Thoughts on Blackwell’s Victory in Ohio GOP Primary
Since Ken Blackwell first spoke to my high school when I was just a lad, I have been impressed with him. A charismatic man, he lit up the auditorium and inspired us all with his ideas and energy. I have met him several times since, once when he was working for Jack Kemp at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the first Bush Administration and then several years later back in Cincinnati at a dinner honoring my father. Both times, I was impressed by his warmth, his wit, his intelligence and his qualities of leadership.
I watched him grow from an energetic Democratic City Councilman and Mayor into a responsible Republican leader, serving the most idea-driven Cabinet member (Kemp) in the first Bush Administration. He later served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Returning to the Buckeye State in the 1990s, he became state Treasurer and was the first African-American elected to statewide executive office. Since switching to the GOP, he has shown a commitment to the Reaganite principles of which all too many of the party’s current leaders have lost sight (to the great detriment of the party — and our nation).
On that score, I should be pleased by his victory in yesterday’s Republican gubernatorial primary in my home state. And yet, on his road to victory, he made some unfortunate statements about gay marriage. It’s pathetic when a man otherwise so distinguished stoops to such petty pandering.
Let us hope that gay Republicans in Ohio find a way to reach out to their party’s gubernatorial nominee and disabuse him of his narrow notions.
Given that Blackwell won the primary with a margin smaller than pre-election polls had indicated, I wonder if such statements hurt him in the last stretch of the campaign.
Until I had read the comments linked above, I had been cheering Blackwell on, eager to see a Reagan Republican win in my home state. But, today, I am not enthusiastic about the victory of a man who had impressed me for over a quarter-century. Ken Blackwell is a bright man with demonstrated leadership skills. He should know better than to attack gays.
While my recent trip to Ohio made me appreciate (once again) the decency of the good people in my home state, far warmer and more genuine than most in my adopted hometown, I am grateful at least that I can vote this fall for a good Republican who despite his recent tilt to the left, still holds true to many Republican principles and has been more accepting of gays than most in our party — indeed, more accepting and tolerant than most in the other party as well.
-Dan (AKA GayPatriotWest): GayPatriotWest@aol.com
ADDENDUM: Blackwell’s victory should disabuse Republican-haters for once and for all of their wrong-headed notion that Republicans are racists. In the Ohio gubernatorial primary, this black man won a convincing victory.
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Dan,
I understand your view — I think we have all been there. Unfortunately, Blackwell’s statements aren’t just limited to one occasion. He has repeatedly made statements about this (and got in trouble with the White House for telling reporters in 2004 that the political shop there told him to campaign for the anti-marriage amendment to drive out base voters — oops!).
Blackwell’s connection with the Ohio Restoration Project is also being looked into by the IRS. The ORP is a group created by our favorite money-changing televangelist Rod Parsley that seeks to turn out voters for anti-gay candidates (they have other social issues, but the gay thing is by far their chief one). The ORP was heavily involved in promoting the primary campaign of Blackwell – even giving him the same leadership award at up to five “non-candidate” campaign rallies across the state. The new Bush-appointee who heads the IRS seems to be irked at the apparent violation of law by the ORP on behalf of Blackwell and is looking into it.
Blackwell, unfortunately, is up there in his crazy views with Rick Santorum. I agree, he could have been a great leader otherwise. However, his extremist views on issues such as homosexuality appears to be scaring voters to Democrats. At least the smaller-than-expected victory shows that groups like the ORP can be battled (and perhaps in the future, beaten) in our primaries.
Comment by Jeremy — May 3, 2006 @ 10:39 am - May 3, 2006
Considering the RINOs that dominate Ohio’s GOP, Blackwell is exactly what the state needs.
Comment by rightwingprof — May 3, 2006 @ 11:18 am - May 3, 2006
Dan, sorry, but “good men” don’t promote discrimination against American citizens .
It doesn’t really matter, however, since it’s not likely Ken Blackwell will be elected governor. There’s been so much corruption among GOP officials in Ohio that Democrats are heavily favored in November. Even Ohio’s incumbent Republican U. S. Senator has an uphill fight on his hands.
Comment by Trace Phelps — May 3, 2006 @ 8:35 pm - May 3, 2006
Last I heard DeWine was up 11 points in the polls. Blackwell is clearly the underdog, but DeWine will likely prevail.
Comment by GayPatriotWest — May 3, 2006 @ 9:01 pm - May 3, 2006
oh, and Trace, read the blog. I didn’t call Ken Blackwell a good man.
