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I'm back.... again. (Part 2)

Again my blog has fallen by the wayside for entirely too long. My apologies to all those who may have glanced at my posts every now and then.

Anyway, with only a few weeks left, I plan on picking up the pace on these posts. There is so much to cover and what now seems like very little time to do it.

I am only going to note two things tonight. One: How bout that Buckeye offense? Comeon guys, the schedule is only getting tougher from here.

Two: The NRCC has a poll in the pipeline for OH-15. I think we are all anxiously awaiting those results. Should be very interesting.

Back in action.

Sorry for going MIA for a bit folks, but between the power outtages and going out of town for awhile blogging was the last thing on my mind.

Anyway, I am back and there is so much to talk about. No need to rehash a ton of points that you have probably already read over at some of my fellow SOBers but one thing I wanted to mention was the Dispatch endorsement. I am sure that this has been talked about to death but I wasn't here so I want my 2 cents out there. This is big for Senator Stivers and will very likely make voters stop and take notice. As the election continues to heat up, I am sure this endorsement will be in the back of every voter's mind.

Oh, one other thing, I don't know about the rest of you but Thursday Night College Football is rarely so sweet. Now all we have to do is rock the Big-10 and watch the SEC tear themselves up. Lets go Bucks!

"Pragmatic"

The Stivers campaign has released their second ad, "Pragmatic". See it here.

Stivers camp announces new Press Secretary.

The Stivers campaign is welcoming Rob Nichols, the former Press Secretary for Rep. Deb Pryce, to the Stivers campaign. Check the release here.

More endorsements.

Senator Steve Stivers has picked up the endorsement from the US Chamber of Commerce. Read the release here.

TWC + OSU Together at last?

It seems Time Warner and the Big Ten Network have finally reached a deal. The Buckeyes will be seen on TVs throughout central Ohio come Saturday.

"True Example"

Check out the new campaign ad from the Stivers campaign set to his the airwaves today: True Example

SOB Alliance

I'm pleased to announce I've joined some of the finest bloggers in Ohio. The SOB Alliance!

Endorsement Blitz!

I blinked and Senator Stivers picked up a trio of endorsements. Following the OSMA endorsement from last week Stivers picked up FOP, OFBF, and OSPCA endorsements!

OSMA For Stivers

On Friday the Stivers camp announced they had picked up the endorsement of the Ohio State Medical Association.

Taste of OH-15

One of the great things about living in the Columbus area is all of the festivals, fairs, and events.
While it is easy to get a little burnt out following the big ones like ComFest, Red White & Boom, and of course the Ohio State Fair, one of my favorites should not be forgotten. I look forward to Taste of Upper Arlington every year and this year did not disappoint. The food as always was great and the weather was fantastic, but the highlight was being able to talk to Senator Stivers and some of his staff. It is great to see so many people out and excited about this election. From what I could tell, the blue Stivers balloon was the number one choice among kids. While they might not be able to vote this election, with luck they will remember that balloon during a re-election campaign a few years down the road.

The Stivers Plan

Last Friday The Hill Blog posted Senator Stivers's policy piece on energy. This is mostly the same plan that was released last month, but it is good to see it might get some national attention. Here it is for your consideration:

Energy Solution Needs Comprehensive Plan with Drilling and New Energy Investment
(Ohio GOP Candidate Steve Stivers) August 8th, 2008

