Apparently, Ohio doesn't care - NY Times Op/Ed

[VolcanoJen]

Not entirely accurate... I happen to think it's early, it's a hot summer, and people are more interested in the Reds and gas prices than the November elections... but there's a hard truth in this article.

Ohio's Morning After

Excerpt:

It’s summer, of course, so who wants to think about November? And right now there are other issues occupying our thoughts. Down at the pet store, for example, some ladies are protesting “puppy mills,” picketing with signs that show photos of sad dogs in small pens.

In the local paper, people write in to express outrage about the closing of a neighborhood elementary school, and a movement is under way among some angry parents to oust the loathed school board.

But when you mention the Senate candidates — the incumbent Republican, Mike DeWine, and the Democratic challenger, Representative Sherrod Brown — people’s eyes tend to glaze over. There is an expression of blank and wary politeness, as if you offered to tell them about an interesting dream you had last night.

[Kukesa]

1. ". . . the bland leading the bland."

That about hits the nail on the head. I have to force myself to read articles about either one of them. They sound like they're reading a grocery list.

Pity.

I, of course, will vote for anyone who has a "D" after their name; I can only hope that 51% of us Buckeyes feel the same and are ready to rid ourselves of the corruption of GOP leadership. Corruption at least warrants some interest.

[AngryOldDem]

2. This said it all for me

>>“Personally,” says Susan, “I think there’s a point where it’s hard to distinguish apathy from discouragement. It’s hard to care about this stuff when it seems like your vote doesn’t really matter anyway. I think a lot of people on both sides of the fence have a sneaking suspicion that democracy is kind of falling apart.”>>

I had the same feeling in May after voting in the primary for the first time with Diebold machines. I'll still vote, but will I think my vote will be accurately counted and recorded? No. But I'll still go if only to keep the democratic process alive. If people don't see the point in voting, why will they take the time to do so? A lot of damage was done in 2004.

[mongo]

3. That's an understatement

So many new voters came out to vote for Kerry, waited in long lines, only to find out that their votes didn't count. There's been enough in the news that I think MOST people believe that the election was rigged (which of course it was...)

How the hell are we going to get these typically non-political people interested in even showing up again?

I know I'm discouraged.

[AngryOldDem]

10. Another roadblock

Okay, I know I've been asleep at the wheel, but when was this bill introduced that would require people to show ID (driver's license, utility bill, etc.) before voting? I was up early this morning and the local news had man-on-the-street interviews with people -- one woman said that this would discourage because voting was already a hassle. Then they cut to the local BOE man, who said that if voters didn't have the proper ID, they could still vote -- by provisional ballot! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but the pure irony of it all was a little hard to take at 5:30 a.m.

The subtle message is: voting is a pain in the ass, folks, so just stay home.

I think that impression, more than apathy, is what is driving numbers down and what is reflected in the lackadaiscal attitude toward DeWine vs. Brown. People will remember 2004 -- another Mission Accomplished for the GOP and Blackwell.

[geiger]

11. The subtle message

I agree with your analysis; plus, other new rules are at best open to legal interpretation, so now the process becomes open to potential litigious and criminal repurcussions as well.

[AngryOldDem]

12. Another thing I thought of

When continuing to mull this ID business...what about homeless people? There was a big drive to get the homeless to vote back in 2004 -- there were posters all over the shelter and a polling place located nearby. But people have IDs and stuff from all over the planet, things that would most certainly be called into question when they showed up to vote.

Just another part of the population disenfranchised, I guess; makes it easier to count votes. :sarcasm:

ON EDIT: They could register using the shelter's address, but I'm sure that could be contested as meeting the definition of a permanent place of residence.

[WCGreen]

4. The people don't get focused until after labor day....

It's summer...

I've been at this game since 1975....

Never have I seen energy in the dog days of summer...

Normal people don't start thinking about politics until somewhere in late september and early october...

It's just the way it is...

Look at it like football season...

Of course there are the hard core people who go to training camp...

[Kukesa]

5. Fourth of July.

That's when we kicked-off the Kerry-Edwards campaign, right here in Dayton, Ohio. It was go-go-go from that time until the November fiasco.

Hopefully, presidential elections are different. What say you, WCG?

[WCGreen]

6. I would say that too....

But the cnavassing is going stong here allready...

In Cleveland, they are calling and door hanging...

Remember, not evey district is in play so that Brown's people will have a hard time putting feet on the ground in every area of Ohio...

But if there is competition in the are and you are in a targeted precinct....

Be sure you will get served....

After Labor Day, the people will get up and running...

One of the reasons the presidential race was going from the fourth on was that Kerry was able to fund campaigns...

He had to get rid of his primary money before the convention when limits would kick in...

PResidential elections are always different from those run in the midterm....

[Kukesa]

8. The Dem convention was over

by 4th of July. Remember, that's when John Edwards was announced as his running mate? They made their first appearance in Dayton, right after the convention.

The only campaigning I'm hearing down here is for DeWine and it makes me ill. Today I watched the morning news shows and there was a DeWine commercial at every break. Now he's taking credit for Medicare and loves senior citizens.

Sometimes these "early" campaign attempts work. My husband, who is a-political, remembers that Strickland once lived in a chicken coop. That's all he remembers. I'm afraid he might be typical.

[WCGreen]

9. It was July 26-29th......

http://www.historycentral.com/elections/Conventions/2004DEM.html

They had to get rid of their money....

They were raising money like crazy to put troops on the ground before the convention...

[geiger]

7. One thing I will say...

is that when I saw a Sherrod Brown for Senate 2006 yard sign for the first time the other day, I was stricken with a new sense of paranoia. I have been focused on some 2008 timeline projects, and it hit me in a new way how around the corner this election is. I participate (or get frustrated about trying) every day in something political, and so I found my own "out-of-it'ness" a bit disconcerting.