National Housing Values Go Down

This picture represents what is happening to the American Dream of owning your own home and having that home increase in value. It is going down the drain, at least in 2008.

Zillow.com, a website that follows real estate trends, reports that in the third quarter of 2008, real estate values in the United States declined by 9.7% compared to 2007. Real estate values are down by 12.8% compared to 2006.

If click on the link above, you will find this really interesting tool that Zillow has created that shows the decline in real estate values by metropolitan area.

While things are bad for Cleveland, they are horrible for parts of Florida and California. In Miami, for example, values have declined by 21.5% compared to one year ago. In Riverside, California, real estate values have declined by 30.4% compared to one year ago.

Basically, according to Zillow, the United States real estate market just plain sucks.

PD Article: NE Ohio Bleeding Jobs

The Cleveland Plain Dealer ran an article on Monday, December 15, 2008, about the number of job losses that Northeast Ohio has sustained during the past year. This picture is from the article.

According to the article, NE Ohio has lost 7,000 jobs through the end of October. This means that the article doesn't take into consideration the job losses in November, which, at least nationally, was a horrible month.

You can read the whole article by clicking on the link above.

The Legacy of Ken Blackwell

A fact that most journalists don't write or talk about is that George W. Bush was elected president because of controversial elections in two states: Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004. In both states, partisan Secretaries of State used their position to help Bush. In Florida it was Kathrine Harris and in Ohio it was Ken Blackwell.

Recently a reader sent us a link to an article that appeared on the website Truthout written by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman. Firtakis and Wasserman, who write for a blog called The Free Press, have been talking about what happened in Ohio in 2004 for the last four years.

The article talks about the recently announced victory of Mary Jo Kilroy in Ohio's 15TH congressional district. This is a quote from the article:

Mary Jo Kilroy of Columbus will be the first Democrat to represent any part of Franklin County in Congress since 1982, and the first to represent her 15th Congressional District since the 1960s.

In 2006 Kilroy barely lost to incumbent Deb Pryce as thousands of contested provisional ballots went uncounted. Under then-Secretary Blackwell, voters in Democratic precincts were routinely challenged on minor details and forced to cast provisional ballots to allegedly be counted at a later time.

But thousands were merely pitched in the trash or otherwise negated. Some 16,000 provisionals and 93,000 machine-rejected ballots have never been counted from a 2004 election decided by an official margin of less than 119,000 votes. Independent observers believe a fair vote count would have given Kilroy her House seat in 2006. Also in that election, e-voting machines had statistically unlikely high rates of undervotes in central city polls.

So what happens when you get rid of Republican hacks like Harris and Blackwell and replace them with less partisan Secretaries of State? Well, not only do Democrats like Kilroy win congressional races, but both Florida and Ohio went for Barack Obama.

Now, obviously, just getting rid of Harris and Blackwell wasn't enough to tip those states to Obama. The horrible economic record of the Republicans as represented by George W. Bush's failed policies was probably the biggest factor in Obama's win. Still, having rabid partisans like Harris and Blackwell out of office certainly helped, especially in Ohio, since we had a relatively close presidential election.

What is also ironic is that when both Harris and Blackwell tried to run for statewide office, they were defeated, Harris for Senator and Blackwell for Governor.
What's also interesting is that after they were both defeated, the Bush Administration didn't find them a cushy government job. In fact, in Harris's case, neither Karl Rove or Jeb Bush would endorse her for the Senate.

The election of Jennifer Brunner was critical for Democrats in 2006 and it will be critical for Democrats in 2008. Brunner will be targeted by the Republicans who don't want to lose control of the State Reapportionment Board and who want to continue to disenfranchise minority and other Democratic leaning voters. All of us who value free and fair elections need to work for Brunner's election.

U.S. Debt Under Clinton Compared to Debt Under Bush

A reader sent us a link to a page on the United States Government website where you can calculate the public debt of the United States to the penny. We used this application to compare the debt incurred under the Clinton Administration to the debt incurred under the Bush Administration as of Friday, December 5, 2008.

As you can see from the graph below, Bubble-Boy wins this dubious honor. Under Bush the public debt of the United States has gone from 5.7 trillion to over 10 trillion in eight years. Folks, this is what happens when you combine reckless, radical, right-wing tax cuts with a Republican Congress who keeps funding their pet projects.

