state!

And just as a general rule, TV ads aren’t driving poll numbers in Ohio in any significant way.

But it is true Team Strickland has a superior ground game, with more than 300 employees and help from outside organizations. The time for a scorched earth campaign for Gov. Strickland is now, but after all of this Lehman Brother’s confusing fluff and racially-tinged, tired “They took errrr jobs!” talk, what can they do to take it to the next level?

The Buckeye Institute posted video of yesterday’s protest of union workers striking at the OEA. And here I thought they were all altruistic do-gooders, deeply concerned with your child’s education:

According to the Ohio Secretary of State’s website, the Ohio Education Association PAC has donated more than $500,000 in 2009 and 2010 to the Ohio Democrat Party and anti-school choice candidates.

From JohnKasich.com:

Chabot isn’t allowing Rep. Driehaus to get away with the absurd claim that endless, wasteful federal stimulus spending constitutes a tax cut:

With a 100 percent voting record from the American Conservative Union during most of his years in the House and past support from the Club for Growth, Chabot would be one of those rare members of the Ohio Congressional delegation which conservatives can be excited about.

James Nash of The Columbus Dispatch has a fantastic report showing Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jolene Molitoris, with her very relevant degrees from Catholic University in speech and drama, is still grasping at straws to defend a proposed train that would take almost 7 HOURS TO TRAVEL BETWEEN CLEVELAND AND COLUMBUS:

Ohio’s transportation director asserted yesterday that passenger trains eventually will reach speeds of 110 mph across the state, even as freight railroads that will share the tracks effectively responded: “Not so fast.”

The state plans to run passenger trains from Cleveland to Cincinnati, with major stops in Columbus and Dayton, at speeds of up to 79 mph by the end of 2012. The 110-mph top speed isn’t simply a goal; it was a condition of Ohio receiving $400 million in federal funding for passenger rail.

Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jolene Molitoris maintained yesterday that Ohio could reach the 110-mph speed on existing tracks, as long as the state reaches agreements with the freight companies that use the lines.

“It’s all about how we work with our freight partners,” she told The Dispatch. “It’s a living kind of dialogue that goes on with our freight partners.”

But the written agreement between the state and the three freight railroads – CSX, Norfolk Southern and RailAmerica – envisions top speeds of 79mph. And the companies don’t seem interested in deviating from that.

“What we talked about with the state was passenger rail with a maximum speed of 79 mph,” said Rudy Husband, spokesman for Norfolk Southern. “All of our discussions have been based on that. At this point, we don’t have any plans to negotiate anything higher.”

Last year, a CSX executive was quoted as saying that passenger trains would need separate tracks to run at speeds exceeding 90 mph. The company is holding to that position, spokeswoman Carla Groleau said yesterday.

“It’s safety-related, just like highway speeds,” she said.

In January, the Federal Railroad Administration announced that Ohio was receiving $400 million in stimulus money to launch passenger service along a corridor that has been idle since the early 1970s.

Ohio’s application for the money envisioned a top speed of 79 mph at least through 2022, with an average speed along the corridor – factoring in stops – of 38.5 mph. But the state also asserted that “future improvements and expansion projects” would allow for top speeds of 90 to 110 mph.

One condition of the federal money was that trains could be “reasonably expected to reach speeds of at least 110 miles per hour.”

Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Robert Kulat said there’s no deadline for that to happen.

“It could be 50, 60 years down the road,” he said yesterday. “All states have different challenges than others.”

Read the rest here

Only very small portions of Ohio’s rails are currently safe enough to travel 79mph, so billions of dollars in new rail work would be required and Ohio still wouldn’t be close to the goal of 110 mph trains. Freight rail is very important to Ohio’s economy, and without industry on board, there would be no passenger rail service.

Ohio clearly received $400 on false pretenses and taxpayers continue to spend millions studying how impossible and ridiculous this plan is.

The Obama Justice Department is clearly making an effort to help Democrat causes by forcing counties to spend money they do not have to provide ballots for a very small percentage of registered voters. Cuyahoga County GOP Chairman and Board of Elections member Rob Frost spoke about this issue to the Weekly Standard.

