Brunner gets an A+

In 2004 the election process in Ohio was a sick joke after years of partisan manipulation to disenfranchise and manipulate the vote by Ken Blackwell. Jennifer Brunner has has worked hard and fought for the voters of Ohio and the results on election day show clearly she has succeeded.

Leading up to the election, she fought to make sure county boards of elections did their job to set up procedures and have the equipment necessary to make elections run as they should. For weeks she fought partisan attacks and court challenges that had one purpose to deny voters their right to vote.

Then came election day. Despite record turnout reports from all over the state reported few long lines, with the longest wait times in the neighborhood of one hour. Early voting helped with this as well as having sufficient machines and organization to handle each and every voting location smoothly.

The bottom line is clear. Our elections ran smoothly, efficiently and without any controversy. Voters can have confidence that their vote will count in Ohio once again.

Good job Jennifer Brunner.

Way 2 Go, Moveon.org

Moveon.org has a reputation fairly or not for being the "pit bull" of the left. They have been known for their more controversial commercials and position pieces over the last several elections.

This election I am noticing something different. For one they have closed their 527 and not running as controversial ads that I have seen.

But whats more important is they are having a very positive and visible impact on this campaign.

They are bringing out the volunteers in big numbers to help get the all important grass roots efforts accomplished.

I personally have received a number of calls from them, and this weekend moveon recruited volunteers were very evident at the campaign office I have been helping out at, in Pickerington Ohio.

Keep up the good work moveon.org.

Reasons to Vote for Obama

Iraq: America and the world was told by our leaders that Iraq was an immediate threat, that they had weapons of Mass Destruction and that they had ties to 9/11. We now know all those things were false. One man in this race had the judgment and foresight to come out against this war and that man was Barack Obama.

The President of the United States not only must use good judgment to get us out of this war responsibly and fast, but use the similar wisdom when deciding to use military force in the future.

Foreign Policy: John Kennedy said one should negotiate not from fear but from a position of strength. Bush and McCain don’t believe we should talk to our enemies at all. Obama has shown the wisdom and vision that we must use diplomacy first with friends and enemies alike. It was negotiations that have prevented many wars, it was negotiations that kept the cold war from becoming the last world war, and it was negotiations that brought peace between Egypt and Israel.

Integrity: Just looking at the commercials run by both McCain and Obama shows a clear difference in integrity. While Obama’s commercials talk about the differences on the issues, McCain’s are full of character attacks and mistruths. Obama has expressed his vision consistently for years, in his speech in 2004, his books, and his current campaign. His positions have been consistent, while McCain has changed his positions on just about every significant issue including torture.

Leadership: While McCain has jumped back and forth on issues, his campaign has floundered from one tactic to another. Barack Obama has inspired a movement. His campaign is clearly run by him, with his vision and his leadership. McCain seems to be run by his campaign staff. Barack draws 10s of thousands, 100,000 just yesterday in St Louis, he does so because of the hope, the vision and the leadership he has displayed. In short Obama leads, McCain reacts.

Economy: It is simple after 8 years of republican economic policies; it is clear to Americans and to the world it has not worked. Joblessness is up, the average American’s income is down, foreclosures are at sick levels, and our banks are in danger of failing. We have gone from a federal surplus to the largest national debt in history. We need change. McCain supported Bush’s policies in his words “90% of the time”, that is not change.

Energy:While John McCain spouts simplistic solutions like "drill here, drill now," Obama shows the vision that we cannot drill our way out of this crisis. We must not only do something about prices at the pump, but we must end our dependence on foreign all for our own security, and me must end or dependence on oil totally for the future of our environment. Barack Obama has comprehensive plans to not only solve our immediate needs for oil but to invest in alternative energy solutions for long term results.

Change: It is not just the policies of the Bush administration that will change; our politics will change under Barack Obama. He has lead a movement. He has brought millions into the political process that have never been there before. Republicans and independents are joining this movement for change with Barack Obama. Such power and enthusiasm will bring change to this nation and the world. McCain will keep us in the failed past with partisan attacks.

Vision: Barack Obama has written two books laying out his incredible vision on every issue and our nation as a whole. He displays the vision in his writing and speeches that show that he sees the problems and he sees the possible solutions. He sees the good and the bad of proposals from all sectors both on the left and right. He has the vision to find the best path among all of those proposals and actually achieve results rather then just partisan knee jerk reactions to such problems.

Faith: Barack Obama has never taken his faith for granted. He found Christianity as an adult. The way he has lived his life, in his career, as a father and as a man has shown the kind of person he is. He has a history of working with faith-based institutions to achieve things to help our citizens. He is a man of love, inclusion and helping his fellow man. He is shown by his actions his moral values.

