Ohio Primary 2006

Candidates Summary

D-Merrill Keiser is very pro-life. He clearly spells out his views on abortion and many other issues on his blog.

Links to all of the candidates websites can be found at http://www.politics1.com/oh.htm.

Abortion

R-Ken Blackwell (Governor) – “Ken Blackwell has always been pro-life. The first obligation of government is to protect innocent life. As Governor, Ken Blackwell would advance a culture of life, just as he has for 30 years, as Mayor of Cincinnati, Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Commission and in statewide office. Ken Blackwell's grandmother made it clear to him when he was young when she said birth is but a change of address. All children in the womb or outside should be guaranteed the right to life. We must promote a culture of life, and we start doing so by defending defenseless unborn children.”

R-Jim Petro (Governor) – “Jim Petro is pro-life. He firmly believes we must respect the value of life from conception. As Attorney General, Jim Petro successfully defended Ohio’s law banning Partial Birth Abortion. As a result, Ohio has the only court tested Partial Birth Abortion law in the country. As Governor, Jim Petro will fight for a culture of life in Ohio.”

R-William Pierce (U.S. Senate) – “I am a pro-life conservative who believes strongly in the sanctity of life and that it begins at conception. Abortion at any and all stages is wrong, with the rare and documented exception when the life of the mother is at risk.”

R-David Smith (U.S. Senate) – “Our government was instituted to protect the life of its citizens. The practice of abortion is in conflict with the purpose of government. We must protect the life of the unborn child. With certain exceptions with respect to the life of the mother, we must eliminate the practice of abortion in America.” But the Cincinnati Enquirer reported (4/21/06) that U.S. Senate candidate David R. Smith said, “I am pro-life and am opposed to abortion with the exception of certain extreme cases with respect to rape, incest, and the life of the mother.” Smith did not mention the rape and incest exception on the Citizens for Community Values survey or on his website.

R-Mike DeWine (U.S. Senate) – “I am pro-life.”

“Sandra (O’Brien, Republican for Treasurer) is Pro Life. She believes that life begins at conception and that abortion is an act that has two victims, the child and the mother. All voters in the May 2nd Republican Primary should know that they have a clear choice on the issue of abortion. Sandra’s opponent in the May Primary, Jeanette Bradley is pro-choice (Columbus Dispatch Feb. 2, 2002)”

R-Tim Grendell (for Attorney General) – “I hope to have your support as I continue to defend our traditional family values and definition of marriage, our right to life, and our right to bear arms.”

R-Betty Montgomery (for Attorney General) is against legalizing partial-birth abortion, government funding of abortion, and is for parental consent laws and two murder charges when a pregnant woman is murdered, but says, ” …beyond these restrictions, I do not believe that the awesome power of government should intrude into the personal life of Ohioans to make any further mandates.” www.bettymontgomery.com/assets/leadership/leadership_pdf_1.pdf

R-Mary Taylor (for State Auditor, unopposed in the primary) is a cosponsor of Ohio HB 228, which if passed, would ban abortion in Ohio.

Homosexual rights, Gay Marriage/Civil Unions

I have not verified the following claim that Blackwell has made about Jim Petro:

“On the issue of defending traditional marriage, Jim Petro not only opposed the 2004 Ohio Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA),…”

But this much is true…

On his website, Petro says he supports a Federal Marriage Amendment, but he did oppose Issue 1 (of 2004), the Ohio Marriage Amendment that passed with overwhelming voter support. Petro says that the reason why he supports the Federal Amendment and not the State Amendment is because the language of the State Amendment is vague, and subjects the State of Ohio to potential lawsuits. But the reason why the language is vague is because it protects Ohio from having to recognize anything having the “qualities of marriage” between same sex couples. The proposed Federal amendment contains no language that would disallow civil unions or anything else that is an attempt to mimic gay marriage, but called by a different name. It is precisely this added language that Republicans Petro, Governor Taft, Senator Mike DeWine (up for U.S. Senate this year), and Senator George Voinovich have called “vague” in the State Amendment that is what makes it effective. The reasons why they were against it were fear of losing businesses to other states. DOMA is like the Federal Amendment proposal. It is useless. Bill Clinton signed DOMA into law.

See the Citizens for Community Values survey for the other candidates’ responses on this question.

Senate Filibusters of Judicial Nominees

Mike DeWine is one of the seven Republican senators who compromised against the proposal to change the rules of the Senate to disallow filibusters of the President’s judicial nominees. Both of DeWine’s opponents, William Pierce and David R. Smith, say they would vote to end this type of filibuster.

Education

Jim Petro supports expanding vouchers and charter schools in Ohio.

William Pierce believes that the Federal government’s involvement in education is against Constitution. He would get rid of the Department of Education and the No Child Left Behind Program and all other Federal interference in education, giving control of it back to the States and local school districts.

David R. Smith “I support greater local control of education. I feel increased competition between public, private and home schools will improve education. Free markets will drive education to a higher level of performance. Voucher-type programs that permit parental choice in education will strengthen education in America. Strong families, not overbearing government programs, are the key to improving education.”

2nd Amendment rights

Jim Petro “was an early and public supporter of Ohio’s Concealed Carry Law.”

William Pierce (U.S. Senate) “Although I am not a gun owner, my strong belief and support of the Constitution says I must not, and will not, challenge your right to own and bear arms.”

