There are a great many conservative journalists, a seemingly endless array of pundits and a gazillion bloggers opining this days. No offense, and present company excluded, but few rise above the occasionally interesting and far too few are able to bring the desired combination of detailed and useful facts and a talent for writing to their craft.  The editors (past and present), however, have a quip that highlights our respect for one such writer who does achieve this skill level: “Don’t Mess with Ramesh.”

I am not sure there is a more devastating or more succinct political polemicist on the Right than Ramesh Ponnuru. When the foolish leftists rise up to question something he has written or a point of debate I sit back and enjoy the ruthless and yet witty way in which he counters leaving the debate settled in his favor (and me frequently wincing a bit thinking: that’s gonna leave a mark.)

All of this long winded introduction is simply to point you to another must read from Ramesh. This one is from NRODT (although it can be found in the digital version if you have a subscription). If you are looking for a calm and deadly explanation of the failures of modern liberal governance, look no further.

Since it is subscription only, allow me to point out two paragraphs that should cause you to go out and get a copy for yourselves:

Contemporary liberalism both presupposes and desires a government that is flexible, competent, energetic. It wants and needs a government that can mobilize society’s resources to accomplish a long list of difficult tasks, including the reduction of economic inequality, the education of children, the protection of the environment, the elimination of unjust discrimination, and the safeguarding of consumers — to name just a few. Yet in operation, it weighs down the government with interest groups that first make it inefficient and inflexible and then make it impossible to reform.

Another one after the break.

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Ohio Representatives, I suggest you think deep and hard about how you vote on health care “reform” because the numbers are ugly. First, Susan B. Anthony List:

OH-01 Steve Driehaus

• 73% oppose using tax dollars to pay for abortions (61% strongly oppose)
• 72% oppose taxpayer funding of abortions as part of healthcare reform (62% strongly oppose)
• 64% agree that abortion and abortion funding have no place in healthcare legislation (52% strongly agree)
• 55% would be less likely to vote to re-elect Congressman Driehaus if he votes for healthcare legislation that includes federal government funding of abortion (45% would be much less likely)

OH-06 Charlie Wilson

• 80% oppose using tax dollars to pay for abortions (65% strongly oppose)
• 79% oppose taxpayer funding of abortions as part of healthcare reform (66% strongly oppose)
• 74% agree that abortion and abortion funding have no place in healthcare legislation (61% strongly agree)
• 64% would be less likely to vote to re-elect Congressman Wilson if he votes for healthcare legislation that includes federal government funding of abortion (51% would be much less likely)

OH-09 Marcy Kaptur

• 67% oppose using tax dollars to pay for abortions (52% strongly oppose)
• 66% oppose taxpayer funding of abortions as part of healthcare reform (52% strongly oppose)
• 61% agree that abortion and abortion funding have no place in healthcare legislation (45% strongly agree)
• 47% would be less likely to vote to re-elect Congresswoman Kaptur if he votes for healthcare legislation that includes federal government funding of abortion (38% would be much less likely)

OH-16 John Boccieri

• 80% oppose using tax dollars to pay for abortions (67% strongly oppose)
• 79% oppose taxpayer funding of abortions as part of healthcare reform (67% strongly oppose)
• 71% agree that abortion and abortion funding have no place in healthcare legislation (60% strongly agree)

62% would be less likely to vote to re-elect Congressman Boccieri if he votes for healthcare legislation that includes federal government funding of abortion (50% would be much less likely)

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So what exactly is going on with Lee Fisher and Jennifer Brunner in the Democratic primary for the US Senate seat in Ohio? The two candidates seem intent on ignoring each other and the party and its interest groups seem to have sworn an oath to avoid talking about the primary (the biggest in this important state in a critical year).

First, there was some confusion over whether Brunner was or was not at the President’s visit to Strongsville yesterday. It turns out she was there but President Obama apparently snubbed her! As I noted on Twitter, Obama snubs a women but praises the men? Good thing the president doesn’t have a history of belittling women …

We do know that Lee Fisher was definitely not at the rally. Why? Well, he said he had to attend the meeting with the Plain Dealer. But obviously Secretary of State Brunner was able to attend both while the former jobs czar used it as an excuse to miss it. Interesting. What is Lee up to?

But then Fisher was supposed to be on WFIN in Findley to discuss the health care debate. But it turns out he was a no-show. Let’s go to the transcript:

Not sure exactly what happened to Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher. Of course we mentioned not only the current Lieutenant Governor and candidate for US Senate seat now being held by Sen. George Voinovich was scheduled to be with us on the program in this half hour. [HE] scheduled to be with us to talk about his campaign hand the key issues he saw in terms of the important stuff for Ohio moving forward especially in this period of economic recovery .

