SeedSing Classic: The Ohio Problem

SeedSing classic is a look back at our most influential articles. These pieces have been presented in their original form. No Star Warsesque special editions. Enjoy

As goes Ohio, so goes the nation.

That is where the problem begins for people trying to run for office in Ohio.  I have worked as a campaign consultant for nearly ten years to a number of candidates and causes in Ohio, I have always encountered the same problems. The Ohio Problem (as I have decided to call it) consists of the state gaining outside media influence and money every presidential election due to its perceived electoral importance.  This extra attention every four years causes the most talented, and professional campaign experts to migrate towards the high profile state and federal races.  This leaves mostly inexperienced campaign workers and volunteers to work on the local races. The existence of the Ohio Problem causes political amateurism and laughable local governance for a state that seems to always be front and center during a presidential election year.

What makes Ohio so attractive to the national political establishment?  It begins with basic demographics.  Ohio ranks as the seventh most populous state, and it is overwhelmingly white (over 82%). The median income in Ohio sits below the national average.  The unemployment rate sits slightly above the national rate.  This all shows that the residents of Ohio are usually the target of national political platform messaging.  There is no major demographic swing to alienate the residents on national politics.  The voters of Ohio turn out in record numbers for the presidential election, and their turnout in other years is usually a record low.

Why do Ohioans care so little for the local elections?  This begins with the local political parties.  Many of the same people have been in charge of their local county parties for almost a decade.  In Hamilton County (Cincinnati), the local democratic party has engaged in such amateurism as in endorsing ten candidates for a nine member city council, having their endorsed congressional candidate lose the primary to an unknown person who was not running an active campaign, and running candidates over and over again who have no ability to win the race.  These actions would get most party bosses tossed after one election cycle (I have seen this happen in Missouri, Wisconsin, and Illinois). These party leaders keep their jobs in spite of their failures. The response to the parties failures is to remind critics that Obama carried the county the last two elections. There is no interest or fidelity to the local governance of the people they are supposed to serve.  The strong republican area of Butler County, where the Speaker of the House John Boehner calls home, does not fare much better.  The local Democratic party has on occasion attempted to try new things and bring in new people. In 2012 there were some new candidates with broader appeal to the strong conservative voters of the area.  Before the end of May the party had lost any momentum because candidates were not fundraising, people in the party were looking for signs and t-shirts(again this was in May, nowhere near election time), and most of the resources were being hoarded by a small group of candidates. During strategy meetings the top priorities were knocking on doors, and getting people to vote for President Obama and Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown (both Obama and Brown received around 37% of the vote).  This showed a lack of interest in the local races in service to the national party.

Once the 2012 election had passed, many of the campaign consultants had moved on to other jobs.  A large percentage leave the political campaign world.  The ones left over are usually underpaid (if they get paid at all) and lose any loyalty towards the local party bosses.  While all campaign workers divest themselves from the system, all the county party leaders stay put to repeat the same mistakes in the next election cycle.  The next mistake turned out to be the colossal failure of the Ohio Democratic party during the 2014 state elections. Little known, and barely vetted, Cuyahoga County executive Ed Fitzgerald was tapped as the Democratic nominee for governor. Fitzgerald was going against incumbent Republican Governor John Kasich.  The poll numbers for Governor Kasich were trending below 50%.  The state Democratic Party brought in out of state consultants to run Fitzgerald's campaign.  There seemed to be no local campaign experts, because none were groomed during the 2012 elections.  By the end of August 2014, Fitzgerald's campaign imploded (go see for yourself,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_FitzGerald).  The entire state ticket went down with Fitzgerald's failed candidacy.   Since the local parties went all in with the Fitzgerald campaign, their backyard races all suffered.  Once the dust settled on the disaster of the 2014 campaign, the head of the state Democratic party stepped down, and that was the only high profile resignation.  The local party leaders were once again in charge of the next election cycle.  The 2016 election looks to be run the exact same way, all the resources moving to secure the state for the presidential candidate at the expense of local officials. 

Ohio has twice gone to President Obama, yet the state is overwhelmingly controlled by the Republican party.  Every day the citizens of Ohio watch women's health freedom get stripped away, LGBT rights sit well behind the rest of the nation, and local tax dollars being sent to the state capital so the richest can get more tax breaks.  The Ohio Problem is what causes residents below the median national income and above the national unemployment rate to .vote against their own interests.

Ohio is not alone in this issue.  The same could be said about Pennsylvania, Florida, and to a lesser extent Michigan.

The Ohio Problem must be solved.

RD Kulik

Head Editor

What's Next?

Election day is like New Years Eve for political junkies. The good stuff happens in the nighttime, we tend to stay up way later than we should, and the amount of drinking is well beyond the normal range. On the next day we are hungover, regretful, and many times confused about what happened.

The 2016 election was one of the most epic political New Years Eves in history. Once the election was over, and we woke up in a hangover, the consequences looked dire. After a quick shower, and a ton of coffee, our mind started to play through the nights events? Donald Trump is the President elect. Really? The Republicans predictable held the House of Representatives, and surprisingly continued to control the Senate. That does not seem right?  If you were a Democrat, your best option in the political new year was to keep drinking. Things look downright terrible.

If things are really terrible, we need to make them right again. Once our minds have finally recovered from the headaches and regret, only then can we start to solve our perceived problems. On New Years Day it is tradition to make resolutions, life changes, that will make our lives better. It is now the new political year, it is time for our resolutions to make the Era of Trump a personal productive one. I am going to get this ball rolling.

First up, these are the things I am going to give up in the Era of Trump.