No issue in recent
memory has provoked public outrage like spiking energy prices, and nor has any
issue has highlighted the great divide between the current House leadership and
the economic struggles of American families and workers. While Congress
left town for a five-week vacation without allowing for a vote on a
comprehensive energy package, many Americans simultaneously cancelled or scaled
back their own vacation plans because of the prohibitive costs of travel.
The current state of affairs in Congress represents more than a lack of
leadership – it is an abdication of governance and further proof that Washington
is broken.
The ongoing Republican demands in Washington for an up or down
vote on an energy plan are not political bluster. It is a tactic made
necessary because Congressional leaders continue to play parliamentary games and
employ evasive maneuvers to protect their members from voting on a common-sense,
all-of-the-above energy solution.
In my race for Ohio’s
15th Congressional district, I have crafted just such a plan – one that places
America on the path to energy independence, reduces high gas prices, and curbs
our nation’s dangerous dependence on foreign oil. You can view my plan on
my website www.stivers4congress.com. My plan calls for the full
utilization of our domestic energy supplies, including environmentally safe
drilling off our shores and within our borders, and building new
refineries. The need for alternative energies is manifest – but it is
economic suicide to wall off our own existing domestic energy supplies as we
search for new energy sources.
But, as fossil fuels are finite and the wells
will inevitably run dry, I want to invest $100 billion over ten years in energy
research, development and conservation to foster the next generation of clean,
renewable energies. This venture would be funded in part by the revenue
generated from the purchasing of mineral rights and selling oil from federal
lands.
I also believe we must raise the CAFE standards for new automobiles to
40/mpg and trucks to 35/mpg within six years — an achievable and realistic
increase of 2/mpg per year — and create a national standard formulation for the
various grades of gas to reduce demands on our refineries. Finally, I
believe we should instill greater oversight within the Federal Trade Commission
to ensure that gas prices are not being impacted by speculative foreign
traders. While the precise impact of speculators on fuel costs is
debatable, the American people are deserving of the assurance that they are not
being fleeced by interests with no skin in the game.
For our nation to ever
segue from one powered by fossil fuels and toward energy independence, Congress
must transcend partisanship and the parochial demands of special
interests. The economic well-being of the American people should be placed
above all other considerations, and Congress should immediately enact a
meaningful, balanced energy plan, similar to the common-sense solutions I have
detailed. Congress has an opportunity, but more importantly, a
responsibility to work together to improve the lives of every American family
feeling pain at the pump. Members who continue to stand in the way of
energy independence place themselves in great political peril – the American
people are watching.

The thing that sticks out most in my mind comes in the last paragraph where Senator Stivers says "The economic well-being of the American people should be placed above all other considerations,". I could not agree more and I think the Stivers Energy plan speaks for itself.

McCain/Stivers?

No, I am not talking about Senator Stivers being a possible VP choice but with McCain spending so much time in the Columbus area it is strange that he and Senator Stivers have not had some sort of public event together. With McCain in Ohio what seems like once a week I think it would be great for them to be out in the district together. Honestly I think it would provide a boost to both campaigns, Stivers obviously would gain a good deal of national attention from such an event, and McCain could show he cares about the down-ballot races especially with some of the younger Republican prospects like Senator Stivers.I suppose it is bound to happen eventually, especially if Obama and Kilroy do it first. As hot as the 15th is right now, it is only a matter before one side or the other puts something together.

The Numbers Game

Survey USA released the latest poll numbers from the OH-15 Congressional race between Steve Stivers and Mary Jo Kilroy. Kilroy is leading Stivers 47-44% with a Margin of Error of +/- 4%.If you believe the internal polling done by the Kilroy campaign back in May, which had her up by 10%, Stivers is climbing up to pretty much even with Kilroy. That is quite a jump in just a few short months but it's not surprising considering how well Stivers has done with fundraising and getting out in the district.

While there is still plenty of time left before Election Day, the Stivers camp has to be pretty happy with these numbers.

Bring on the Debates!

The Stivers camp announced that they had accepted a fourth debate, this one with 10TV/ONN. Here is the release...

Date: 08/01/2008
Stivers Accepts Invitation for WBNS-10TV/ONN
Debate
Debate will be hosted by WBNS 10TV and ONN in
October

Columbus, Ohio – Today, Ohio State Senator and candidate for the 15th
Congressional District Steve Stivers accepted an invitation to participate in a
debate hosted by WBNS-10TV/ONN in October. The details of the debate will
be negotiated between the candidates and hosts.

“I want to thank
WBNS-10TV and the Ohio News Network for hosting this debate,” Stivers said.
“Washington is broken and voters are tired of the partisan bickering. This
debate will provide the voters of the 15th Congressional District with another
opportunity to hear the differing views of the candidates in this race. I
feel confident that when voters put my proven track record of working with
Republicans and Democrats to get things done against those of my opponents they
will agree that I am the candidate who can bring true change to
Congress.”

