Hey, no problem, I thoroughly enjoy reading your posts. You are 100% dead on about the overstuffed "Sweaty" Betty Montgomery. She's from this area, and was totally worthless here before moving up. She is absolutely a social liberal, I can testify to that fact. I don't know all that much about Petro, but I didn't trust him even before you gave me the goods. I've leaned toward Blackwell for a longer time than most in my area, now I see him as the only hope for the Ohio GOP. Having a black CONSERVATIVE Repub guv would be the greatest thing that ever happened to the GOP-which is why , as you say-the 'country clubbers'-who have almost totally taken over the party here from top to bottom, except for some rural areas-will do everything in their power to stop him-because they aren't conservatives. Mark my words-if he doesn't get the nod-I believe the GOP is done in Ohio for decades. Conservs like myself have been lied to & sold down the river ,or taken for granted, for years-and we're tired of it. It doesn't take an ounce of effort to stay home on election day.
The one thing we can say about Secretary Blackwell is that he's not some token or some affirmative-action case... he is, without question, the single most qualified individual (man or woman) to become the next Governor of Ohio, period. Just imagine the heart-attack the media, the liberal 'Rats, and the RINO country-clubbers would have if we saw a future Presidential ticket consisting of Governor Blackwell and by-then-Senator Michael Steele of Maryland ? :-D
One thing I forgot to add. If Governor Taft were truly interested in saving the state GOP and preserving (or rather, restoring) its integrity, he could instruct his appointed Lieutenant Governor to resign and then follow suit himself with his own resignation, and Blackwell would then become the Governor, being next in the line of succession. He could do it tomorrow if he wanted. But, of course, that would be the act of a statesman, and Robert Alphonso Taft the 3rd is no Robert Alphonso Taft, Sr. Maybe for once he could look to his grandfather and do the right thing for a change.