Now You Know

>>>>  If you are interested in the dirty details of how John Boehner and the Republicans drew their redistricting lines in Ohio, you must check out the DrawthelineMidwest Transparency Report for enough pdf material to keep you busy for the day:

Released December 12, 2011

• Transparency Report

• Appendix I – page 1 – 40 pdf

(Key players, time line, OCAR, Secrecy)

• Appendix II – page 41 – 85 pdf

(Mann/DiRossi contracts, Boehner, Nat. Rep. Comm)

• Appendix III – page 86 – 133 pdf

(Cong. Map negotiations, fundraising, political index)

• Appendix IV – page 134 – 174 pdf

(Record requests, transcripts, rules, editorials)

Click for the News Release

Three important emails

• Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus’ email to Tom Whatman, Team Boehner, and Ray DiRossi, Secretary Apportionment Board about how important Speaker Boehner is in this process.
• Speaker Batchelder’s Chief of Staff & Secretaries of the Apportionment Board Ray DiRossi & Heather Mann’s email exchange about Campaign Finance & Redistricting.

• How the Timken plant was added to U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci’s district.......
 
The DaytonDailyNews has this about the report:

....Spokesmen for Boehner, Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder, R-Medina and Senate President Tom Niehaus, R-New Richmond, denied the charges made by the Ohio Campaign for Accountable Redistricting in its report, “The Elephant in the Room.” 

The report, based on emails and other documents obtained through a public records request, said the Republicans gained maximum political advantage for themselves in drawing the 99 new Ohio House and the 33 new Ohio Senate districts. 

The Campaign for Accountable Redistricting is a 25-member coalition including the League of Women Voters of Ohio and Ohio Citizen Action. The report gave the Ohio GOP leaders a D- grade for shutting the public out of the process of redrawing the lines for Ohio’s congressional districts......

 Of course, they'll deny it, but the truth is staring at them in the face. Don't you wonder how many women and minorities were involved in the Republican process? 

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* Democrats have been successfully recruiting new candidates for office in Ohio.  After the Kasich administration and the Ohio GOP went after the middle class workers in the state through SB 5, the coalition that defeated the measure has found such enthusiasm in their ranks that they've been able to recruit new candidates to run against the Republicans and their anti-worker/pro-corporate agenda.  The MansfieldNewsJournal has the details.

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***  Ohio Republicans have announced their list of candidates for the Ohio House (see Capital Blog) and voters are making lists.  Why?  There are some elected officials in that GOP bunch that need to retire because they spent a lot of time supporting and kneeling at the Kasich altar.  Lots of people in District 21 are hoping to support a Democratic candidate to oppose Mike Duffey, of Worthington. (Note: Kasich helped Duffey campaign, according to this photo.)  Duffey's embrace of SB 5 shocked many people who thought they knew him.  Here is an article from SNPonline (from 4/5/11):

...The latest vote by the 21st District representative backed the controversial Senate Bill 5,signed Thursday, March 31 by Gov. John Kasich. The bill limits collective bargaining rights initiated in 1983 for the state's 360,000 public employees, as well as requiring them to pay at least 15 percent of their health-care costs....

....Still, Duffey said he is not worried about the ramifications to his political career that could result from the bill....

"I have always talked about jobs being my focus," he said. "That's always been the main concern in my district." 

Have you seen any jobs that have been created by Mike Duffey?????? Right.