Posted on 04/02/2007 12:28:27 AM PDT by RWR8189
Although the presidential election is 19 months away, the Republican Party has a real and growing problem in Ohio that could cost it the White House in 2008.
Simply put, the GOP brand is in trouble in Ohio, more so than it is nationally. That matters because in 2004 Ohio was the key to an Electoral College majority, and could well be the same in 2008.
Since the 2004 election in which President Bush narrowly defeated John Kerry, the undercurrent in Democratic thinking for 2008 has been to hold the states Kerry won and to turn Ohio from red to blue.
If Ohio's 20 electoral votes were to go to the Democrats, assuming that no other states switch allegiance, that would give them the White House.
And as simplistic as that strategy sounds, it could turn out to be successful because of the woes that are besetting the Republicans in the Buckeye State, more than in any other key battleground.
In fact, polls of Ohio voters are finding them less inclined to support GOP candidates, less likely to consider themselves Republican than in the recent past, and giving higher ratings to potential Democratic candidates with a consistency that should set off alarm bells at the Republican National Committee.
Ohio has historically has been slightly more Republican than one of the other big Electoral College battlegrounds, Pennsylvania. In recent presidential elections it has been roughly as GOP as Florida, the other major swing state.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
Democrats? Why would voters support the party that has been openly advocating military defeat and economic failure?
The people spoke in Novemeber of '06. The majority of the 40% voter turnout barely voted for Democrats. 22% of the registered voters cast their votes for Democrats, the people have spoken!
Let's put up the good fight people, turn the lights on the cockroaches.
Could it be because the spineless twits that lead the Republican party are afraid to fight with the morons on the left? Could it be that the Repubs have become the "tax and spend" party? Could it be due to the continuation of excessive government intrusion into private decisions despite holding the house, senate, and presidency? Could it be due to Ohio's previous governor being a RINO?
I support Rudy, but I think Fred Thompson could put a few blue states in play. So could Tommy Thompson, come to think of it.
Sorry, but no - the solution to the problem of the party being too leftist is NOT to turn farther left. I'm a gun owner and will not vote for a gun grabber. Period!
I really think this is the root of so many FReepers supporting Giuliani -- he gives the impression at least that he won't take crap!
I'm personally far from supporting anyone yet for '08, but one thing I always did rather like about Giuliani is that he's not mealy-mouthed, the besetting sin of most Republicans. Sadly.
No Rino Rudy can'twin in Ohio, he is a free traitor. Jobs is one of the big issues there.
I disagree. Thompson lacks the fire in the belly. He had a lackluster four years in the Senate and has had no other experience in government. In the end he quit and returned to acting. He's also a desultory campaigner who would attract not a single blue state, whereas Rudy is a fierce opponent who would sweep the board and help a lot of conservative candidates. The dems know this--which is why they are already cooking up some phony "scandals" to try to do him in. It won't work. He's a known quantity as a leader.
"Sorry, but no - the solution to the problem of the party being too leftist is NOT to turn farther left. I'm a gun owner and will not vote for a gun grabber. Period!"
You are dealing with slogans, not political realities. It's simply a fact that no conservative candidate would be politically viable against the Dems who are considerably stronger this time around. The general public is exhausted from the Bush years and there is every indication it is fed up with the GOP. Fundraising in the party is way down. Many red states are turning purple or even blue--OH is just one example--and this is not only because of politics, but also because of changing migration patterns. So we run the risk of Hillary winning--and securing an even more strongly Democratic Congress in the bargain. Only Rudy can help us avoid this disaster since only he would appeal across the board to blue staters. Besides, he's not going to grab your gun. He is not for any new federal interference and is on record regarding this. In fact your best bet would be a Rudy candidacy since he alone would win back the Congress and keep the Dems from meddling with gun ownership. We can count on John Boehner and Mitch McConnell to do the rest.
That's the issue, isn't it? The choice of sticking by principles and losing or compromising and having a fighting chance.
There are party hacks in Ohio who call people like me "traitors" because I won't blindly support a candidate with an "R" next to their name. A pox on the Ohio Republicans and their houses. We as Americans deserve everything we get in 2008.