Big Data. People like Nate Silver at 538, the New York Times Upshot, and numerous other self promoting political statisticians are useless and dangerous to the political process. Nate Silver in particular is a thin skinned, self obsessed, bullying force in our modern political discourse. He, like many others, claimed to be mathematical gurus who could read political futures. They were wrong on Trump in the primaries, and they were way wrong on the election. Silver will claim he was more sympathetic to Trump's chances. Unfortunately for him, it is obvious he was only promoting Trump as a form of clickbait. Whenever Silver was called out on his non-scientific behavior, he would throw a twitter temper tantrum. Big data is as useful as saber-metrics. It was a cute fad, until we learned that there was no real value in it. No more Upshot or 538 for me.

The Professional Left. Websites like the Huffington Post and cable outlets like MSNBC have been falling out of favor for a few years now. HuffPo is a third rate Buzzfeed wanna be with smug left leaning commentary. MSNBC is getting worse in being the crazy college kid who is "experimenting" with socialism. People like Rachel Maddow and the jamokes on "Morning Joe" have started to talk down and liberalsplain everything concerning politics. These professional left outfits have actively alienated disaffected voters by treated the middle of the country as an intellectual wasteland. The pundits on the left are out of touch, and by treating Trump as a non serious candidate, they endangered the entire country. No more wasting time being talked down to.

The Democratic Party. We have made no secret of our disdain for the professional clowns who run the Democratic Party. Around SeedSing we have even given a name to the party's incompetence, The Ohio Problem. These incompetent jabronis have failed many times, and it is time to stop giving them support. The party needs to discard the ways of 20th century politics, and embrace a modern strategy with fresh new faces. We do not need the Clintons, Bahys, and Feingolds of the world. They were great, but it is time to move on. It is time for 21st Century ideas.

What do we do next?

Do not silence your voice, yell louder. There is a saying that goes something like "If a person is in the middle of the street yelling they are crazy. If a group of people are in the middle of the street yelling, it is a movement". I want to yell in the middle of the street with a group of people. SeedSing is designed as that street with people yelling. I want the world's thoughts, ideas, and dreams. There is no word limit, no censorship, no closed commentary, just the free flow of ideas. Our country may have elected someone who embraces divisive ideas, but at SeedSing we are looking for voices who will bring hope and progress to the world. You should really check it out.

Vigilance. I do not support Donald Trump, or the GOP agenda. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan now have more power to implement their ideas on the American people. I for one believe in science, a women's right to privacy, human rights for all, and other issues the Republican congress has actively opposed. My voice will not be silent. I will not fall for the calls of unity from a group of people that have done nothing but undermine President Barack Obama. I will be stand against those who harm America, especially if those people sit in elected office.

Project 2020. SeedSing started as a launching pad for a think tank called Project 2020. The mission of Project 2020 was to find ways to elect 21st century progressive leaders in as many state legislatures as possible by 2020. If these new leaders could control the next congressional redistricting process, then we can bring true representation back to all of America. Project 2020 is not about winning the White House, it is about winning everything below the Presidency. The Republican Party has had the advantage in these races for a generation, and that has left many people without representation I am reviving the ideas of Project 2020, and we are looking for people with a 21st century vision. In the coming months we will start building a community here on SeedSing and elsewhere where these new leaders can get the support to make a run for office.

Well, I have sobered up from Election night, but the hangover still remains. It is a new political era, and I have set out my plan. Like all good resolutions, things will change according to the situation. This is a beginning, a first step. The times ahead do not look that great, but America is to great to fail. The road ahead has many obstacles, but I have a plan for what to do next. Join me.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.  

Hillary Clinton vs Donald Trump is the Least Important Choice on Your Ballot

Somehow we got to use this picture again.

Who is ready to do some voting?

At long last, the greatest election in American history is coming to an end. Jay Z has sung, Ted Nugent has grabbed his crotch, the most important voices have told you who to vote for. It is now the general public's turn. On election day, less than two thirds of eligible voters will make their choice. Hillary or Donald will emerge victorious in the days after the election, and America will enter a new era. The choice of the people will be ready to lead.

Unfortunately we are all already know what will come after the election. Trump will lose, and he will throw a temper tantrum. If in some weird way Trump does win, the Clinton supporters will lose their minds and accuse people of election fraud. The new President will be deligitimized immediately by the opponent's partisans in the media. The idea of respecting the outcome of an election is long gone. The new President will have an incompetent group of partisan hacks in the US Congress who will do everything in their power to stop any meaningful idea from the executive branch. The millions of people who vote for the loser between Clinton and Trump will feel left out of this new America, and they will react poorly.

The thing is, we have ourselves to blame for this dangerous division. The supporters of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have made the election only about themselves. Clinton does not do rallies with down ticket Democrats, and Donald Trump has flat out refused to endorse some very powerful congressional GOPers. The media, national and local, spends 99% of its time on Trump and Clinton, and the other 1% on other races. The public is uninformed, and not curious, about any thing outside of the freakshow that has been the 2016 Presidential campaign. That attitude has created a broken America.

This is a huge problem. Barack Obama won in 2008 and 2012 by a wide margin. He is the first President since Eisenhower in 1956 to win over 51% of popular vote twice. What do we remember from Obama's eight years? We have the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare if your nasty. We also have a ton of Republican obstructionism. That is pretty much it. There was the increase in LGBTQ rights, but that came from the courts. Obamacare and Republican obstructionism is pretty much what we saw over eight years. There has been a record number of votes to overturn Obamacare, all failed. We have now long past the record for the most amount of time a Supreme Court appointment has gone without a hearing. If Obama is so popular, how can Congress keep being do nothing obstructionists and get away with it?

