Jon Stewart: 2014 Post Election Report

A great post election report by Jon Stewart.  Stewart humorously highlights the election night wins and demographic breakdowns....

The Daily Show
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Close races in next week's elections

Art credit: eastbayri.com

From Jenny Beth Martin at Tea Party Patriots:

The situation:

In North Carolina, Republican Thom Tillis is tied with Barack Obama's ally, Kay Hagan, 44-44.

In New Hampshire, Scott Brown is leading liberal Jeanne Shaheen by just 1 point, 48-47.

In Arkansas, Republican Tom Cotton is leading by just a few points, but still hasn't hit 50 percent.

In Iowa, Joni Ernst is leading by a razor-thin 2-point margin, 47-45, but victory is far from guaranteed.

The verdict:

Grassroots action will make or break every single one of these races.

If we can't move conservative voters to the polls on Election Day, Barack Obama will keep the Senate.We can't let that happen.

We must continue supplying our grassroots volunteers with the palm cards, door hangers, voter canvassing software, training, signs, and transportation they need to get the job done. And we need your help to make it happen.

Patriots can go to the Tea Party Patriots website here for more information.

# # #   

Ohio Board of Education District 5 - Send a Message to Governor Kasich on Common Core!

The voters in the Ohio State School Board District 5 race have an opportunity to send a loud & clear message to Governor John Kasich regarding his support of Common Core.

Ohio Board of Education District 5 covers a swath of northeastern Ohio, but does not include the cities of Cleveland or Akron.

It includes the following counties: Ashland, Medina, Richland, Wayne plus Cuyahoga County outside of the city of Cleveland, Summit County outside of Akron, the northwestern corner of Holmes county and a small part of western Stark county. For map of State School Board Districts click here.

The voters in this race have the ability to be the voice for all Ohioans fighting against the forced implementation of Common Core across our state.

Currently the OBE District 5 seat is held by Brad Lamb. Mr. Lamb, former Executive Director of the Cuyahoga County GOP, was appointed to fill the empty District 5 OBE seat by Governor Kasich and supports Common Core...

Asked last year if he supported the Common Core, Lamb said: "The Common Core standards continue to be implemented in the state of Ohio. I support the need for consistent standards, however I am concerned with losing local control of the education of our students in an effort to teach to a test."

Pushed for clarification this evening, Lamb said he now supports the Common Core.

Of the four candidates in this race, Chris Sawicki is the only candidate that supports the repeal of Common Core in Ohio.

The candidates:

Chris Sawicki (Supports REPEAL of Common Core)

Website: Click Here

Brad Lamb (Kasich appointee / Supports Common Core)

Michael Grusenmeyer (Supports Common Core)
Website: Click Here

Roslyn Painter-Goffi (Supports Common Core)
Website: Click Here

For a profile of the candidates in State School Board District 5 race, please click here.

Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Sunny Simon say's "Who Cares how County Spending will Impact Residents' Lives"

When pushing for her proposed country-wide 5 cents per bag plastic bag tax in 2012, County Councilwoman Sunny Simon is on the record as stating she "wants to see how far she can go to impact residents' lives." 

But as you see below when it comes to accountability, transparency or being a good steward of your tax dollars - with almost an air of indifference, Simon pretty much says, "she doesn't care how far county agencies spending of tax dollars will impact residents' lives."

From District 11 Cuyahoga County Council Candidate John Currid--  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CONTACT:  

John J. Currid (216) 502-0914

campaign@bestcuyahoga.com

WEBSITE:

http://www.BESTCuyahoga.com

South Euclid, July 21, 2014 - Cuyahoga County Council nominee John J. Currid praised the Cuyahoga County Council for taking a bipartisan step last week to control county spending by passing Cuyahoga County Ordinance 2014-0013.

The ordinance utilizes a common-sense approach to budget oversight by requiring County agencies to provide a detailed request for additional appropriation, itemize their service and program budgets, establish formal budget milestones and timelines, and document proposed staffing levels for all new programs and services for all internally requested taxpayer funds.

