The Times, They Are A-Changin'

Welcome to Ohio... Democratic stronghold? Sometimes, I thought Ohio would forever remain a red state. Sure, the Buckeyes helped lift Clinton to victories in 1992 and 1996, but the GOP has been running the state since Richard Celeste was term limited out of office 20 years ago.

Tonight, though, that's changed. Ted Strickland beat the holy crap out of Ken Blackwell with nearly 60% of the vote today, giving the fiery Congressman the governor's seat. Sherrod Brown unseated career politician Mike DeWine in the Senate. Betty Montgomery, as popular a Republican there is in this state, lost in her bid for attorney general. In fact, the only major state-level race the Republicans won was the auditor race. It is indisputable now that Ohio is a blue state, all in one sweeping night. Remarkable, if you think about it.

It took nothing less than unmitigated disaster for the Republicans to lose their death grip on Ohio, of course. Bob Taft's approval ratings were historically low to the tune of 6% in March 2005. Six percent! Even six percent of women like me. That's not disapproval. That's hatred. Has anyone even seen him in the last two years? He might be dead. No one knows.

The people have handed the keys to the elephants; now it's their time to take them and start the engine. People are going to want results. If they don't get them, the Republicans are going to sweep right back into power. It is probably a good thing, then, that Strickland is the standard-bearer for the Democrats, as he is a no-nonsense man who pursues his agenda with a rabid, dogged determination. The Republicans look to have kept control of the General Assembly, so he's going to have to work on a bipartisan attitude, and that's not easy for him. His feud with Blackwell has been sizzling the past handful of years. He doesn't like the Republicans. They don't like him. It would not be surprising to see the GOP gridlock everything in an attempt to get him out in 2010.

Interestingly, more people more people voted for Issue 5 (smoke free) than for the governor's race. The economy and whatever is fine, but don't mess with people's lungs. That's not going to be tolerated around here. While I abstained from voting on the issue, I am happy it passed. Of course, the immediate 50 feet around restaurants and bars are going to suck to be around now.

Issue 2 passed. I'm stunned and delighted. More money for everyone! This is great. Of course, people will whine, "it hurts business!" Yeah, all those previous minimum wage increases really screwed everyone, didn't they? They didn't seem to mind raising prices and profits. It's about time we took some of it back. $6.85, baby!

Issue 3 failed, which is good. I am very much in favor of legalized gambling, but I want the money going to the people, not the casino owners. Give us a good profit sharing plan, and I'll support it.

Issue 4 failed. Anytime you can stick it to Big Tobacco, I'm happy. I really thought the confusion ruse would work. Kudos to the American Cancer Society for rolling out the war drums on this one.