This ad is mainly targeted right here in Southeastern Ohio. It will be ran on country and Christian radio stations to target people outside the typical Democratic base.

One of the main points of the ad focuses on McCain’s claim that the way to avoid foreclosure is “working a second job, skipping a vacation”. I find two things really interesting about this.

1. John McCain is talking about second jobs even has he and his staff try to avoid his first job. You see, they think it could be inconvenient if McCain got caught up in any controversial moments in the Senate.
2. As a candidate of a party that claims to base itself on family values, it seems hypocritical that McCain seems hellbent on keeping families apart.  It’s hard enough for families to find time together when there’s only a single job in the equation.

You can find the script of the ad and associated documentation here. The ad itself is embedded below.

The DNC is also going after McCain with a television ad.

Watch the videos:

• Senator Clinton
• Senator Obama

I don’t have the Hillary speech sliced and diced yet, but it should be up this weekend.

“I’m extraordinarily thankful for the support I’ve received. Our effort to listen and respond to the needs of the people of 18th’s Congressional District continues to resonate.

“We have a long way to go in what is going to be a very tough race, but having nearly one million in the bank puts our campaign in a good position.”

– Rep. Zack Space

I haven’t heard anything about the Republican’s finances, but that pretty much says it all right there.

Both candidates spoke for about 45 minutes to an hour, including a short question & answer session. Obama spoke in the morning, with Clinton’s speech ending the days events around noon. A panel on trade filled the time between the two speeches. It was mentioned that John McCain was invited to attend, but declined. This was met with a round of laughter. McCain did manage to find time in his schedule to visit Pittsburgh today however, where he discussed other parts of the economy in front of a friendly audience.

Obama seemed to be the crowd favorite, receiving multiple standing ovations. He did take a few shots at Clinton and respond to claims of “elitism”, but he mostly stuck to the topic at hand.

Clinton’s speech started out on a bad note. She made an allegation that Obama had spent most of his speech attacking her was met with grumbles from the crowd and even some people shouting “no”. Clinton soon recovered though, when she moved on to policy issues. During the Q&A session she deflected a somewhat loaded question over her husbands support of NAFTA by saying that “As smart as my husband is, he does make mistakes”, cutting through tension and providing an opening for a more serious answer about renegotiating NAFTA.

I think both Obama and Clinton demonstrated that they both understand the plight of the American worker. Policy-wise, the aren’t all that different. They both promised to do a better job at enforcing our trade agreements in their current form and to work to renegotiate them to give American workers a level playing field.

It was said at one point that this event was organized in only 11 days, though you wouldn’t have been able to tell it by looking around. Things ran quickly and efficiently. I, the worlds biggest complainer, was greatly impressed.

I’m sure they’re be several other posts related to the forum posted over the next couple days as I review my recordings of the forum. You’ll be able to find all past and future posts on this topic here.

And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

You know what? That’s pretty damning stuff. But hold up, a little later I found a Politico article with the quote in context.

“You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

You know what? I reluctantly have to agree with him. I come from small town America, actually I live in a county that doesn’t even have a town. Our largest population center is classified as a village. I believe he makes a valid point, as much as I hate to admit it.

Nice try ORP, but I’m not buying it. You’ve flunked the integrity test and that’s why your candidates are getting the boot.

For more details see the full release after the break.

Ohio Delegate/Alternates needed for Democratic Convention

There are three positions that need to be filled in the Ohio Delegation to the Democratic National Convention.  Because of vacancies the following positions are available to supporters of Hillary Clinton for President.  The open positions are:

• OH-6 (Southeast Ohio) – Clinton Female Delegate
• OH-10 (Cuyahoga) – Clinton Female Alternate Delegate
• OH-16 (Medina, Ashland, Wayne and Stark) – Clinton Male Alternate

To be considered for these positions you must submit a Declaration of Candidacy Form by Friday, April 11 at 5pm. You must be registered to vote (18 before November 4, 2008) in the district in which you are running. Candidates then must attend their Post-Primary Caucus on April 17th. (Locations below) Any registered voter in that District may attend the Caucus and vote for a candidate.

OH-6

Froehlich’s Classic Corner
501 Washington St
Steubenville, OH 43952

OH-10

Veterans of Foreign Wars #1974.
4305 Woodrow Ave.
Parma, Ohio 44134

OH-16

Stark County Dem HQ
4220 12th St. NW
Canton, OH 44708

To apply, fill out the Declaration of Candidacy Form and fax it to (877) THE-DEMS or mail it to 340 East Fulton St., Columbus, Ohio 43215.

Please remember, all forms must be received by 5pm on Friday April 11.

Now, I am continuing my involvement to seek to make this area of Ohio a better place to live, do business and raise a family.  Recently, I was named Vice President of the Board of Directors for Triple Cross Acres.  This new Christian ministry will serve at risk youth and physically challenged children through the use of horses.  My husband and I are also working with local organizations to bring a Miracle League baseball field to our community.

Professionally, my firm, Jeanette M. Moll LLC, is looking to expand the services we provide to our fellow residents of Southeastern Ohio.

I have mediated pending cases for 11 years. At the Guernsey County Court of Common Pleas, I mediated all types of civil cases, as well as both domestic relations and juvenile cases.  I welcome the opportunity to assist in the negotiation and resolution of these cases.

