10. A body blow to racial identity politics. An end to the era of Jesse Jackson in black America.

9. Less debt. Yes, Obama will raise taxes on those earning over a quarter of a million. And he will spend on healthcare, Iraq, Afghanistan and the environment. But so will McCain. He plans more spending on health, the environment and won't touch defense of entitlements. And McCain's refusal to touch taxes means an extra $4 trillion in debt over the massive increase presided over by Bush. And the CBO estimates that McCain's plans will add more to the debt over four years than Obama's. Fiscal conservatives have a clear choice.

8. A return to realism and prudence in foreign policy. Obama has consistently cited the foreign policy of George H. W. Bush as his inspiration. McCain's knee-jerk reaction to the Georgian conflict, his commitment to stay in Iraq indefinitely, and his brinksmanship over Iran's nuclear ambitions make him a far riskier choice for conservatives. The choice between Obama and McCain is like the choice between George H.W. Bush's first term and George W.'s.

7. An ability to understand the difference between listening to generals and delegating foreign policy to them.

Tim Rankin helped lead a small, vocal group of social conservatives in Upper Arlington on a series of divisive wedge issue campaigns that divided our community. These included an attempt to ban gay-oriented newspapers from the Upper Arlington Library, supporting a creationist for the UA Library Board of Trustees, and hand-picking then endorsing a far-right social conservative candidate for UA City Council.

Tim Rankin, candidate for the Ohio House 24th District, says he stands on his record. And that concerns us.

We've followed Rankin's divisive tactics, agenda and voting record as a City Councilman in Upper Arlington for several years now.

Divisive Politics

Rankin's far-right ideology made him a polarizing figure in our community --- leading to gridlock and infighting on Council.

Were he to be elected to higher office, the polarizing effects of Rankin's Bush-style divisive political tactics would be greatly amplified.

By the end of his term as a Councilman, Rankin became so unpopular with UA citizens that he held his endorsement of two City Council candidates -- even the one he had handpicked -- until the day before the election to avoid the inevitable letters-to-the-editor pinning Rankin's controversial agenda on their foreheads. With the lightning speed communication of the Internet, the endorsements still became the kiss of death, and both of Rankin's candidates lost to moderates.

Rankin is a far-right social conserative, and his beliefs do not reflect those of the mainstream voters of the 24th District. Here are three examples: library censorship, predatory lending and creationism.

Library Censorship

In Upper Arlington, there was a growing intolerance of others’ views by a small, vocal minority influenced by outgoing Council member Tim Rankin. One of the most egregious examples is the 2005 dispute about the distribution of gay publications at the Upper Arlington Public Library. A group of conservatives tried to sway the Library Board with the claim it was protecting children.

During the effort to censor library holdings, Rankin is quoted in the September 14, 2005, Upper Arlington News as declaring that “There is a lot of talk about doing what is legally right … it’s up to the board to do what is morally right … If we have to put people on this board who reflect the values of this community, we’ll do that.” (This Week, Sept. 1, 2005)

Predatory Lending

Even in the face of the credit crisis faced by so many Ohioans, Rankin is siding with the banking lobby pushing to increase interest rates on payday loans from the currrent cap of 28% to 391%! This would trap even more Ohioans in a debt trap and further erode Ohio's economy.

Unlike Rankin, Ted Celeste joins nearly every major newspaper in Ohio, the governor, the speaker, the senate president, big-city mayors and city councils, and religious, business, civic and social leaders in preserving the current 28 percent rate cap on these short term loans.

Creationism

And guess who he then supported for the Library Board of Directors? Bryce Kurfees, a proponent of intelligent design.

This winter, Kurfees sponsored a presentation at the Upper Arlington High School of a “young earth” creationist who argues that the world is less than 10,000 years old. According Kurfees’ invitation, the speaker also offered “potential curriculum for public schools to use in order to better address this topic via encouraging more critical thinking in the classroom.” (Our emphasis.)

The Ohio School Board and the Ohio Department of Education have determined that this “critical thinking” curriculum is an unscientific philosophy not suitable for life science instruction.

Why does Rankin think Kurfees’ creationist stance reflects the values of our highly educated, well informed community? And do we want a state representative who would entertain the idea of mixing church and state?

We don’t.

Vote for Ted Celeste.

Director and icon of wholesome television entertainment Ron Howard takes viewers on a journey back through his iconic career—and goes briefly, tastefully topless—in an effort to drum up support for Sen. Barack Obama. Co-starring old pals Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler.

"They always talk about how the Democrats raise taxes. But the Republicans raise debt ---- which is a deferred tax hike, really. It's a cowardly tax hike. It's a tax hike on people who can't vote and speak up against it at the time."

---- Bill Maher

Campaign contributions to Republican Ohio Supreme Court justices pay big dividends for the donors. The New York Times article “Campaign Cash Mirrors a High Court’s Rulings” points out a strong correlation between campaign contributions and individual Ohio Supreme Court Justice’s votes in judicial decisions in Ohio. This cartoon is from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

The 2002 poll commissioned by the League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund found that 83% of voters believed that campaign contributions influence the decisions of the Ohio Supreme Court.

Today, all seven Ohio Supreme Court justices are Republicans with little to check the excesses of one-party rule.