Prior to the passage of this Ordinance the County Executive and other County departments could spend taxpayers’ funds without Council’s oversight. This law was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support although it was not was not passed unanimously. According to Currid: “Councilwomen Sunny Simon once again showed indifference to protecting the taxpayers of Cuyahoga County. She was the only member of Council to vote against Ordinance 2014-0013. Ms. Simon’s initial comments on the ordinance were unsuitably brief: ‘I am going to be voting ‘no’ on this piece of legislation.’ She did not articulate any reason for being against such clearly-needed legislation that was ultimately supported by every other member of Council.”

Under questioning, Ms. Simon later suggested the ordinance was unnecessary, saying she and her colleagues already had the power and oversight to request this information without the need of additional legislation. However, Councilman Dave Greenspan, one of the co-sponsors of the ordinance, provided examples of approximately $30 million in spending by the Executive in which Council’s request for additional information were ignored by the Executive. This money was spent by the administration without the oversight of Council, and under Ms. Simon’s watch.

Currid concluded: “It is clear that Ms. Simon does not have the taxpayer’s best interests in mind. This ordinance requires that Cuyahoga County offices utilize basic accounting and budgetary tools, instruments that are learned in 101-level accounting classes. One must ask what Ms. Simon’s motivation would have been to vote against this ordinance, especially when all ten of her colleagues voted in favor.”

Video of Council’s debate can be viewed here.

### 

Reason #7,392 to Vote No on Issue 7: Cuyahoga County Council Admits They Do Not Know How Sin Tax Money Will Be Spent!

Amazing!  

Confirming the elected officials on Cuyahoga County Council were derelict in duty regarding Issue 7 the Sin Tax extension - you will see below - even though they did not know how the funds for the Sin Tax extension would be spent - they voted to put it on the ballot anyway. 

From Cleveland Magazine --

If the “sin tax” for stadiums passes May 6, who decides how much will go to the city of Cleveland, and how much to Gateway?

Who’ll decide what gets replaced first — the Quicken Loans Arena roof or the ramps at Progressive Field or the seats at FirstEnergy Stadium? Can any of it go to pay off construction debt, or will it all go to repairs and new scoreboards?

We don’t know. No one does. The city and Cuyahoga County still have to negotiate how they’ll share the alcohol and cigarette tax money. The negotiations won’t be easy. And they don’t intend to hash it out until after voters approve the tax. 

“We do recognize that this is a gap in the legislation,” county councilman Dave Greenspan told me recently. “It is an issue we will need to deliberate on.” 

The “sin tax” on alcohol and cigarettes is a county tax. So if voters extend it, the Cuyahoga County Council gets to decide how it’s spent. But city, county and business leaders say the extension is meant for repairs at all three publicly-owned sports facilities. (You can see the Indians' and Cavs' wish lists and a report about the Browns' stadium here.)

The city owns the football stadium, while the public Gateway corporation owns the baseball stadium and basketball arena. How will the money be divided? 

“I think it will probably be even,” Mayor Frank Jackson said at the February press conference that kicked off the pro-sin tax campaign. Jackson wants the tax revenue, a projected $260 million over 20 years, to be split equally among baseball, football, and basketball. 

But at a January meeting, Greenspan and three other Cuyahoga County council members warned Jackson’s chief of staff, Ken Silliman, not to expect an even split. 

“A third, a third, a third is not something I am interested in,” Greenspan tells me. “I’m a big believer that the money follows the need. If in one year, Progressive Field has greater needs than the other two, that’s where money will go.” 

The city and county haven’t had to share stadium money like this before. The first stadium sin tax, from 1990 to 2005, was earmarked for Gateway, to build Progressive Field and the Q. When the tax was renewed for 2005 to 2015, the first $116 million was earmarked for building and repairing FirstEnergy Stadium. (The last year or so of the tax will go to the county.) 

But if the tax is extended to 2035, the city and county will have competing interests for the same pot of cash. The Jackson and FitzGerald administrations want to negotiate a cooperative agreement to figure out how to sort through those interests. 

It’ll be tough. The Browns’ lease is more complex and vague about what the public has to pay for than the Indians’ and Cavs’ leases. The football stadium is newer and is used less often, but it’s bigger, and it’s battered by lakeshore winds. Gateway already has a system for weighing Progressive Field’s repair needs versus the Q’s. But that doesn’t help any with the football stadium -- unless Gateway were to take it over too. 

