Division I regional track finals
Fenwick graduation 2012
Ponitz graduation 2012
Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > October > 23
Thursday, October 23, 2008
It’s your turn to be ‘Joe the Plumber’
As the presidential campaign enters its final 12 days, the McCain campaign wants Ohioans to share their “Joe the Plumber” story for a chance to hit the road with the campaign.
“By now, ‘Joe the Plumber’ is a household name and has become a symbol of Barack Obama’s plan to ‘spread the wealth around.’ During a recent campaign event in Toledo, Ohio, ‘Joe the Plumber’ asked a simple question and got a surprising answer from the Democratic nominee. When he asked why Barack Obama’s tax plan was going to punish him for working hard and living the American Dream, Barack Obama responded, ‘When you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody,’” the campaign said on its Web site.
If you want to share your stories, “email ohio@mccain08hq.com telling us why you are ‘Joe the Plumber.’ Share your story of working hard, owning a small business and living the American Dream. Include your address and phone number.”
The campaign says ten “Joe the Plumbers” will be selected to embark on an upcoming bus tour across Ohio.
Of course, if you’re chosen make sure to let the Dayton Daily News know about it.
Permalink | Comments (12) | Post your comment |
Ohio Dems to Department of Justice: Stay out of our election
In the latest salvo between Ohio Democrats and Republicans on voting in Ohio, a group of Ohio lawmakers fired a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice urging them to stay out of Ohio’s election law enforcement.
The letter was signed by U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio and U.S. Reps. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo; Tim Ryan, D-Niles; Zack T. Space, D-Dover; Betty Sutton, D-Copley Twp.; and Charles Wilson, D-Bridgeport.
“The eyes of the nation are once again on Ohio in this critical election, and there is no room for partisan politics that seek to erode voter confidence in Ohio’s election system,” they wrote in a letter to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey. “We have confidence in the work that is being done by Ohio’s bipartisan group of election officials and by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.”
Their letter follows one sent to Mukasey earlier this week by nine of Ohio’s 11 Republican U.S. House members, including House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester and David Hobson, R-Springfield. They asked him to compel Brunner, a Democrat, to comply with the Help America Vote Act, the federal law that Ohio Republicans say requires Brunner to provide local boards of elections with the mismatch information.
Republicans want Brunner to provide county boards of elections with details of how personal information on new voter registration forms doesn’t match information on drivers’ licenses or Social Security records.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a lower court order directing Brunner to update the state’s voter registration database based on whether information provided by newly registered voters matched other information. The Supreme Court said the Ohio GOP likely would not prevail on the underlying question of whether the lower federal court was authorized to act on a lawsuit brought by a private entity.
The full Democratic letter is after the jump.
A full copy of the letter follows.
October 23, 2008
General Michael B. Mukasey
Attorney General U. S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20530-0001
Dear General Mukasey:
We write regarding enforcement of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). As you know, Ohio and other states are in the midst of carrying out their obligations under Section 303 of HAVA in the face of tremendous increases in voter registration. This surge in registrations is a healthy trend in a democracy.
We are strong supporters of HAVA. As you know, the purpose of HAVA is to ensure that the votes of all eligible voters are counted. We are concerned that complaints about the administration of HAVA in Ohio are designed to reduce the number of legitimate votes that are cast and counted in our state.
It is hard to find another explanation for complaints that are filed with only a few days remaining before the election. To comply with HAVA, former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican, instituted a voter registration database, known by the acronym SWVRD, in 2006. The State continues to maintain the SWVRD in accordance with federal and state law.
No complaints concerning its implementation or operation were received by the Secretary of State’s office until the Ohio Republican Party initiated litigation on September 26, 2008. The lawsuit sought to compel the Ohio Secretary of State to implement new standards for the SWVRD - standards that are not required under either HAVA or Ohio law. The Supreme Court of the United States recently issued a decision that vacated a temporary restraining order that had directed the Secretary to institute additional procedures under Section 303 of HAVA.
