Redfern's GOP connections

[OzarkDem]

Interesting article in the PD this weekend about Redfern's connections to political hack and GOP supporter Ron Malone. Imagine a local version of Bob Shrum who is also aligned with the GOP. Redfern has a lot of strikes against him.

http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1134919807206920.xml?octhe&coll=2&thispage=1

"In 2000, when House Democrats put Athens City Prosecutor Lisa Eliason up against Householder, the state party volunteered to pay for a poll and said Malone would conduct it. Eliason never saw any numbers, but Householder shopped around what he said were results of a Democratic poll showing Eliason was going to get clobbered, said Athens County Democratic Chairwoman Susan Gwinn.

The "results," coupled with the speaker's inherent clout, helped to convince some Statehouse power brokers that Eliason was a sure loser. Only she wasn't.

Householder had to spend an astonishing $800,000 to win his rural district with 55 percent of the vote.

Malone, one of those 137 executive committee members who'll pick the new chairman, did not return phone calls for this column. Gwinn, who's also on the committee, will be voting for Lieberman.

...

Malone and others who favor the status quo apparently prefer controlling 100 percent of very little to sharing something much grander.

Those who aspire to change the status quo envision a more inclusive party that can win back statewide offices and create the kind of infrastructure needed in 2008, when the path to the White House is expected to go through Ohio once more. "

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[OzarkDem]

2. Sorry you feel that way

But I've been involved in Ohio politics for a long time and regret the way Dem party officers and executives have run the operation into the ground. I'll never forget my shock when I attended my first fundraiser in Columbus for a Dem candidate at a local Capitol watering hole and watched as staffers from the Ohio Dem headquarters and labor leaders sat down with Republican elected officials and discussed all the Dem party strategy over drinks. No big deal, they said. We all work together and we're like a big family here. Bullshit. I disagree and refuse to support that kind of Dem leadership.

Given the sorry state of affairs here, we all have to have a very frank discussion about who is going to turn the party around and lead it in a new and winning direction. Its time to clean house at ODP and the best disinfectant, as they say, is sunshine. The old ODP political machine is dysfunctional and desperately needs to be junked completely.

It sickens me to see people in this state suffer and even die needlessly because a handful of buffoons in this state insist on managing our party in such an inept and self-serving manner. You can't win party parity with Repubs by getting in bed with them.

BTW, the article I linked to speaks for itself, perhaps you should try reading it again. Redfern and the person mentioned in the article are close friends.

[cmd]

3. Kicking

[geiger]

4. We can only hope for the best

I dont personally have anything against Chris Redfern, except maybe I think he already has enough to do. The Sunday PD article you mentioned left me scratching my head, though, too.

With some of the increasingly lousy messaging from Dems lately, I have begun to wonder aloud which Party some of these "helpers" actually work for. We've been getting a lot of bad advice from somewhere; at best it could be called a lot of confused thinking. The day after the chair election all I'm reading is the same tiresome harangue about taking on "a culture of corruption." This, at the same time, as you point out, everyone is supposed to be buds. It's for the courts to take on the corruption now; we need to get busy on a re-building plan for our state. And Redfern needs to get pro-active and put his own message out there, not let the Plain Dealer do it for him.

I share your frustration, if not all of your points.

:rant:

[Kolesar]

5. Welcome to our message board!

:hi:

[Kolesar]

6. That Theis article makes Malone look worthless & untrustworthy

One would think that with all of the grassroots activity that Ohio has seen in the last few years, that a better Ohio Party would be forming. I am "supremely annoyed" that leadership is clueless about important matters like voting machines. They seem to have no angle on the issues. Ted Strickland does not seem to know squat about energy.

[Schmajo]

7. "Ted Strickland does not seem to know squat about energy."

Where'd you come up with that? Ted's history is representing his Congressional district, which means pro-coal. Many of us much prefer a "renewables" strategy when it comes to energy matters, but I won't fault a legislator for looking out for his district. Whether we like it or not, coal is a major energy source in abundance in OH. His 'clean energy' proposal is an attempt to put resources behind developing a "less bad" use of Ohio coal that will benefit the whole State's economy.

How does that translate into not knowing squat?

[Kolesar]

8. The best he could come up with was financing for coal

...and perks for ethanol producers, with a nod toward biodiesel. All of those are--how shall I say--corporate solutions. Tax incentives for centralized production and nothing for the people.

I would think his Congressional staff could come up with much more and much better solutions like: fuel economy for automobiles, electrical efficiency programs, construction standards, rail, home efficiency tax credits, wind, etc. And why no mention of global warming? Climate change is an important and pressing issue and a great issue to run on. Is he afraid to talk about it?

[Schmajo]

9. I really don't disagree

but it's early in the campaign. I certainly expect positions on more 'environmental' issues will forthcoming as things progress.

Regarding global warming, I think it's an issue of little concern to most in Ohio -- no encroaching desserts and no rising sea levels. There are probably a lot of Ohioans who (especially this December) might think we need some global warming. :7 I believe that Ted's 'clean energy' plan includes CO2 sequestering, which is directly associated with global warming mitigation.

[OzarkDem]

12. Global warming is of little concern to Ohioans?

:spank:

Paging Marcy Kaptur, Marcy Kaptur to the courtesy phone please....

[Schmajo]

15. I'm Sorry, My Mistake

I forgot that the multitude of Ohioans concerned about global warming elected all those environmentalist Republicans to the Ohio House, the Ohio Senate, the Governor, the A.G., the Supreme Court, the Treasurer ...

How could I be so stupid?

:eyes:

[OzarkDem]

16. I doubt that

Most Ohioans have become disillusioned with state politics and either stay away from the polls or don't bother to vote that far down the ticket.

Don't confuse the ability of the Ohio GOP's "pay to play" system to suppress Dem fundraising with public opinion and good public policy.

If you're not aware of these issues and their affect on state politics, perhaps you should do a little reasearch before commenting.

Global warming and the large amount of pollution in Ohio is a very big issue and needs to be pursued regardless. If the voters don't know enough about it, then its the candidates' and party's job to educate them.

[geiger]

10. This is hilarious

Redfern foots the bill for party with Republicans


For one night, House Minority Leader Chris Redfern got to treat his Republican colleagues to a good time.

Two weeks ago, the House held its Christmas party at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe. But when it came time to pay, the House Republican caucus found itself a little red faced: its credit card was rejected.

But no worries. Redfern, the new state Democratic Party chairman, agreed to pick up the entire tab, including the $3,900 owed by Republican members.

Karen Tabor, spokeswoman for the GOP caucus, said the evening exceeded the Republican card’s per-transaction limit.

Redfern is amused that his political adversaries had to write him a check.

Republican Speaker Jon A. Husted joked about it to members during the last session of the year: "Despite (Redfern’s) commitment to his political acumen, I was able to stick him with the bill."

— Jim Siegel, CAPITOL NOTES

[OzarkDem]

11. This is typical of brain-dead ODP

Next, he'll be sharing all the Dems campaign strategies with them. They're all good buddies, doncha know?

Thankfully, ODP has pretty much been marginalized when it comes to statewide races. Looks like it will probably stay that way.

[Kolesar]

13. Should have made the gops stick around and wash dishes

More likely, they would have spend the night on their cellphones, trying to find some Mexicans to sub the work out to.

[geiger]

14. hilarious, meaning not

One should never humanize the enemy, especially in campaigns. I thought this was typical of how Dems get suckered into being the good guys and then get suckered....whether it's something like this, or more important, like an argument, counter-attack or policy decision. Brain dead is beginning to be what I think, too. At best, it's incompetence.

Amateur hour. It's ridiculous.