From a study by the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States:

Coal-fired power plants are designed to run most efficiently at stable rates and are not well-suited to accommodate the load variability imposed by the integration with wind generation. Cycling causes coal-fired power plants to operate less efficiently, and reduces the effectiveness of their environmental control equipment, which together drive up emissions. Paradoxically, using wind energy in such a way that it forces utilities to cycle their coal generation often results in greater SO2, NOX and CO2 emissions than would have occurred if less wind energy were generated and coal generation was not cycled.

And as Gov. Strickland continues the expansion of wildly inefficient solar energy and a wind-farm on Lake Erie, both heavily subsidized by tax dollars, good old fashioned coal power plans will continue to be necessary as they compensate for peak usage hours.

At least this is an expensive, unintended way to continue proving CO2 is not pollution.

Freezing pay appears to be a popular theme among Democrats to campaign on, as an overwhelming number of voters support such a freeze… even though it’s a rather meaningless gesture in the face of endless stimulus spending and a debt-to-GDP ratio quickly approaching 100%. And I suppose the argument could be made that higher pay would lead to better quality members of congress who couldn’t be as easily influenced by lobbying interests. But if Kilroy was truly interested in saving taxpayers money at the margins, why would she abuse the franking privilege, spending $377,713 of your money in 2009 on what is indistinguishable from campaign material.

And her supposed opposition to TARP is the same sort of “hollow gesture,” as she was not in congress to vote against TARP (even though she supported the original concept of absorbing toxic assets on the campaign trail), but instead voted for a resolution that has no chance of passing, in order to put together this sort of TV ad:

The House passed a resolution of disapproval Thursday designed to block release of the second half of the $700 billion financial bailout fund. But the vote will have no substantive impact.

The House by 270-155 passed the resolution, but the measure has virtually no chance of becoming law. The Senate last week rejected a similar resolution, thus allowing the Obama administration to tap the remaining $350 billion in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) created last fall.

The remaining funds will be released on Jan. 27.

The program has been widely criticized by members of both parties, and Thursday’s vote gave House members a chance to vent their dissatisfaction and align themselves with the sentiments of their constituents.

“This is kind of a big public opinion poll for the House,” said House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank , D-Mass., who helped craft the bailout law.

Frighteningly, Kilroy, a former organizer for the American Socialist Party, was put by House Democrats in an important position during the creation of the massive financial Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill, where she played a roll in provisions that scared credit rating firms into demanding that their ratings not be used and could have truly labeled as wildly “anti-stimulus”:

If politicians were as accountable as CEOs, half of them would be fired for incompetence. Witness last week’s land speed record for unintended consequences, as a liability provision in the Dodd-Frank financial reform brought new issues to a screeching halt in the $1.4 trillion asset-backed securities market.

These securities are bonds backed by auto loans, credit-card receivables and the like. Shutting down this entire market to new offerings was an amazing Congressional feat, given that the same federal government has put tens of billions of taxpayer dollars at risk to revive the same market.

The financial genius behind this section of Dodd-Frank is Representative Mary Jo Kilroy. The Ohio Democrat inserted a line in the bill that removes the exemption for credit raters like Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s from being considered “expert” advisers in judging securities offerings. This makes them closer to underwriters or accountants in vouching for an issued security, and it means that their consent is required before their ratings can be included in a registration statement filed at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Coincidentally—and Ms. Kilroy has said this was her motivation—the provision also sharply increases the potential liability for credit rating firms. Both S&P and Moody’s cited this enhanced liability in announcing that they would not consent to participating in SEC asset-backed securities registrations. Fitch, DBRS and others followed suit.

Oops. Billions of dollars of deals were scrapped, as issuers were barred from proceeding without ratings information and the raters weren’t willing to participate. A June press release still appears on Ms. Kilroy’s website, proudly noting that her amendment “adds teeth to Wall Street reform.” Did it ever.

The market remained frozen until late on July 22nd when the SEC staff rushed out an announcement that they were suspending enforcement for six months of its rule that ratings information be part of securities offerings.

