I always had mixed feelings about Voinovich. He HAD been useful to a degree on occasion. As Jim Rhodes's running mate in '78, he stayed in office just long enough to return to rescue Cleveland from the evil incompetent clutches of Dennis the Menace Kucinich (so score one for him in that regard). I was supportive of his run for Governor in '90 (of course, back then, I was one of those "any Republican is better than a 'Rat" types, and was still in the dark about what RINOs were). Voinovich can also take credit, probably now to his chagrin, for elevating Blackwell to statewide prominence.
Blackwell should've been headed to Congress as long ago as 1990, very narrowly losing the then-1st district. After Clinton elevated 'Rat Mary Ellen Withrow to U.S. Treasurer, that provided Voinovich to put in the "token" Blackwell. I'm sure he always believed that Blackwell would probably toe the line with the rest of the establishment, though did anything but, as we have seen.
I don't know what is up with those outside of Cincy thinking Blackwell is a RINO (although, when you were promoted by the RINO establishment, are surrounded by the RINO hordes, you tend to think they may ALL be alike - not too unfamiliar for Blackwell, who is practically 3rd party, he was not "technically" a Republican when he served as Mayor, but a member of the Charterites, a uniquely Cincinnati institution). It is quite possible that the smears against Blackwell are coming from the Petro & Montgomery camps, neither of whom deserve to become the next Governor. There were some complaints that Blackwell did receive an endorsement from McCain (which under normal circumstances would cause me to question my support - BUT Blackwell is using McCain (rather than vice-versa) to try to secure support from the weak-kneed RINOesque voters to make it look like he's "safe" to vote for, it might be a risky move, but I trust he knows what he's doing). The higher % he receives in the primary the better, as it gives more a sense of inevitability he will take the general (and the 'Rats are very desperate to take back the office after what will be 20 years).
I'd be more concerned were I a 'Rat, because you have a potentially VERY ugly situation afoot. Although both Mayor Coleman and Rep. Strickland are liberals, there is the perception that Strickland might be a stronger general candidate. If Strickland wins the nod narrowly, a lot of Black voters will be quite angry, and Blackwell would likely be able to build on his support in the Black community (and downplayed by the media is the fact that Black voters in Ohio are amongst the most Republican in the country - Dubya received around 20% of their vote in '04, and some reports indicated that Blackwell has received at or above 40% of the Black vote, and if you combine a regular Republican vote + 40% of the Black vote means a huge landslide for the Republican candidate).
However, there is still a contingent of ordinarily Republican voters that won't support a Black man for Governor (and I don't mean Conservatives, but those elitist aforementioned country-clubber types, think "Caddyshack's" Judge Elihu Smails), and you also have seen some feelers being made to ex-Congressman John Kasich to try to get him into the contest to "stop" Blackwell and his "inevitable loss." Were that to happen, the resulting damage would all but hand the office to the 'Rats.
The biggest worry for us next year isn't the Governorship, but the Senate seat. DeWine has been a particularly abysmal Senator, and stands a very good chance of losing the general, either to the plagurist Sherrod Brown or the vacuous twit with a General Patton complex, Hackett. If anything, we ought to be urging Kasich to take on DeWine, or we WILL lose that seat. OH already had to suffer through 2 decades of Socialist Metzenbaum and Traitor Glenn, and they certainly don't want to go back to those bad old days. Unfortunately, just like we have to put up with phony RINO Lamar! Alexander down here in Tennessee, you guys will have to put up with Voinovich (at least until 2010) before you can sack him...
Sorry for going on a bit here...
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.