The
Becker Report
Volume
III, Issue XIX
September 15, 2009
Published
by:
John Becker
Republican State Central Committeeman and Candidate for State Senate
Ohio's 14th Senate District
Clermont, Brown, Adams, Scioto, and Lawrence Counties
513-753-6440
www.BeckerGOP.com
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Distribution:
Tim Rudd, Clermont County GOP Chairman
Paul Hall, Brown County GOP Chairman
Harty Wallingford, Adams County GOP Chairman
Dr. Terry Johnson, Scioto County GOP Chairman
Ray “Moose” Dutey, Lawrence County GOP Chairman
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Disclaimer
This
newsletter is not sanctioned by the GOP, ORP, or any organization, or
affiliation. I am fully and solely responsible for its' content. Although I
strive for accuracy, this is not "The Gospel according to John."
Additionally, I don't necessarily try to be "fair and balanced."
After all, I didn't get into politics to be a news reporter. My agenda is to
influence public policy consistent with Southern Ohio conservative values. For
more information on my motivations or how to get involved, see: What
is a Central Committee?
Prayers
Needed
Brown County Clerk of Courts Tina
Meranda continues to
appreciate all prayers.
Former Clermont County Chairman and Retired State Representative, Rose Vesper,
has not been well and needs our prayers.
The
highlights of Teddy Kennedy’s Life
Video
Central
Government 101
This is almost 11 minutes but should be required in school.
The Anti-ObamaCare Ad that ABC and NBC
Won’t Run
State
Ballot Issues for November 3, 2009
Issue 1: Authorizes the state to issue bonds to
provide compensation to veterans of the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq
conflicts
Issue 2: Creation of the Livestock Care Board
Issue 3: Authorizing casinos in Cincinnati,
Columbus, Cleveland & Toledo.
Cordray’s office issued this statement:
“If the amendment passes, we believe that it would create a risk that a
court might find that those charitable games of chance that are currently legal
might be determined to be illegal.”
Strickland followed, “I think that would be hugely unfortunate if that
was the case, and the people of our state should be aware of that possibility.”
www.LetOhioVote.org
Local
Races for 2009
Tim Rudd is being
challenged for the office of Municipal
Clerk of Courts. Tim
is also the Clermont County GOP Party Chairman. He has served
honorably in both roles.
Bob McGee and Tim Donnellon are being challenged for the office
of Union Twp Trustee (Clermont County). They are both good men. They have
established policies that have made Union Twp more transparent, more efficient,
and more effective. Ten people have filed for this race. Some are kooks, some I
don’t know, and a few others could be good choices. In addition to the two
incumbents, I like Debbie Siegroth, Paul Van Vleet, and Scott
Spradlin. Scott is
endorsed by TheClermontNews.com.
Jo Ann Beamer is running for re-election for the
West Clermont School Board. She is a great lady, loyal Republican, has
unparalleled institutional knowledge, and is endorsed by the Union Twp
Republican Central Committee.
A
Preview of the 2010 Statewide Races
US Senate
Rob
Portman is endorsed
by the Ohio Republican Party.
Tom
Ganley is also a
candidate.
Governor (Apportionment Board Office)
John
Kasich is endorsed by
the Ohio Republican Party.
Auditor of State (Apportionment Board Office)
Mary
Taylor is endorsed by
the Ohio Republican Party.
State Treasurer
Josh
Mandel is endorsed by
the Ohio Republican Party.
Secretary of State (Apportionment Board Office)
Jon
Husted is endorsed by
the Ohio Republican Party.
Sandy
O'Brien is also a
candidate.
Attorney General
Dave
Yost and Mike
DeWine are both
candidates. The Ohio Republican Party has not yet made an endorsement decision
in this race.
Commentary: Dave Yost is a very conservative Delaware County Prosecutor.
He is right on the issues, a nice guy, and a rising star in the GOP. Dave has
also worked very hard at winning the hearts and minds of Ohioans. He has
attended 46 Lincoln Day Dinners, visited over 60 counties and is endorsed by
more than 70 percent of Ohio’s GOP county prosecutors.
Former Senator Mike DeWine is much more controversial.
Mike DeWine’s favorables:
· Pro-Life Stalwart
· Served our state and nation with honor and dignity
· Served admirably as John McCain’s Ohio campaign chairman
· Good early polling numbers
· He may be the best candidate to challenge Richard Cordray and force him to focus on re-election rather than allowing Cordray to promote the entire Democrat slate.
Mike DeWine’s negatives: (The new information from my August edition is bolded.)
· Failed to support drilling in Alaska (ANWR). Domestic energy exploration is critical to national security and the economy.