You can check out the actual numbers for both presidents to the penny by going here.

MCDAC Readers Disapprove Joe Lieberman Being Senate Chair

MCDAC recently surveyed the readers of its weekly newsletter, The Kicker, to find out what they thought about the Democratic Senate Caucus keeping Lieberman as Committee Chair. The survey found that of those who responded, 50.7% disagreed with the decision, 37.6% agreed, and 10.1% were undecided.

Here are some of the comments that some of our readers gave us:


However it is done, and Obama seems to have wanted this decision, so let's just move on/
He blows with the wind. His thinking is very unstable. There is no room for that in the " NEW WASHINGTON " Lieberman is an Israeli agent and a war hawk.As a war criminal he should be deported to Gaza to do community service for the rest of his life.
i vote no beause he's a scandral++++++++++++no
Lieberman trash talked Barrack throughout the entire campaign and flew around the country with McCain. What can he do or say to repair that???
Yes, especially if one of Obama's goals is to work in a bipartisan manner to resolve problems. Now isn't the time to 'punish' Lieberman.
He already knows how to screw up everything,why try and train someone else.
Can someone tell us what the rationale for this was?
They must have felt that they needed to do thbis to assure his vote on key legislation net term.
Yes, now the protection of the United States is in his lap. If he wants to walk the fence, lets put him in the hot spot.
no loyalty at all. dillutes the purpose of party membership & respect.
Because of the numbers, we still may need his votes from time to time.
But only if they exact the pound of flesh he owes them. Then they need to support Lamont in 4 years to replace him.
How do we keep discipline as a party if there's no punishment for ACTIVELY CAMPAIGNING for the Republicans?
It's one thing to privately vote for the GOP, but to be a speaker at their convention? He should be booted from the party!
he should not be a chairman of any comm.
Since Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin is the Bible these days, Lincoln forgave opponents for what they had said in the campaign. Move on!
Politics require many tough choices to be made. This is one of those.
It was necessary to start the new administration with the promised "new era" of politics. (But he should be tarred and feathered!)
Obama has stressed the need for unity. Lieberman will be expected to work with both parties to effect this change. We must work together during crisis
His power there is not as important as the possibility of his vote toward the 60 vote Democratic ability to kill a Republican filibuster.
Must think ahead Not back . However I don't like what he did- one bit
Barack Obama wants to set a tone of reconciliation in his administration and Congress.
Sen. Lieberman is now deeply indebted to Pres. Obama which will allow the president to use the man's experience and influence to advance policies.
What were the reasons for keeping him? Do we through out the baby with the bath water?
Sure it show Bi partisan working together
Maybe he will repent and return to the Party. If he is dissed, he could do more harm than good. It will remain to be seen if this was a good decision or a good strategy.
absolutely
My first reaction was that the Dems made a mistake, but after thinking about it, I am not so sure. That leaves me undecided.
Lieberman chose to side with mcain and attack obama . hes not a democrat and should not be allowed a committee chairmanship
Absolutely not. He's a traitor.
Hopefully, we will attain 60 Dems in the US Senate,thus a filibuster-proof majority for DEM legislation.
We need to come together to understand other positions to change the system. Punishing Joe Lieberman for his beliefs & actions is unamerican.
We need cool heads and steady, experienced leadership, and Lieberman has it.
Not sure about this, hated to see him campaign for McCain after being Dem VP candidate 8 yrs ago. What is the reason he was kept onboard?
I agree for now. We are not at 60 yet. Also - we need to focus on bringing people together to solve problems.
It doesn't say much for party loyalty.

