If you think it's in the bag for this election cycle think again. More importantly if you think that the race for the White House in 2008 hasn't already started right here in Ohio you're not paying attention.
Marc Dann, who is running for Ohio's Attorney General is the man responsible for shedding light on the corruption of Bob Taft.
Please take a read and help me get this man elected.
Paul Hackett on a very important Ohio Race.
I've written a number of times about the critical role Ohio will play in the 2008 election and our need to think and act strategically now to ensure that we'll be prepared to win my home state and the presidency in two years.
Here's the strategy, it's simple: voting in the next presidential election begins in Ohio on November 7, 2006. While much energy and money has been devoted to Ted Strickland's campaign for governor, I'm writing today about a race that will profoundly affect the electoral process in my state and by extrapolation the United States: the race for attorney general between Democratic State Senator Marc Dann and Republican Betty Montgomery.
Unfortunately, the Dann--Montgomery contest has not received the attention it deserves from Americans around the nation who are deeply concerned about the conduct of the 2004 election in the Buckeye State and who remain apprehensive about what will happen here in two years.
I suspect it's because most Americans don't know that the next Ohio Attorney General will, for the first time, have the power to independently investigate and prosecute violations of the state's election laws. If Marc Dann is elected, he will use that power to stamp out the voter suppression tactics and other questionable practices that gave George Bush the 2004 election.
If you have any doubt keep in mind Marc is the guy who basically single handedly uncovered and pressed the Tom Noe rare coins scandal that lead to the Bob Taft's eventual criminal conviction. And Marc wasn't even the state Attorney General.
Marc has developed an eight point election integrity action plan guaranteeing that every Ohioan who is eligible and desires to do so will have the opportunity to vote and that every vote cast counts.
On the other hand, if his Republican opponent prevails she will undoubtedly use her office to protect Karl Rove and his minions when they launch another cynical attack against the electoral process in Ohio. We can also count on her to intimidate and investigate the groups who will be fighting to change America for the better by turning Ohio blue in 2008.
With those facts in mind, and in order to implement our strategy and achieve our long-term goals, I am asking you to join me today in helping Marc Dann win this critically important election--an election that may well determine who occupies the White House in 2009--by contributing to his campaign. As you know, I rarely make such a request, but I believe so strongly in Marc and in the importance of his campaign, that I am asking you to help today.
His opponent, who brags about her close relationship with Ken Starr, George Bush, Karl Rove, and the rest of the Republican gang who has led America in the wrong direction in Iraq and here at home, has held statewide office for 12 years. During that time she has amassed what the Toledo Blade has called a "fat campaign fund" made up of contributions from special interest groups that she is using to air TV and radio ads that smear Marc.
And one thing is clear, with stakes this high: the outcome of the 2008 presidential election, she will continue her smear campaign from now until November 7.
Your generous contribution to Marc's campaign will enable him to set the record straight about himself, about Montgomery, and about his plans to use the office to guarantee free and fair elections in Ohio.
Because that plan is a cornerstone of his campaign, I want to share it with you so you will understand just how important it is to help Marc win. Upon taking office, Marc will create, staff, and fund a new Election Integrity Division which will be responsible for implementing his election integrity action plan.
The new division will:
? Vigorously enforce existing laws;
? Maintain a toll-free Voter Integrity Hotline and website to which violations of the law and other incidents may be reported;
? Monitor the conduct of elections throughout the state, including having attorneys on the ground in each of Ohio's 88 counties during gubernatorial and presidential election years;
? Investigate all credible reports of violations of state and federal election laws, including intimidation and other suppression tactics;
? Aggressively prosecute all alleged violations;
? Provide ongoing training and support to local boards of elections and community groups;
? Draft legal opinions regarding proposed voting or registration-related legislation;
? Develop legislation and administrative rules that promote registration and voting.
Here's something new, Marc's plan proactively protects the right to vote in Ohio. For the first time a law enforcement official will actively and aggressively pursue allegations of voter intimidation and suppression--tactics that often occur away from polling places and well in advance of election day.
In addition, Marc's plan fully utilizes the power to independently investigate and prosecute election law violations. Until now, such violations had to be referred to county prosecutors by overworked, understaffed, and underfunded local boards of elections that did not have the capacity or the staff to police the electoral process or by the Secretary of State who has no independent law enforcement authority.
So even though it looks likely that we're going to have Ted Strickland, a Democrat, in the Governor's office, Ted will need an ally in the Attorney General's office, a pitbull like Marc Dann, in order to make sure the voice of not only Ohio, but the United States is heard in Novemeber 2008.
Between my wife and I, we've known Marc since he was in high school.
Please help Marc, help take back our country.
Please spread the word and show Ohio and Marc how the netroots can make change happen.
Please visit Marc's website at www.dannforohio.com to contribute whatever you can and then spread the word on line.
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Paul Hackett