Newspaper articles and studies have pointed to a correlation between campaign contributions and the votes of members of the Ohio Supreme Court. The New York Times article “Campaign Cash Mirrors a High Court’s Rulings” noted:

"An examination of the Ohio Supreme Court by The New York Times found that its justices routinely sat on cases after receiving campaign contributions from the parties involved or from groups that filed supporting briefs. On average, they voted in favor of contributors 70 percent of the time. Justice O’Donnell voted for his contributors 91 percent of the time, the highest rate of any justice on the court."

Under Ohio’s Code of Judicial Conduct (Canon 3), judges should disqualify themselves when they cannot perform their duties “impartially and diligently.” The NYTimes investigation found that Ohio Supreme Court judges almost never disqualified themselves from hearing their contributors cases:

"In the 12 years that were studied, the justices almost never disqualified themselves from hearing their contributors’ cases. In the 215 cases with the most direct potential conflicts of interest, justices recused themselves just 9 times."

On Sunday's Meet The Press Gen. Colin Powell delivered the most convincing and eloquent endorsement (video) yet for Barack Obama.

Powell appeals to independents who are socially liberal, fiscally conservative and moderate on defense issues.

Unlike other endorsements, very recent polling indicates that Powell's endorsment carries weight with voters.

In supporting Obama, Powell decided to get specific -- and not only about McCain's inconsistent and erratic performance during the financial crisis, but also his poor judgment in choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate.

Most notable was Powell's dire assessment of the state of the GOP:

"The party has moved even further to the right," he said, adding that, "over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower."

In the seven-minute explication of his reasons for endorsing Obama, Powell also critcized McCain for his response to the economic crisis and said that McCain's choice of Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate led him to question McCain's judgment.

"Now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president, Powell said.

"It isn't easy for me to disappoint Senator McCain in the way that I have this morning, and I regret that. But I strongly believe that at this point in America's history we need a president that will not just continue — even with a new face and with some changes and with some maverick aspects — will not just continue basically the policies that we have been following in recent years.

"I think we need a transformational figure, I think that we need a president who is a generational change, and that's why I'm supporting Barack Obama. Not out of any lack of respect or admiration for Senator John McCain."

It's easy to vote early! Save yourself time and hassle by casting your ballor before November 4th. Here's how!

Vote Early by Mail

When you vote by mail, you won’t ever have to wait in line. To vote by mail, send your application to the board of elections by noon on Saturday, Nov. 1. Here's how to request your ballot. Your voted ballot must be received by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day or by Nov. 14 if postmarked by Monday, Nov. 3. Return postage of your voted ballot is prepaid by the County, so it won’t even cost you a stamp!

To vote with an absentee ballot for the November 4, 2008 General Election in person before Election Day, go to Franklin County Veterans Memorial located at 300 West Broad Street in downtown Columbus. (See map.)
Weekday Hours: Monday through Friday from 8 AM until 7 PM beginning September 30 and ending November 3.
Saturday Hours: From 8 AM until 5 PM on October 4, 11, 18, 25 and November 1.
Sunday Hours: From 1 PM until 5 PM on October 5, 12, 19, 26, and November 2.

Voters must bring identification to the polls in order to vote a regular ballot on Election Day. Acceptable forms of identification are: current and valid photo identification, military identification, or a copy of a current utility bill (including cell phone bill), bank statement, or paycheck that shows the voter’s name and current address.

For more information, visit the Franklin County Board of Elections website.

A record voter turnout is expected for the 2008 U.S. presidential election, and that prediction will put new election law reforms to the test. According to America.gov, in 2004, 125 million people voted in the presidential election, about 88 percent of registered voters. Experts believe that turnout in 2008 will be somewhere between 125 million and 200 million voters, the highest numbers in recent memory.

You can help Obama secure the win by voting early. With thanks to Zorland (as posted on the Daily Kos), here’s why:

1. By voting early you help out yourself. There will be no need for inordinate amounts of stress if something goes wrong on Election Day. Car trouble? Lost wallet? Gotta work late? Well, if you've voted early it's no worse than any other day. And, you avoid the long lines (and oh, will they be long)!

2. By voting early you help other people out by reducing the amount of time they have to wait in line. And by voting early, you can alleviate some of the strain placed on local poll workers, most of whom are working that 15 hour day not because of the great pay but because they believe in our election process, one of the most fundamental of all democratic privileges.

3. You can help out the campaign by becoming a Democratic poll worker. Visit the Franklin County Board of Elections for more information. Act quickly!

There are other things you can do, too:

a) Sign up to be an Observer on Election Day. This means you just watch everything that happens and make sure it’s on the up and up. Call Angela Brooks (cell) (617-784-1831) and tell her that Herb said to call.

b) Help to Get Out The Vote (GOTV). Contact Ankit Patel at apatel@ohioforchange.com or 735-2720 to help with this effort.

c) You can help pass out sample ballots at the polls. Available shifts include: 6:00 - 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. Sign up online and someone will be in touch with you! Remember: Barack is counting on us to help win this election!

4. It's a lot harder for corrupt politicians to claim election fraud with your ballot. They are already planning on contesting the results of this election based on voter fraud. Read more about it here, and see what they’re saying in the UK.

You can easily vote early in Franklin County. Here's how!