Remember when John Kasich promised that his administration would move at the speed of business? Remember when he raked Ted Strickland over the coals repeatedly about NCR leaving for Atlanta?

Well the same thing has happened on Kasich's watch. Chiquita is leaving Cincinnati for Charlotte, NC. Does Kasich take responsilibty for this failure, the way he condescendingly demanded Strickland do?

Of course not. 

"We're not going to be irresponsible and give away the store to try and keep a company that fundamentally doesn't want to be here or which has already made up its mind to leave," said Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols.

Um, really? What about the $93 million you gave to American Greetings when they didn't have any other serious offers? That's not giving away the store? Really?

Maybe Kasich could have worked more on keeping Chiquita here if he hadn't trapsed all over the state despereately trying to save Senate Bill 5. 

A long time ago in a place far, far, away, Jennifer Brunner ran in the U.S. Senate primary in 2010 against Lee Fisher, billing herself as the progressive alternative to Fisher. She started the "Courage PAC" to further her fight for progressive values after that candidacy failed. If memory serves, this blogger was villifed for his support of Fisher.

Fast forward to present day. Jennifer Brunner will be in Youngstown this Friday night, attending a fundraisrer for 7th District Court of Appeals Judge Mary DeGenaro. Who is Mary DeGenaro? Don't worry, I've got a picture!

Wait, who's that guy standing next to her? Could it be...Ohio GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine?

Why in the world is Jennifer Brunner attending a fundraiser for a GOP judge? A GOP judge who took $2,000 from Massey Energy's PAC in 2007, shortly after an explosion at the firm's Crandall Canyon coal mine in Utah left six miners emtombed in the mine forever. It's beyond me. I've asked her on Twitter, if I get a reply I will post it here.

First, I want to say that my fellow bloggers over at Plunderbund, Ohio Daily Blog, and others have done a fantastic job in covering the various political battles in Ohio regarding SB 5 and the Republican attempts to run the State of Ohio back to the Stone Age. Certainly I voted No on Issues 1, 2, and 3 but I have been so disengaged in many of these fights because I knew that in many ways Ohioans would reject these ridiculous plans to punish teachers, firefighters, police officers, and public employees simply to score political points with a national GOP that has lurched so far to the right as to be unrecognizable.

By any measure of presidential politics, (and certainly comparing this election to other presidential contests throughout our history) President Barack Obama would be a one term president. To say this as a progressive makes me incredibly sad but as a realist, it is absolutely the truth. We have not seen this level of economic instability since the Great Depression and I do not think that it is even over yet. I have serious concerns about the EU and how that could affect our economy. Now, most of this is not the President's fault. I would have liked to see a bigger stimulus but that is in the past. What is absolutely shocking to me is that President Obama is currently beating all of his potential Republican opponents and running even with Mitt Romney. The only reason I can come up with is that the Republican Party's policies and their candidates for president are so off-putting that the American people simply refuse to consider supporting them. I thought with this post we would take a look at the GOP candidates and I would share why I think they don't have a chance.

Mitt Romney - This guy is like the weather in Columbus. If you don't like his position, wait 5 minutes. He has never met a position he could not change. This does not even take into account the fact that Romney's Mormonism is looked upon so poorly by evangelicals that were he the nominee I think Barack Obama could actually play in states like Georgia.

Herman Cain - Have you seen the signs being carried by Tea Party supporters? Have you heard of the Bradley Effect? That is all I have to say about that.

Rick Perry - He makes President George W. Bush look like a member of Mensa. Rick Perry could possibly get the nomination but he would lose badly to President Obama - especially in the debates.

The rest of the field has no chance - with one exception. Jon Huntsman is an attractive candidate for President and I could see many people supporting him because of his intelligence and his positions. He represents the Republican Party of old - nice, smart, great ideas, conservative, and not crazy. If Jon Huntsman weren't at 1% I think he could have a shot.

What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts!

A state representative in Tennessee proposing legislation to legalize firearms in establishments serving alcohol was arrested recently.

The crime? Driving while intoxicated. He’s also facing charges for having a loaded handgun at the time.

I'm sure you'll all be heartbroken over this, but Sarah Palin has decided not to run for President in 2012.

As of Friday, it became legal for a person in Ohio  with a CCW permit to carry a concealed weapon into an establishment serving  alcohol. This is a direct result of a law rammed through by the, then newly elected, Republican majority and Governor John Kasich. This change in the law was forced through despite police opposition and with very little input from the owners of the establishments in question.

I consider myself pretty lenient when it comes to the issue of firearms. I live in an area where hunting is prevalent, and I spend a lot of time dodging an uncontrolled (at least not naturally controlled) deer population on winding country roads. I support people’s right to own a gun as long as they take proper steps to demonstrate they know how to properly store, maintain, and use one. Much like a person must pass a written and skills test before obtaining a drivers license.