Comment by GayPatriotWest — May 3, 2006 @ 9:02 pm - May 3, 2006
From the post
Returning to the Buckeye State in the 1990s, he [Blackwell] became state Treasurer…
Has Blackwell been implicated in the Ohio state pension fund’s “investment” in rare old coins? Usually, the state treasurer oversees the state’s pension fund. When I first read about the state’s Republican administration “investing” in rare old coins, I literally rolled on the floor laughing. What economic activity was supposed to result from investment in rare old coins–the production of more rare old coins?
We were back in Cincinnati visiting my parents over Labor Day 2002 (I believe that was the year) when Gov. Bob Taft was running for re-election. I was amazed at his campaign commercials–they made him sound almost like a Democrat. Most of them touted how much his administration had increased spending, particularly on public schools. His father (or was it his grandfather?) Mr. Conservative Sen. Robert Taft would probably have been rolling over in his grave. I had been led to believe that Republicans wanted to reduce gov’t spending, not tout how much they had increased spending. I had obviously been misled.
Of course Bob Taft’s approval ratings are now reported to be well below Bush’s and Cheney’s. But I doubt that it has much to do with his having increased gov’t spending.
Comment by raj — May 4, 2006 @ 8:41 am - May 4, 2006
Dan,
you are a goddamn psycho! You obviously are either not gay or an extremely self loathing fag! It is queers like you that have set us back into the 1800′s and have helped the rise of the republican nazi’s in this country. I don’t know who I have less respect for, fags like you or repugnicans like blackwell. I guess I would have to say fags like you, I at least know the motive behind people like blackwell.
gays for republicans = jews for nazi’s.
BTW republicans are racists. It is just more socially acceptable and financally profitable to hate fags right now.
Comment by HDBiker — May 4, 2006 @ 1:23 pm - May 4, 2006
raj…blackwell is currently the sec’y of state and no longer the treasurer, thus he really didn’t have much connection with tom noe/coingate (other than taking political contributions from noe {which he eventually gave back or to a charity like most of those who rec’d noe money}). blackwell is infamous for his roles in the 2004 campaign. while serving as the “referee” of the election as sec’y of state, he also was a “player” serving as bush’s point man in ohio, and, thus fulfilling his pronoucement of delivering ohio for bush (incidentally, he was also the point person for issue I in 2004 in ohio, which rewrote our state constitution to include outright discrimination against gay people).
earlier this year he suggested in an interview that if one prays hard enough, one be cured of homosexuality. that says it all, imo.
Comment by rightiswrong — May 4, 2006 @ 3:15 pm - May 4, 2006
Just for you. It’s always hilarious seeing liberals — who rely on voter fraud every election — whining about having an election “stolen” from them, after a campaign of spitting on Americans and telling them how stupid they are.
Comment by rightwingprof — May 4, 2006 @ 3:34 pm - May 4, 2006
HD, thanks so much for you comment. It’s been a while since I’ve been calling self-loathing. It seems the default insult that our critics hurl against us. And you then add in the second most common insult comparing a gay Republican to a Jewish Nazi. Thanks for reminding me once again not only of the narrow-mindedness of many of our most rabid critics, but also of their lack of imagination. And to top that off, you say Republicans are racist. Where I have heard that before? I thought liberals were supposed to be more creative than conservatives! If you’re any indication, they merely repeat the same tired old slogans over and over and over and over and over and over again.
Oh, and HD, the “racist” Republicans of the Buckeye State just nominated a black man as their gubernatorial nominee!
Comment by GayPatriotWest — May 4, 2006 @ 6:03 pm - May 4, 2006
Yes but Dan, Blackwell still panders to the worst in people. I can handle someone being uncomfortable, even not accepting my sexuality, but this kind of nonsense? No thank you.
Comment by Average Gay Joe — May 4, 2006 @ 7:29 pm - May 4, 2006
Unfortunately, the socialists have been successful in cementing gay rights to their despicable agenda, and I consider that a much greater threat to American life and individual choices than the personal views about gays of one candidate. If he’s a Reaganite, I’m for him. Remember, socialists (Democrats) don’t support individual rights. They support GROUP rights and the hegemony of bureaucrats and the educated elite. Once they take over, if their gurus decide gays need to be purged for “policy reasons,” they’ll do it and we won’t have sh*t to say about it. GO KEN.
Comment by TJ — May 8, 2006 @ 2:05 pm - May 8, 2006
I will be voting for Blackwell this fall. I hope he wins. The anti-gay comments can be frightening, but as far as I see it the Democrats have the same stance against the gay community only they don’t voice it. From the results on Issue One in 2004 it is clear that both Republican and Democrats are not ready for gay marriage. We may be years off before we’re accepted by either group. The Republican party shows signs of changing though, more and more “gay Republicans” are coming out of the woodwork.
Comment by ryguyosu08 — May 30, 2006 @ 8:33 pm - May 30, 2006
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