Friday
There's Supposed to be a Post Today...
...but it's the first week of classes. I didn't do a very good job transitioning, so I'm behind in just about everything. Including sleep, and feeding. So bear with me, and tune in starting Sunday to get profiles on the Congressional race in our district!
Tuesday
My Take, US Senate Race
To be honest, I'm not very impressed with any of the candidates I've seen for the Senate. I feel the Senate is a weighty, important position that's supposed to rise above (most of) the politics and find the right path. What I saw from the candidates was either carefully modulated political messages (from Portman and Fisher) or extreme, not very helpful positions designed to overhaul the American way of life overnight (La Botz and Deaton).
It seemed almost impossible for a candidate to address current issues in a way that was effective and practical--and by practical, I mean something we could implement in a matter of weeks. While I believe both Deaton and La Botz make very good points on fundamental flaws with our system, the changes they want to implement would require changing the public's way of thinking 180 degrees. That won't happen in time to solve the urgent problems in our nation. Neither the "main stream" nor the "independent" party candidates give me the feeling they'd be a constructive force in Washington, and that makes me sad.
But I still have a vote to cast. I might not use it. But, if I HAD to vote...
It wouldn't be for Portman. Portman has a long history of service to Ohio and the nation, and no one can say he hasn't done it with honor. But anyone who did that much work for and supported the Bush Administration that much does not share my beliefs, and would not represent me. This is held up by the statements on his campaign website...point after point, I found myself disagreeing almost 100% with his positions. We're ideological opposites on every issues I find important.
It wouldn't be for Deaton. I do agree with most of his "Stick to the Constitution" vision for the government, as impractical as I think it is in the short term. However, he has a very conservative view on social issues that I find completely out of line with my own. I don't see him representing me on civil rights at all, for instance.
It wouldn't be for La Botz. His liberal view on civil rights and other social issues is in line with my own. However, I have the same problem with his vision for the government as I do with Deaton's: it is too far removed from our current way of life, and would face too much opposition by the public, to do us any good now.
I'd vote for Fisher. Again, this is only if I had to use the vote. Fisher's record as the Attorney General, in the State Legislature, and as Lieutenant Governor shows to me he's at least consistent with my values and my views. I'm not convinced he's able to be part of the solution in the partisan, strangled knot of Capitol Hill, but I can at least feel he'd represent me.
It seemed almost impossible for a candidate to address current issues in a way that was effective and practical--and by practical, I mean something we could implement in a matter of weeks. While I believe both Deaton and La Botz make very good points on fundamental flaws with our system, the changes they want to implement would require changing the public's way of thinking 180 degrees. That won't happen in time to solve the urgent problems in our nation. Neither the "main stream" nor the "independent" party candidates give me the feeling they'd be a constructive force in Washington, and that makes me sad.
But I still have a vote to cast. I might not use it. But, if I HAD to vote...
It wouldn't be for Portman. Portman has a long history of service to Ohio and the nation, and no one can say he hasn't done it with honor. But anyone who did that much work for and supported the Bush Administration that much does not share my beliefs, and would not represent me. This is held up by the statements on his campaign website...point after point, I found myself disagreeing almost 100% with his positions. We're ideological opposites on every issues I find important.
It wouldn't be for Deaton. I do agree with most of his "Stick to the Constitution" vision for the government, as impractical as I think it is in the short term. However, he has a very conservative view on social issues that I find completely out of line with my own. I don't see him representing me on civil rights at all, for instance.
It wouldn't be for La Botz. His liberal view on civil rights and other social issues is in line with my own. However, I have the same problem with his vision for the government as I do with Deaton's: it is too far removed from our current way of life, and would face too much opposition by the public, to do us any good now.
I'd vote for Fisher. Again, this is only if I had to use the vote. Fisher's record as the Attorney General, in the State Legislature, and as Lieutenant Governor shows to me he's at least consistent with my values and my views. I'm not convinced he's able to be part of the solution in the partisan, strangled knot of Capitol Hill, but I can at least feel he'd represent me.
Sunday
US Senate Race: Lee Fisher
Lee Fisher is the sitting Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, who is leaving that post to try and fill Voinovich's seat.
Fisher was raised in Cleveland, earned his Bachelors degree from Oberlin College, and both a law and Master's degree from Case Western. He's a Democrat, married, and has two children. He currently lives in Shaker Heights. In addition to serving as the Lieut. Governor for the past 4 years, Fisher has been a State Representative (1980-1982), a State Senator (1983-1991), and Attorney General (1991-1995).
A large part of the Fisher campaign is about creating jobs. He has laid out a plan that involves several tax incentives, redirecting stimulus money, and creating a large small business loan pool. He also discusses keeping Americans in their homes, working at keeping jobs in America, and eliminating Wall Street's ability to screw up the economy by rewarding bad practices and relying on bailouts.
You can get a full list of Fisher's positions on various issues here. Fisher brings up his work as the Ohio Attorney General in protecting children and law abiding citizens, emphasizes the importance of education through proper and effective funding, cites his work on the Third Frontier Commission about creating green jobs, supporting LGBT rights (including the right to marry), and several others.
Fisher has a robust list of endorsements, including the Mayors of Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland, Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Campaign, and the Ohio AFL-CIO.
Fisher was raised in Cleveland, earned his Bachelors degree from Oberlin College, and both a law and Master's degree from Case Western. He's a Democrat, married, and has two children. He currently lives in Shaker Heights. In addition to serving as the Lieut. Governor for the past 4 years, Fisher has been a State Representative (1980-1982), a State Senator (1983-1991), and Attorney General (1991-1995).
A large part of the Fisher campaign is about creating jobs. He has laid out a plan that involves several tax incentives, redirecting stimulus money, and creating a large small business loan pool. He also discusses keeping Americans in their homes, working at keeping jobs in America, and eliminating Wall Street's ability to screw up the economy by rewarding bad practices and relying on bailouts.
You can get a full list of Fisher's positions on various issues here. Fisher brings up his work as the Ohio Attorney General in protecting children and law abiding citizens, emphasizes the importance of education through proper and effective funding, cites his work on the Third Frontier Commission about creating green jobs, supporting LGBT rights (including the right to marry), and several others.
Fisher has a robust list of endorsements, including the Mayors of Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland, Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Campaign, and the Ohio AFL-CIO.
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