The county will have the upper hand in negotiations with the city, because it levies the tax. But the cost of public stadium ownership is falling harder on the city right now. Cleveland is still paying off $13 million a year in construction debt on the football stadium, while the county is paying off $9 million a year in debt from the Q. 

Could any sin tax money go to those old debts? City councilmen Brian Cummins and Mike Polensek have asked that question, and Jackson has entertained the possibility. But it seems unlikely. The county council sounds unwilling to hand over a straight third of the tax money to the city, and the county seems entirely focused on future repairs, not past debt. 

Why wasn’t this all figured out before the tax went on the ballot? Greenspan asked that question at the January meeting. 

“Those discussions need to happen, in my opinion, before the vote in May,” he said then, “so that the voters understand the complexity and understand the fundamental decision-making process as to how these funds are going to be used.” 

He was ignored. Our elected officials would rather present a united front to get the tax passed, then argue about the messy details later.

And as we see - even though County Councilman Greenspan's concerns were ignored - all members of the County Council, including Greenspan - voted to put Issue 7 the Sin Tax extension on the ballot.

This is the same Cuyahoga County "take the money & run" attitude that has plagued this area for far too long!  So much for the County Reform as it looks more like the status quo of weak and spineless elected officials unwilling to stand up for the people in Cuyahoga County!

By Voting No on Issue 7 - you will simply be forcing the elected leaders of this area to do the job they were elected to do!

Issue 7: Vote No on the Sin Tax & Keep Cleveland Strong!

Vote No on the Sin Tax Issue 7

Issue 7 means twenty more years of taxes and broken promises.

20 MORE YEARS OF TAXES:

We built the stadiums but the owners got even MORE.

• Bed Tax- $42,208,096 between 2000-2010
• Car Rental Tax- $30,777,748 between 2000-2010
• Concessions- Receives all the profit from concessions sold at games
• Parking- $117,802,711 between 2000-2010
• Stadium Ads- Receives all profits from ads placed in the Stadiums.
• Naming Rights- Recently sold for $100 million.

TWENTY MORE YEARS OF BROKEN PROMISES:

They Promised More Jobs:

Stadium promoters promised 28,000 jobs would be created in the Gateway district. This never happened. It is estimated that only a third of those the jobs appeared. Does this Keep Cleveland Strong? NO!

They Promised a Stronger Community:

One out of every three Clevelanders now lives in poverty and more than one-quarter of Cuyahoga County mortgages are underwater. Yet Issue 7 would give millionaire franchise owners millions more!!

THERE IS ANOTHER WAY:

The downtown power brokers, politicians and billionaire franchise owners are trying to rush this tax through. We should slow down the process and explore other options.

• The New England Patriots relied on private funding to build their stadium, using public funding for only 17% of their costs.
• The Indianapolis Colts increased taxes in 6 counties outside Indianapolis  to help fund the Lucas Oil Stadium.
• The Denver Broncos enacted a multi-county sales tax to help fund the Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium, helping their home town taxpayers.

Those three teams evidently know more than just how to win football games!! (Don’t you wish the Browns did, too?)

Go to the Coalition Against Unfair Taxes to learn more by clicking here!

John Boehner's Tea Party Whopper!

With President Obama's, "if you like your health care plan - you can keep it," being the Lie of the Year for 2013, refusing to be outdone by his golfing buddy, Speaker Boehner immediately becomes the front runner for "Lie of the Year" for 2014 with his claim that he has attended "hundreds of Tea Party events."

From Breitbart --

Politicians may be known for stretching the truth, but Speaker John Boehner's claim he's attended “hundreds of Tea Party events” over the past four years apparently pulled it well past the point of breaking.

In reviewing press reports, Breitbart News was only able to identify three Tea Party events Boehner has attended, all of which occurred before he became speaker. Boehner's spokesman now says the Ohio Republican has merely “talked with hundreds of Tea Party supporters.” Several top Ohio Tea Party activists, meanwhile, said they didn't know of Boehner's attending any Tea Party events in his home state.

Boehner made the claim at a Thursday luncheon event at the Middletown, Ohio, Rotary Club, specifying that by attending so many events he's been able to identify patterns in who makes up the Tea Party.

“I've gone to hundreds of Tea Party events over the last four years. The makeup is pretty much the same. You've got some disaffected Republicans, disaffected Democrats. You always have a handful of anarchists. They are against everything. Eighty percent of the people at these events are the most ordinary Americans you've ever met – none of whom have ever been involved in politics. We in public service respect the fact that they brought energy to the political process,” Boehner said.

