A Correction -- and Reporting Some Thoughts Political On Ohio

First; the correction. I mistakenly reported in an earlier article that Ohio is a "closed" primary state, where registered voters can only vote on the ballot of their recorded party affiliation.

I was wrong.

Ohio actually has OPEN primaries, where voters can vote on whichever ballot they wish (Democratic, Republican, or Issues Only); all they have to do is state their preference.

* It is noted that once you choose a specific party's ballot in an Ohio primary cycle, your selection is recorded by the election board and you are then listed as either a Republican or Democrat (or Independent if you chose the Issues Only ballot).

I'd like to thank the mainstream media for pointing out my error; and I'd like to thank Ann (from my local county election board) for confirming and filling me in on the details.

Throughout my voting history, I have always selected Issues Only ballots from the misbelief that I was limited to them.

Having learned that my recorded party affiliation would change if I pick a party ticket, leaves me considering sticking with the Issues Only ballot. I do not want to be recorded as having a party affiliation that I don't actually carry. I'm an Independent, damn it!

Moving on...

A thing foremost on my mind about Ohio being in the forefront of political news, would be Matt Taibbi's appearance this past Friday on "Real Time with Bill Maher".

In case you don't know Matt Taibbi, he writes political commentary for * Rolling Stone * provides some coverage for * Real Time * and blogs elsewhere on the net. Taibbi has been published many times in national medias and is a rising interviewee among pundits. Here is his * Wiki page *

Apparently, Matt is on the road with Hillary's campaign.

On Friday, his video footage was from Youngstown, Ohio.

I appreciated Taibbi's pointing out that Youngstown is one of the most economically devastated cities in the country.

Taibbi reported that Youngstownians have the lowest median income of any city within the United States, with a population of 65,000 or greater.

Youngstown used to be an important component of our nation's manufacturing industries. The majority of the steel that our manufacturing plants relied upon used to pass through Youngstown. Industries nationwide were able to employ workers and create products, thanks to dear old Youngstown, Ohio. I, myself, had an uncle who made a living hauling steel (independently) out of Youngstown. He drove eighteen wheels all over this great land.

That was decades ago.

Youngstown now is highly economically depressed.

I really want to point out that Ohioans are not the type of folks who look for free-rides through their lives. Ohioans have always been people that would work, and work hard, for their livelihoods.

What's missing for Ohioans right now are opportunities.

I'd like to answer Matt's question on why Ohioans would back a candidate who has a record of voting for NAFTA.

First off, regarding NAFTA, my own memory of what played the Ohio public medias during the original selling of NAFTA to the American people, was that NAFTA would grease the wheels for other countries to export their cheap raw materials to us while also greasing the wheels for us to export manufactured products back to them.

It was supposed to lead to an increase in our local manufacturing.

We were totally blind-sided by the fact that NAFTA greased the wheels for other countries to flood our markets with cheaper manufactured products, as well as entice our companies to move their manufacturing facilities to those countries with the lure of cheaper labor pools, lower priced raw materials, decreased regulation and lower taxation.

Ohioans don't think of NAFTA as having to be thrown out completely. We wonder why couldn't it be re-negotiated more to our benefit.

Elsewhere in the news, I've been seeing the mug of Ohio's governor a lot. That guy in the dark suit, standing and nodding in the background of Hillary's latest media clips, is Ohio's Governor, Ted Strickland (D).

Ted has been a vocal Clinton supporter since before he took office. If memory serves correctly, Hillary supported him when he was running for Ohio's governorship.

Ted Strickland is a moderate Democrat which our local pundits refer to as not much different then a Moderate Republican; which is the base of Ohio's Republicans.

Ohio is primarily moderate, it is primarily Republican, and it traditionally votes Republican.

When Ohio's populous votes Democratic, it's usually because Republican leaders have been caught up in way too much scandal and controversy for the public's psyche; and they want some calmness for awhile.

Ted Strickland represents a lot of core power in Ohio. In his campaing for Ohio's governor, Strickland was quite publicly backed by a cabal of industry folk who were traditionally Republican supporters.

Ohio is ready for change..,

.. the question is how much will they go for.

Barack Obama's sweeping may hit the Democratic side of Ohio's primary, but the general feeling is that Hillary would have a better, or stronger, chance of carrying Ohio in the general election.

Hillary already shows the backing of strong, stable and established Ohio political powers, while Obama's appeal relies too heavily on forms of progressive enthusiasm which are not notoriously dominant in Ohio's landscape of voters.

Barack's chances of carrying Ohio in the general election would things on two things; a dramatic increase of turnout from Ohio's youth; and having the political enthusiasm Obama is fostering spread firther into older generations.


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25 February 2008

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Bill's Spirit is honored to have been selected as a member of Gather's "Election 2008 People's Press Corps"

Bill's Spirit is an Artist, Writer, Poet, Philosopher currently wordsmithing from a humble digital forge in small town Ohio.

The works of the man behind Bill's Spirit have been published in small alternative and amateur presses since 1986. Before that, they just filled notebooks, decorated walls and gathered dust in piles and boxes.

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