We were planning on talking to him about that in this half hour but nothing, not sure what happened. We did confirm yesterday that he was supposed to be with us and then this morning nothing.

So not sure exactly what’s going on there. Hopefully we can reschedule and maybe get the Lieutenant Governor on the program yet this week because one of the things I wanted to ask him about was this health care vote in Washington. He wants to go to the Senate so wanted to ask where he stood on this whole healthcare debate that seems to be coming to a head this week.

Wow, that’s embarrassing!

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A few days ago I posted on how the Democrats were attacking US Senate Candidate Rob Portman for supposedly supporting the “status-quo” on health care (instead of the health care monstrosity currently being debate in Washington).

The ODP rolled out some nonsensical attack quotes that missed the whole point. Portman has been saying since the beginning that a bill that raises costs and hurts business is the last thing we need right now. He has been calling for reform that reduces costs and allows for greater access. But Democrats insist on ramming their plan down our throats even if they have to ignore the constitution to do it.

Anyone who knows him knows that Portman is no raging populist - nor is he in the pocket of big insurance companies like the Democrats insist - but he is an intelligent politician and he knows his public policy. So he knows the public doesn’t want a government take over of health care that leads to higher costs and more bureaucracy.  And he knows that the proposal the Democrats are pushing will lead to just that. So he opposes it.

This is neither trolling for campaign donations nor mere campaign rhetoric. And you know what? He is right.

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Remember Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) in 2009 who opposed the House version of ObamaCare containing a public option, because the House bill “put the government in the role of accelerating the privatization of health care.”  He argued that ObamaCare solution is ”within the current structure of a predatory, for-profit insurance system which makes money not providing health care.”  Well, that same Congressman Kucinich has changed and now supports a bill without an explicit public option.  Today Congressn Kucinich announced that he will vote for a bill without a public option.  Dennis Kucinich has shifted from principled leftist to run of the mill Democrat hack.

Kucinch announced that he is going to be a deciding and critical vote for a bill that “the redistribution of wealth to Wall Street at the expense of America’s manufacturing and service economies which suffer from costs other countries do not have to bear, especially the cost of health care.”  According to 2009 Kucinich, “the insurance companies are the problem, not the solution,” yet the 2010 version of Kucinich is going going to vote yes on a health care bill that will empower health care insurers.  Kucinich will vote in favor of a bill to provide “even greater favors for insurance companies.”

To paraprhase liberals media icon, the unhinged and a bit crazy Keith Olbermann of MSDNC - “Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) you are the worst hypocrite in the world.”

Sources below.

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This story from the Dayton Daily News is revealing in so many ways:

On a day that brought President Barack Obama to Ohio to make a final appeal for congressional approval of his health care overhaul plan, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rob Portman had a different message.

“I pray that it will not pass,” Portman said on Monday, March 15. His comments came in a meeting with members of the Dayton Daily News editorial board.

Portman said the plan that Obama is trying to get the Democratic-controlled Congress to approve would increase costs.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Portman. “…We’re going to have higher, not lower costs.”

[emphasis mine - KH]

Now, for those of you slow on the uptake Rob Portman is saying he is opposed to the current health care proposal because it will lead to the opposite of what is needed: higher not lower costs. With me so far? Good.

Enter Seth Bringman and the Ohio Democratic Party who apparently struggle with these basic concepts.

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Yes, I just claimed that John Kasich is going to be Ohio’s next governor. This is not meant as hyperbole. I really believe Kasich is going to beat Governor Strickland in November.

This is not based on deep study of the polls or a county-by-county analysis or anything of that sort. It is more of a gut feeling based on how I see the campaign playing out. Now, of course, a great deal could change in the intervening months: scandals, gaffes, the political environment, etc. But right now I don’t see any of that happening in such a way to change the underlying landscape.

I have begun to think that elections are determined in many ways by some pretty basic elements. What is the mood, what is the central issue or issues, how the candidates are perceived and what are their one sentence arguments for running.

On these basics Kasich is simply better situated to win than Strickland.

Details - such as they are - below.

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UPDATE: Cleveland Jewish News has changed the headline. It now reads: “State reps urge Portman to sever ties over group’s “Nazi” posting” See? That is the kind of power this blog wields …

I wasn’t planning on writing on this issue (I have little time to write as it is) but when Leon pointed out this headline on Red Hot I felt compelled to post:

State reps urge Portman to sever ties over “Nazi” past

When you read that headline what do you think? You think Rob Portman has some sort of connection to Nazi’s in his past, right? It clearly implies a connection between Portman and Nazi’s; a skeleton in the closet that requires he come clean.