Obama, like Clinton and Trump today, never made their supporters care for the down ticket races. It takes a whole lot of money, and personpower, to run for President. The hording of resources is what we have called the Ohio Problem (you can read all about on this fine website). The general electorate, or less than two thirds of it, get excited to vote for President, and forget everything else. Midterm elections struggle to get half the amount of voters in Presidential elections. There is very rarely times where people are excited to vote for the Senator, or school board member. That lack of excitement has given us a popular President, and a Congress more concerned with partisanship than with doing actual work. The most important races, the people running who can actual affect your life, are being pushed to the side for the dog and pony show of modern Presidential campaigns. 

In 2000 many people thought George W Bush was way less qualified to be President than Al Gore. In 2008 Hillary Clinton and John McCain made the case that Barack Obama was a celebrity, not a seasoned politician. The press liked the camera friendly Bush, and the dynamic Obama. The people followed the press. The American people elected the popular kids over the hard working salutatorians. The idea of celebrity was overshadowing the solid resumes of the DC lifers. People wanted to be part of a movement, they wanted to join the cult of personality. The experienced workers were squares who most of the electorate ignored.

While these media friendly neophytes were winning, the public forgot about the people who actually make laws. In the last two decades, a freshman member of the US Congress has more power than the President. Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul have stopped legislation supported by both parties. Members of the House of Representatives you have never heard of are currently blocking vital federal funds from solving the water crisis in Flint, Michigan and containing the Zika virus outbreak in Florida. The most powerful members of our government were being reelected with no competition from the opposing party. Even in the swing state of Ohio, the Democratic party has ceded the election to a man who was once the Budget Director and trade representative to George W Bush. Hillary Clinton is working hard to expand the Democratic Party's electoral college map, but her hording of state resources are allowing the GOP to keep a stranglehold on Capitol Hill. Her supporters believe electing Hillary will be enough. It won't be.

How the Democratic Party keeps missing the lessons of 2012 are baffling. Hillary will probably win, and the Republican party will still control Congress. Senators John McCain, Ted Cruz, and Mike Lee have promised not to hold hearings for any Supreme Court appointments for the next four years. That is unconstitutional and anti-American. Nationwide, people running for office as Republicans have promised to waste more taxpayer money by have a thousand more showboat votes to defund Obamacare. By ignoring down ballot races, the Democratic Party is embracing gridlock and giving up any chance of change until the next election.

This needs to be the next election. We have made the case for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, but their victory is unimportant. Many people have expressed their frustration that both candidates are terrible. Then don't vote for the President, or vote third party. Who cares? Trump will not have the power to do what he wants to, and he will act the child he has been his whole life. Clinton will not have a Congress that will work with her, and she will use the office to enrich her family and her donors. Ok, they stink, but there are other people on the ballot. The person you elect to the US House, the Senate, your state legislature, town council, school board, they have real power. Your taxes are decided by these people. The education your child receives is in these peoples hands. Feel like you do not know who these people are, check out your local ballot. Think you don't know these people, Google them. If you plan on going to vote for Hillary or Donald anyway, it doesn't hurt to take time and vote for the people who really matter.

We get our chance to end this nightmare tomorrow. Clinton V Trump will not be listed as one of the more inspiring Presidential campaigns in US history. The good thing is we have a moment to take power back. Sure there all third party candidates like Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, Evan McMullin, and Cthulhu, but we should focus on the not as well known names lower on the ballot. When we focus on getting a working Congress, a school board who thinks of children over partisan interests, and judges who focus on the law over special interests, then we will have a government who has real hope and change. 

Go out and vote.

RD  

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Be a thought leader of tomorrow and write for SeedSing. 

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The Ohio Problem: The Capitulation of Ted Strickland

Ohio has once again become ground zero for Presidential politics. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump desperately need to win the Buckeye state. Professional surrogates and dedicated volunteers have been dispatched all over the state to gain us much ground as possible for their respective major party nominee. With early voting about to begin, the battle for Ohio’s electoral votes has begun.

Here we go again.

The voters in Ohio will not only be casting their votes for President this October and November, they will also vote for a number of local officials and one national Senator. Republican incumbent Rob Portman will face off against former Democratic Governor Ted Strickland. There are a few fringe party candidates on the ticket, but the real race is between Portman and Strickland. Both candidates faced primary opponents, with Portman winning with no struggle and Strickland easily besting upstart Cincinnati Councilman PG Sittenfeld. The Democratic and Republican candidates have spent two years, or longer, preparing for the 2016 Ohio Senate race through back door strategy meetings and very public fundraising. Outside of the race for President, the Ohio Senate election has captured the minds, and opinions, of all registered Buckeye voters.

With a few weeks left in the 2016 election, Republican Rob Portman has been assumed as the victor in the Ohio Senate race. The polls give Portman a commanding lead over Democrat Strickland. The money is still steadily coming in for Portman, while the Strickland is cutting staff and cancelling ad buys. The race for President is still a tossup in Ohio, the race for Senate ended in the summer.

The Ohio Problem has once again been a detrimental force to any Democrat who is not the Presidential nominee. A big reason Ted Strickland decided to run for the US Senate was his tight relationship with the Clintons. It was thought having Strickland on the ticket would further enhance Hillary Clinton’s ability to win Ohio’s crucial electoral votes. Unfortunately, once Republican nominee Donald Trump started to close the gap in Ohio, the Clinton campaign started to consolidate as much of the money and manpower in the state. Since Strickland was willingly playing second fiddle to the Presidential nominee, there were no table scraps left for the former governor. The political operatives in Ohio starved their own homegrown candidate so the national party could once again consume every available resource. A contest at the national level meant no time for a race at the state level. The people of Ohio were once again told a Democratic President is so much more important than any state representation in Washington DC.