MCDAC Kicker Readers Support Early Voting

Last week, MCDAC took a survey of the readers of our weekly newsletter to see when they voted. As you can see from this graph, 72% of the responding readers voted early, while 27% voted on election day. (Results rounded off)

We also allowed our readers to give us their thoughts regarding early voting by leaving comments. Here are some of them:

The in-person early voting will cause candidates to rethink how they campaign, they know what to do for mail voters, but this is a new ball game!
My husband & I voted around 9:30 on election day, our polling place is the Inn of Medina. There was about a 5 min. wait, it was great!
Absentee
I voted early because I am a poll worker and didn't know how busy I would be on Election Day.
Had to wait in line 40 minutes the Wednesday before the election. I live in NC. We're both blue states now!!!
I voted on paper ballot during the first week of voting. I hope it got counted.
wanted to miss the long lines
It was a struggle to get my absentee ballot. It took 4 contacts with the board and at one time I was told that there was no record of my application
Had to work election day and was afraid I'd be late for work. Didn't really want to vote early, but was glad I did.
I worked the polls. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get home for my wife, so we came in early.
need more election offices in which to vote. no need to go to medina to vote.
A GREAT Day!!!!!!!!!!
We are age 78 & 75, and having been voting at the Board of Elections for years, most of the time due to leaving the County prior to the date to vote.
I was going on vacation.
I live in Litchfield. There is very little waiting ever in our precinct.
I voted three weeks early at the Medina County BOE
Lines were not long at all! It was a beautiful day for Democrates!!!!!!!!
We were planning to be out of the country on election day; I voted the first possible day at the BOE and my husband voted by mail-in ballot.
My wife and I voted absentee since we thought we would not be here. I voted at the Medina Board of Elections 3 weeks early. Fast, efficient and no waiting. I hope we continue this forever!!
The green way to vote is to combine shopping etc with a trip to the Brd of Elections which I did two weeks before the election.
It took me longer to vote at the Board of Elections early than it ever did on the regular day.
Used absentee ballot, voted at home, and then dropped the ballot off at the BOE
Easy was to vote
Sue & I voted early by mail so we could campaign on election day
It was easy in Lorain County. We need paper ballots though in case of recounts.
I liked the convenience of voting early - however, I wanted to be able to see the returns that evening on TV!
Won't do again. Was 2 days after before my county finished absentee counting. Had this been close, Barack could have conceded when he really won. (In Summit County).
I didn't want to risk dieing and not get to vote!
Voting early was great!
Had I not been a poll worker, I would have voted early, but as luck has it, the poll where I work is also where I vote.
Voted absentee ballot
Voting should be made easier. Early voting in more locations as well as a Friday and Saturday two-day system with the workday as a national holiday.
I wanted in line for over an hour at the Medina Co BOE - it was fun.
Glad I did, but lines were not too long anyway, I guess. Turnout % was not that great in Ohio. Why, in light of lots of new voter registrations?
Went to Medina on 10/30...odd day/time 2:15. Process was 35 minutes. Only 4 min in actual booth to vote. Was orderly and refreshing see the interest.
After researching issues on my own. Utilized Judge4yourself and League of Women Voters. Problem with voting early is newspaper doesn't print early.
I voted at the Board of Elections and my husband used an early absentee ballot by mail.
No line either
Voted morning of 10/31 and the line was way out the door. Took about one hour.
I'm a traditionalist. I'm not a P.I.H. Person in Hurry.
By mail. How could it be easier?
I don't live in Medina County; Franklin Co.
Great experience. The Election Board workers were very professional, courteous, and the people in the line were friendly.
There was no line at all on Election Day in Sharon Township when I voted.
I am a poll worker so I voted with an absentee ballot.
At BOE on Oct 10 at 8:30 AM. No line as I was the single voter present.
it was easy - very little wait time. Would do it again.
It was very busy-but went well.

Rasmussen Poll Shows Dems Gaining Trust on Economy

Rasmussen Reports released a poll that shows that Democrats are now trusted more than Republicans when it comes to handling the economy. The percentage was 50% for Democrats and 35% for Republicans on which party the people poll trusted more to handle the economy.

According to Rasmussen the Democrats lead on this issue has grown since the election. Prior to the election the results were 51% for the Democrats and 42% for the Republicans. Rasmussen also reports that non-investors the spread were 64% to 22%, but investors the spread was only 43% to 41%.

You can read more about this poll here.

Senator Sherrod Brown's Remarks on Auto Industry Aid

Ohio's Democratic United States Senator, Sherrod Brown, made an eloquent and impassioned defense of the auto industry at a hearing held on November 18, 2009 by the Senate's Banking Committee. Take particular notice of the part that we have in bold type:

Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this afternoon’s hearing.