· Failed to support 2nd Amendment rights (Endorsed by the Brady Campaign.) And named to the top 10 list of anti-gun senators by Human Events.
o Voted NO on prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers. (Jul 2005)
o Voted NO on banning lawsuits against gun manufacturers for gun violence. (Mar 2004)
o Voted YES on background checks at gun shows. (May 1999)
o Voted NO on more penalties for gun & drug violations. (May 1999)
o Voted NO on loosening license & background checks at gun shows. (May 1999)
o Voted NO on maintaining current law: guns sold without trigger locks. (Jul 1998)
· Failed to support conservative judges by joining the gang of 14 who supported the Democrat filibusters. Several conservative appellate court nominees “got thrown under the bus” (Miguel Estrada, Charles Pickering, Carolyn Kuhl, and Fourth Circuit Court nominee Terrence Boyle).
· Failed to support the 2004 Ohio Marriage Amendment.
· Failed to recognize that his support for the McCain–Feingold Act would lead to the creation of left-wing monsters such as Moveon.org.
· Failed to recognize that his support for Hate Crime legislation makes “wrong thinking” and real criminal acts, crimes.
· Failed to recognize that his support for a federal minimum wage hike would lead to higher unemployment.
· Failed to support repealing the federal 55 MPH speed limit.
· Failed to retain his US Senate seat.
· Failed to keep up in the fund raising race with Dave Yost. (DeWine $39,500; Yost $42,727)
Other concerns with Mike DeWine’s candidacy:
· The Ohio Republican Party had been rebranding itself. Arguably, we are a Party renewed with new and younger faces, new ideas, and a focus on younger and more diverse voters and new media. Mike DeWine is the antithesis of all of that.
· With John Kasich vulnerable on the gun issue and Mike DeWine’s long and entrenched history favoring gun control, the Democrats will turn history on its’ head and try to argue that we are the Party of gun control.
· Party regulars and conservatives are nearly unanimous in their belief that Mike DeWine should be enjoying a long and comfortable retirement.
· As Ohio’s Attorney General, how will he influence concealed carry reciprocity? (I’ve heard that he is having an election year conversion on this issue; better late than never.)
· How will he influence oil and gas exploration and production?
· In what ways will he be siding with liberals?
· Which “election year conversions” will the voters believe?
Ohio Supreme Court Chief
Justice
Former
Attorney General, Jim Petro, and Justice Maureen O'Conner
are both
candidates. The Ohio Republican Party has not yet made an endorsement decision
in this race.
Ohio Supreme Court
Judith Lanzinger and Paul Pfeifer will run for
re-election.
What is the Apportionment Board?
The
Board consists of the Governor, Secretary of State, State
Auditor, and a Republican and Democrat selected from the Legislature.
Control is important because the Board redraws the State House and State Senate
districts based on the 2010 national census. The Party redrawing the district
lines will have a huge advantage in determining control of the legislature in
2012 and beyond. The legislature redraws the US House districts.
Becker for State
Senate
The
Primary Election is 31 months away. I've been meeting with people, getting
ideas, and raising money.
Past
Events
September
12, 2009
It
was a great honor and privilege to make my second appearance on the TIB Radio Network. The panelists asked
me a number of hard hitting questions regarding the Ohio Republican Party and
our candidates. They grilled me regarding the 9/11/2009 meeting date for our endorsement
meeting and then closely analyzed how I voted and why. Furthermore, they took
me back to the June leadership meeting to discover how I voted then. They were
also very interested in the Attorney General race and how the Party was
involved.
September
11, 2009
The
Republican State Central Committee met to discuss endorsements in four
statewide races. We endorsed Rob Portman, John Kasich, Josh Mandel, and Jon
Husted. (At a previous meeting, we endorsed Mary Taylor.) We also created a
select committee to study the Attorney General race. That committee will report
back to the full committee at our December meeting.
Our luncheon keynote speakers were Rob Portman and Mary Taylor. She and I were
sitting at the same table during lunch. That was when I got thinking about how
much Mary and Josh Mandel have in common. They are both rising stars, very
smart, hard workers, and appear to be about the same age. I’m not sure about
Josh, but Mary’s only enemy appears to be Ted Strickland. Also at the table was
Supreme Court Justice Judith Lanzinger. It was great to
meet her and we had a nice chat after lunch.
I attended the Portman campaign rally but had to leave for my daughter’s
volleyball game before the Kasich event started. However, it was a great pleasure
to see Brown County’s Bill Herdman and Mariah Votel. It was equally great to
see Ray “Moose” Duty. He is the Chairman of the Lawrence County GOP.