Now those who follow Ohio politics more closely might know that this is not the case. They might actually know that this issue is a trumped up red hearing put together by desperate Democrats hoping to distract voters from real issues.

You see, an organization known as COAST (Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending & Taxes) used a bit of hyperbole on their web page. Here is the outrageous hate speech in question:

COAST started with just two people, and virtually no funds, yet has had a profound effect upon politics in southwest Ohio. The Nazis in the State Legislature have created draconian campaign finance reporting laws that make criminals of those who fail to complete their paperwork correctly, but COAST refuses to be cowed by this intimidation and we encourage you to jump through their hoops and attempt to comply with their silly forms. It is important. You activism is needed. The Ohio Secretary of State has the rules for establishing and running a PAC.

Now would I have used that kind of terminology? No. Is it effective or appropriate? No.

But does it rise to the level of outrage that public office holders must sever any and all ties with the group and denounce them in public? Um, no.

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The scandals just keep coming from the Strickland administration:

A state investigation of an alleged scheme to cover up the use of illegal immigrants to remodel a state-leased office building is now in the hands of the Franklin County prosecutor’s office.

But state troopers say they had to stand their ground to ensure the case reached the prosecutor.

Former State Highway Patrol Lt. Col. William Costas, who retired this month as the agency’s No. 2 leader, said investigators had to defend their authority to investigate the case under questioning from the top two lawyers to Gov. Ted Strickland.

Two points stand out to me:

• Prosecutor Ron O’Brien finds the questioning by the governor’s lawyers odd, saying it was clear the patrol had authority to investigate and serve search warrants in the case.
• An investigation by The Dispatch found that the meeting came after a lobbyist close to Strickland met with Markus on behalf of the company under criminal scrutiny. The two men met two days before the patrol began its probe.

Correlation does not equal causation and all that but this is fishy to no end.

Oh, you want a little insight into how Democratic politics works? Here you go:

Andrew Fries, the lobbyist’s son, is a $41,273-a-year aide to Strickland. Another son, Thomas Fries Jr., makes $100,178 annually as executive director of the Ohio State Racing Commission, the board of which is appointed by the governor. Fries Sr. and his wife, Mary, have donated $23,750 to Strickland’s gubernatorial campaigns since 2005.

If you add up all the various scandals and missteps of this administration there are really only two options: incompetent or corrupt. Either Strickland is incapable of finding people of integrity to work in his administration or he is playing politics with the law and seeking to reward/protect cronies.

Personally, I embrace the healing power of AND …

If you are scoring at home for this particular “inning” as it were … Get our facts straight indeed.

I have a longer post brewing on the Ohio governor’s race jumping off the latest polls, etc. but until that is done check out this nice candidate introduction video from team Kasisch:

I am wrapping up my time here at CPAC 2010. But before I head to the airport, I had the pleasure to talk with Tommy Newberry, author of The War on Success, about his book. And he graciously took a minute to give us a quick take on why you should read it.

For more check out the website.

I am out here at CPAC 2010 in Washington, DC networking with some of the other talented RS editors and a host of other bloggers. I had the chance to talk to John C. Felmy who is chief economist at API about energy policy and moving forward with smart policies.

A lot of people like to claim that conservatives don’t have any solutions - that we are the party of “no.” This is nonsense on stilts of course. And energy is just one issue where we are offering the intelligent policies that are being blocked by the left.

And the good folks at API are a great resource for pragmatic and strategic thinking on energy policy. Policies that lead to growth and jobs. This is an issue that has to remain on the front burner even as health care and financial reform  are debated.

I had heard this was in the works a few weeks ago, and it has been discussed quite a bit on Twitter, but now we have a link (that makes it credible, right? Yeah, journalism!)

If you talk to the editors about being associated with Redstate one of the first things they will tell you is how cool it is to hear how popular the site is with politicians, activists and grassroots folks all around the country. It means a lot when you meet someone and they say: “Oh, I love Redstate - read it everyday.”

Well, it just so happens that one of the people who is a fan of the site is running for Governor of Ohio. I have had a number of interactions with the Kasich campaign and they have always been helpful and have frequently indicated that they are big fans of RS. And in case I doubted it, John Kasich himself took time out from his busy schedule to record a short video thanking all of you for the work you do.

I think that is pretty cool.

And I don’t have to tell you that Ohio is a critical state or how big it would be to win this race. Governor Strickland and his cronies in the labor unions and other liberal interest groups is going to have a lot of money and ground troops come November. We have to match that firepower.