It is truly the political silly season when even Kilroy wraps herself in this sort of heavily poll-tested, conservative-sounding rhetoric. But Columbus residents shouldn’t never forget how far out of the American political spectrum Kilroy really is:

Not only was the bond issue voters approved one more way to lower Ohio’s sinking bond rating, the IRS wants to tax the money:

Could the taxman nick some of the bonuses set up last week for Ohio veterans?

Aides to U.S. Rep. Zack Space say Internal Revenue Service staff members have told them that the agency is considering a tax on bonuses awarded by Ohio to thousands of veterans who did not serve in combat in Iraq, Afghanistan and the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

The Dover Democrat plans to introduce a bill next month that would prohibit such an IRS assessment.

Such a tax would not be applied to the bonuses paid to combat veterans.

The state has set aside $200 million in one-time bonuses for an estimated 200,000 veterans. It is not taxing the benefits. Those who served in the three wars can receive $100 for each month of service, up to a total of $1,000.

The IRS taxes things like social security benefits and the Bush administration’s 2008 tax “rebates,” so this is hardly surprising. But on the bright side, Gov. Strickland and Attorney General Cordray were able to get a very visible photo-op out of it 70 days before the election.

“We would never allow that to happen…” except for those unseemly millions of dollars in Federal grants.

Apparently, Steve loves America:

Dogs really don’t like to be constantly handled like this:

Strickland is lucky, because apparently the dog pees on cue. But I’d expect nothing less from a dog who attended Harvard.

From NBC 4 Columbus:

Is this really a good use of taxpayer dollars? I spent a lot of time in Bexley during the last three years, and used to jog the entire distance of Parkview at least twice per week. The homes and lawns are stunningly beautiful (at least 5 are more impressive than the Governor’s mansion) and the street features a well maintained park. Odds are, no matter where you are in Ohio, the street you live on and the accompanying sidewalks are not as well maintained as Parkview.

Rep. Tiberi should be asking questions.

From Jeff Bell in the Columbus Business First:

Kristina Roegner with former Libertarian candidate John Hoover

Kristina Daley Roegner, a conservative challenger from Cuyahoga Falls with more than twice the money on hand as incumbent income-tax raising State Rep. Mike Moran ($34,169 to $17,169) , has put together an impressive campaign in the 42nd District. Roegner has been campaigning, without apology, on solid TEA party platform of lower taxes, shrinking government, and school choice. She is also is a principled social conservative with her support of  traditional marriage and opposition to abortion in all cases without exception.

Roegner has been so impressive to right-wing activists she he even impressed John Hoover, the Libertarian candidate, so much that he decided to gracefully exit the race:

A Libertarian candidate running for state representative for the 42nd House District is dropping out of the Nov. 2 election and endorsing the Republican candidate.

John E. Hoover, who was running on the Libertarian party, said Aug. 23 that he has withdrawn his candidacy and will endorse Kristina Daley Roegner, Republican candidate for the same office. Mike Moran (D-Hudson) is the incumbent candidate.

“Our positions were pretty close, hers and mine,” said Hoover, a Hudson resident. “It’s going to be a close election between Moran and her.”

Hoover and Roegner, a member of Hudson City Council, met after filing for the election earlier this year. ”

After meeting the first time, I knew right away that we agreed on many of the major issues including drastically cutting government spending, reducing the size, bureaucracy and burdensome regulations of government,” said Roegner. “I am honored and humbled to accept John Hoover’s endorsement in this race.”

When Moran heard about Hoover’s withdrawal, he said he would continue to campaign hard.

“I don’t plan on making any changes,” Moran said. “I’ve worked hard, I’ve made myself available, and I will continue to do the things I have done.”

Hoover, a lawyer with an master’s degree in finance, said he will probably offer Roegner advice on state budget issues.

“I’ve done a lot of research, and I’ll be giving her some information on that since it’s going to be a hot issue this coming year with deficits,” Hoover said.

I like taking a lot of cheap shots at libertarians, even though I agree with them most of the time. Their problem is, in a political system designed for two parties, they can often serve as spoilers for conservative candidates.

