Cross-posted at Now That's Progress
I sat in today as Meet the Bloggers (including George, Tim and Gerardo, Bill, and Jack) interviewed Ted Strickland, currently the only official Democratic candidate for Governor of Ohio.
Overall he seemed like a good guy, and he did a good job in his opening remarks of making a case for why he is an electable candidate, talking about his ability to win a district that voted for George W. Bush in 2004. Strickland stressed that he won his district even after it was gerrymandered to try to boot him from office. He also pointed out that he was unopposed in '04, obviously to impress upon us that his district feels he is doing a good job. Quote: "I win in regions that Democrats do not win in Ohio."
As further evidence to support his candidacy, he mentioned that a (nameless) Northeast Ohio official acknowledged that Cleveland-area candidates have not fared well statewide in recent years. And he offered this quote of Democratic "almosts": "Coming close in an election is like coming close to the landing strip in an airplane. It's still a disaster."
Here's some highlights I came away with (the podcasts will be here if you'd like to hear the whole hour plus interview). Also check out the other bloggers who were there for highlights that mattered most to them (some of their questions I frankly didn't understand):
We talked about recent tax changes in Ohio, and even though I don't have a good feel for them (other than I had to sign up for the Commerce Activity Tax), I thought Strickland's on the fence answer of "it's too early to know" about the impact of the taxes was sort of lame - obviously the point of the question was: do you think these changes are good? We already know that it's too early to know what the impact will be.
One example he did use about the CAT's unintended effects was that Cargill may sell ethanol from an Ohio plant but avoid the tax by not selling the ethanol inside of Ohio.
I believe it was Bill that asked about Strickland's expertise and/or commitment to urban areas. The answers were somewhat vague (to Bill's frustration if I read him right). Basically Strickland said that inner cities face some of the same challenges that his district does - poverty, lack of opportunity - so (presumably) he understands the needs of cities, He also said that cities have felt shortchanged and that the state needs to be "brought together." What that means and how it's accomplished were unclear. He talked a bit about using the Department of Development in a "targeted way." Again, unclear exactly what that means or how easy it is to do.
He made a point of talking about how he had to work his gluteus maximus off (George successfully encouraged him to say "ass") to prove himself after his district was redrawn, with the point (I think) being that he will work his ass off for the cities if given the chance.
Jack asked a question about supporting small businesses, but I can't intelligently discuss the question or the answer.
Tim asked about whether the election was going to be a competition to see who can be most holy. (Strickland is a former minister and has made a point of mentioning that religion is part of who he is.)
He answered this question very well I thought, saying "I'm not holy at all," but "I refuse to concede to the other side" issues concerning morality. He said Republicans have made a "purposeful, plainful effort to erode the wall" between church and state and that they do not foster an appreciation for individual differences. Strickland believes religion should be inclusive versus exclusive.
I asked about education funding, how a Governor Strickland would or could make changes to an unconstiutional state education system if he's stuck with a Republican legislature (which would surely be the case). He talked about the need to move away from the property tax funding system currently in place, but acknowledged his best weapon to get the legislature to actually do anything would be to repeatedly bring up the issue to the public - to use the bully pulpit to put pressure on legislators with their constituents.
Gerardo asked about technology in education, and Strickland said all the right things (I think). For as techie as I can be sometimes, this isn't an issue I have much to say about - listen for yourself if this is a big issue for you.
Strickland was very straightforward when it came to his yes vote for the bankruptcy bill. He said he thought there were protections that gave judges latitude on how to rule in individual cases. He said, "I made a judgement," and I respected that he took ownership of it, regardless of whether you agree with his vote or not.
I asked about the TABOR state spending cap that Ken Blackwell is championing on the ballot next year. We didn't get too far into this, but Strickland thought it would be the central issue of a Strickland versus Blackwell general election. He talked a bit about the disaster it's been in Colorado, where it was voted out after it had significantly hurt the state. (Strickland also mentioned that he'd heard Republicans may be working on an anti-gay adoption amendment to put on the ballot to get their people out. Strickland called this "mean-spirited.")
Gerardo got into trade issues, which Strickland really seemed to warm up to. Initially I thought that he was getting more excited about this issue than any of the others, despite the fact he would have less impact on them as governor than he does now, but Gerardo mentioned that governors actually can have more pull than a minority member of Congress, and I think that's true.
Finally, Strickland said he used to sometimes bathe in a "crick" as a child. I mention this only because as a child when I came upon people who said "crick," it took me a long time to realize that this was the same word as "creek."
Interesting time -- I can see why these guys started Meet the Bloggers and I plan to show up for my turn at the mic again in the future.