In 2009 and 2010, Boehner attended at least three Tea Party rallies.

The first was April 15, 2009 in Bakersfield, California, where he attended with House Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy. The second was September 6, 2009, where he spoke against Obamacare, then under consideration in Congress, at a Cincinnati Tea Party Voices of America Freedom Rally. The third was April 13, 2010 at a Tea Party rally held in Orlando, Florida, organized by Tea Party activist Jason Hoyt and attended by an estimated 2,000 people.

Incidentally, all were more than four years ago, which was the length of time Boehner specified during which he had attended the events.

Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, told Breitbart News late Friday, “Rep. Boehner attended Tea Party rallies, including in Florida and California, from the very start of the movement, and he's talked with hundreds of Tea Party supporters in recent years as he has traveled in Ohio and around the country.”

Boehner keeps an extremely busy schedule as he travels the country fundraising for Republican candidates, during the course of which he has undoubtedly met many people who self-identify as being of the Tea Party.

However, back home in Ohio, prominent local Tea Party activists say he has largely been missing in action.

“Speaker Boehner is my Representative,” Ann Becker, an Ohio Tea Party activist, said Friday. “He has been to only one Tea Party event. It was in September of 2009. His staff has been to a few more events. But hundreds is an extreme overstatement. He also has met with Tea Party leaders in the district a few times.”

“I am unaware of Boehner attending 'hundreds of Tea Party events,'” Ralph King, co-coordinator of the Cleveland, Ohio, Tea Party Patriots, said. “I would say the closest Boehner would ever be to a Tea Party event is he would have been driving the British ship in the Boston Harbor!”

Marianne Gasiecki, founder of the Mansfield, Ohio, Tea Party told Breitbart News on Friday, “John Boehner has not been to any Tea Party rallies outside of his district that I know of.”

“If he does go to Tea Party rallies in his district," Gasieki said, "it's only during campaign season."

Boehner was a notable no-show at the massive rally attended by more than 20,000 Tea Party activists on the west lawn of the Capitol on March 20, 2010 called to oppose Obamacare one day before the final vote. Numerous Tea Party-friendly members of Congress, including Steve King (R-IA), Michele Bachmann (R-MN), and Mike Pence (R-IN) spoke at the event.

Boehner also did not attend an August 27, 2013 Tea Party rally of 300 activists held in front of Speaker Boehner's Troy, Ohio, offices. The purpose of the rally was to urge Boehner to defund Obamacare.

At the luncheon Thursday, Boehner went on to explain how he has a fairly positive view of the Tea Party movement but not the organizations that claim its mantle in urging Congress to be more conservative.

According to Boehner, "[t]here's the Tea Party and then there are people who purport to represent the Tea Party."

"I don't have any issue with the Tea Party," Boehner said. "I have issues with organizations in Washington who raise money purporting to represent the Tea Party, those organizations who are against a budget deal the president and I cut that will save $2.4 trillion over 10 years. They probably don't know that total federal spending in each of the last two years has been reduced, the first time since 1950."

According to Boehner, Tea Party activists "probably don't realize that we protected 99 percent of the American people from an increase in their taxes. They were against that too, the same organizations. There are organizations in Washington that exist for the sheer purpose of raising money to line their own pockets."

"I made it pretty clear I'll stand with the Tea Party," Boehner concluded, "but I'm not standing with these three or four groups in Washington who are using the Tea Party for their own personal benefit."

Boehner also mocked Republicans who opposed his efforts to pass immigration reform legislation.

"Here's the attitude," he told the audience. Then, in a high pitched, theatrical voice, Boehner screeched out, "Ohhhh. Don't make me do this. Ohhhh. This is too hard."

 

Senior Pastor at Old Stone Church & Former President of Downtown Cleveland Residents Association: "Vote No on Issue 7 - The Sin Tax"

The below is an opinion piece against Issue 7, the Sin Tax, by R. Mark Giuliano - the senior pastor of the Old Stone Church on Public Square and the former president of the Downtown Cleveland Residents Association...