Governor Ted Strickland never had the chance, or the will, to mount a credible campaign against Republican Senator Rob Portman. During the Democratic Primary, Councilman Sittenfeld was travelling the state and running ads portraying his vision for Ohio and America. Strickland ran no ads, traveled only to meet with Democratic Party leaders, and refused to debate Sittenfeld. Once the primary was over, Portman started to conduct voter outreach while Strickland only appeared in public to promote Hillary Clinton. In the middle of the summer, ads painting Ted Strickland as a bad choice for Ohio started to appear on the airwaves all over the state. No ads supporting Strickland could be found. By the end of the summer, Senator Portman was being featured in ads as a positive, and inspirational figure for Ohio. The only time anyone would see and hear Ted Strickland’s name were in ads that highlighted the failures of the former Governor. By Labor Day, the race between Portman and Strickland was already cast as a race between the positive Republican incumbent who cared for Ohioans, and the out of touch and failure to the people that is the Democrat Strickland. First week of September, Portman and his political allies put the Ohio Senate race away.

Many things said about Ted Strickland’s time as Governor were true, when all context is removed. Ohio did see many economic problems during the Democrat’s four years in Columbus. Ted Strickland easily won the Ohio Governor election in 2006, and officially took office in 2007. Strickland inherited a state teetering economically due to the corruption of the previous governor’s regime, Republican Bob Taft. As Strickland was getting his policies in place to heal Ohio’s economic woes, the 2008 economic collapse hit the nation. Ohio, like most of the nation, was in financial hot water due to the terrible economic decisions made by the Bush administration in Washington DC. Ohio lost jobs, Ohio lost economic stability, and Ted Strickland was governor. With a reelection bid only two short years away, Governor Strickland had to move fast. New President Barrack Obama was interested in spurring economic growth with upgrades to the US passenger rail system. Ohio was to be the recipient of some of these infrastructure funds to create a high speed passenger rail line from Cleveland to Cincinnati. Other new economic measures were being put in motion by Governor Strickland’s office all the way up to the 2010 election. The future was looking a little brighter for the Buckeye state.

Even after the 2008 economic collapse, the 2010 contest looked like an easy reelection for Governor Strickland. The Republicans nominated former congressman, Fox News talking head, Lehman Brothers associate, and generally rude human being John Kasich. The republican candidate's work history for failed banking firm Lehman Brothers should have been enough to sink his campaign. Unfortunately since it was not a Presidential election year, the skilled Democratic party operatives were no where to be found in Ohio. The big money Democratic party donors sat out of the 2010 Governor’s race. Ted Strickland himself seemed to be giving up, even when the polls in late October were showing the democrat having the electoral advantage. Due to the total Democratic party giving up, a man who unapologetically defended his work with one of the banking firms responsible for the 2008 economic collapse won a very narrow election against the Governor Ted Strickland. National Democratic Party malaise gave the country John Kasich.

2012 saw the Democratic party, and its donors, back in Ohio in full force. President Obama won the state, and nearly every other democrat lost. 2014 saw the absolute disaster of the Ed Fitzgerald campaign, and former Lehman Brother associate John Kasich easily won reelection. A few higher ups in the state Democratic party left in disgrace, a new group of insiders took over, and the regional leaders of the party stayed the same. Their failures were not punished. 2016 was coming, and Ohio had many of the same faces who should be focused on the local elections being used to only enlarge the Presidential candidate. Former Governor Ted Strickland was primarily being used to help the Clinton campaign, and secondarily he was trying to win a Senate race. That is the playbook for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Since the Senate was a second concern for Ted Strickland, his full attention was never on his own race. PG Sittenfeld tried to run a race for the US Senate, but the national Democrats wanted a candidate who would defer to the top of the ticket. While Rob Portman and his allies were painting Ted Strickland as a failed politician, Ohio Democrats turned all of their attention to the Presidential campaign. The Strickland campaign was not even trying to show how their candidate compared to the Republican incumbent. Even Senior Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, has not been seen assisting the Strickland campaign. Like in 2014, Democrats in Ohio have been failed by their own party in trying to be competitive in any local race.

The Strickland campaign could have easily put Senator Rob Portman on the defense and made the election about the incumbent Senator's support for some very bad ideas. While in the US House of Representatives, Portman voted for NAFTA and was a yes in the decision to impeach President Bill Clinton. He was briefly the United States Trade Representative under President George W. Bush. During Portman's time as the trade representative, the US trade deficit with China increased by over 20%. Also under President Bush, Rob Portman served as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. This appointment positioned Portman as one of the key architects of the US economy. Shortly after Portman left this position, the United States economy collapsed. As a current US Senator, Rob Portman signed onto the UnConstitutional, disrespectful, and pointless Tom Cotton letter to Iran. With a record spanning over two decades in Washington DC, there are many problematic decisions Rob Portman has made. There are many ads the Ted Strickland for Senate campaign could make to show Portman is unworthy of reelection.

Yet there were no ads connecting Rob Portman to the failed Bush economy. There has been talk of the waste, and pettiness, of the Senator signing the Cottan letter that disrespects the US Constitution. Democratic leaders, like Senator Sherrod Brown, have not been travelling the state and tell the people of Ohio how Senator Portman has put party ideology above his constituents interest. The Ohio Democratic Party has been cowering to the national party, and Ted Strickland capitulated to Rob Portman by the time summer ended.   

The Ohio Problem is not going away while we have the same failed local leaders, and the same disinterested candidates, populating the Democratic Party. The professional political operatives in the Buckeye state have once again focused all of their energy on the Presidential campaign, and voters have once again been left with no support to have people in Congress that represent their ideals. Ted Strickland may have official thrown in the towel in September, but he never had the will to put up a credible fight. Ohio will once again be talked about as being a crucial swing state for Presidential race, but when it comes to local politics it is as red as any other Republican stronghold. Thanks to inept leadership, Ohio Democrats continue to let the Ohio Problem grow. The voters deserve leaders who care.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Do you have a thought about the Ohio Problem. Tell us all about it. 