Taxes: The Republicans have been redistributing our wealth. While the middle class has lost wealth, the rich have gotten richer. This campaign isn’t about socialism. It is about fairness. It is about the middle class paying less of the tax burden and the wealthy paying their fair share. It is about getting rid of the tax breaks for the oil companies and companies shipping jobs over seas, is about giving tax breaks to 95% of Americans. It is Barack Obama that will do that, not John McCain.

Health Care: No one disputes that our health care system is a mess. No matter how hard you work in life, how right you do everything in savings and insurance, one major illness, one lost job can cause it all to tumble. Just getting suggested tests in physicals can end up costing you thousands. McCain wants to damage the one part of health care that works, employer provided health care. He wants to tax health benefits. Obama wants to improve the rules on pre existing conditions; he wants to give Americans options including employer provided, individual plans and federal plans. Quite clearly Obama wants to take what works and improve what doesn’t and McCain wants to destroy the only part that is working.

Guns: Barack Obama believes the second amendment guarantees the individual right to bear arms. He has no desire to take away your guns. He does believe that responsible restrictions should be allowed to restrict the type of weapons people have in communities for the safety of that community. Having weapons for hunting and protection is one thing, owning flame throwers are not. McCain has no vision on guns he just follows the NRA line.

Wisdom: For their Vice Presidential running mates, John McCain chose Sarah Palin, Barack Obama chose Senator Joe Biden. Need I say anything more.

You: The republican’s election after election have managed to distract voters away from the issues that actually affect each of us every day. Health Care, Jobs, the Economy, Education are examples. Election and election we have voted against our own self-interests, this time we must use our own experiences and our own checkbooks to decide who to vote for. If we do that, the clear choice is Barack Obama.

White Privilege

Rarely do I post something in whole from other sources. But growing up and currently working in Southeast Ohio, the issue of race is quite clearly, as Ted Strickland said, "the Elephant in the Room." The following article was brought to my attention by Jill on her blog, "Writes like she Talks" I felt it was important enough to re post on mine as well.

This is Your Nation on White Privilege

By Tim Wise

For those who still can’t grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because “every family has challenges,” even as black and Latino families with similar “challenges” are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a “fuckin’ redneck,” like Bristol Palin’s boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll “kick their fuckin' ass,” and talk about how you like to “shoot shit” for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don’t all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you’re “untested.”


White privilege is being able to say that you support the words “under God” in the pledge of allegiance because “if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it’s good enough for me,” and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the “under God” part wasn’t added until the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.


White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.


White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was “Alaska first,” and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she’s being disrespectful.


White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you’re being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college--you’re somehow being mean, or even sexist.


White privilege is being able to convince white women who don’t even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a “second look.”


White privilege is being able to fire people who didn’t support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.


White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God’s punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you’re just a good church-going Christian, but if you’re black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you’re an extremist who probably hates America.


White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a “trick question,” while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O’Reilly means you’re dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.


White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it a “light” burden.


And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren’t sure about that whole “change” thing. Ya know, it’s just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain…


White privilege is, in short, the problem.

www.redroom.com

Hillary says: "Yes we can!"

Hillary Clinton's speech today was absolutly terrific in my humble opinion. She did everything she needed to do to thank her supporters, to note the historic nature of her campaign and to make it clear the importance of electing Barack Obama in November.

I have been as hard on Hillary as anyone. I have been in many discussions even arguments with her supporters. I know how passionate her supporters were and are. I know how hard it is to lose a campaign. I have been there. In 1980 I was a leader in Students for Carter Mondale. I spent months barely attending classes, giving speeches in high schools, knocking on doors, working the phones and standing at plant gates at 5 am in the morning. When the results came in I was demoralized, as I barely left my room in my fraternity house the next few days I swore off involvement in politics ever again. It took me years to even consider getting involved again. But 4 years later there I was sitting at a phone bank making calls for Walter Mondale.

Those of you that supported Hillary have an opportunity and a challenge I didn't have back then. In 1980 our loss was in the general election. We were stuck with Ronald Reagan for at least four years. But this was the primaries. We must not lose in November. The damage done to our country affecting us both domestically and world wide is deep. The risks to our future are even deeper. The opportunity for all of us is to change the path we are on. The challenge for those of you that supported Hillary is to recognize the importance of this election and though Obama may not have been your first choice, another 4 years of Bush policies must be your last choice.

Obama Clinches Nomination

According the the Associated Press, Barack Obama has now clinched the democratic nomination for President of the United States. This is based on super delegate committments both public and private along with the minimum number of delegates he will win tonight in Montana and South Dakota.

On one hand this may be a time to celebrate the end of what some have called our ongoing nightmare, but I see it as the beginning of the campaign for America's future. This is not a time to gloat or to whine. It is a time to reflect and to prepare for the campaign to come.

This was not about Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. It is not about race or gender. It is about the good of our nation.