Ohio Valley Politics

Rep. Zack Space’s re-election campaign just got a huge boost, he’s been endorsed by the NRA.

The National Rifle Association endorsed Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio) for re-election today, giving the freshman congressman key credibility among gun owners as he runs for re-election in a largely rural and solidly Republican district.

“During just my first term in Congress, the NRA and I have already forged a strong working relationship as we both seek to protect the gun owners and sportsmen in the 18th Congressional District,” said Space in a statement.

“We are both committed to preserving the constitutional rights of gun owners and sportsmen everywhere as we work to end the continual whittling away of the Second Amendment by those opposed to gun ownership.”

Republicans have had trouble recruiting credible candidates to challenge Space, despite the district’s Republican tilt. The four Republican candidates who have filed for the state’s March 4 primary have hardly raised any money in preparation for the campaign.

It seems like the man dubbed the “accidental congressman” may be more than the GOP can handle.

The Appalachian Regional Commision (ARC) has named 18th district Representative Zack Space as its legislator of the year.

You may remember, Space fought hard earlier this year against a group of legislators attempting to cut ARC funding completely and ended up getting the funding increased.

“I am truly honored to receive this recognition. The ARC has a long history of success in helping develop the region’s economy, and I am confident that it will continue in that role.

“My constituents rely on me to protect their interests in Congress, and the ARC is very high on that priority list. As long as my constituents rely on the ARC, the ARC can rely on me.”

– Rep. Zack Space

Space is the first freshman Democrat to receive the honor. ARC covers all of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states.

In other Zack Space news, he will be holding his technology summit for his Renew Ohio 18 series this Friday in New Philadelphia.  The meeting will be lead by Stan Ahalt, executive director of the Ohio Supercomputer Center. If you wish to attend, you’ll need to RSVP with Space’s office (866-910-7577).

Republican’s seems pretty bent out of shape over Rep. Zack Space’s recent vote to support the American Constitution. They’re claiming that Space’s vote against the FISA extension shows that he “puts partisanship over protecting America”, yet they don’t really mention the reason for Space’s vote. The bill Space voted against would block the judicial system from looking into abuses of the FISA program by granting telecommunication retroactive immunity.
I wouldn’t much like the idea of granting retroactive immunity for something like jaywalking, much less warrantless wiretaps. The “just following orders” excuse hasn’t been upheld in the past, why should it matter now? Besides no immunity isn’t an automatic conviction of telecommunications companies, it just leaves the door open for the courts to decide.

I bet Bob Ney loves the idea of retro-active immunity…

Thankfully, other bloggers have been quick to back Space’s position.

Representatives Zack Space and Charlie Wilson are both praising the recent signing of the Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act by President Bush.

Zack Space referred to the bill as “far from perfect”, but called it “a good start”. He went on to say that:

“We need to work on long-term job growth and sustainable development, but this package will help our families, seniors, and small businesses make ends meet in today’s faltering economy.

“Going forward, I will continue to work both in Congress and with officials back home to help create the conditions necessary to help our regional economy grow. We have so many great things in Ohio – transportation, workers, natural resources – that I firmly believe our economy has a very bright future.”

Congressman Wilson’s release heavily stressed that to receive a stimulus payment families must file a 2007 tax return. According to Wilson:

“Some of those families, especially those receiving Social Security and veterans’ benefits may not be used to filing a federal tax return. But they need to file a 2007 federal return to get a stimulus payment.

“I worked to make sure our seniors who only receive social security and our disabled vets did not get left out of this economic stimulus plan. Now that Congress got them included, I want to make sure they get their rebate checks.”

To help with this, Wilson’s staff and the Belmont County Community Action Commission will hold a tax preparation workshop at his Bridgeport office (800 Main Street Bridgeport, Ohio) on March 10th from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM.

Wilson’s office has also prepared a list of other tax preparation clinics taking place in the 6th district. You can find it after the jump.

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There’s an article in the Zanesville Times Recorder that starts out:

Is U.S. Rep. Zack Space facing a tough race for re-election? Top leaders of the state Democratic and Republican parties weren’t so sure Thursday.

At a seminar hosted by The Associated Press, State Reps. Chris Redfern and Kevin DeWine were asked to list the most competitive congressional races in Ohio. Redfern, the state Democratic Party chairman, and DeWine, the GOP’s deputy chairman, listed four races in the Canton, Columbus and Cincinnati areas.

Space’s 18th District, which includes Muskingum and Coshocton counties, wasn’t on their list.

While it would be foolish to breathe a sigh of relief just yet, this news really doesn’t surprise me. The Republican Party has been short of cash recently and been forced to play defense in districts that they one had a firm hold on.

GOP co-chairman Kevin DeWine does say that:

“We haven’t taken it off the table. We have three fine folks who are running. We also know Zack has a significant financial advantage. We have to see what the race looks like once we get through the primary.”