The American automotive industry needs our help, and it needs it now. The surest way to turn today’s recession into a depression would be to let this industry flounder.

Like the banking industry, the auto companies have made some poor decisions. But they’ve had plenty of help. In 2005, for example, the House and Senate decided against raising fuel efficiency standards. Most of the members of this committee took the position that the CAFE standards were fine as they stood.

I wish the federal government had acted sooner on CAFE. But we didn’t, and so we are on shaky ground if we now shake a finger at Detroit for being ill-prepared for $4.00 gasoline.

I wish the federal government had acted a lot sooner to address the housing crisis, too. It was only a little over a year ago that the Bush administration began to realize we had a serious problem on our hands. Throughout last year, the administration and boosters in the housing industry told us the problem was largely contained.

It was contained, in their view, to the subprime mortgage market and to states like Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. If you set aside those three states, according to one housing economist at the time, the market was doing just fine.

We’ve seen the success of that approach. Before long, every state in the nation felt the impact and every sector of the economy were dragged down by the troubles in housing. But that mistaken approach is exactly what some of my colleagues are suggesting we take in response to the crisis in the American automotive industry.

Sure, the biggest and most immediate impact will be in places like Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. But auto suppliers and dealers and related industries in every state will soon feel the impact. This industry is woven into the fabric of our economy every bit as much as Lehman Brothers or AIG or the three banks that testified before the committee last week.

Each one of those three banks received $25 billion under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. If it makes sense to give one bank $25 billion, then we can certainly invest the same amount to save the entire domestic auto industry.

As we heard last week, the banks may or may not lend the money any time soon. They may or may not use it to buy other banks. They may or may not award nice bonuses to their executives this year.I do not know what those companies are going to do with the funds they received from the taxpayers, and I don’t know what impact it will have.

But I do know what the American auto industry will do with the loans it seeks. It will build cars using parts from every state in the nation. It will provide good jobs to hundreds of thousands of middle class families in places like Lordstown and Sharonville and Toledo, Ohio. And it will support a decent retirement for a million senior citizens in every corner of our country.

Nobody wants to write this industry or any industry a blank check, and if Detroit were indifferent to the challenges it faces, then I don’t think it would have a very good case to make. But if you need evidence that Detroit gets it, look at last year’s labor agreement.

Labor and management made unprecedented changes to bring their costs in line with the competition.

They didn’t anticipate the current economic environment any more than Alan Greenspan or Secretary Paulson did. But if failing to see the future foreclosed access to federal help, the line of applicants would be very short.

If that were our standard, the government wouldn’t aid the victims of floods or fires. But we don’t turn a blind eye to people who live near the Gulf Coast or the California hills. We help them. Economically and politically, we are the United States, not some confederation of islands.

And we must be united in rebuilding a strong and vibrant manufacturing sector, a sector that has withered over the past decade as we tried to build one Potemkin village after another. Our economy cannot make it on mouse clicks alone, and we cannot live by just lending to one another. We need to build real things.

Helping bankers is fine. But we have it exactly backwards if we help those who don’t need it and ignore those who do.

Thank you Mr. Chairman

How the Feds are Blowing Through 7.8 Trillion Dollars

The New York Times has an article up on its website that is accompanied by the picture to the left. It shows how the Federal Reserve Board and the Treasury are distributing up to 7.8 trillion dollars to the financial services industry.

Although they are plowing money into the system, this money won't help with the wave of foreclosures that are spreading across America. This paragraph from the article explains why:

But analysts said the program would do little to reduce the tidal wave of foreclosures. That is because most of the foreclosures are on subprime mortgages and other high-risk loans that were not bought or guaranteed by government-sponsored finance companies like Fannie Mae

What's interesting is the fact that while there was a lot of debate and public anguish over the 700 billion dollars in bailout funds approved by Congress, the amount of loans, according to the Times, is 1.7 trillion. So under what authority is this money being lent out? If the authority was already there, why did the Congress have to act? Under what terms and conditions is this money being lent out? Who is receiving it and how much are they receiving?