And, like driving, I believe guns clearly have no place around alcohol.

Unfortunately, our legislature seems willfully ignorant of the dangers this will pose to employees and patrons of establishments where alcohol is served. Thankfully, many owners of such establishments have taken it upon themselves to exercise their right to impose their own ban on handguns.

Mark my words, this will end badly. And when it does, I highly doubt that the people who made this situation possible will accept their share of the blame.

We all know that Athen’s is liberal hotbed because of Ohio University students, so I was surprised to hear that members of the student government down there are absolutely refusing to even consider a resolution proposed on the controversial Senate Bill 5.

There appears to be plenty of support for the measure, and even the College Republicans haven’t came out in support of SB 5. The hold up seems to be the refusal of Senate President Kyle Triplett, on the grounds that SB 5 is outside the Senate’s role.

That’s where it get’s interesting.

You see, the resolution was written by State and Federal Affairs Commissioner Taylor Abbott. If such things were beyond the scope of the Student Senate, one has to ask why a position titled “State and Federal Affairs Commissioner” exists in the first place?

And then there’s this gem from The Post, a campus newspaper:

Triplett spoke with Abbott about the resolution Sunday and said he decided not to include it on tonight’s agenda for discussion or a vote because he does not believe it directly affects students.

As if the benefits and pay offered to attract and retain good teachers wasn’t important enough to students, it should be doubly important when your campus is so near the state border.

Perhaps it has more to do with political party leanings? Kyle Triplett has a public Facebook page listing his major as political science and “likes” of pages such as “John McCain”, “Mike Huckabee”, and “conservative”.

I’m not saying Mr. Triplett is putting his personal ideology above his responsibility to represent the student body, I’m just saying it really looks that way…

Political Wire is reporting that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is rethinking his decision not to enter the GOP primary for president. Governor Christie gave a widely publicized speech at the Reagan Library recently that only seemed to increase the chatter that he would shake up the GOP race and enter. With Texas Governor Rick Perry imploding, could this be the entry that Christie needs to actually win the nomination?

One thing is for certain, Ohio voters will certainly have something to say about the Good Guv's helicopter use.

This is a story that was already covered over at Plunderbund but it deserves a mention here. Senator Sherrod Brown currently leads all candidates in his race for a second term. Brown is currently at 49% while "Empty Suit" Mandel is at 36%. He leads Kevin "Who?" Coughlin by 21 points. At the moment I would say that the Ohio Senate race is not competitive - but this is Ohio and politics is just like the weather - it can change in an instant.

President Obama does not fare as well in the latest round of polling although he is still ahead (within the margin of error.) What is important to note about these numbers is that even with the President's approvals underwater, he is still ahead of any GOP challenger. Some would say that this indicates the power of incumbency but I think it is indicative of the serious flaws with all of the Republican candidates for president. The race to the bottom in the Republican primary seems to be seriously hurting the party with the independent voters it needs to win in November 2012.

It’s not really a huge surprise, but Mary Jo Kilroy announced her intention to run for Congress again next year in an email today.

“I have exciting news to share. I plan to seek the Democratic nomination for the new congressional seat in Franklin County, Ohio. I am running because our community needs a strong voice in Washington, who will remain focused on jobs, and will work to protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security from Republicans.”

I am a little surprised to see this announcement when the redistricting war is starting to heat up though.

What do you all think about it? Should she have waited until some of the dust settled, or do you think she can't afford to wait?

Slip him a campaign donation now, and he’ll look out for your business interests later!

Remember when S.B. 5 was passed? Remember all the Democratic amendments that were tabled? Remember when committees in both the House and Senate were literally recreated in order to force the bill through?

Well after all of that, now Governor John Kasich wants a deal.

What's the matter Johnny, your bus get stuck in a ditch?

It may be an electoral off year, but it’s hardly a typical one. Anti-SB 5 sentiment has Democrats fired up, and proof could be found in my own home county tonight at the annual Democratic Bar-B-Q.

Ohio Democratic Party chairman gave the keynote, and drove home the point that “today doesn’t count”. That it wasn’t enough to come together just once a year for a fun social gathering and then part ways until next year.

Former Congressman Charlie Wilson also spoke, and made it clear that he’ll run again if he feels he has a chance to win after the districts are redrawn. Former State Representative Jennifer Garrison also spoke. While she didn’t rule out a future run for office, her current focus is on representing the rights of landowners during the sudden rush of new natural gas drilling that’s hit Southeastern Ohio.

I think it’s safe to say that Monroe will be remaining a safe Democratic county next year and beyond.

The Ohio Democratic Party has hired Kyle McDermott to replace Doug Kelly as Executive Director.

Kyle has worked with AFSCME, AFL-CIO, and the We Are Ohio campaign. He also served as campaign manager for Maryellen O'Shaughnessy's run for Secretary of State in 2010.