From The Plain Dealer -- 

 

Great things are happening in Cleveland, there's no doubt about it. As a downtown resident, immediate past president of the Downtown Cleveland Residents Association, and senior pastor of the historic Old Stone Church on Public Square, I have seen, firsthand, the emerging strength of our city core over the last six years, and would be discouraged, to say the least, to see it stop or even slow now. But a new Cleveland needs a new way of doing business and that could very well start by ending the so called “sin tax.”

Do our stadiums bring added economic and social value to downtown Cleveland and the region as a whole? Yes; clearly! The Gateway District alone is booming with new restaurants, pubs and, most importantly, new residents who bring a demand for more housing and retail in downtown such as the new Heinen's 33,000-square-foot grocery store at East Ninth Street and Euclid Avenue. Do the stadiums belong to us and not the teams who play in them? Yes; we are all shareholders. As owners and landlords of these community assets, do we need to provide periodic maintenance and upgrades? Again, yes; if we want pro sports teams and the ability to host major concerts and events, of course we do. But is a sin tax the way to get the job done in the most equitable and helpful way? Probably not.

Growing cities look for smart ways of powering their cultural economic engines. Let our esteemed council people take the lead by exploring more just and contemporary ways of funding our important stadiums and the economic dividend they bring.

Besides, the research shows that sin taxes do not work the way some revenue-hungry benefactors claim they do. In their 2009 article, "Taxing Sin," for the market-oriented research group, the Mercatus Center of George Mason University, Richard Williams and Katelyn Christ debunk the myths surrounding sin taxes: Sin taxes don't discourage unhealthy behaviors such as drinking and smoking (the original argument for sin tax). And more often than not, monies raised are less likely to fund programs that help those with unhealthy behaviors (research, cessation programs, etc.) and more likely to fund stadiums and the arts. Moreover, sin taxes create a codependent relationship, where those funded need those taxed to continue in their unhealthy ways in order to keep the revenue stream flowing.

Of greatest concern to me, and anyone else who cares about what is just, is the fact that a sin tax is a tax where a targeted group of citizens bears the burden of the whole. And sin taxes usually fall, say Williams and Christ, "disproportionately on consumers at the lower end of the income distribution," those least likely, financially speaking, to be able to enjoy the benefits of our pro sporting and entertainment events. A sin tax, in other words, singles out and places an unjust burden on the few, often those with less means, to generate benefits for the many.

The sin tax is an easy but unimaginative and grossly unfair way of generating necessary funds to sustain Cleveland’s amenities. I'm all for taking care of our stadiums and our exceptional arts programs, but why not do it through a fairer and more sophisticated, multilayered approach which spreads out the tax burden of stadium ownership while nudging up rental fees. Or, at the very least, why not extend a small fractional sales tax levied on all citizens? After all, if we all benefit, and I think we do, then we should all contribute. Let’s love the sin and hate the tax!

R. Mark Giuliano is the senior pastor of the Old Stone Church on Public Square and the former president of the Downtown Cleveland Residents Association.

Vote No on Issue 7

Stop the Sin Tax!

Keep Cleveland Strong: Vote No on Sin Tax Issue 7!

It is time for all hands on deck to beat Issue 7 the proposed Sin Tax extension!  

Not surprisingly, on the pro-Sin Tax side the corporate cabal that has been fleecing the residents of Cuyahoga County for far too long - the Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP) - has been running a constant campaign of misleading half truths and shameful scare tactics in the efforts to pass the Sin Tax.

Under the leadership of the same so-called corporate & elected leaders supporting the Sin Tax extension, the Cleveland/Cuyahoga County has continually rated in the top rankings of Worst City, Most Miserable City or Most Dangerous to live in the U.S. (2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013).  

And, I guess in trying to out do themselves being the 7th most financially distressed region in the U.S. for 2012 - the Cleveland/Cuyahoga area was rated the #1 Most Miserable City to live and one of the Worst Run Cities in the U.S. in 2014!

So as you see - while the pro-Sin Tax cabal has claimed the tag "Keep Cleveland Strong" it is clear this Cuyahoga County cadre of corporate clowns just want to "Keep Doing Cleveland Wrong!"

Why Should You Vote No on Issue 7?

If giving more money to the same corporate & elected leaders whose continued failed leadership earned us the above "stellar & cellar" rankings is not enough to Vote No on Issue 7 maybe how they are continuing to fleece the region for their pet projects will....