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I thought I would pass this along in case you hadn’t seen it elsewhere. From the press release:

Conservative Republican Bill Johnson today announced his candidacy for Congress in Ohio’s 6th district.

Johnson is a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, entrepreneur and currently servesas Chief Information Officer of a publicly traded manufacturing company.

He says his experiences have helped propel his decision to run for office.

“Serving in the military gave me opportunities that I might never have had and I see public service as a way to give back,” Johnson said. “And there’s certainly a need - our government is dangerously off track.”

Johnson has been considering a run with an exploratory committee since October. During that time he’s traveled thousands of miles and met hundreds of people. He’s raised $107,000.00 for his campaign so far.

“President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Charlie Wilson appear to think that more government is the solution to every problem,” Johnson said. “But, no one outside the D.C. beltway thinks bigger government, more debt and higher taxes are the answer.”

Who is Bill Johnson? Short bio blurb:

Bill Johnson retired from the Air Force after a 27-year career and cofounded Johnson-Schley Management Group, Inc., an information technology (IT) consulting company. Later, he formed J2 Business Solutions, Inc., where he focused on providing executive level IT support as a contractor to the U.S. military. Since 2006, Johnson has served as Chief Information Officer of a global manufacturer serving the transportation industry. Johnson and his wife LeeAnn live with son Nathan in Poland, Ohio.

Press release also notes: “A new, robust website will be launched soon at www.BillJohnsonLeads.com.”

Cross-posted from

DDN has the story on Kilburn filing papers:

Warren County commissioner Mike Kilburn is expected to file petitions today, Jan. 20 to challenge U.S. House Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Miami Twp. in the May Republican primary.

Kilburn, a commissioner for 28 years, said it’s time for a more conservative approach in the 2nd Congressional District, which covers eastern Warren County and a large portion of several other southern Ohio counties.

Kilburn said he will file his petitions at the Hamilton County Board of Elections, the county with the largest population in the 2nd Congressional District. The primary will be held May 4.

He sounds the right notes on spending but also speaks in the third person:

Kilburn has used his conservative roots and his outspoken comments on conservative spending to get elected. Several times he has been challenged by other Republican candidates, but has won by receiving 60 percent or more of the votes each time.

“People want politicians who are going to stick to their values. There’s no one more fiscally responsible than Mike Kilburn. I don’t like to spend my money and I won’t spend others,” he said.

I am not familiar with Kilburn. Anyone have strong opinions on how this will, or should, play out?

Cross posted from

Ohio Right to Life has some new poll data on both the governor’s race and the race for the US Senate in Ohio:

Gubernatorial candidate John Kasich and U.S. Senate candidate Rob Portman lead their respective opponents in a new poll released today by Ohio Right to Life Society. The Wenzel Strategies telephone survey of 1001 Ohio registered voters found Kasich holds a 10-point lead over Governor Ted Strickland. Portman holds a six-point lead over both potential opponents Lt. Governor Lee Fisher and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, the survey found. The results are similar to a Rasmussen Reports survey released last week, and can be found HERE.

The survey was conducted by Wenzel Strategies January 8-12 and included 1001 Ohio registered voters contacted by phone. The poll carries a 95% confidence interval and a margin of error of +/- 3.07 percentage points.

Breakdown below.

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As I noted earlier, I was able to attend the press conference yesterday after the announcement - via Twitter - that Ohio gubernatorial candidate John Kasich had selected State Auditor Mary Taylor to be his running mate. Do some technical difficulties with YouTube this post was delayed until this morning (and let me apologize for the video quality in advance - I need a tripod).

Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine gave a solid introduction noting how desperate Ohio is for new leadership after years of drift and disaster under Ted Strickland. Then both Kasich and Taylor spoke.

I will let you judge speeches by the video footage, but my gut reaction? This is great news. Kasich-Taylor seems like a great fit personally and thematically. They are focused like a laser on how what has been done in Ohio in the past (under both Ds and Rs) hasn’t worked and bold change and new leadership is needed. They both talked at length about fundamentally changing the way government operates.

He is a budget hawk and fiscal conservative and she is a tax cutter and government watchdog. They are personable and comfortable in front of a camera but don’t come off as slick or overly-polished. They both have blue collar backgrounds and have stepped on toes in their own party when they felt principles were at stake. It will make a great top of the ticket in Ohio.

More, including video, below.

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I was at the press conference today where Ohio gubernatorial candidate John Kasich announced his choice of State Auditor Mary Taylor for Lieutenant Governor. I have a longer video and post coming but wanted to post this quick take from two people I spoke with today: Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine and Congressman Pat Tiberi.

Perhaps not surprisingly, they both think it means good things and that Ohio is well positioned in 2010: