House Rules: This is Not Your Everydaily Kos
- Be excellent to each other
- You are allowed ... encouraged ... to say something hours ... days, even ... after the Oil is lit
- Open Thread rules apply to the comments ... follow the topic of the comment you are answering, a main comment can be on anything of interest to the patrons of the Midnight Oil Bar
- Be kind to people with slow connections ... wait 16 hours before posting "fun" video clips in the comments
- No "first" posts ... say something instead ... same thing with "put up a tip jar" posts
- Say something, come back eight, twelve hours later to see if there was an answer
- Feel free to use the Rec button to let people know you passed by ... but be careful not to overdo it, we don't want this thing up on the wrecklist!
- Don't worry about "jumping the tip jar" ... We don't need no steenking tip jar!
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Saturday Night Party: Bring your video clips
Daily Diary Roll
Spreading fires
Iraq and the Credit Crisis By Jonathan Taplin (TPMCafe)
OK, Senator Obama or Clinton, here's an Ohio Home Run for you
Another one of BruceMcF's issue diaries cheekily masquarading as a "candidate advice" diary
Farmers penalized for utilizing subsidized land by winstnsmth
Why we need more progressives from diversified farm states ... like so much of the Ohio countryside
Sens. Clinton and Obama: Can We Talk Some Truth About Trade? by Jonathan Tasini
(h/t Tasini blog)
Why We Miss John Edwards' Voice on Trade and Globalization by Jonathan Tasini
(h/t panicbean)
Eliminating Coal from the Electricity Equation ... by A Siegel
Too late to tip or rec ... but in the Midnight Oil Bar and Grill, its never too late to read and learn
Dr. Vic Wulsin "Volunteer" link
John Boccieri "Get Involved" Link (h/t GARoach)
Overnight News Digest: Green Goodies by Chaoslillith
Read Chaoslillith or she will send her tigers after you
EENR: Edwards Evolution - Next Revolution
Original Sparks
Sens. Clinton and Obama: Can We Talk Some Truth About Trade? by Jonathan Tasini (h/t Tasini Blog)
Partisans, Get Real: Neither Clinton Or Obama Good On Trade by Tasini (h/t panicbean)
John Edwards tagpage) Tasini NAFTA diary: rec, tip, and spread the word
19 years later... Still no "public purpose" by Larry Kissell
Edwards Democrat running for Congress in NC-08 ... and its an Energy Independence diary
Worker Freedom Bill Passes West Virginia House by James Parks
(AFL-CIO Now Blog, h/t David Sirota)
Capitalism & Redistribution by Jerome a Paris (European Tribune)
John Edwards, Speak Up: Clinton and Obama Wrong On Trade by Tasini (h/t NAFTA tagpage)
Tasini NAFTA diary: first I'm adding it to the diary roll, now I'll go read it!
Global Warmings Over...or Report, Report, Who's got the Report? by Acebass (h/t Acebass)
Wind, Solar, Efficiency: McCain To Miss the Trifecta? by chapter1 (h/t Wind Power tagpage)
Your War, and Your Kids, and Your Grandkids, and Your Great-Grandkids, and ........ by LaEscapee
(h/t LaEscapee)
Wagging the Dog: The Primary Debates and Global Warming by TheGreenMiles
(h/t Environment tagpage)
BREAKING!...the Earth (No Candidate bashing version) by jillian
one diary link, 40+ stories ... best bang for the buck in the business
John and Elizabeth Edwards Co-Launch the Iraq/Recession Campaign by Benny (Docudharma)
Illinois Advanced Renewable Tariffs (contributor: Paul Gipe) (Stranded Wind)
The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water by Maude Barlow
(Foreign Policy in Focus)
EENR for Progress: Special Endorsement Diary! by sarahlane (h/t John Edwards tagpage)
Midnight Thought
A while back, I wrote about the Five Levels of Edwards Victories:
There are, after all, levels of victory.
Ground floor victory, John Edwards stays in the race and so the two Anointed Front Runners are not free to run to the middle, as they would do without Edwards in the race.
But, of course, that was before McCain's strong win in Florida, which set him up to win the nomination ... and while the Democratic Party could afford a long primary fight if Guliani or Romney or Huckabee were the nominee, and especially if it was a dogfight ... not against McCain.
And so, cognizant of the damage a McCain Presidency would surely do, John Edwards was forced to suspend his campaign and allow the race to settle into a two-horse ... as much of the Mess Media had been trying to portray it for a year ... with inevitable dynamics of a two-horse primary race for creating a winner.
Forced, of course, by the fact that he is responsible, and could not put his own ambitions ahead of what was good for the party.
However, in the aftermath of that decision, a realization seems to have emerged among many stalwart Edwards supporters that ... well, that we are back in 2006 part II. Anyone can see that 2006 was an encouraging start, but it is by no means a finished job. We have House seats to win. We have Senate seats to win. And, where possible, that includes getting progressive populist House candidates up over the line in contests against "Blue Dog's" and "DINO's" or, in other words, what would have been called "Bourbon Democrats" in the late 1800's.
Because, no matter how many times I go to the mailbox and how many times I Google, there are no offers flooding in of places to colonize another planet. It seems that this here planet is the one I've got to live in, and more important the planet that my kids have got to live in.
So we've got work to do.
Including work to do before Tuesday next week. According to WaPo, WaPo: OH-15 and OH-16 ranked 2nd and 5th districts most likely to flip (BSB Blog, h/t My Blogroll) ... and we have a chance to get an Edwards Democrat into place for OH-16.
Heck, Mary Jo Kilroy seems an alright candidate in her own right, but according to the Race Tracker Wiki, OH-15, all the fight in that race is on the Republican side. Mary Jo Kilroy did so well in her 2006 race against Deborah Pryce that Congresswoman Pryce is retiring and Mary Jo is the only challenger listed as filing on the Democratic side.
Among the contested Democratic Congressional races on Tuesday, OH-16 is notable because we have a seat that we have a serious prospect of flipping, we have an Edwards Democrat running in the primary, and most importantly we have a regular Midnight Oil patron right on the scene.
John Boccieri, Challenger for D-OH-16
Update: John Boccieri "Get Involved" Link
OK, with that out of the way, a quick look at the other contested races ... and yes, some of them may be against high odds, but since where we are is not where we need to be, we got to start where we are and chip away.
OH-2, held by Republican Jean Schmidt. 2004 Bush/Kerry, 64%/36%; 2006 Schmidt/Wulsin, 50.4%/49.4%. Democratic Challengers: Victoria Wulsin; William R. Smith; Stephen L. Black. From a quick look round the web, it looks like the main fight is Dr. Vic Wulsin against "serious jack" Steve Black. I've got my suspicions in this race ... but its just gut instinct, and it could have been I did not fry the pork chops long enough this evening. So you tell me.
Dr. Vic Wulsin, Challenger for OH-2
Steve Black, Challenger for OH-2
Update: {tone="irony"} Hard pick this one {/tone} ... Dr. Vic Wulsin as a challenger came within 1% last time, and will be a strong and determined advocate for Universal Health Care. "Serious jack" Steve Black is a former Republican and former Blackwell contributer (h/t anastasia p). Dr. Vic Wulsin is the Midnight Oil pick of the night.
OH-3, held by returning Republican Mike Turner. 2004 Bush/Kerry 54%/45%; 2006 Turner/Chema 59%/41%. Democratic Challengers David Esrati, Charles W. Sanders, Jane Mitakides.
David Esrati, Challenger for OH-3
Charles W. Sanders, Challenger for OH-3
Jane Mitakides, Challenger for OH-3
OH-07 ... I think the report in the Springfield paper says it:
The Democrats are even more diverse. Voters will have to choose between U.S. Army retiree Jack Null of Fairborn; physician Richard Wyderski of Dayton and former health inspector Thomas Scrivens of Xenia. Others are: Ben Graham Corp. consultant Bill Conner of Beavercreek; attorney Sharen Swartz-Neuhardt of Dayton; and Circleville pizzeria owner Dave Woolever.
None of these have held elected office ... so you can tell that its a district constructed to swing Republican ... but the incumbent is retiring, so if a long shot is going to win, 2008 is as good a time as any. 2004 Bush/Kerry 57/42; 2006 Hobson/Conner 61%/38%.
So find yourself your favorite longshot in this race, and back him or her.
OH-12 a district that went for the Republican incumbent Tiberi in 2006 ... 2004 Bush/Kerry 51%/48%; 2006 Tiberi/Shamanski 57%/43%. Challenging are Aaron J. Dagres, David Robinson, and Russ Goodwin.
Aaron J. Dagres, Challenger for OH-12
David Robinson, Challenger for OH-12
Russ Goodwin, Challenger for OH-12
OH-14, the districts that went for Republican incumbent LaTourette in 2006 ... Bush/Kerry 53%/47%, LaTourette/Katz 58%/43%. Challenging are Dale Virgil Blanchard, Bill O'Neill and John H. Greene Jr. I can't find the John Greene for Congress website, but the News Herald .com says:
John H. Greene Jr. This is Greene's first attempt at the congressional post. He is president of the United Steelworkers of America Local 557L; a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in the Vietnam War; and a retired small-business owner. Greene said he is an advocate for working families and small-business owners.
"It is time to take back our government for the working families and the middle class, who have been left out of government too long, and I believe I am the candidate who can do this," Greene said.
He said improving health care, Social Security, pensions, a strong defense and secure borders are his top issues, along with maintaining and developing jobs locally with a living wage while balancing the realities of globalization. Greene said the war in Iraq should be brought to a close because the country can no longer afford the loss of human life and treasure, and the Iraqi government should be made to be self-sufficient.
Dale Virgil Blanchard, Challenger for OH-14
Bill O'Neill, Challenger for OH-14
Paging, Edwards Democrats
So, who are the Edwards Democrats in this bunch? A quick scan across their web-pages reveals that more than half of them talk a good game ... but, as we learned in 2006, its about more than talking a good game, its also about the backbone to stand up and fight.
So, that's an interesting question, and one I intend to be looking at ... and of course, any tidbits of information you can toss my way would be accepted with much thanks.
Midnight Oil - Forgotten Years
...
Our shoreline was never invaded,
our country was never in flames
This is the calm we breathe,
this is a feeling too strong to contain
Still it aches like tetanus,
it reeks of politics
Signatures stained with tears,
who can remember
We've got to remember
... | |
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