It would seem that those questions would interest someone in the media, let alone Congress, yet people don't seem to be asking them. Maybe everyone just assumes that the same geniuses who got us into this mess will get us out. If so, their faith may be sadly misplaced.

Not Good News for the GOP

This Gallup Poll on the favorable/unfavorable rating of each party shows that the GOP is in a world of hurt. They have 61% of the public having an unfavorable opinion of the GOP, as against only 34% having a favorable opinion.

Given these numbers, you would expect a political party to co-operate with the incoming President to try and get America out of the economic mess that its outgoing president got us into, but you would be wrong. The GOP's idea of a stimulus package? Cut the capital gains tax to zero.

The Man Who May Cost Cleveland 4000 Jobs

This is John Dugan, Comptroller of the United States. He is also the man who apparently pulled the plug on National City Bank and steered National City into a merger with PNC, the Pittsburgh-based bank that is using Federal bail-out money to buy National City.

Dugan pulled the plug on National City by refusing to allow it to receive Federal funds. According to Ohio political leaders, NCB was the only bank in the top 25 to be refused Federal bail-out money. Although Cleveland Congressmen Kucinich and LaTourette have been trying to find out the particulars of the NCB-PNC deal, they have been frustrated by a lack of transparency in the Treasury Department.

What makes this deal stink is that before becoming Comptroller of the Currency, Mr. Dugan was a lawyer in private practice in Washington, D.C. One of his clients was, wait for it, PNC. Although he points out that NCB was also one of his clients, his relationship with PNC has caught the attention of LaTourette, among others.

Dugan is shocked and angered that anyone would think that he used his influence to help a former client of his, but LaTourette points out that Treasury gave more money to PNC than that bank was supposed to get. This is from the PD article linked to in this entry's title:

LaTourette said the Treasury Department money that went to PNC marked the first time the federal government took an equity stake in a regional bank.

According to LaTourette, about a week before National City was forced to sell itself to PNC, Dugan told National City Chief Executive Peter Raskind that his institution shouldn't expect federal bailout money.

LaTourette also observed that Paulson and Dugan gave PNC more bailout money than it was eligible to receive under the terms of the federal program. He said the bailout law stipulated that the Treasury Department could only give a bank money equivalent to 3 percent of its risk-weighted assets, while PNC got an amount closer to 6 percent.

Representative LaTourette has a great line about NCB:

It survived two wars and the Great Depression, but couldn't survive eight weeks of the bail-out.

If you agree with LaTourette and Kucinich that the NCB-PNC deal is suspicious, then check out this website and see how you can get involved in saving National City jobs.

Billions for Wall Street, Nothing for Auto-Makers? The Double Standard of Hank Paulson

So, what's with this? The Bush Administration and the Federal Reserve Board are willing to spend trillions on bailing out financial institutions, but won't bail out the auto-makers. Senators and Representatives are demanding a detailed plan from the auto industry on how it would spend any Federal money, yet, as far as we can tell, neither the Treasury Department or the Federal Reserve are demanding the same thing from companies like AIG, which reportedly got 150 billion or Citigroup, which apparently is getting 20 billion.

Representatives and Senators from Michigan are calling this policy of billions for banks, but nothing for manufactuers a "double standard" and it is hard to argue with them. Further, while businesses rant and rail against the United Auto Workers and assert that worker greed is responsible for the automakers' problems, not a word is said about the fact that these financial institutions are all going under and none of them are unionized.

Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor under Clinton, in an article posted on Talking Points Memo, said that the reason why banks are getting bailed out is that the people who run Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board come from the financial services sector of our economy. This is how Reich puts it in his article:

Nonetheless, Citi is about to be bailed out while GM is allowed to languish. That's because Wall Street's self-serving view of the unique role of financial institutions is mirrored in the two agencies that run the American economy -- the Treasury and the Fed. Their job, as they see it, is to keep the financial economy "sound," by which they mean keeping Wall Street's own investors and creditors reasonably happy.

As Reich points out, however, manufactuers support local communities all across this nation. This is a quote from Reich's article:

So why save Citi and not GM? It's not at all clear. In fact, there may be more reason to do the reverse. GM has a far greater impact on jobs and communities. Add parts suppliers and their employees, and the number of middle-class and blue-collar jobs dependent on GM is many multiples that of Citi. And the potential social costs of GM's demise, or even major shrinkage, is much larger than Citi's -- including everything from unemployment insurance to lost tax revenues to families suddenly without health insurance to entire communities whose infrastructure and housing may become nearly worthless.