SeedSing is funded by a group of generous donors. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The Ohio Problem: The Curious Case of PG Sittenfeld

Believe it or not, but there is a choice in the Ohio Democratic Party US Senate Primary

As goes Ohio, so goes the nation.

Well that is a big problem.

The Ohio problem is not unique to the fine people of the Buckeye state. National political leaders have been starving the local activists in many states for years. Ohio just seems to be the epicenter of the failed local work exhibited by the National Democratic Party. This Tuesday the Buckeye state will hold its Republican and Democratic primary elections, and the Ohio Problem has once again surfaced in the form of a Democratic primary for the US Senate.

Republican Rob Portman is currently the junior senator from the great state of Ohio. Senator Portman is not a hateful republican, just a non curious and greedy one. He was a trade representative and budget director for the George W Bush administration.  All reasonable people can agree that the Bush administration did not do a stellar job with trade and the economy. Rob Portman does not have the best resume to be a senator from any state, but not being a hateful idiot seems to help his elect-ability in Buckeye country. Senator Portman's ease of getting elected can be directly tied to the fact that the Ohio state Democratic party has been disorganized and lacks experience. For over a decade the same incompetent people have been losing elections years after year. Their only victories have been the two times President Obama carried the state. Two national wins and countless of local defeats to extremist Republicans equals a decade of no accountability. The ease of incumbent Senator Portman's reelection looked inevitable again in 2016.  The Ohio democrats seemingly could not mount any credible fight against the incumbent Republican. The 2016 election was again going to be all about the President, the rest of Ohio's democrats would be on their own.

Surprisingly a newcomer did step up to the plate for the Ohio Democratic Party in the race for the United States Senate. Cincinnati City Councilman PG (Alexander Paul George) Sittenfeld decided in early 2015 to challenge Senator Portman. No other credible challengers had emerged, and Councilman Sittenfeld stepped up for the Democrats. The Councilmen is very youthful, just over the age of 30, but a formidable fundraiser and campaigner.  Sittenfeld easily won two elections for the Cincinnati City Council, and is very active on social media and with the local press corps. If the people of Cincinnati could only name one member of council, that member would be PG Sittenfeld. His energy, bright personality, and independence has made him popular with Republicans and Democrats alike. Sittenfeld was one of the first millennial politicians that seemingly could challenge the baby boomers in the establishment.

Not long after PG Sittenfeld announced his intent to run for the US Senate, former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland threw his hat into the ring. Strickland had served in the US House of Representatives for a long time and was a one term governor for the Buckeye state.  Many political pundits thought that Governor Strickland was the only hope to defeat Senator Portman in the 2016 election. Strickland was well regarded by many in Ohio. He held an A rating from the NRA, and this man is a Democrat. He has a long history and Washington DC, and that history has given Strickland a nice pipeline for fundraising. The fact that Strickland has already won one state wide race, and was narrowly defeated in another, shows that the former Governor has good name recognition with the voters in Ohio. Ted Strickland had a clear path to the Democratic party's nomination for the US Senate.

Even with the Governor Strickland's perceived inevitability, Councilman PG Sittenfeld was not ready to concede the race. There were some new ideas coming from the youthful Cincinnatian. PG Sittenfeld was talking about things that effected the largest growing voting block, the millennials. His canidiacy was bound to bring energy and excitement not tied to the national Presidential election. PG Sittenfeld was going to excite Ohioans about issues that face Ohio.  By the time Ted Strickland filed to run for the US Senate, Sittenfeld had already brought in a campaigning staff, and he had received donations from some big donors (including Google's Eric Schmidt). The Cincinnati council member was not ready to abdicate the nomination to Governor Strickland.

Unfortunately the Ohio and National Democratic party leaders wanted to  force Sittenfeld out of the race in an undemocratic way. Soon after Ted Strickland entered the race, many state and national political leaders endorsed the former Governor. To endorse a candidate in a state primary more than a year before the election was unheard of. Many of the local Democratic activists were also encouraged to endorse Strickland over Sittenfeld. A smear campaign against the Cincinnati council member quickly followed. The state party was telling the media that Sittenfeld had promised to leave the race if Strickland decided to run.  The narrative being sold by the establishment of the Democratic party was that Sittenfeld was hurting the party's chance to pick up a senate win in 2016. The opposition to an up and coming Democrat was unprecedented. PG Sittenfeld was going to lose this election, his first loss, and it would be better for his career if he left the path clear for Ted Strickland. The Ohio Democratic Party did not want to give people a choice in the matter. 

PG Sittenfeld represents the future of the Democratic Party in Ohio. His early career in the Cincinnati City Council should bring support from the national and state party. The councilman even sided with the establishment of the Democratic Party when he changed his opposition on the Cincinnati street car project. That flip-flop, and inexplicable reasoning by the councilman to continue to spend on construction because money had already been spent, will haunt Sittenfeld his entire political career. He took that risk for the better of the party, and they have not been grateful. In many other, not as controversial areas, Sittenfeld has been a bright spot for the party. He fully embraced First Lady Michelle Obama's Keep Moving campaign. He has been outspoken on equality for the LGBTQ community. He is extremely active in the community when it comes to violence and poverty. If there is a cause important to Democrats, PG Sittenfeld has been one of their champions.