Since the Supreme Court’s decision on October 17, 2008, the case was refiled in state court and then dismissed by the plaintiffs. These proceedings reinforce our understanding of Section 303, which required states to create a system to keep a permanent record of voter registrations and to ensure that localities are able to share and update information regarding voters, in particular, those that move. We are aware of no evidence that indicates the state is operating in anything but a uniform and nondiscriminatory manner. Absent these grounds, the involvement of the Department of Justice is unnecessary as HAVA specifically recognizes that implementation of the act is to be left to the states.
Ohio’s eighty-eight (88) county boards of elections are presently verifying thousands of new registration and voter registration change of name and residence updates in accordance with state and federal requirements. These updates are being processed in addition to the substantial preparations that must be made in anticipation of Election Day. The creation of another process to verify new registrations is unnecessary and has the potential to create confusion and reduce voter turnout. As Ohio saw in the last election, some voters will understandably turn away after waiting for hours on line.
With fewer than two weeks before the presidential election on November 4, 2008, the Department of Justice should resist partisan calls to interfere in the administration of elections in Ohio. According to testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year, Republican members of Congress exerted pressure on the Justice Department two years ago to bring an indictment in a public corruption case against Democratic officials before the November election so as to influence its outcome. To his credit, the U.S. Attorney in question resisted this pressure. You should do no less.
The eyes of the nation are once again on Ohio in this critical election. We have confidence in the work that is being done by Ohio’s bipartisan group of election officials and by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. We respectfully request that you refrain from taking any action absent more compelling evidence than partisan political requests.
Sincerely,
Sherrod Brown U.S. Senator
Marcy Kaptur U.S. Representative
Tim Ryan U.S. Representative
Zack T. Space U.S. Representative
Betty Sutton U.S. Representative
Charles Wilson U.S. Representative
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment |
Eye on Ohio: “Sweat Equity” ad for McCain
By William Hershey | Staff Writer
THE AD: “Sweat Equity,” a 30-second TV ad
PRODUCER: McCain-Palin campaign
WHERE TO SEE IT: Televised in key states, including Ohio
SCRIPT:
Barack Obama: I think when you spread the wealth around it’s good for everybody.
Woman: I’m Joe the plumber.
Woman: I’m Joe the plumber.
Woman: I’m Joe the plumber.
Announcer: Spread the wealth?
Man: I’m supposed to work harder…
Man: Just to pay more taxes.
Man: Obama wants my sweat to pay for his trillion dollars in new spending?
Woman: I’m Joe the plumber.
VIDEO: Ad opens with Democrat Barack Obama’s now famous encounter with Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher — “Joe the Plumber” — on a recent campaign visit to the Toledo area. Obama’s words - “I THINK WHEN YOU SPREAD THE WEALTH AROUND IT’S GOOD FOR EVERYBODY” — are superimposed at the bottom of the screen.
Next comes quick flicks of three women, who each declares “I’m Joe the plumber.”
According to a press release, they’re small business owners. There’s soft music in the background as each declares membership in plumbing. Next comes a picture of a group of small business owners scrolls across the screen with a question superimposed “SPREAD THE WEALTH?”
So far, all the business owners have been white but the next person is a black male who says “I’m supposed to work harder.”
A white guy finishes the thought “Just to pay more taxes.” There’s a brief glimpse of a thoughtful woman who doesn’t speak before a semi-disgusted male appears, asking, “Obama wants my sweat equity to pay for his trillion dollars in new spending?”
Then it’s back to another female who declares “I’m Joe the plumber,” with “I’M JOE THE PLUMBER” superimposed on the screen. A smiling Obama shows up next with the announcer declaring what’s flashed on the screen in sequence - BARACK OBAMA HIGHER TAXES MORE SPENDING NOT READY.
A smiling McCain approves the message to finish off the ad as the “MCCAIN PALIN” campaign insignia appears on the screen.
ANALYSIS: One good thing about this year’s campaign is that McCain and Obama both make occasional campaign stops where they encounter voters who are at least undecided and maybe are outright opponents.
It’s a pleasant contrast from President Bush’s 2004 rallies before robotic crowds of true believers, with any whiff of opposition locked out. This ad explains why campaign handlers like to avoid such meetings. Obama had an actual encounter with Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher — “Joe the Plumber” — and Wurzelbacher had a question about Obama’s tax proposals.