We still owe approximately $70 million on the Gateway bonds and will be paying those until 2023 to cover cost over runs in building Progressive Field & Quicken Loans Arena and to cover the poorly negotiated team leases.

The same Greater Cleveland Partnership fronted groups pushing for the Sin Tax are made up from the same corporate social club that pushed and received the forced sales tax increase for the Med Mart. In which we just paid another $3 million to part ways with the original developer MMPI.

And in the latest endeavor of feeding at the public trough is the proposed redesigning of Public Square at the cost of $60 million by Land Studios - another Greater Cleveland Partnership controlled front group.  

The City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County have each pledged $10 million towards this project. That would be $20 million of your money! Forget about being responsible and using this money for their poorly negotiated leases, the Sin Tax or maybe important things like fixing our failing infrastructure & roads - we need more grass, green space and park benches! 

To summarize the Sin Tax -- 

The Sin Tax is set to expire in August 2015. 

Using their money & influence as the largest Chamber of Commerce in Ohio and one of the largest metropolitan chambers of commerce in the nation, the GCP had the GOP controlled Ohio Legislature add in a last minute provision to Governor Kasich's budget bill that would give Cuyahoga County the option to extend the Sin Tax beyond the scheduled 2015 expiration. 

Yes, the so-called "Party of Lower Taxes" controlling the Ohio legislature supported a tax extension. A better way of saying it is - the Ohio legislature dare not and know better than to defy the wishes of the Greater Cleveland Partnership.  

In conducting what amounted to nothing more than a dog & pony show for their pre-determined outcome and, without any meaningful discussions or consideration on alternative funding, the Cuyahoga County Council - doing their bidding for the GCP - immediately looked to your pocket book, and unanimously voted to put Issue 7 the Sin Tax extension on the upcoming May primary ballot.

To be clear with an indisputable fact - there was no need to immediately ask the voters to pay for the Sin Tax extension - there was plenty of time and it could have been put on the November 2014 or May 2015 ballot. And furthermore, there is no danger of losing our beloved sports teams should the Sin Tax extension be voted down.

If they wanted, the so-called corporate & elected "leaders" in Cuyahoga County had and still have more than enough time to explore alternative funding avenues for the Sin Tax.  

Without jeopardizing any funding or violating the leases, the Sin Tax extension could have been placed on the November 2014 or May 2015 ballot. Instead, and as usual in Cuyahoga County, they immediately look to the voters to support this "Billionaire Bailout" for the stadiums. 

By voting No on Issue 7 - it will simply force the so-called corporate & elected leaders to do their due diligence - which they did not do when the original leases were negotiated or now when they came straight to the voters asking for what amounts to a stimulus for the stadiums and/or a bailout for billionaires.

Most importantly voting No on Issue 7 will send a message that we the people of Cuyahoga County will no longer stand for the status quo that was supposed to have stopped with the Greater Cleveland Partnership pushed County Reform.

It is time to say enough is enough! 

Vote No on Issue 7!

Truth in Campaigning? Not in the 9th District GOP Primary!

At this time of the year many people are being flooded with campaign literature through the U.S. Mail and are being bombarded with emails, tweets and facebook messages/posts from candidates in the upcoming primary races.

The primary challengers do their best to portray themselves as reflecting the views of the voters in the political party with which they are affiliated. And as we all know, incumbents facing a primary challenge will use the best spin doctors money can buy to redefine a poor voting record in attempts to make it appear they are line with the views of their political party.

Pretty much - GOP candidates & incumbents try to make themselves Ronald Reagan, and Democrat candidates & incumbents try to make themselves Bill Clinton or John Kennedy.

A case in point of candidates trying to mislead voters and create themselves as something they are not would be the GOP primary in Ohio's 9th Congressional District between Richard May and Robert Horrocks. The winner will face off against Democrat incumbent Rep. Marcy Kaptur this November.

Taking a quick look on the "About" page on Mr. Horrocks campaign website, in trying to portray himself as conservative, you immediately see the obligatory quote from Ronald Reagan on the right side bar. 

And at the top of the page, in an attempt to show voters he supports "Family Values," Horrock's has a picture of himself with his kids - and what he would want you to think is his wife...