September
8, 2009
About
25 people attended the Scioto County Central Committee meeting in New Boston. Dan
Hall presented an electronic version of his extensive database of information
on his precinct. It looked like Voter Vault but customized for a Scioto County
Precinct Committeeman. Additionally, the Fall Rally was discussed and local
candidates addressed the committee.
September 5, 2009
Crowd estimates were as high as 18,000 people at the VOA TEA Party in Butler
County. Although my moment of fame was very brief, it was the largest crowd
that I’ve ever addressed. I saw about a dozen people, or so, that I knew
including my State Central Committee colleague Christa Criddle. Jean Schmidt, Paul Odioso, and Thea Shoemake were amongst
the people from Clermont County that I saw.
September 4, 2009
Josh Mandel was the keynote
speaker at the Anderson Twp GOP Club picnic. A crowd of
nearly 60 people heard his story and got to see the shoes that he wore holes
into. Josh pledged to the crowd that he would always be honest, accessible, and
that nobody would outwork him.
September 4, 2009
About 70 people attended Chip Gerhardt’s First Friday luncheon
to hear Kentucky’s Secretary of State and US Senate candidate Trey Grayson. I spoke with Alex Triantafilou, Pat
DeWine,
and a few other politicos.
September 2, 2009
The Union Twp GOP Central Committee met to consider endorsements.
Congratulations to Jo Ann Beamer. She was
overwhelmingly endorsed for reelection to the West Clermont School Board. Brian
Ford updated the committee on the progress of a mission statement, values,
vision, and the responsibilities of a precinct committeeman.
August 27, 2009
The Brown County GOP Club hosted about 35 people at the fairground’s GOP booth.
Brown County Farm Bureau President Doug Dyer and Director Heather Utter gave a presentation
on why we should vote YES on state ballot issue #2. Other issues including the
Ruthven event and the picnic were discussed.
Event
Calendar
September
16, 2009
Fundraiser
for Union Twp Trustee Tim
Donnellon
at Eastgate Receptions from 5pm to 7pm
September 16, 2009
Clermont County Central Committee meeting in Batavia
at 7:00 pm
September 17, 2009
Family First PAC Annual Dinner
featuring Christine O’Donnell at the Sharonville
Convention Center for $65. Social at 5:30pm and dinner at 6:30pm.
September 18, 2009
Fundraiser for Rob Portman at Lunken Airport Air 10 Hanger at 7pm for $100. Contact:
Lindsay Reynolds
September 19, 2009
ORP Leading Ohio Dinner at Great Wolf Lodge in Mason for $100. Call 614-228-2481.
http://blog.kasichforohio.com/?p=513&msource=JK082009EM
September 21,
2009
Jean Schmidt luncheon at the Queen City Club from 12pm to
1pm for $250
Contact Phil Greenburg at 513-686-0431
September 23, 2009
40 Days for Life fall campaign
kickoff in front of Planned Parenthood in Mt. Auburn at 7:30 pm
September 28th – October 3rd
Brown County Fair in Georgetown
October 4, 2009
Clermont County Life Chain from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm in front of Planned
Parenthood in Withamsville. Call 575-0138.
October 5, 2009
Voter registration deadline
October 7, 2009
Anderson Twp GOP Club at 7850 Five Mile
Rd.
Social at 6:00 pm and Business Meeting at 7:00 pm
October 8, 2009
Evening for Life featuring Shawn Carney at Xavier University for $45
Registration at 5:30 pm; Dinner at 6:30 pm; Call 728-7870
October 13, 2009
Scioto County Central Committee at 7:00 pm in New Boston
October 15, 2009
Ohio Christian Alliance Fall Freedom Banquet 2009 with Special Guest
Speaker Bill Federer in Akron at 7:00 pm. Call 330-887-1922
October 15, 2009
Brown County GOP Club meeting
October 17, 2009
Southern Ohio GOP County Chairs Association
October 18, 2009
Peter Bronson at Evening for Life at XU Schiff Conference Center. Call
513-728-7870x207
November 3, 2009
General Election
November 10, 2009
Scioto County Central Committee at 7:00 pm in New Boston
December 8, 2009
Scioto County Central Committee at 7:00 pm in New Boston
December 11, 2009
State Central Committee meeting in Columbus
January 9, 2010
Southern Ohio GOP County Chairs Association
February 5, 2010
Clermont County Lincoln Day Dinner
April 17, 2010
Southern Ohio GOP County Chairs Association
Paid for
by Friends of Becker, John Becker, CTP, MBA, Treasurer, 925 Locust Lane, Cincinnati, OH
45245-1313