Posted on 05/02/2006 8:58:25 PM PDT by george76
Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell won the Republican nomination for governor by edging out Attorney General Jim Petro.
Democrats haven't produced an Ohio governor in 16 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at wtov9.com ...
I've got that printed out and copied, to give to potential voters. GOOD stuff!
Good idea!
Well, there are some valid reasons for that. There's no question that Blackwell is more conservative than Petro on social issues. And I think he'd be a much better Senator than Petro because he's much more reliably conservative on national issues.
For governor, though, administrative competence is extremely important. A "right" thinking guy who can't manage his way out of a paper bag would make a terrible governor.
Ohio state government is in terrible shape. There are overlapping agencies, lousy accountability, etc. It's screaming for someone who knows how to manage well to clean it up. And personally -- though I voted for Blackwell -- I think Petro would do a better job at that. He actually understands that stuff, and has been advocating for some much needed reforms for a number of years. And he's got the administrative track record of showing that he gets the job done.
I voted for Blackwell primarily because I think Petro can't win. He'd have gotten (mostly unfairly) smeared by the Taft/Noe problems because he comes across as just another one of those white establishment Republicans in the state, and that's not a good image here right now. Blackwell can separate from Taft much better than can Petro.
I also prefer Blackwell because I think he's more focused in than Petro on really easing the business climate in this state. My trepidation with him is that while I think he's philosophically in the right place, philosophy isn't enough in the governor's house if you don't have the administrative skills.
I've also got some concern that while the bull in the china shop approach may make some of us feel better, its meaningless unless accompanied by the ability to get legislation enacted. I'm not sure how good Ken is going to be in that regard because he's almost gone out of his way to alienate a lot of people whose support he'll need to get legislation through.
-Eric
Anything to make the moveon crazies ...more crazy is ok with me.
Alienating corrupt Republican insiders is not a negative in any way, IMO. He's a leader.........and he'll lead.
"It's really sad when Republicans don't want to rally behind a black conservative that has a chance to win."
What does him being black have to do with anything?
but can't they do what they tell conservatives to do: hold your nose, pull the lever. Any republican is better than any democrat. Right?
Why is it, no matter what their party affiliation, liberals just will NEVER support a conservative of any kind. Go, Ken, Go!
I'm just responding to this one, although the comment may apply to all the responses to my comments.
First, if you think Blackwell ran no negative ads, you live in an alternate universe.
Second, "conservative" isn't a brand you own and can assign to people as you see fit based on support for a single candidate.
Third, for Blackwell to win he WILL need the RINOS to vote for him. So if some voters believe themselves to be conservatives, and want to support Blackwell but have misgivings, calling them names or calling the stupid isn't likely to be a winning strategy.
The only way Petro would have lost in November was if the conservatives who supported Blackwell stayed home.
And the only way Blackwell will win in November is if the people who supported Petro vote for him rather than staying home or voting for Strickland.
Since when is "edging out" 10%?
Second, conservative is conservative. Blackwell IS one, Petro is NOT one.
Third, Blackwell has already started uniting the Republican party in Ohio behind him. If Petro supporters don't get behind the best man for the job, it will be their apathy and lack of concern for the future of Ohio that's at fault, not anything Blackwell has or has not done.
Blackwell does need Petro supporters..........and he'll get them, unless they just don't care about this state.
I wondered that too. It was a commanding victory not 'edging out' at all.
Thank you for informing us as to what we should do. [sarcasm]
After being told for a year by establishment devotees or out and out RINO's (some on this board) that Blackwell couldn't beat the 'in state' GOP machinery, their voices have now been invalidated.
It was Blackwell or no one, and the establishment RINO's will have to suck it up as they did when Reagan finally got through their ranks and won the nomination. After all, Conservatives have sucked it up and suffered RINO's, especially in OHIO, for years. About time they got something in return.
Blackwell is one of only a couple Republicans I'm willing to support this year. He'll continue to get the type of out of state support that helped bypass the establishment and got him the nom, the same support that torpedoe'd Daschle.
And if the best you can do is whine about having "mean" things said in a political campaign, good grief!, then go join the McCain express. He's still holding a grudge he wasn't endowed with the GOP nomination.
56 -44 final (unofficial) percentages. Definitely NOT 'edging out.' :)
Amen, SS! AMEN!
