Ohio Congressman, John Kasich offers a sobering look at the problems facing the Ohio GOP. In the end, he argues, it comes down to the fact that the Ohio GOP has not had to face an effective opposition for more than a decade. They have become fat, lazy, stupid and unprincipled. Is the party over? It could be. The makings of a Democratic sweep are there, he argues, but "[t]hey [i.e., Ohio Democrats] have a long tradition of turning sure things into might-have-beens." I wouldn’t be hanging my hat on that hope if I were still an Ohioan. Now is the time to re-energize with new blood and old, reliable, and good ideas.
Wasn’t there an effort several months ago to get Kasich to run for Governor because Petro, Montgomery and Blackwell would all be perceived to be part of the "pay to play" atmosphere and "Taft Republicans"?
Yes, they tried to draft him in the fall. He expressed shifty interest and rumor was that he would only run if both Petro and Montegomery dropped out.
What are you guys talking about. Ken Blackwell is not part of the so called "Taft Republicans" and no one outside of you guys thinks so.
Blackwell is just about the furthest thing possible from Petro and Taft. Nobody perceives him as being part of that clique. His fights with the party have been well publicized. The people he has fought with the most (Petro and Householder) are the same ones who are in legal trouble now.
Kasich could not beat Blackwell. He probably could not beat Montgomery either. No one cares about this guy outside of Columbus.
I wish Coleman were still running . . . I’d be a lot more confident about having a Democratic Governor.