The McCain campaign has turned the encounter into a central part of its effort to cast Obama as a high-taxing, big-spending “socialist” out to destroy job-creating small businesses.
The ad should get a prize for the most effective use of small business owners in a misleading commercial. First, Wurzelbacher is not a small business owner, which means he doesn’t have that in common with the other folks in the ad. It’s likely he would benefit, not lose from Obama’s tax plan. The ad doesn’t say exactly what kind of small businesses the speakers in the ad own but probably not all of them are plumbers.
Neither is Wurzelbacher, at least in the journeyman sense. He is a plumbing apprentice in a program that the state oversees and wants to own his own business. How about the “trillion dollars in new spending” by Obama? The McCain campaign apparently did its own calculations on the cost of Obama’s programs to come up with the figure. A more neutral calculation comes from the New American Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, Washington, D.C.- based think thank.
The foundation did an analysis of the proposals Obama and McCain made in their speeches at the national political conventions. The tab: Obama proposed $547 billion in annual spending increases and tax cuts while McCain proposed between $524 billion and $563 billion in annual spending increases and tax cuts.
All the Joe the Plumbers in the ad would have to agree that both figures represent lots of money.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Eye on Ohio
Palin goes on attack against Biden comments
TROY — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin accused Sen. Joe Biden of admitting that Sen. Barack Obama would be unable to handle an international crisis if elected president. Never mind that Biden did not say that, the crowd still cheered wildly at her remarks Thursday, Oct. 23, at Hobart Arena.
It was Palin’s fourth visit to the Miami Valley since becoming the Republican vice presidential candidate.
Palin told the crowd of 6,200 that Biden, Obama’s Democratic running mate, “has informed us that a serious international crisis is certain if Obama is elected and that he is not ready to deal with it.”
“He told Democrat donors to mark his words that there were at least four or five scenarios that will place our country at risk in an Obama administration,” Palin said. “We’ve got to say first, thanks for the warning, Joe.”
She referred to remarks Biden made Sunday at a fundraiser, where he said, “It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy.” “As a student of history and having served under seven presidents, I guarantee you it’s going to happen,” said Biden. He told fundraisers Obama would need their support when he has to make tough, and possibly unpopular, decisions to deal with that crisis and the economic mess. But, said Biden, “I think we’re going to put this ship of state in the right hands.”
A review of the audiotape of the speech shows that Biden did not at any point question Obama’s readiness to handle a crisis.
The Obama campaign pointed to former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s endorsement of Obama. “Colin Powell is one of the nation’s foremost experts on national security,” said spokesman Isaac Baker.
McCain/Palin spokesman Paul Lindsay defended Palin’s remarks and said she “was editorializing.”
Permalink | Comments (129) | Post your comment |
Jay-Z and LeBron team up for Obama
Grammy Award winner Jay-Z and NBA basketball star LeBron James will rally Barack Obama supporters at an event in downtown Cleveland on Wednesday, Oct. 29. James will play host for the event and Jay-Z, a rapper whose real name is Shawn Corey Carter, will give a concert.
Tickets for the free event at Quicken Loans Arena will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at noon, Friday, Oct. 24. Tickets will be given out at Obama campaign offices in northeast Ohio. For more information visit OH.BarackObama.com.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment |
Palin sees her face in cornfield
Republican Sarah Palin thanked Ohioans for a warm welcome, especially the farmer near Toledo who created a corn maze in her likeness.
“You’ve found so many ways to make us feel welcome. One of the most unique ways was flying over this great state today, lookin’ down and seein’ my face plowed into a cornfield,” Palin told supporters in Cincinnati on Wednesday, Oct. 22. “That was cool!”
Palin said her daughter, Piper, got a kick out of seeing it from the campaign airplane. Former Ohio attorney general Betty Montgomery, who was also on the plane, said Palin herself seemed to get a big kick out of it too.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Michelle Obama to campaign in Columbus, Akron
While Democrat Barack Obama visits his ailing grandmother in Hawaii, his wife Michelle Obama will campaign on Friday, Oct. 24, in Bexley, a Columbus suburb, and Akron. Mrs. Obama will stress the importance of early voting.
Her visit comes amidst a flurry of Ohio campaign stops by Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin, McCain’s running mate, who currently have fallen behind the Obama-Biden ticket in most Ohio polls.