Which blue states would either either Thompson bring into play? I'm doubtful either would bring in even OH or FL. Tommy might win WI, but that's about it. Fred is a lackadaisical campaigner--and his career in the Senate was a big yawn. That's not too promising when we face the fierce opposition we're about to face. We need a fighter--not a go-along-get-along type of candidate.
Scandals were the main reason that Republicans lost this past fall. There was a coin scandal that involved Taft and a couple of other members of his administration and there were at least 2 Republican Congressmen who were involved in corruption scandals of their own. Republican "corruption" became an easy target for the Democrats, who handily turned the Republicans out of the governor's mansion and who also took back a seat in the U.S. Senate and several seats in the House.
While Governor Ted Strickland currently has high approval numbers, he has only been in office a few months and has not done anything yet, good or bad.
A lot can change before the fall of next year, I would't write off Ohio yet.
Never fear. Wait till all the Ohio geniuses show up and tell us that it's already over in Ohio and the GOP wins. (Problem is, these will be the same geniuses who said that Blackwell was going to win big and easy. "Don't listen to the leftist polls" blah blah blah). Many of us pointed out months in advance that Blackwell was going to get smoked and all the geniuses went ballistic. Turns out the geniuses were...well...insert whatever word you think fits best.
Yes, we have an Ohio problem. If we have an Ohio problem, that means we have an electoral college problem, even if we are winning the national polls. The D's have a BIG advantage in this regard. All they have to do is flip Ohio and they win. And Ohio voters despise the GOP.
The Blue Dogs voted 37-6 in favor of pork and surrender.
"There are party hacks in Ohio who call people like me "traitors" because I won't blindly support a candidate with an "R" next to their name. A pox on the Ohio Republicans and their houses. We as Americans deserve everything we get in 2008."
What is your goal in politics? Is it to hold grudges emotionally even if your values suffer as a consequence, or is it to be smarter than the opposition? If you want pro-lifers to gain power in Congress, if you want to avoid gun-control legislation, if you want to prevent gay marriages, you will need to make sure as many Republicans get elected as possible. So we need a strong candidate at the top of the ticket. This is no time for emotionalism or unclear thinking.
The goal of every Republican interested in social issues should be to secure the Congress. That's where the judges must pass muster, that's where the laws are passed. Only a good showing in November '08 can win the Congress for us and only Rudy offers the hope that we can achieve this. He would run the tables in blue states. He polls strongest on the east and west coasts--precisely where Dems are strongest. But he also is strong in the mid-Atlantic states--in OH and PA.
It was over 100,000 votes but after the "Republican Voter Fraud" (Not letting blacks vote), Kerry would have won. Too bad all the fraud was from the other direction.
Giuliani will win Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Any other GOP nominee will give the presidency to Hillary and the United States to Al Qaeda.
And those of us who favor fiscal discipline are supposed to vote for the same pack of whores who wasted money at a rate beyond Bill Clinton's *wildest* fantasies?
Never again. I'm supporting gridlock from now on.
"That's the issue, isn't it? The choice of sticking by principles and losing or compromising and having a fighting chance."
Well put. The thing is, we can have it both ways. Rudy is not going to shove his personal values down our throats--and if he tries, we would have Boehner and McConnell in Congress to stop him. But in fact he has pledged to nominate strict constructionists--and to keep hands off gun legislation. That should satisfy his fiercest critics on the right. In return, he brings an astonishing resume to the table. Remember, this is the former mayor who shut down porn shops, went after the drug dealers, reduced crime by 67%, lowered taxes on small businesses and family incomes, privatized city-owned properties, sued the Brooklyn Museum for using tax dollars to feature anti-religious art displays, argued on behalf of school vouchers, refused to kow-tow to racial politics, refused to lower police and firefighter standards in order to accommodate women and minorities, reformed the public school system, supported capital punishment, and fought the media every step of the way--and won. Not only this, but as U.S. Attorney in the Reagan administration he won over 4000 convictions, going after the heads of the five Mafia families and bringing white collar Wall Street scams to a screeching halt. He is a formidable administrator who understands governance and would make a magnificent president.
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