We question whether Paulson understands the importance of manufactuers to the rest of the economy. Senator Levin from Michigan said on Monday that he plans to ask Paulson to outline the effect on the country if GM goes under. If Levin gets a response from Paulson, it will be interesting to see what he says.

The Future of Political Organizing

This past Saturday, November 22, 2008, two Democratic events took place in Medina County. One was a party organized by Obama volunteers in Brunswick, and the other was a party organized by Obama volunteers in Wadsworth. They were held not because the organizers were told to hold them, but because the organizers wanted to hold them. Using email and the telephone, the organizers of the two events, Nick Hanek in Brunswick and Jule Batey in Wadsworth, made sure that Obama volunteers in their parts of Medina County knew of the event, and knew what they had to do to get involved. The result was people getting together, feeling connected, and maintaining the enthusiasm from the successful Obama campaign.

This is how political organization will look in the future. People will get together on their own, using easily available tools to plan and hold political meetings. Successful political organizations will be those that manage to facilitate such meetings, and provide a means of communication to their members. Such means of communication will then be used by the members themselves to organize and spread the organization's message.

This approach comes right out of the Obama campaign. On the wall of the Medina County Democratic Headquarters, the Obama workers put three big words up on the wall: "Include" "Empower" "Respect." This means that you include people, not exclude them; empower them to act on their own; and respect what they are doing.

These concepts are much different than what a lot of political organizations practice. Too many political organizations are exclusive, acting as if they are some sort of private club that only certain people are allowed into. Too often, such political organizations insist on a hierarchical structure, one that is top down and not bottom up. Ideas that are not generated from the leadership are downplayed and ignored.

That style of political leadership is ending. The Internet, like it did in so many areas, has made sure of that. Political organizations that don't recognize that won't be effective, but those that do, will.

Wadsworth Area Obama Volunteers Get Together

Wadsworth area Obama volunteers got together at the Great Oaks Condominium Party Center to talk about their campaign experiences. Organized by Julie Batey, the meeting included food and drink provided by those attending. Patty Haskins, a resident of Great Oaks Condominiums arranged for the use of the Party Center. Here are some pictures of the event:

Obama Supporters Party in Brunswick

On November 22, 2008, Obama volunteers from Brunswick gathered at Louise Melnik's home to celebrate Obama's election and talk about the future. Organized by Louise and Nick Hanek, Obama volunteers ate pizza, had some dessert, and shared ideas about getting more involved in Brunswick politics. We posted some pictures from the event.

George Voinovich's Votes to Cut Off Debate in 2008

MCDAC examined Senator George Voinovich's votes on motions to invoke cloture in 2008. A motion to invoke cloture is when the Senate votes to cut-off debate so that legislation can proceed to a vote. It has become the GOP's preferred method of obstructing Democratic sponsored legislation. By preventing bills from coming to a vote, they have avoided putting Bush in the position of vetoing popular legislation. Such votes also mean that so-called "moderates" like Voinovich don't have to go on record on votes. Votes in which they would face the Hobson's Choice of either voting against popular legislation and ticking off the public, or voting for such legislation and ticking off the right-wing base of the GOP.

Our examination consisted of going to the Senate's official website at www.senate.gov and examining the votes that were identified as being votes on motions to invoke cloture. We found that in 2008, there were 49 such votes. On those votes, Voinovich voted with the winning side in all but four votes.

On only two of those four votes, did he vote different than the way a majority of the Republican caucus voted. On one of those votes he joined 17 Republican Senators. On that vote, which took place on September 29, 2008, 27 Republicans voted to cut-off debate. On another vote, which took place on June 26, 2008, 39 Republicans voted against cutting-off debate while Voinovich voted to cut-off debate. On the other votes, Voinovich voted with the Republican caucus.

We think that this shows that while Voinovich likes to talk a bi-partisan game, he really doesn't vote on a bi-partisan basis IF the Republican caucus is voting against the Democratic position.