Mrs. Obama’s Columbus stop will be at Capital University, at The Arena at the Capital Center, 1 College and Main. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. for the 11:30 a.m. event.
The event is free and open to the public, tickets are not required. Members of the public are encouraged to RSVP at www.oh.barackobama.com
The Akron event is at the David W. Appleby Gym, Buchtel High School, 1040 Copley Road. Doors open at 2 p.m. for the 3:30 p.m. event.
The event also is free and open to the public, tickets are not required. Members of the public are encouraged to RSVP at www.oh.barackobama.com
Parking is limited. Carpooling is strongly encouraged.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment |
Austria gets 60 Plus Association endorsement
State Sen. Steve Austria, who is running for Ohio’s 7th Congressional seat, received the endorsement Wednesday, Oct. 22 of the 60 Plus Association, a senior advocacy group that focuses on issues including the estate tax repeal, Social Security, energy costs, affordable prescription drugs and other senior-friendly issues.
Entertainer Pat Boone, spokesman for the 60 Plus Association, called Austria, R-Beavercreek, a “fighter for the elderly” in making the endorsement.
Austria faces Democrat Sharen Neuhardt of Yellow Springs in November.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment |
Mitakides scores endorsement
Air Force Gen. Merrill McPeak, the former chief of the United States Air Force, last week offered his endorsement to Democrat Jane Mitakides.
McPeak served on the Joint Chief of Staffs from 1990 to 1994. In a release announcing his endorsement, he called Mitakides “a principled person who has her priorities right.”
Mitakides is challenging U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, in the 3rd Congressional District.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Will “Joe the Plumber” help McCain?
“Joe the Plumber” - Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher from suburban Toledo - may not be a journeyman plumber and he is not a small business owner.
The Republican McCain-Palin campaign, however, is betting heavily that using “Joe” to highlight what they see as problems with Democrat Barack Obama’s tax plans will help win a Republican victory in Ohio and across the nation.
Today, Oct. 23, the McCain-Palin campaign launched a Web video to talk about “Joes” across the country.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Obama widens lead in Ohio; leads McCain in Florida, Pennsylvania
Democrat Barack Obama has widened his lead over Republican John McCain among likely voters in Ohio in the Quinnipiac University poll, now leading 52-38 percent.
In the poll, released Thursday, Oct. 23, Obama also led McCain in Florida, 49-44 percent and in Pennsylvania, 53-40 percent.
In Ohio, Obama’s lead is up from the 50-42 edge he had on Oct. 1. The Ohio results had a margin of error plus or minus 2.7 percent.
For full poll results, click here.
A separate Big Ten Battleground Poll, also released on Thursday, showed Obama leading McCain 53-41 percent among registered voters and those likely to register - a larger group than the likely voters in the Quinnipiac poll.
Obama’s winning margin is the Quinnipiac poll is largest among results in other recent polls, most of which show a tighter Ohio race. The results also come after the release of a new national Associated Press-GfK poll that shows Obama leading McCain by just one point, 43-42 percent. The same poll three weeks ago had Obama with a 7-point lead.
An average of recent Ohio polls on the Web site RealClearPolitics showed Obama leading by 6 points, 49.7-43.7 percent.
In the Quinnipiac poll, McCain made a slight gain in Florida, where Obama now leads 49-44 percent, compared to a 51-43 percent lead on Oct. 1.
In Pennsylvania, McCain also picked up a point from Oct. 1 but still was far behind Obama. The Democrat leads 53-40 percent now, compared to 54-39 percent the last time.
The economy was the big issue in all three states. In Ohio, voters trust Obama more than McCain to handle the economy, 55-36 percent, compared to 50-39 percent in the last poll.
On foreign policy, voters give McCain a slight edge, 48-46 percent, but Obama is narrowing the gap. In the last poll, McCain had a 53-38 percent edge in handling foreign policy.
“As we enter the home stretch, Sen. Obama is winning voter groups that no Democrat has carried in more than four decades, and he holds very solid leads in the big swing states,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Polling Institute, said in a press release. “If these numbers hold up, he could win the biggest Democratic landslide since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.”
