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.
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