And this is where we come to the integrity of candidates..... while attempting to portray himself with a wife and kids - at the very bottom of this webpage - Horrock mentions he lives with his partner in Lakewood and has shared parenting with his ex-wife.  Why no picture of Horrocks & his partner?

It is clear that by having a warm & fuzzy family picture placed boldly at the top of his webpage and the one sentence regarding his "partner" at the bottom - Horrocks is clearly trying to mislead conservative voters into thinking he is something he is not!

Make no mistake - this is not about Horrock's being gay - it is about Horrocks being deceitful and clearly trying to mislead voters. The question begs to be asked -- if he cannot be honest with voters in his primary race - how could one expect Horrocks to be honest if he is elected to office? 

Further advancing this farce would be the Plain Dealer, the local newspaper that supports all things liberal. The PD has recently come out and endorsed candidate Robert Horrocks over Richard May in this race. 

Taking issue with Richard May because he supports traditional marriage and doesn't "think a gay man can't represent the 'party of traditional values,'" in their endorsement of Horrocks the PD looks past his failures and questionable abilities as a previously elected official.... (emphasis added)

Horrocks, of Lakewood, is far from an ideal candidate. He couldn’t immediately explain how New Carlisle developed financial problems in 2002 when he was on city council. (Voters recalled him the next year). He's experienced foreclosure. May revealed that Horrocks removed, at May's request, links on his Facebook page to websites that included photos of scantily clad men.

Horrocks should have learned by now that the personal is political on the campaign trail. 

On balance, Horrocks appears to be a thoughtful, if flawed, candidate...

Thoughtful but flawed?!?!? How about lacking integrity, honesty, fiscal responsibility, etc...?

With our country facing a $17 trillion debt, the Plain Dealer supports a candidate, Horrocks, who was recalled by voters in New Carlisle over financial problems in the city that happened under his watch. But he is thoughtful!

The Plain Dealer clearly endorsed Horrocks not because of his qualifications or past performance as an elected official - but simply because of his being gay. This should not be about a persons sexual orientation or sexual confusion and should be about integrity of the candidates - and Horrocks has shown he has none!

In full disclosure - I have personally known Richard May for many years and have stood shoulder to shoulder with Richard in fighting against the RINO's in Cuyahoga County. 

As a group, the Cleveland TPP does not endorse candidates, but as an individual I can personally attest to the fact that Richard May is a conservative candidate that not only walks his talk - he truly lives by it.

Democrats & Black Pastors in Cleveland Misleading Voters on Early Voting in Ohio

Well they say there is always a first!  

This must be the first time we have ever agreed with the one time chief mouthpiece & propagandist of the limousine liberals running Cuyahoga County - former Plain Dealer Editorial Director Brett Larkin.

Below Larkin rightfully takes the Democrats, the black Pastors, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and State Senator & OH SoS candidate Nina Turner, Cuyahoga County Executive & Democrat candidate for Governor Ed FitzGerald to task for their crocodile tears regarding the changes to early voting in Ohio and the removal of Sunday voting. 

Larkin points out some of the facts that are getting washed out by the river of crocodile tears they are crying....

• 32 states have early absentee voting with an average starting time of 22 days before the election.  LESS days than Ohio's 28 days of voting before the election.

• 20 states require an excuse for absentee voting. A registered voter in Ohio can vote absentee with no excuse required.

• Removing Sunday Voting: In five days of early voting in Cuyahoga County prior to the 2012 presidential election, fewer people voted on Sunday than any other day. Early voting turnout was 46 percent higher on Friday and 23 percent higher on Saturday than it was Sunday.

• Of the 32 states that allow it, the length of the in-person early voting period varies by state from four days to 45. The average is 19 days. Ohio has 20 days of in-person voting.

• Ohio Democrat Rep. Marci Kaptur and civil rights leaders Rep. John Lewis, are promoting a bill that would require all states only offer 15 days of early voting and would not mandate early voting the Sunday before the election.

Also adding to what Larkin points out above is the fact that a voting bill that removed the "Golden Week" and reduced early voting to 21 days passed the Democrat controlled OH House in 2009.

While it is to be expected that political party machine's and politicians will put a "spin" on issues.  And it is pretty much a given that politicians like those listed above will knowingly & willfully misrepresent the truth (lie) to fire up their base.  