David Smith (U.S. Senate) “I strongly support the Second Amendment and am opposed to unconstitutional restrictions on the rights of citizens to bear arms. I feel that individuals, not guns, are responsible for crimes and that strengthening families, improving education, and fostering higher morals among citizens are the real keys to reducing gun-related crimes.”

Sandra (O’Brien) is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. She believes that law abiding citizens have the right to own firearms for hunting, sport shooting, or personal protection. Sandra supports concealed carry. She is a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA). Any voters in the May 2nd Republican Primary should know that they have a clear choice on the issue of the Second Amendment. How does Sandra’s opponent, Jeannette Bradley, stand? “Both Taft and Bradley oppose a proposal to allow law abiding Ohioans to carry concealed weapons” (Columbus Dispatch, Feb. 2, '02)

O’Brien is in favor of requiring trigger locks to be sold with guns (Blackwell and Grendell are not, Christian Coalition Survey ).

Death Penalty

Pierce is against the death penalty in all cases.

National Defense/War in Iraq

David Smith, “National Security is the primary responsibility of the federal government. I support spending to develop new technologies and to strengthen intelligence operations to fight the war on terror as well as protect us against the larger threats of nuclear, chemical and biological attacks. I believe freedom in Iraq will bring stability to the region. We must not allow our experience in Iraq to deter us from fighting the war on terror by allowing other radical nations to complete development on weapons of mass destruction before we react. We must act before it is too late.” David Smith is also for free trade.

Immigration

William Pierce, “With the threat of terrorism, it is more critical than ever that we protect our borders from illegal entry. It is estimated there are currently 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States, and this total is growing at a rate greater than 1 million undocumented aliens each year. Many are in search of a job, some are in search of crime, and some are crossing the border to import terrorism. Applications for work permits should be available for those looking for employment and willing to fill the jobs many Americans overlook. The remaining must be turned away in a reliable manner to ensure they do not gain entry. To do otherwise, provides an intolerable weak link in homeland security.” Pierce is in favor of building a fence to keep out illegal immigrants.

David Smith, “Illegal immigration is both a security and economic threat to our nation. I support increases in border security in efforts to halt the large influx of illegal aliens into America. I am opposed to amnesty programs that offer citizenship or some form of legal status to those who unlawfully reside in our country. Our emigration laws must be enforced. Those seeking citizenship must follow the legal steps required for becoming a United States Citizen.”

More on Blackwell

In this hotly contested Gubernatorial race, Jim Petro has run ads saying that Blackwell invested in stocks which included gambling, electronic voting machines, radio stations which use vulgar language, and even a pharmaceutical company that makes abortion pills. Blackwell says that he had been unaware of the investments because he doesn’t manage his finances himself. He has already sold the voting machine stock at a loss, and is working with the Ohio Right to Life to clean up the rest of his portfolio.

“…he is opposed to the expansion of state-sponsored gambling because it does more harm than good.”

From the Toledo Blade June 5, 2005:

Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell was not initially concerned or even shocked that the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation had invested $50 million in rare coins.

In fact, Mr. Blackwell told The Blade on April 5 (2005) that "most people" wouldn't find it "unreasonable" that the state had invested in rare coins with Tom Noe, who has said through his attorneys that at least $10 million of the state's assets are missing.
"When you run a fund the size of $18 billion and you're looking at $50 million, beyond what one's disposition might be, is that an irresponsible amount of risk? Most people would say no," Mr. Blackwell said on April 5 (2005) - two days after The Blade's initial report on the coin investment.

Sunday, January 09, 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The state's chief elections officer, accused of mishandling the presidential vote in Ohio, sent a fund-raising letter for his own 2006 gubernatorial campaign that was accompanied by a request for illegal contributions.

A pledge card with the letter from Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell (search), a Republican who co-chaired the Bush-Cheney election campaign in Ohio, said "corporate & personal checks are welcome."

Corporate donations are illegal in Ohio. His spokesman, Carlo LoParo, said Saturday that any corporate donations would be returned. Blackwell said the request sent to GOP donors and activists was an oversight. His campaign's fund-raising coordinator, Jeff Ledbetter, blamed a printer for the mistake, saying it used a template for an issue committee, which is allowed to accept corporate donations. Ledbetter told The Columbus Dispatch that no corporate donations had been received in response to the letter.
Blackwell's letter also praises Republicans for helping deliver Ohio to President Bush. U.S. Rep. John Conyers (search), D-Mich., who prepared a report on election problems in Ohio, said the letter supports suspicions that Blackwell's actions as secretary of state during the election "stemmed from partisan political motivations" to help Bush.

No fault absentee voting

Issue 2 (of 2005): This proposed amendment would allow anyone to be able to vote absentee without providing a reason. Secretary Blackwell has supported no fault absentee voting since 1999. However, this proposed amendment goes too far by placing an amendment in the Ohio Constitution. This is an issue that the legislature should have to address so that it can provide Ohioans the flexibility to adjust and enhance the provision. This amendment allows voters to vote absentee, then requires that someone who voted absentee be allowed to vote provisionally, while leaving it up to the board to catch it. This gives the chance for people to vote twice if the county board of elections misses it.

Their amendment also does not set statewide standards of times and locations for early voting, which would allow the rules to dramatically vary from county to county.

Social Security info on Blackwell Web site (Dayton Daily News)
COLUMBUS A furor erupted Wednesday over the disclosure that Ohioans' Social Security numbers are included on some business documents posted on Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell's Web site, raising the potential for identity theft.