Additionally,  my associate, Barb Caffaratti, and I offer legal representation for family, juvenile, and general legal matters. Jeanette M. Moll LLC is located at 803B Market Street, Zanesville, Ohio 43701.  You can also contact me at [email removed because even Jeanette Moll doesn't deserve spam].

At least you can’t see she’s not moving on…

Jeff reminds us that this Friday is a crucial fundraising deadline for General Assembly candidates. The reports released from this reporting period will be used by many to indicate which candidates are viable, worth watching, or don’t have a chance.

There are two real House races down in this part of the state that I urge you to take a look at:

94th District

I don’t know as much about this race as I should, but I do know it’s an open seat and the candidate is Jennifer Stewart.

92nd District

This on is a little closer to home, but I still don’t know it as well as I should. The candidate, Debbie Phillips, ran in 2006 but was defeated in a very close election. This time around the seat is open and is considered on of the top 10 Democratic pickup opportunities in the state.

Please consider making a donation to these campaigns soon. You can donate to Phillips online here or mail your donation for Stewart to the following address:

Jennifer Stewart for
State Representative
PO Box 190 • Zanesville, OH 43702

The campaign is looking for help ranging from simply putting a sign up in your yard all the way up to volunteering in an office or coordinating a precinct. Other opportunities include making calls, working on election day, distributing literature, hosting a fundraiser, and walking in parades. If any of these things interest you, I’m sure they’d love the help.

And of course, donations are always needed.

The Wood County Board of Education has confirmed that former President Bill Clinton will be speaking in Parkersburg Wednesday.

The Board says Clinton will be speaking at the Jefferson Elementary Center from Wednesday morning.

Doors open at 10 AM and the event starts at 11.

The event is free and open to the public

• Kay Barnes (MO-06)
• Anne Barth (WV-02)
• Darcy Burner (WA-08)
• Robert Daskas (NV-03)
• Steve Driehaus (OH-01)
• Jim Himes (CT-04)
• Christine Jennings (FL-13)
• Larry Kissell (NC-08)
• Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24)
• Eric Massa (NY-29)
• Gary Peters (MI-09)
• Mark Schauer (MI-07)
• Dan Seals (IL-10)

Notice the two in bold? You probably have already heard about Steve Driehaus, but Ann Barth might be a new one for you. She’s running to unseat Shelley Moore Capito on the other side of the river. Keep an eye on this race. It’ll be an uphill battle, but it’s winnable.

You may remember that Ohio candidates John Boccieri and Mary Jo Kilroy were among those selected for the first wave.

Candidate Zack Space has released a statement (included below) on his overwhelming primary victory today.

The big story today though, is that we finally know who he’ll be running against. It looks like it’s going to be Fred Dailey. It’s definitely not who I would have thought, but I’ll have more on it in the coming days.

SPACE WELCOMES OVERWHELMING VICTORY IN DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

-Calls This Year’s Election an “Historic Election,” An Opportunity to Advocate for Better Benefits and Health Care for Veterans, Better Health Care, Tougher Immigration Laws —  

New Philadelphia, OH – Affirming Congressman Zack Space’s efforts to change Washington and change the daily lives of his constituents, the Democratic voters of the 18^th Congressional District provided Space an overwhelming victory in Tuesday’s Democratic primary election.

 

“I am truly overwhelmed by the response of the people of the 18^th Congressional District to my efforts to bring change to Washington and change in the lives on the people of my district,” said Space.  “Since Day One in office, I’ve fought with every ounce of my being to restore the trust of the people in their elected officials.  I’ve led the charge to clean up the House of Representatives and make sure that special interests’ lock on legislation is a thing of the past.  There is still much more to do, but I believe that we have made real progress in providing the transparency necessary to make sure that regular people are heard and that their government responds to them.”

 

“Changing Washington isn’t just symbolic – it’s absolutely critical. Unless we greatly diminish the influence of special interests, we cannot reorder the horrible priorities of past years that have cheated our veterans of the health care they deserve, undercut the efforts of senior citizens to get the health care they deserve, and robbed our students of their ability to get an affordable education without mortgaging their future.  And we must make sure that we have tough immigration policies that do not undercut American workers’ efforts to get jobs.

 

The horrible trade policies of the past have also devastated our working families. These policies have not only taken our workers’ jobs away – they have compromised families’ health care, they have led to a traumatic home mortgage crisis, and, as I’ve seen time and time again sadly, they have deprived these families of the absolute basic necessities such as food.”

 

“The policies of the past must give way to the foresight and vision that will change these people’s lives on a daily basis. A nation’s budget is a blueprint of our priorities, and that’s why we must invest more heavily in our towns and communities, our infrastructure, and our people.  We must prepare our children for the future that lies before them, and we must work with every fiber of our being to bring in new industries and new jobs because nothing changes the fabric of a community like the promise that comes with new opportunities.”

 

“That’s why I’ve worked so hard to improve our economy. When my office receives word of any company even contemplating a move to Ohio, we spring into action, working tirelessly to bring that plant to our communities. I’ve also begun my RENEW OHIO-18 to look, longer-term, at how our region must be prepared to benefit from the new technologies of tomorrow, such as broadband or alternative energy.”

 

“This year is going to be an historic election.  We’re at a crossroads where we’re going to have to determine whether we are going to meet these tough challenges head-on or whether we’re going to fall back on the old tired debates of the past.  I stand ready to have a vigorous debate about how, working together regardless of party, we can produce that future.”