Libertarians allow perfect to be the enemy of the good, and come across as crazy anarchists waving black flags from a tree while simultaneously serving as useful idiots for big government statists on election day. And with a Ohio House Democrat majority who has passed budgets with a 4.2% income tax increase and billions of dollars in fees, a staunchly Republican caucus, lead by Rep. Bill Batchelder, offers a real conservative alternative in Ohio’s legislature. Hoover should be applauded for recognizing this, and his fellow libertarians should learn that Kristina Roegner is a true, small-government conservative.

Make sure to friend Kristina Roegner on Facebook here.

Creepy:

It would be a stretch to say that Big Brother will hang out in Clevelanders’ trash cans, but the city plans to sort through curbside trash to make sure residents are recycling — and fine them $100 if they don’t.

The move is part of a high-tech collection system the city will roll out next year with new trash and recycling carts embedded with radio frequency identification chips and bar codes.

The chips will allow city workers to monitor how often residents roll carts to the curb for collection. If a chip show a recyclable cart hasn’t been brought to the curb in weeks, a trash supervisor will sort through the trash for recyclables.

Trash carts containing more than 10 percent recyclable material could lead to a $100 fine, according to Waste Collection Commissioner Ronnie Owens. Recyclables include glass, metal cans, plastic bottles, paper and cardboard.

City Council on Wednesday approved spending $2.5 million on high-tech carts for 25,000 households across the city, expanding a pilot program that began in 2007 with 15,000 households.

$2,500,000 more to spend on an activity which doesn’t help the environment anyway.

This is the goal of the progressive movement: to monitor and control every aspect of your life.

Suddenly, Audi’s Super Bowl commercial doesn’t seem so funny:

And now for another herky-jerky, slow-paced conversational ad from the Republican Governor’s Association:

The woman is perhaps too old to be the man’s daughter, so who is he? Obviously, he’s a businessman who became successful later in life and thus dumped the older, ugly first wife for a younger, more attractive #2. And unlike the old battle-axe, this one likes to cook!

I hope Columbus NBC 4′s Patrick Preston likes the mention of his scoop of how Ohio’s cash-for-clunker-fridges program, which in and of itself is a wasteful program designed to artificially boost the sale of refrigerators while simultaneously making second hand fridges more expensive for the working class, employed workers at a call center in El Salvador, as part of a $171,3000 state contract with Parago.

But as Ohio House Republican Leader Bill Batchelder and his caucus mentioned, the issue isn’t the trade with China. It’s hardly part of the Republican platform to want to STOP the inflow of cheap consumer goods to America. But what’s troubling is Gov. Strickland’s HYPOCRISY on trade, when taking a hard-line Pat Buchanan/Lou Dobbs anti-trade position, while voting in Congress against his own protectionist beliefs. The ad is off message.

Congressman Driehaus, who is in a conservative district and will likely be defeated by former Congressman Steve Chabot rolled out a new ad yesterday:

Besides the obvious fact that taxes can’t be cut for 99% of Ohioans when more than 1/2 of all adults do not pay federal income taxes, what tax cut is he talking about?

He is talking about the Obama Stimulus package!

“I supported tax cuts for 99 percent of Ohioans and tax relief for small business to help them create jobs. Steve Chabot opposed the bill,” Driehaus said in the ad, referring to last year’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Chabot’s campaign spokesperson, Jamie Schwartz, fired back, saying Driehaus “has a serious aversion to the truth. His first campaign ad is a clear sign that he is desperate.”

“I’ve never heard of him refer to the stimulus package as a tax cut bill. It’s hard to make that argument when you’re spending $800 billion taxpayer dollars,” Schwartz said.

Gee whiz, so instead of embracing the anti-stimulus zeitgeist of this election cycle, massive spending projects are now  “tax cuts.” Driehaus earns an “A” for creativity.

Ohio’s educators will receive a bailout, full of future spending mandates, thanks to a clerical error by bureaucrats in New Jersey. Gov. Christie explains in his famously blunt style:

Of course Ohio receiving the money after Ted Strickland’s State Superintendent was responsible for Ohio’s ranking DROPPING during the application process has NOTHING to do with the White House helping Gov. Strickland’s re-election campaign.