TheocracyWatch has a page with updates on Ohio.

Also, I found Kathrine Yurica's article on Blackwell's treatise very insightful.

by Joan Bokaer on Thu May 04, 2006 at 07:19:09 AM EST
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Civil rights? This is a man who has a history of disenfranchisement of minority voters. You can see some of that history here as well as a discussion of his opportunistic approach to poliics,

Honesty? When he spoke to the ultra-right Council for National Policy (CNP) recently, a picture was posted on his web site and later scrubbed. UAPA has that story and background.

Hypocrisy? The Dispatch summarizes some interesting history. He's vigorously anti-gambling but owns stock in a slot machine company. He rants about pro-choice people to his religious right followers but owns stock in Barr Pharmaceuticals who make Plan B  (that many of his followers believe causes abortions). Then there's the little matter of owning stock in Diebold at the same time that he's negotiating contracts with the company to buy voting machines for Ohio.

Joan may have more to add.


by Psyche on Wed May 03, 2006 at 08:57:38 PM EST
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I don't have time to dig up the quotes at the moment - maybe later today.

by Bruce Wilson on Thu May 04, 2006 at 11:41:37 AM EST
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Tim Russo: You're a minister.?

Ted Strickland: I was.

Tim Russo: Former minister. And at the rally in Columbus, across from the Reformation Ohio Revival on October 14, you said, "Religion is being used as a weapon to accomplish political goals. As I look at the New Testament, I see no indication that Jesus Christ tried to use the instruments of government to accomplish His kingdom on earth."

Ted Strickland: Yeah. I said that.

Tim Russo: But on your web site, it's sprinkled with all kinds of references to religion and values. In fact, the first line of your bio tells us how you posted a quote from scripture on the wall in your Congressional office. Is Ohio politics becoming a contest to find out who is holiest?

Ted Strickland: No. I'm not holy at all. But, I think there's a stark difference between the way that the religious right uses reference to morals and values and religious beliefs certainly than I do. I believe that the single greatest threat posed by the Bush administration, for example, other than the decision to take us to war, the single greatest threat of the Bush Administration is the purposeful, planful effort to erode the wall that should separate organized religion from public policy and from governmental decisions. I say that all the time. Maybe I say that because I do appreciate those who embrace and value religious and moral values. I believe religion is being used as a political weapon. It's being used, I think, to polarize our country, to divide people, to foster intolerance and discrimination. But I also think that there is another side to values, and to even religious beliefs. And I think those can call people together for the common good, can foster an appreciation of individual differences and can really value the pluralism that I think exists and ought to be celebrated within our society.

Now the reason that you'll find references, as you have mentioned, on my web site is that I am unwilling to concede to the other side, the ability to define for the larger population and for everyone else, what is, in fact, moral or religious values. So, I don't think you'll ever find me using religion as a way to encourage or foster intolerance or discrimination or hate or any of those things. But we cannot, we cannot just simply set aside - in my judgment - we just can't set aside matters that are very important to huge numbers of people and say that as a Democrat, that subject matter is off limits and I'm not going to go there. I think we need to go there. We need to engage the other side. And I would hope that we could have a discussion within our society about what does constitute moral behavior. And I think that's relevant. But I think it can be done in a way that celebrates differences of opinion and that is not exclusive, but rather inclusive. I mean, that's why I spoke at that rally. There were a handful of us there and literally hundreds across the street on the Capitol grounds. But, I wanted the media to see that there was a second opinion here. And that Rob Parsley and Ken Blackwell didn't speak for the larger body politic.

The religious reference on his website, incidentally, is a bible verse that hangs on his office wall:

And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God -Micah 6:8

Will we find out in November where Ohio's "body politic" stands?


by Psyche on Thu May 04, 2006 at 03:46:44 PM EST
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