Blackwell, Strickland, and Fitrakis

[democraticinsurgent]

So today begins the general election campaign.

It's Blackwell vs. Strickland. Strickland leads in the polls but Blackwell leads in control of the polling machinery.

That's where Bob Fitrakis comes in. As the Green Party candidate for Governor of Ohio, Fitrakis will be right there watching the process and affecting it. Hopefully not by "spoiling" the race for Strickland but by insuring the cleanest possible elections given the presence of Blackwell.

Fitrakis delivered over 10,000 signatures to Blackwell's office on Monday in order to get on the ballot. Here's to the kickoff of one of the most important races in our time.

http://www.bobforohio.com/

[cmd]

1. He could do the same by helping Strickland

Bob is a good guy and has many pluses. However, he will take votes away from Strickland. Not a good thing.

[democraticinsurgent]

4. Wait and see

I don't know Bob, as I'm relatively new to Columbus. But from what I've seen, he's one of the most powerful and intelligent forces in Ohio. I doubt he will be a Nader, more in the tradition of David Cobb, who ran for President in 2004 on the Green Party ticket. If memory serves, he directed people to vote for the D candidate in competitive states. And he also spearheaded the recount of 2004 when Kerry's people would not.

I understand the fear of the spoiler factor but I also believe in Fitrakis. He's appeared on DU since he announced for governor and he stated his primary reason for running is to have status if a recount should be necessary.

Bob, how about a statement from you on this subject?

[liberalnurse]

5. I love Bob, he is brilliant.....

but he will be tagged another Nader if he does not fight to end this republican control.

[geiger]

2. Another Republican dream come true

[Ninga]

3. Why do we continue to be schmucks when it comes to politics???

We do not need a "Ralph Nadar" factor in this state in November.

[woldnewton]

8. Sorry to hardcore Dems...

But I trust any race with Fitrakis in it, even if some consider him a 'spoiler', long before I trust any race that Blackwell is allowed to manage without him, leaving us only anyone with a "D" to try to challenge it. Every time I've tried to talk to an aide from Nancy Pelosi's office or working for any given Dem Senator about the possibility of election fraud, I feel like I might as well be talking to a Faux News pundit with the kind of response I get...

Fitrakis is the only shot we have for any Dem ever winning in Ohio, period, because he's the only one who will do what it takes to keep Blackwell honest -- a Herculean task I've learned not to trust the ODP or any national Dems with, including Strickland himself.

Sorry.

[Schmajo]

6. The Green true believers

see no difference between the Rs and the Ds. Generally, if a Green is on the ballot, they will vote for him/her.

Maybe, just maybe, this election might be different, since Blackkkwell is about as far from Green beliefs as Heinrich Himmler (and he's dead).

Having said that, I think there is a real danger that the Greens will end up screwing Ohio in November.

[Kolesar]

7. Where was the DU thread with Fitrakis' wild claims?

Fitrakis wrote that tens of thousands of Cuyahoga County voters were purged for 2004. A DUer who worked the polls responded that he/she did not see people turned away at the rate that Fitrakis cited.

I'm a skeptic.

[democraticinsurgent]

9. Here's the online chat with Fitrakis from January 06

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

for the unedited discussion and below for the summarized version

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

By the way, I am really interested in getting at the heart of this matter. I don't want Blackwell to back in because of a third party bite out of Strickland. I think it's imperative that Fitrakis recognize this situation right away. My guess is that he has a plan to make sure his impact isn't negative, but then, I'd like to hear this from him.

As to the specifics of Cuyahoga County in 2004, probably best to visit http:www.freepress.org and find it there. I can't speak for all of his research but that which I've read closely holds water. Take a look at those phony votes from Warren County 2004. They have pdf files of them online.

Rick

[woldnewton]

10. democraticinsurgent...

Perhaps Fitrakis plans to pull an Arianna Huffington and do what she did in the "Totally Recall" election in California, i.e. drop out at the last minute, but keep one's name on the ballot (which will come in handy should Fitrakis choose to challenge a Blackwell win in defiance of all conventional wisdom and every poll taken on this?)?

[democraticinsurgent]

11. That would not surprise me in the least

Good thought and would be consistent with what i know of Bob Fitrakis.

[west5548]

12. Don't have a clue who this guy is

I don't have any idea who Fitrakis is, I hope he won't steal votes from Strickland, but then again if people weren't going to vote for either candidate then they would have skipped it anyway. I am curious as to what will happen with all the Petro votes. I really don't think they are all going to go to blackwell. I believe many of those that voted for Petro are moderates and would vote for Ted, they obviously didn't vote for Blackwell for a reason. There were approx. 330K people that voted for Petro. It would be nice to get half or more of them, plus independents.

[Schmajo]

13. Best R in November

No doubt many (most?) Petro supporters think he would do better against Strickland in the General, and they probably don't think much of Blackkkwell. It seems unlikely that many of them (who actually voted in the Primary) will vote for Ted in November, but maybe they'll "stay home" and not cast a vote for Governor at all.

[lfairban]

14. You must not be from Columbus,

He is a compelling and enthusiastic public speaker who has a Phd in law I believe. He took over the Free Press, the Columbus independent newspaper over a decade ago and used it to advance a range of progressive issues. It comes out in print about six or eight times a year:



(This one ought to be interesting)

Reading it online is faster:

http://www.freepress.org/index2.php

Many of his best articles become the subject of DU threads, such as:

Fitrakis: Blackwell and the '04 Election

He was cited twice by Mark Crispin Miller when he discussed his new book "Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election & Why They'll Steal the Next One Too (Unless We Stop Them)" on CSPAN.

http://www.booktv.org/ram/feature/0406/btv040906_4b.ram