The Strickland / Sittenfeld primary contest perfectly represents how bad the Ohio Problem is. The Buckeye State will once again be home to many out of state campaign experts. The Democratic Party will once again put a great emphasis on winning Ohio for their Presidential candidate. Ted Strickland is part of the old establishment, he is seen as a nice compliment to Hillary Clinton (if she wins the nomination). PG Sittenfeld is too much of an unknown, the party does not see his value to winning Ohio. With no dedicated, experienced, political operatives in Ohio all of the political decisions for the Buckeye State are seen through the national party's needs. Councilman Sittenfeld has even fallen victim to the Ohio Problem. He has been put in a position to replace most of his locally grown campaign staff with people who do not live in Ohio. He has changed his main focus from student debt relief to gun control. This pivot in campaign strategy has netted some high profile endorsements for Sittenfeld, with most of the endorsements coming from out of state celebrities. PG Sittenfeld has been very active travelling the state and discussing his Senate run with local Democratic Party activists, but in order to stay relevant he has had to lean on influence makers who do not live in the Buckeye state. The lack of support and structure for a strong local candidate has been detrimental to PG Sittenfeld's hope to be in the United States Senate. Ted Strickland, who mainly works in Washington DC, may be from Ohio but his strength lies with his ties to the national Democratic party. Sittenfeld's support from the state is no match for Strickland's DC connections.

The Ohio Problem is still contributing to the electoral problems in the Buckeye state. Cincinnati City Council member PG Sittenfeld may seem to not have a chance to defeat former Governor Ted Strickland, but the state party has never really given the upstart Sittenfeld a chance to compete. The national Democratic Party establishment has used their outside influence in Ohio to try and make the state Senate primary as undemocratic as possible. It is frustrating that the national and state parties have tried to go out of the way to force Sittenfeld out of the race since day one. The people of Ohio deserve a fresh perspective. PG Sittenfeld can help end the Ohio Problem, if only he had a bit more local support.  The leaders of the Ohio Democratic Party may have changed, but their incompetence and fidelity to the national Democratic Party establishment is the same as it ever was. This cycle needs to end. The people of Ohio deserve to have their interests represented by politicians who focus on Ohio.  The people of Ohio deserve democracy

As goes the country, so goes Ohio. That is the core of the Ohio Problem.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is tired of the old failed ways of state parties who focus on presidential races and leave behind their own local candidates. Ohio is not alone in this practice, tell us about your state's failures in electing true leaders - write for SeedSing.

The Day(s) After: Super Saturday and Tuesday 2 Edition

The Saturdays and Tuesdays are about to get a lot more Super

Looking at the results of Super Saturday and Super Tuesday 2 one can see that the Republican and Democratic Primary season is far from over. Both political parties are facing scenarios not thought of one year ago. Hillary Clinton's clear path is becoming more and more clouded. The rise, and inability to stop, Donald Trump is  becoming more and more troublesome to the Republican establishment and the national media. The 2016 primary season is making a fool out of a lot of the self identified experts. Maybe the people are really taking the power back.

On Saturday Texsas Senator Ted Cruz took his turn as the latest Republican establishment hope to take down Donald Trump. With a commanding win in Kansas and a tight upset in Maine, Cruz won the most overall delegates on the first Super Saturday. Donald Trump scored a few more small victories in Kentucky and Louisiana to pad his delegate totals, but Cruz closed the gap on the New York businessman's lead. Once the votes were tallied on Super Tuesday 2, Trump put a bit more distance between himself and Cruz with wins in Hawaii, Michigan, and Mississippi. Cruz eked out a win in Idaho and held second place in the other contests to stay in the primary race. Florida Senator Marco Rubio again underachieved on Saturday and Tuesday, winning zero delegates yesterday. All of the love and hope the Republican establishment and national media had for Rubio is evaporating quickly. Ohio Governor John Kasich finished where he normally does, far behind the leaders. With one week to go before the big winner take all prizes of Florida and Ohio, Ted Cruz is the only hope the Republican party has in derailing Trump's hold on the party's nomination for President of the United States.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continued to separate herself from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination with the help of a few southern states and super delegates. Blow out wins in Mississippi and Louisiana added to Clinton's lead, while Sanders closed gap with wins in Kansas, Nebraska, Maine, and surprisingly Michigan. When the delegates are added from Super Saturday and Tuesday 2, Clinton and Sanders won almost the same amount. Where Secretary Clinton is separating herself from the Green Mountain State Senator is in the super delegates. These Democratic party officials do not need to follow the will of the people, and can vote for whomever they please. Clinton has spent years cultivating this valuable resource, and no matter how many close races Senator Sanders wins, she will still have the numbers advantage because of the super delegates. In order for Bernie Sanders to capture the Democratic nomination, he needs to win some of the big primary prizes, such as Ohio and Florida, and convince the super delegates to support his candidacy at the Democratic National Convention. That seems unlikely. 

Six months ago no one thought that Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Bernie Sanders would still be in this race. Cruz has received no endorsements from any of his Senate colleagues, and is generally disliked by the Republican establishment. Every week Donald Trump seems to do something that would end the political career of any other person. Bernie Sanders is constantly smeared by the national media as some sort of socialist boogeyman. Not one of these three candidates has the support of anyone of influence in the Republican and Democratic parties. How is it that we are approaching mid March, and all three men are still able to win their respective party's nomination? How did everyone get this primary season so wrong?

In the case of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, the Republican party has been grooming their voters to hate governance. The rise of the tea party created a culture of obstructing anything that President Obama and the Democratic Party wanted to get done. There was absolutely no support for the smallest bits of bipartisanship. Then Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in 2010 that his number one job was to make Barrack Obama a one term president. He failed. While the Democratic Party failed at supporting down ticket candidates, a new breed of obstructionist Republicans started to take office. The Glenn Becks and Fox News personalities celebrated this culture of discord. Any one who compromised was severely punished. John Boehner, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, was the highest profile casualty of the new Republican Party. Boehner's failure to lead his own party was embraced by many Republicans. Ted Cruz was celebrated by the right wing media for attempting to stop any kind of legislation that required compromise. Donald Trump just yells about how other people are losers. The Republican Party embraced these tactics, and now they want to deny their champions. The voters were trained to want the bombast of Trump, the inflexibility of Cruz. The Republican voters want demagogues, not leaders. The party created this want.

