Free Republic

COLUMBUS - It was the first gubernatorial debate in Ohio history, possibly the United States, in which one candidate accused the other of being applauded by the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA). J. Kenneth Blackwell, the Republican candidate for governor who is trailing by double digits in most polls with three weeks until the election, went on the offensive in the fourth and final debate Monday night against Democrat Ted Strickland. And like the rain that fell on the Channel 10 television studios and the spin tents pitched outside, Blackwell never let up during the one-hour debate nor in...

CLEVELAND — For Tony Minor, the pastor of the Community of Faith Assembly in a run-down section of East Cleveland, Ohio’s new voter registration rules have meant spending two extra hours a day collecting half as many registration cards from new voters as he did in past years. Republicans say the new rules are needed to prevent fraud, but Democrats say they are making it much harder to register the poor. In the last year, six states have passed such restrictions, and in three states, including Ohio, civic groups have filed lawsuits, arguing that the rules disproportionately affect poor neighborhoods....

What Real Torture Is While questioning Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales, Republican-of-the-Year Arlen Specter (PA) asked the hard-hitting question: “Do you approve of torture?” It almost reminded me of the time Specter asked Bill Clinton during his impeachment if he believed in sexually harassing women at the workplace. Oh wait, that didn’t happen. Specter and his friends (Democrats) were quite upset at Gonzales’s involvement in presidential initiatives allowing aggressive “tools of persuasion” against Al-Qaida terrorists. They feared another reign of terror, as seen under John Ashcroft, whereby murdering lunatics weren’t given five-star hotel accommodations, massages, and discounted tennis lessons. And...

John Kerry wants to be president. But he doesn't want to discuss his unproductive time in the Senate. And he isn't offering credible ideas to extend opportunity and promote ownership in our communities. Instead, he's going back into the old Democratic Party bag of tricks and pulling out . . . the race card. Mr. Kerry has tried to paint President Bush as a racist bent on destroying civil rights. But when you look at the real record, you see that George W. Bush has done more to empower African Americans and other minorities than any president in recent history....