I did not whine, I don't live in Ohio, and therefore my vote doesn't matter.
I didn't tell you what to do, I gave my opinion about what has to happen in order for Blackwell to win in November.
If you think that Blackwell can win with only the votes of "true conservatives", you are sorely mistaken. If you DON'T think that, then in fact you agree with me and simply don't want to admit it because you are focused on rubbing your opponent's face in the dirt, when instead you need them to be your allies in November.
The "true conservatives" targetted DeWine. He got over 70% of the REPUBLICAN vote.
You can "not vote" for DeWine in November, to send a message. IF the 30% of republicans who didn't vote for him in the primary ALSO don't vote for him in November, he will probably lose, and you'll have Brown for 6 years.
In exchange, you will have a good chance of nominating a conservative in 6 years, and possibly winning back the seat from an incumbent.
You know this. But realise that the moderates in the party know the same thing. They can stay at home in November, and get Strickland. Then, in 4 years they can try to nominate a moderate, and possibly beat the incumbent governor in november.
You can certainly deride the moderates for their incorrect policy positions and philosophy. That in fact is what we need to do, to show them how wrong they are and convince them of the superiority of conservative principles.
But if you are just going to play politics, you have to realise that they can do the same thing, and if conservatives and moderates each decide they want to only support their own candidates, you can enjoy democrats in office for the forseable future.
I'm not telling you or anybody else WHAT to do. I'm simply laying out the facts. The moderates are learning that they can't win elections without the conservatives, but the conservatives have to realise they can't win without moderates.
A majority coalition is going to require compromise, at least until you manage to convince the majority to support your pure brand of conservatism.
This is so very obvious. Petro doesn't need to "reach out" to conservatives now, he LOST the election and no longer needs votes.
Blackwell NEEDS TO REACH OUT to the Petro supporters -- he NEEDS them to win in November. Do you dispute that? Do you think Blackwell can win in November without the Petro votes?
So anybody who says that Blackwell will "magnanimously" welcome back to the fold all the evil Petro supporters if they simply apologize, are living in a dream world. Blackwell needs to give these people a REASON to vote for him in November.
And that task is always easier if the primary campaign is less devisive. Sure, Petro ran negative ads -- but again, Blackwell and his supporters don't have the luxury of dwelling on their own hurt feelings, not if they want to win in November.
Blackwell will not win without the support of the republican machinery. He will not win without the support of most of the Petro primary voters.
I am certain the people I know in Ohio will vote for Blackwell in November -- at least so long as Blackwell and his supporters don't actively push them away.
But there WERE conservative who supported Petro. You may soundly disagree with their reasons for that support, but to simply dismiss them as obviously "NOT conservative", or being "ill-informed", would be a mistake.
I neither said you lived in an alternate universe, nor applied my entire post to you. I admit I was lazy in not cutting and pasting all the other responders names to my post, I won't do that again.
The same Republican insiders that were so wrong with Petro and Bradley? That gave us Taft, DuhWhine, and Voinovich? Don't worry. They'll fall in line for Nov. Their livelihoods depend on it.
Maybe it is good the RINOs are not behind Blackwell. If he wins that will smack down those RINOs but good. Reps don't generally do well with blacks but Blackwell may change that.
Really? Then please explain how we had Metzenbaum and Glenn for years and ended up with DeWine and Voinovich.
This is a strange state, politically. When social issues come on the ballot, Ohioans vote conservative. The "marriage amendment" that passed is the most restrictive in the country (too restrictive IMHO), and casino gambling loses 60-40.
On Presidential elections, Ohio is very close to the national average almost every election.
But on statewide elections for Governor and Senator, we tend to elect Moderate Republicans, not Conservatives. I am still waiting to hear from someone who can tell me the last Conservative Senator. There's no evidence whatsoever that dumping DeWanker for a far-Left radical like Sherrod Brown will result in an eventual Conservative nominee for Senate. Far more likely is that we'd be stuck with Brown for a term or two and then get another moderate like Voinovich or DeWanker.
No thanks.
Look at Connecticut -- seen any Conservative Senators since Weicker was replaced by Lieberman? (Although, to be fair, I would vote Lieberman over Weicker because Weicker was always further left and a genuine RINO -- a guy that rarely if ever voted Republican).
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