The lingering campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders represents how much the Democratic Party has wasted the potential of the millennial vote. The Clinton campaign was embarrassed by the upstart Obama in 2008, and they did everything in their power to not make the same mistake again. The Democratic National Committee purposely limited the number of debates early on to help the former Secretary of State. The Clinton campaign has been raising money for years, to the detriment of many lower profile candidates. Any other Democrat who showed an interest in running for President was quickly met with scorn from the national party. Hillary Clinton's coronation as the Democratic nominee for President was one of the most undemocratic processes in modern political history. Senator Sanders, who is not even identified as a Democrat in the U.S. Senate, was so far outside of the established party that no one took his candidacy serious. The voters who identify as Democrats, but have felt betrayed by the party, flocked to Sanders campaign. The Clinton campaign has once again underestimated the voices of the disaffected Democrats, and it is costing them votes. Many thought Sanders could only win a few small liberal New England states, and now his campaign has claimed victory in Michigan. Without the advantage of super delegates, Sanders and Clinton would be neck and neck. The mistakes of 2008 seem to be coming back to haunt Hillary Clinton. The longer Bernie Sanders stays in this race, Hillary Clinton will have more pressure to talk about issues important to the millennial vote. If she refuses to acknowledge their ideas, 2016 is going to be a reminder of 2008.

The 2016 primary season has been unpredictable for both the Republican and Democratic party. Next week Florida and Ohio may bring more clarity on who will actually be on the ballot for President in November. Can the Republicans stop Trump? It looks unlikely. Is Ted Cruz the true choice of the Republican establishment? Probably not. Will John Kasich and Marco Rubio stop wasting peoples time? We can only hope.  Will Bernie Sanders be able to ride the potential of the millennial vote to the Democratic party nomination for President of the United States? Who the heck knows? The unpredictability makes this election one for the history books. 

RD

RD Kulik is the head editor for SeedSing. He is willing to admit when he is wrong, and he has been so wrong about this election. Lend your voice to the discussion and keep SeedSing on the right and true path, write for us.

The SeedSing (half) year in Politics and Society

What is the opposite of progress?

SeedSing was launched on May 1st (National Workers Day) so we could look at politics and pop culture from the common person. We are not interested in influence or telling stories that will protect the egos of the well connected. What started out as one man's personal political philosophy has grown into a discussion covering a variety of topics. Join us for a look back at the year in politics and society.

The first article posted on our Politics/Society section was about The Ohio Problem. Every presidential election states like Ohio become very important to the national Democratic Party. Out of state consultants are brought in to fund raise and create a massive voter outreach program for the presidential nominee. In their effort to secure the state, the Democratic Party forgets about the local candidates. The lack of voter turnout during non-presidential elections is a direct consequence of the Ohio problem. There was another election in November of 2015, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky saw the election of a Tea Party zealot for Governor, large in part because voter turnout was so low. This is directly related to the Republican Party taking over the majority of local offices in many blue states. We identified the The Ohio Problem, and then tried to find out how to solve this issue. Technology and an emphasis on local messaging are two solutions we put forward. In 2016 SeedSing is looking forward to many other solution oriented ideas on how to fix a problem like Ohio.

The how and why of the modern Republican Party was featured many times on SeedSing. The hypocrisy, lack of global leadership, the need to be hateful, the absence of vision, and the celebration of failure, were all on display for the Republican Party this year. The only glimmer of hope in their dreary future seems to be Senator Rand Paul, but the Republican Party does not seem to care about a candidate who can grow the parties voter base. The parties faithful base would rather rally behind a loudmouthed bigot idiot that has never heard of Muhammad Ali or Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

The traditional press and the original internet taste makers were beginning to show their incompetence in 2015. The rise of Donald Trump is upon us because the news people on television love to have a good story. It is time to ignore the press before they really bring disaster to our society. The old icons of the internet were not behaving any better than their television counterparts. Reddit and Gawker may be letting out their final breaths. At SeedSing we believe it is time for the old walled ways of the internet to die, and it is time to make way for a new open discussion.

How we live and the way we define people became a topic of discussion all over the internet. Tina S shared her views on what #ILookLikeAnEngineer really means. The saga of Rachel Dolezal briefly made us talk about how we identify race. Kirk Aug recommended books on  the failure that is the war on drugs, and the policy side of death. We took a look at the legalization of marijuana, and it's eventual failure at the Ohio ballot box.  Who we are and how we live will determine the type of society we will die in.

Gun violence became a larger problem with a solution falling farther away. Guns were used as tools of destruction for a racist. Guns were used to kill two people trying to do their jobs. Guns were used to cause terror at rural community college. Guns were used by crazy people to insight terror in Paris. Predictable we decided to fight this terror with more destruction. Each event was covered by the news, and as a society we tried to find meaning. The public was never able to discuss the gun as being part of the problem, and the violence continues. 

We had many challenging discussions at SeedSing about the state of our politics and our society. 2016 looks to be an even more exciting year. We have a Presidential election to look forward to. Will Hillary win it all (probably)? Have something to say about the state of politics and society? Come join our conversation.

Thank you for 2015. On to 2016

RD Kulik (and all the SeedSing contributors)

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. Do you love SeedSing, but do not want to write? Money is always welcome around here.

The Democratic Party is Hurting Voter Turnout

The average democrat on election day

Once again we have another fringe republican beat the polls and win a major election. The good Democrats across the nation point the blame squarely at low voter turnout. If people do not vote, bad people get elected. We have seen so many people talk about this phenomenon. When people do not vote, their own interest suffers. When republicans win, it is because democrats do not vote. This has been the conventional wisdom for decades. Democrats lose, blame the voters who did not vote. Democrats win, it was a great get out the vote effort. The same story election after election. If voter turnout is the only way for Democrats to win, then elections that experience low voter turnout must be the fault of the Democratic Party.

