Well, tomorrow is the big day. The day we finally will quit seeing all of those stupid election ads on TV.  Living in Southern Ohio and having the state flower on my lawn (the satellite dish) I am fortunate that I have been spared most of them as they are usually local, but I have seen a few which is a few too many.

Now as I head to the polls Tuesday, I will face the same realizations that most of you will as well as you ask yourself: why am I spending 10 minutes of my precious life this way???  Personally, I like JT's idea on the whole thing. I would try it if I wasn't worried about criminal prosecution.

Any who, I was not going to write an election entry but I just can't help myself so here is what I get to decide on:

US Senate:  I get to choose a RINO or a Socialist. What a choice.  I have heard dozens of reports on TV about how the Republicans need to keep the Senate and how Ohio is key. I've even heard Republicans whining about how there is dwindling support for Mike DeWine and how terrible it is that Republicans are not supporting DeWine.  Well, they brought it on themselves. Mike DeWine has been a professional grade RINO (Republican In Name Only for those not familiar with the term) since his career as a Senator began. What difference does it make to continue to send him to congress as a Republican if he is going to vote like Chuck Schumer and John Kerry? The Republicans have no one to blame but themselves if they lose this seat. They have had countless opportunity to replace him in primaries but they always send him back with the Hillary How To Vote Guide in his pocket.  If they lose control of the senate then maybe it will be a good lesson.

Attorney General:  The choice here is a Democrat or a RINO—big surprise.  So what difference is there?  I think I will vote for the Democrat. At least this one appears to be somewhat conservative. We already know what Betty Montgomery is and that is a big fat RINO.  She has held this office before and did some really stupid things.  We do not need Betty in this spot or any other spot in Ohio government. Betty, if you truly want to serve Ohio like you say, your biography should just say "former Ohio Attorney General" rather than current.

The ISSUES: We have some really interesting issues on the ballot, namely issue 4 and 5.  Issue 4 is called "Smoke Less Ohio" and Issue 5 is "Smoke Free" Ohio. Issue 4 is really a push by big tobacco to leave smoking pretty much as it is. A restaurant must have a non-smoking section or ban smoking.  It would, however, provide a state exemption so municipalities can't ban smoking themselves. Issue 5 pretty much bans smoking everywhere. Its draconian but then so are Liberals. You would think the term "Liberal" would mean "Liberty" but  liberals love to ban things.  If both Issues Pass, then 4 overrules 5. If neither pass, then everything stays the same. What a mess.

The Big Enchilada: The Governor's race.  Wow, what can I say? Ted Strickland vs. Ken Blackwell. 

At first I thought it would be good to have Ted Strickland as governor. For one, he is from Southern Ohio and having a local boy be governor would be great for the area. He has done a very good job as a U.S. Representative from the area and has always been very accessible to his constituents.  However, I had to stop and take a new look when he named Leon Trotsky Lee Fischer as his running mate. Lee is a big commie from Northern Ohio. I guess Ted had to appease his communist masters to get the party's support. I have heard others say "well, I'm not worried about the Lt. Governor—he doesn't do much".  Well, that may be the case a lot of the times.  However, in this case, it could spell disaster for Ohio. Ted is pretty big in the democratic party. What happens if they win the Presidency in 2008? Ted could get a cabinet post or other cushy federal appointment and Ohio gets Fischer for governor. We'll have new commissars and a five-year plan in no time once that happens.

Ken Blackwell, the Republican candidate on the other hand, has not had great support from the Ohio RINO party. That in and of itself should be enough reason to vote for him.  If they don't want him then he must be a real Republican. The only drawback I can see is that he was once Mayor of Cincinnati.  These are the same people that elected Jerry Springer as mayor.  Blackwell even chose an American as a Lieutenant instead of a Bolshevik.

Anyway, I'm afraid Blackwell will not win and that will be a shame for Ohio. Governor Taft has done all he could to make sure it will be a long time before another Republican is elected. Blackwell has had to battle his own party as much as Strickland while Ted's battle with his party ended when he agreed to take on a Marxist as a running mate.  Its been over 30 years since Ohio had a Republican (not counting RINOs Taft and Voinavich) as Governor.

No matter, if Blackwell does win, the liberals will be yelling voter fraud as soon as the winner is unofficially declared. 

The Republican Party in Ohio has regressed to just being a club rather than a party. Nearly all major candidates from the current governor to both senators and most elected state officials are RINO's.  I'm voting for candidates from now on—not parties. Parties in Ohio, or much of the rest of the nation for that matter, just don't mean anything anymore.

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