Posted on 05/01/2009 2:13:20 PM PDT by Big_Monkey
It's getting to be that time again:
The 2010 elections are right around the corner, and they're going to get pretty interesting in some of the most heavily contested states and congressional districts next year.
In Ohio, Republican John Kasich, a former longtime congressman and also commentator for FOX News Channel, plans to file papers today for a bid for governor, according to a well-placed source.
Republicans wanted Kasich to run in 2006, he demurred, but has been planting the seeds for 2010 since them - in March 2008, he suggested that Ohio's income tax should be "phased out.'' He served last year as honorary chairman of "Recharge Ohio,'' a group committed to finding leaders who could "get our state back on track.''
Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland presides over a state that the Democrats were able to corral for the election of President Barack Obama last year, a state which nevertheless has undergone extreme pressure in the recession now underway even before it was a recognized recession. How Ohio plays in 2010 will speak volumes about what Ohioans make of the Democratic strategy for economic recovery.
Kasich already is on the circuit: He served as the keynote speaker at the Richland County Republican Lincoln Day over the weekend and at a Columbiana County GOP dinner this week.
(Excerpt) Read more at swamppolitics.com ...
Who is running for the Senate seat?
Wonderful. John has a great reputation for fiscal responsibility and for cutting budgets.
I don't live in OH anymore, but it's going to be Portman from what I've heard and maybe a couple others in the GOP Senatorial primary.
There’s hope for our state! You go JOHN!
Kasich is also pro-life and was untainted by the pubbie scandals that cost so much in OH a few years back.
I certainly do hope that Ken Blackwell does run for something, maybe for the U.S. Senate seat. Is Robert Portman already officially running for U.S. Senate?
Blackwell has already very publicly endorsed Portman for Senate. With the shellacking he took in 2006 plus his ties to the Taft administration, I think he's going to lay low for several more years.
Thankfully, he's not. I love the guy, and voted for him for governor, but he ran a campaign every bit as bad as McCain's. He would get smoked in the Senate election.
He would be a good one.
Taft and Blackwell were not at all buddies. The tie that binds is party affiliation and nothing much more.
No question. But, perception is reality. That's why Blackwell got beat so badly. It will fade from the public's consciousness in a few more years.
Kasich has been all over the state in recent months, and spoke at the Columbus tea party. Good choice for Ohio.
True about the perception. But Taft is despised in these parts. As he should be.
Met Mr Kasich when i was in 8th grade during my field trip to D.C.
He was super nice to us all.
I saw that interview and really dont think he got "pwned" but I do think Hitchens comes off as a elitist snob as usual who sounded more learned.
Not that I don't doubt Mr Hitchens expertise on American history but he picks and chooses his facts during that discussion and it's a bummer Blackwell wasn't totally informed about those facts and had any good quality responses that counter his argument from Thomas Jefferson himself.
c'est la vie
Good grief. I feel really old now. When I went on my 8th grade trip, we met Howard Metzenbaum - and he was a junior Senator at the time.
Hitchens in a drunk and an obnoxious jerk, but it's difficult to question his intellect or debate skills. There aren't a lot of people that come off looking great when going one-on-one with Hitchens.
I must say that I was amused several weeks ago when Hitchens and some rapper almost came to blows on the Bill Maher show.
Rob Portman - former Congressman from OH-02 and former Bush White House official.
So, maybe it’s seriously a good thing that Ken Blackwell isn’t the present RNC Chair? Unfortunately, Michael Steele isn’t doing too well as RNC Chair, but I’m also seriously not so sure that any of the RNC Chair candidates would do well in this present “leftist dominated” political climate.
Well, im 32 next month so feel even older now. :P
Kasich was the REAL leader of the 94 Revolution, not Newt the snewt.
Broder's Wash. Post article descibing the RINO act
UNBELIEVABLE!!! Thank you for the link! I never knew Kasich was involved with that sell out, and it turns out that he was the one who orchestrated it!!! The Republicans had successfully blocked the Assault Weapons Ban until Kasich negotiated a sellout with Leon Panetta. I once thought Kasich had presidential potential, but now I know that traitor is nothing but a pathetic fraud. I wouldn't vote for that turncoat Kasich for dogcatcher!
:’)
I’ve never trusted him. He’s too ‘sweet.’ Didn’t he have a friendship with Gary Condit around the time Chandra was murdered? I heard they were cruising buddies but don’t know how true that is.
Lunatic alert!
I got you beat. I grew up in Massachusetts. Guess who we met? Yep. Ted the Swimmah.
Ronaldus: UNBELIEVABLE!!! Thank you for the link! I never knew Kasich was involved with that sell out, and it turns out that he was the one who orchestrated it!!! The Republicans had successfully blocked the Assault Weapons Ban until Kasich negotiated a sellout with Leon Panetta. I once thought Kasich had presidential potential, but now I know that traitor is nothing but a pathetic fraud.
That is exactly right. In the next election (after the ban) I sent a contribution to his opponent Cynthia Luccia? who was no doubt a socialist democrat, but I sent Kasich a copy of the letter I sent to her explaining my support. I'll never vote for him as governor (or anything else) here in Ohio. And note the subtitle of the article by Broder: "Bipartisanship pays off" - yeah, to whom?? This is a Classic bipartisanship result that Rush (and others who know) often talks about.
“Met Mr Kasich when i was in 8th grade during my field trip to D.C.”
“Good grief. I feel really old now. When I went on my 8th grade trip, we met Howard Metzenbaum - and he was a junior Senator at the time.”
Kasich is running for Governor now so the issue is irrelevant. I don’t think he’s going to be signing any gun control bills in OH, do you?
That's interesting. I didn't realize that Kasich had been in the House since '83. But, in any event, that was well after my 8th grade year :(
To my mind, I can't think of any OH politician that would stand even a remote possibility of beating Strickland - but Kasich presents a reasonable, even good opportunity to unseat the incumbent.
I would fully support you decision to not vote for Kasich based upon the Weapons Ban fiasco alone, but only if there was someone else with a shot of winning as great as Kasich's.
Kasich has my vote.
So did Blackwell.
video?
I’ll do a little hunting and post in a bit.
How serendipitous.
He's trying to "understand" what makes Osama bin Laden, Al Queada and the Taliban such bad guys. Hitchens does his best to explain without just calling old Mos a moron.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKwziTJfMbg&feature=player_embedded
"You don't have to cast my thought process into dispersion
Classic.
It would be hard to find any reason for even the most anal twits around here not get behind him 100%.
His character isn't irrelevant. Not to me anyway. And it isn't like a governor wouldn't have an effect on the state gun laws. Since we've enacted CCW, there's been a few attempts to soften it and all have failed. I have no reason to believe that the gun control forces will just go away and Kasich has already proven he's 'negotiable'.
But isn’t he a supporter of illegal immigration?
I really don't know. But, as governor of Ohio, they'll only immigration issues he'll have to worry about are drunk Canadians at Put-in-Bay.
I played that game in the 2008 Prez election. As Jim Rob said in another thread - No More! I'll actively campaign against Kasich. I'm about as 'pragmatic' on this issue as some are on the pro-Life issue - iow, not pragmatic at all. Perhaps you'll understand that too. John Kasich (and his type) is exactly what's wrong with the Republican Party today.
Mark Steyn would be one of those rare people who would counter Hitchens to a standstill.
Love Kasich. Hope he does well.
Well, I see the so-called republicans in OheilO didn’t learn a thing from the last two elections. The country club repugs like Taft are still running things. Another RHINO who’ll ensure a dem landslide.
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