Barack Obama will be putting forth legislation in the 111TH Congress. Legislation designed to turn around America's economy. A lot of this legislation will go against the pro-business, anti-regulation attitude of the Republican party, but will be what a majority of Ohioans want. It will be interesting to see, with two years to go until his re-election campaign, if Voinovich keeps supporting the right-wing position of the GOP Senate caucus.

Are Republicans Trying to Bust the UAW?

This is Senator Jon Kyl, (R-AZ). Jon-Boy is John McCain's Senatorial colleague. He is a Senator who supported bailing out the financial institutions that helped get us into the sub-prime mortgage mess and whose collapse would supposedly have triggered a very bad recession if not a depression. (You can see how Jon-Boy voted on that bill here.)

Jon-Boy was on a talking heads show on Sunday, and announced that he opposes helping out with Federal money the American auto industry. This is a quote from an AP article: Added Kyl, the Senate's second-ranking Republican: "Just giving them $25 billion doesn't change anything. It just puts off for six months or so the day of reckoning."

So, let's see if we understand Jon's position: Using 750 billion dollars of taxpayer money to bail out Wall Street is good, but using 25 billion to help save up to 2.3 million American jobs is bad. Does that make any sense to you, because it sure doesn't to us.

Unless, of course, the aim here is to destroy the UAW, which has long been a thorn in the sides of Republicans in particular and conservatives in general. If the Big Three domestic automakers are put out of business, or even forced into bankruptcy, the UAW will be severely crippled. A major political ally of the Democratic Party will be wounded and the American labor movement, which is, perhaps, on the verge of gaining some political ground come January, will be damaged. We'd say that's a big reason for ol' Jon-Boy to decide that it's okay to help bankers, but not auto-makers.

Reader Submission: Thoughts on Medina County Dem Campaigns

A reader who is active in Democratic politics, and who has been involved in winning campaigns at the county-level sent us these six points and gave us permission to run them as an entry on our blog.

We urge all Medina Democrats who are interested in local campaigns to read our reader's suggestions on how to win local campaigns.

1. The local candidates developed a really nice joint piece for lit dropping and canvassing. An individual piece of literature, however, would be better for the absentee mailing. People who vote at home take it really seriously and like to review the lit. It would be money well spent for each candidate to do a piece to tell his or her own story for this mailing.

2. I have voted early at the BOE for 3 election cycles and did not receive one piece of lit from D or R local candidates - this means advantage incumbent. These are good voters and can't be missed. These voters can be identified because their absentee applications and the submissions of their ballots are on the same day.

3. Some local candidates targeted only Independents with their mailings. Given this was a year where so many more people than the loyal base pulled a Dem primary ballot, this probably overlooked many good and persuadable voters.

4. Only one local candidate made a case for change, but it may have been too late. The case must be made before the campaign begins. With 20,000 plus good voters voting before Nov. 4th -- the case has to be made before the early voting begins.

5. TV advertising is essential. People need to see the candidates in their homes to "know" them.

6. The cooperation was impressive this year amongst candidates, but the party needs to organize a ground game. Until there is a geographically based organizational structure that survives from year to year, this will never be a blue county. Blue counties aren't necessarily blue because everyone is left of center, but rather because these counties have infrastructure.

Rasmussen Reports GOP Likes Palin, Dems and Independents, Not So Much

Rasmussen Reports released the findings of a poll concerning views Republicans have of Sarah Palin. The interesting thing is that while 91% of Republicans have a favorable view of Palin, 81% of Democrats and 57% of Independents have an unfavorable view of her.

What's also interesting is that 69% of Republicans think that she helped the GOP ticket while only 20% of Republicans think she was a liability. Of the Republicans polled, 64% back Palin for the 2012 Republican nomination, while 12% back Mike Huckabee and 11% back Mitt Romney.

The full article from Rasmussen can be read here.

Plain Dealer Article on Dem Gains in Ohio

The Cleveland Plain Dealer ran an interesting article last week on November 10, 2008 about Dem gains and GOP gains in the Ohio presidential election. As you can see from the map, McCain only gained on Bush's performance in 11 counties while Obama did better than Kerry in 77 counties. You can read the article here.