Translation: We want to try to take this district but we don’t have the resources or a strong candidate yet.

Congressmen Charlie Wilson and Zack Space both supported the recently passed College Opportunity and Affordability Act (H.R. 4137). The act, like it’s name implies, hopes to keep the cost of college education low.

Wilson’s office provided a great list of some things that this act will accomplish.

• Streamline the federal student financial aid application process;
• Make textbook costs more manageable for students by, among other things, helping them plan for textbook expenses in advance of each semester;
• Allow students to receive year-round Pell Grant scholarships;
• Strengthen college readiness and support programs for minority and low-income students;
• Increase college aid and support programs for veterans and military families;
• Improve safety on college campuses and help schools recover and rebuild after a disaster;
• Ensure equal college opportunities and fair learning environments for students with disabilities; and
• Strengthen our nation’s workforce and economic competitiveness by boosting science, technology, and foreign language educational opportunities.

For Zack Space the bills passage was a little bit more personal, his CURE (Colleges and Universities Rural Education) Act was incorporated into the bill. In a release from his office he made these remarks:

“The colleges and universities in my district provide a great service to our rural students. We must do everything possible to support their efforts to educate our children.

“This legislation will allow colleges that serve rural populations to form partnerships to help usher more students into college and assist them with that transition.  It will also allow these colleges to develop training and employment programs that will provide desperately needed skilled workers.  If our communities are going to take the next step toward economic recovery, we must have the educational opportunities in place to make that transition a reality.”

– Rep. Zack Space

According to Space’s office, the CURE Act provides federal grants to the following:

• Partnerships formed between colleges serving rural areas and rural high schools to promote access to higher education amongst graduates of those schools.  The grants can be used to promote access to the campuses and assistance with financial aid/admissions forms.
• Partnerships formed between colleges serving rural areas and regional employers to form employment pipelines for students in college.  Preference would be given to partnerships designed to help fill needed professions in the community.
• Colleges serving rural areas for the purpose of developing training programs in needed professions.

While browsing through my RSS feeds the other day I noticed an interesting headline: “Live from Zanesville, Ohio… the presidential debates!“. I clicked through to find an Op/Ed piece advocating Zanesville as a logical choice for the debates, not the shocking announcement I had hoped for. Sure it was a nice idea, but it just didn’t seem feasible.

Apparently others weren’t so quick to reject the idea. Representative Zack Space has written a letter to CNN and both of Ohio’s party chairmen asking them to consider the idea.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have the debates in Zanesville. It’s only a 90 minute drive for me. But with a venue only capable of seating 1,776, I just can’t see it happening.

You can find the text of Space’s letter after the jump.

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At least that’s the word from the Columbus Dispatch.

Republican Fred Dailey, the former state agriculture director, had less than $51,000 on hand as of Dec. 31, according to the end of the year report he has filed with the Federal Elections Commission. But he also had loaned his campaign committee $30,000, according to the report.

Republican Jeanette Moll, meanwhile, had just over $43,000 on hand as of the end of the year, with a $10,000 campaign committee debt. The third main GOP contender in the 18th, Paul Phillips, had not yet filed his report this afternoon with the FEC, with the deadline midnight tonight. But as of Oct. 31, Phillips had less than $31,000 in his campaign coffers.

And Space? As of Dec. 31 he had nearly $756,000 in his campaign chest.

So basically, Space’s campaign has about $700,000 more cash on hand than their nearest competitor.

You can find the current FEC numbers (assuming this works) below.

Congressman Zack Space has sent a letter to President Bush urging him to include almost $1 billion in his next budget to reimburse local police forces for costs related to the fight against illegal immigration.

“Local law enforcement is bearing an unfair and overwhelming burden due to our illegal immigration problem. We cannot continue to expect them to help stem this tide and fulfill their normal duties without proper financial assistance.”

“The fact remains that we have not properly secured our border – a problem I have been working to solve in Congress.  But, until we can effectively close off the sieve we call a border, we have an obligation to support local law enforcement to combat this crisis.”

– Rep. Zack Space

You can find the text of Space’s letter after the jump.

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Rep. Zack Space has also released a brief statement in response to the State of the Union speech.

“There is little doubt that the economy needs a short-term shot in the arm, which is why I agree with the President’s call for quick passage of an economic stimulus plan by the Senate.  However, we have to couple that with a long-term plan for sustainable economic growth.  Without that, a stimulus package will have little chance to succeed.

“I also agree with the President’s claim that we need to break our dependence on foreign oil, and I am confident that the advances being made in Southeastern Ohio toward advanced energy will help lead the way.  Hopefully, the President’s call for carbon capture will mean that we take great advantage of clean coal, the God-given natural resource we have in abundance. 