But one has to ask about the black pastors!?!? 

At best, the black pastors participating in this misleading political charade of half-truths either refuse to educate themselves with the whole truth & facts, or at worse - they are willing participants in sowing discord by spreading lies & deception regarding early voting in Ohio.  

Either way these black pastors should be ashamed as they are doing a great disservice and owe more to their congregation.  Maybe a quick read of Proverbs 6:16-19 and a review of the Ninth Commandment (Thou shall not lie) is in order for these pastors. 

From The PD --

Democrats have lots of legitimate issues to raise in this year’s election for governor and other statewide offices.

Early voting isn’t one of them.

Noisemaking about voter suppression is, for the most part, utter nonsense.

Access to the ballot in Ohio is better than the national average and light years better than it is in the bluest states in nation. In fact, many Democratic states have laws governing voting so archaic one would think they were drafted by Fox News.

But Jim Crow-type voting laws in places like New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut never seem to get the attention of MSNBC and the Huffington Post. And when Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted adopted the early voting recommendations of a 20-member panel of elections officials that consists of 10 Democratic loyalists, the Husted-bashing returned with a vengeance.

Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor, advocated defying state law by having the county send out its own absentee ballot applications.

State Sen. Nina Turner, Husted’s Democratic challenger in this year’s election for secretary of state, declared herself “absolutely disgusted” with Husted’s early voting schedule.

And Sen. Sherrod Brown, Ohio’s leading Democrat, described (to MSNBC) the early voting edict as more evidence of Republican “mean spiritedness.”

The 2014 election in Ohio offers an ideal opportunity for meaningful debate on the policies of Gov. John Kasich and the Republican-run legislature.

Any partial list of those policies should include tax policy, job creation, educational attainment, deep cuts made to local governments in 2011 and laws aimed at women.

But angry rhetoric about early voting has a better chance of riling up the base than a thoughtful discussion of Ohio’s future.

For a moment, however, it’s worth tuning out the noise and considering, courtesy of the National Conference of State Legislatures and other sources, some of those stubborn little facts that get in the way of the voter suppression argument.

Thirty-two states have various forms of early absentee voting. The average starting time for early voting is 22 days before the election. Early absentee voting in Ohio this year starts 28 days before the election.

Twenty states require an excuse for absentee voting, including the three Democratic states I listed earlier and the all-important swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Virginia. In Ohio, a registered voter can cast a ballot from the comfort of home, any time, day or night, nearly a month before the election — no excuse required.

Democrats, black ministers and other critics focus particularly on the lack of Sunday voting in Husted’s schedule (there will be Sunday voting in the 2016 presidential election).

But in five days of early voting in Cuyahoga County prior to the 2012 presidential election, fewer people voted on Sunday than any other day. Early voting turnout was 46 percent higher on Friday and 23 percent higher on Saturday than it was Sunday.

Of the 32 states that allow it, the length of the in-person early voting period varies by state from four days to 45. The average is 19 days.

There will be 20 days of in-person early voting in Ohio this year.

For more than a year some of the most prominent and liberal members of the U.S. House, including Rep. Marci Kaptur and civil rights leaders such as Rep. John Lewis, have been promoting a bill that would require every state to offer early voting. The bill would require only 15 days of early voting and would not mandate early voting the Sunday before the election.

Again, there will, be 20 days of early voting in Ohio this year.

For the last half-century,the Akron Beacon Journal has been the state’s most consistently Democratic big-city newspaper.

In a Feb. 26 editorial headlined “Ample Time,” the Beacon Journal labeled Husted’s early voting edict “the product of Democrats and Republicans crafting a worthy compromise, putting aside the calculated outrage and hollow claims, finding a middle ground that works for all counties.”

FitzGerald and his colleagues face gale-force political headwinds in this campaign, not the least of which are a Democratic president with declining popularity and a gigantic Republican advantage in fundraising.

History doesn’t offer them much hope, either.

In the two decades beginning in 1970, Democrats won 81.5 percent of the elections for statewide executive offices. In the six statewide elections since 1990, they’ve won an abysmal 25.8 percent.

If Democrats think voter suppression claims can lead them to victory in 2014, that losing streak will get even longer.

Larkin was The Plain Dealer’s editorial director from 1991 until his retirement in 2009.