Stivers is a 23-year veteran of the Ohio National Guard;
a former businessman at one of Ohio’s largest employers; and a proven reformer
in the state Senate who’s pursued a moderate and independent course that
has brought both parties together to solve problems.

I am excited to see Senator Stivers wanting to get involved with more debates. While I hate to see them turned into a political football, I think the voters want and need to see what the candidates have to say when they are face to face.

Give that man a guitar!

Senator Steve Stivers: Rock Star

I realize this is over a week old but in all seriousness I believe it says a lot about our current electoral climate. Senator Stivers is a great counterpoint to the stereotype that our party is filled with... well, perhaps classical music stars? I hope this is a new trend we see with our candidates, because as we know it is hard enough to get the 18-25 demographic out to vote, let alone the 18-25 conservative demographic.

I believe that the energy portrayed by Stivers on the campaign trail, as well as his ability to connect with the younger voters as evidenced by Where Is The Red? will allow him to reach a new, untapped audience of potential voters.

Too weird to not blog about...

Alright folks, welcome to my blog. I started this blog because let's be honest, some of this stuff is too weird to not write about. As you can tell from the title, I am an OSU alum so don't be afraid of getting a little football in your politics. I've been living in Columbus for over 5 years and I have seen elections come and go. We can all see that 2008 is going to be huge and think we can all agree that there is room for at least one more arm chair quarterback/analyst.

So this whole parade stunt-double deal has been done to death so no more shots are going to be taken on that front, so let'ss move on. I saw that Greenpeace stopped at Senator Stivers's office last week. At first I thought it was just a crazy stunt to embarrass a Republican candidate, but Stivers seemed to handle it. Clearly Democrats will not be able to dominate the environmental issue like they may have been able to do in the past. Take a look at this release from the Stivers campaign:

STIVERS RELEASES STATEMENT ON ENERGY AND CLIMATE
CHANGE
Date: 07/25/2008
Stivers Welcomes Greenpeace, Releases
Statement on Energy & Climate Change

Columbus -- State Senator,
and candidate for the 15th Congressional District, Steve Stivers today welcomed
volunteers from Greenpeace to his campaign headquarters and released his
statement on energy and climate change.
"I want to thank the volunteers from
Greenpeace for coming out today; they firmly believe in their cause and it was
great to meet with them and discuss their ideas on how to address energy
issues."
“In America, we must modernize our energy policies to reduce fossil
fuel dependence and cut energy costs.

We have a moral
obligation as stewards of this world to confront the challenges of climate
change using a science-based approach. Moreover, it’s in the national
interest to become oil independent so we’re no longer reliant on nations and
regimes that fail to share our core democratic values.

This will be
one of the great challenges of our time, but one that shouldn’t frighten
us. Instead, we must embrace this transformative change, a change that
will create billions of dollars in new business and millions of new jobs.
The greening of our economy could very well help strengthen our state and
national economic health as we step forward in this new green
world."

Among other things, Stivers supports the concept of a
market-based cap-and-trade system, increased fuel standards, and massive
investment in the new, clean-energy technology that will help spur a new,
greener economy:

Cap and trade: Stivers supports the concept
of a market-based cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions. This
market-based approach must balance environmental and economic goals so there is
certainty with regard to carbon prices, important for this system to work for
everyone.
Fuel economy standards: Stivers believes America must
increase fuel economy and has called for an increase of 2mpg a year for the next
6 years, a more ambitious goal than the standards set in the Energy Independence
and Security Act of 2007.
Invest $100 Billion over 10 years in clean
energy: Stivers will invest $100 billion over 10 years to develop and
commercialize clean-energy technology and the support networks critical to power
a new, greener economy.”

I think Greenpeace got more than they bargained for with Senator Stivers. It will be interesting to see how the Kilroy campaign handles it when Greenpeace makes their next stop.