“Where I think this President continues to have a tin ear to the needs of the American public is on immigration and free trade.  With the President’s ongoing insistence on free trade agreements – which do nothing but undermine our domestic job market – a new long-term plan is increasingly necessary.  President Bush has told us tonight that he will spend his last year in office pushing more free trade deals that will only further hurt Ohio and will push for an immigration policy that will effectively grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. 

“The President is once again asking America to ‘stay the course’ with jobs moving overseas and illegal immigrants flowing into the country.  These are not the priorities that Americans are calling for.”

– Rep. Zack Space

Zack Space has written another column, this time dealing with his vision of the State of the Union. You can find it after the jump.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t even gotten the chance to do more than skim through this yet. I just wanted to get this posted quickly in case anyone was interested. Hopefully I’ll have time to read it and comment this evening.

Update - 10:21 PM 1/25/2008

No comments, just complete agreement. Space really tells it like it is.

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Zack Space kicked off his “Renew Ohio” series this morning with a  breakfast meeting in Zanesville. According to a press release, over 150 people attended.

“At the end of the day, this isn’t one person taking this on – to do that would be foolish and possibly counterproductive. That’s why we have assembled this array of brilliant and innovative minds.  Because together, I believe we can meet this challenge.

“We have some of the best entrepreneurial minds that I have seen anywhere – and it goes without saying that we have the best workers anywhere on the planet.  And what I’ve seen is that we need to corral the qualities and talents of the people gathered here today and produce a blueprint that will enable us to go forward.

“The solutions and ideas we come up with will not change things today or tomorrow, but they will lay the groundwork necessary to create sustainable, long-term growth.  Government cannot create the jobs, but we can use the resources at our disposal to create the conditions necessary to achieve that growth”

– Rep. Zack Space

Space will continue the Renew Ohio effort with the following meetings:

• February 29: RENEW OH-18 Broadband Working Group Meeting, New Philadelphia, OH
• March 21: RENEW OH-18 Agriculture Working Group Meeting, Coshocton, OH
• April 11: RENEW OH-18 Alternative Energy Working Group Meeting, Nelsonville, OH
• April 25: RENEW OH-18 Healthcare Working Group Meeting, Chillicothe, OH
• May 23: RENEW OH-18 Summit, Zanesville, OH

Space also held a conference call this afternoon to discuss the event. The Ohio Daily Blog’s Jeff Coryell has a write-up on the call here.

I knew that 18th district Rep. Zack Space was pulling in the  dough, but I didn’t quite realize just how much. According to the Columbus Dispatch, Space has raised around $1.1 million as of December 31st. Of that, Space still has $755,813 in cash on hand.

None of the Republican candidates have filled yet, but the deadline isn’t until 1/31.

The House once again failed to get a 2/3 majority required to override President Bush’s veto of the extension of the popular SCHIP program. The final tally was 260-152.

Congressman Zack Space released the following statement this morning urging his colleagues to support the program, citing the risk of an economic recession to underscore the urgency of the situation.

“This vital legislation will guarantee that 10 million children will have health insurance coverage no matter what happens to the economy, their parent’s employment, or the cost of care. We simply cannot allow our children to go without the health coverage they need simply to fulfill the President’s misguided political whims.

“Overriding this veto will send yet another clear message to the President that we need this program now more than ever.  As our nation’s fiscal stability becomes increasingly tenuous, our families need to know that our government will not leave them high and dry.”

– Rep. Zack Space

The release points out that 81% of the American people and 43 Governors support the SCHIP program.

I have to say that I’m getting awful sick of people that receive healthcare on the taxpayers dime refusing to support healthcare for poor children. It seems to me that if those voting against this program are so opposed to government healthcare, they shouldn’t mind getting their own private insurance.

Rep. Charlie Wilson released a statement yesterday praising the Federal Reserves decision to cut interest rates by 3/4 of a point, the largest cut since the 80’s.

“The Federal Reserve’s decision today to further cut interest rates was a step in the right direction.  Now we need to get some relief to families as soon as possible. Unemployment, health care, groceries, gasoline and home heating oil are all up. The only thing going down is the value of homes. My offices are already getting calls from people who are asking when the economic stimulus checks might be mailed. I’m optimistic that both parties will continue to work together to quickly pass a stimulus package that puts money into their hands. Those families will then turn it around into a much-needed boost for the economy.”

– Rep. Charlie Wilson

This matches up with Wilson’s words from 1/17 on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony before the House Budget Committee.

“I’m deeply concerned about our economic problems. I’ve said all along that our problem is jobs and I’m doing everything I can to bring jobs to the District. I was pleased to hear the Chairman say that they money needed to get into the hands of low and moderate income Americans. That reinforces what we’ve been saying in Congress, that economic relief needs to be timely, targeted and temporary. Making the Bush Administration’s tax cuts permanent without paying for them would be fiscally irresponsible.”

– Rep. Charlie Wilson

Wilson wasn’t the only one talking economy yesterday. Rep. Zack Space sent out a press release urging quick action on an economic stimulus package.