Once upon a time the modern Democratic party cared about elections in non-presidential years. Throughout most of the 20th century the Democratic Party had a stranglehold on the US Congress, and the majority of state governments. The platform of the democratic party fit well with the humanity of the electorate. The great Reagan electoral slaughter of 1984 saw the Democratic party maintain control of the House of Representatives and gain seats in the US Senate. The media will tell you that everyone loved Reagan and the Republicans in 1984, but that is just not true. When the Democrats won presidential elections, they controlled the entire federal government. In 1992 Bill Clinton won the White House, and the Democratic Party had solid control of both chambers of Congress. Two short years later the Republican Revolution of 1994 saw the GOP take control of the US House, Senate, and many state governments. Since 1994 the Republicans have gained more and more control of state governments, and they have increased their hold on the US Congress. Near the end of 2015 31 state legislatures are completely controlled by the Republican Party (8 are split control, leaving only 11 state legislatures run by the Democratic Party). The Republican party has 32 State governors (they will take control of Kentucky in 2016, and may lose Louisiana later this year). Things are getting better for the Republicans, and much worse for the Democrats. 

The interesting trend to look at is the election of Republican governors in states that Obama won in 2012. There are a number of states that vote for the Democrat at the top of the national ticket, and then tend to go for the Republican in state races. These states include Florida, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The interesting thing to look at with theses states who are blue and red is that each of these states do not hold their governor elections on the same year as the presidential election. The Democratic Party invests heavily in these states during for the Presidential election, yet in the off years there is no financial or human capital remaining to mount a statewide campaign for the governor's mansion. The local party leaders are rewarded for winning the state for the president, yet they are never called to task for losing the state governments. It seems like most of the Democratic Party cares very little in trying to govern in they very states they value so much every four years.

Money is crucial to elections. Starting with the election of Bill Clinton in 1992, the DNC has funneled most of the campaign contributions to the top of the ticket. By 2012 the Obama campaign was hording money, while the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was begging for funds. The funding for republicans in local elections is far larger than that of democratic candidates. Currently the Hillary Clinton campaign has a record amount of money raised, yet no local democrat is benefiting from this war chest. Who can blame the Clinton campaign, they are just following the accepted practices of the Democratic National Committee. They are telling democratic voters that only the presidential campaign matters.

This is not a new problem, it started in 1994, and the Democrats in Washington DC always have some response. In 2005 DNC Chairman Howard Dean implemented a 50-state strategy, and in 2006 the Democrats took total control of the US Congress. Many of the established class of Democratic party operatives disagreed with Chairman Dean. They wanted to continue and sink money into "winnable" races. These Democratic Party experts were the ones that left the cupboard bare to begin with. Unfortunately the Paul Begalas and James Carvilles won out, and Dean was removed from the chairmanship of the DNC after the 2008 elections. Under Tim Kaine and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic Party has seemed to give up on any state race that is competitive. Giving up on these races allowed the Republicans to gain control of many crucial state legislatures in 2010, just in time for congressional redistricting. 2010 happened to not be a presidential election year. The Democrats still won the White House in 2012, and have continued to lose seats in US House, Senate, Governorships, and State Legislatures.

The DNC says they care about more than the Presidential election. They recently launched an effort to assist local races with Advantage 2020. The cynic may look at their plan and realize it coincides with a Presidential election year. Where is the plan for 2015 (already failed), 2016, 2017, 2018, or 2019. Social media allows us to lay the groundwork at a lighting fast rate. The truth is the Democratic party has ceded the states to the Republicans. Once they were handed over, the Republicans built a system to make elections difficult for the Democrats. Gerrymandering, voter id, right to work, all of these were implemented recently. All of these new policies push down Democratic voter participation. The DNC sat back, complained a little, and did nothing to strengthen the state parties. The Democratic Party wants to inspire only every four years.

That is the key word, inspire. People who vote democrat want to be part of something. They want to change the world. They need to be inspired. In Kentucky Jack Conway did not give anyone inspiration, and very few turned out to vote for him. He lost. In Ohio Ed Fitzgerald was as uninspiring of a candidate ever, and very few turned out to vote for him. He lost, badly. The Republican party has built in a method to turn out voters. Every election, no matter the office, the republicans get out and vote. They are inspired. 

The endless complaints about voter turnout, and people voting against their own interests, will never end. Complaining about the same things, will get you the same results. Democrats must want the same results, because they keep complaining about voter turnout, and they keep losing. Solve the voter turnout problem, then you can win. The Democrats have the White House locked up for many elections, it is time to win back the states. The voters are not losing elections for the Democrats. The lack of excitement, financial resources, and inspiration is keeping voters away. Stop complaining about low voter turnout. The Democratic Party is to blame for the fact people will only vote for them ever four years. Do something new. Be inspirational.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. He really wants to be inspired by you. Come write for SeedSing.

First Annual Get Your Ass Out and Vote Call to Action

The beginning of the end

Hello All

It is election day. I assume many of our good readers are well informed of the candidates and issues. You all probably woke up bright and early, presented your voting credentials, and are now wearing the "I Voted" stickers to the embarrassment of your non-voting friends, co-workers, and family. To all the good voters out there, good job, you make America proud. 

The preceding paragraph represents less than 30% of America's eligible voter population. Off year congressional elections have voter turnout rates less than 50%. In over 75 years we have seen Presidential election turnouts rate top out at 65% of eligible voters participating only one time (1976 - Jimmy Carter's victory). What the hell is the problem? Why do people not vote? The onslaught of the 24 hour media, and the subhuman conversation on talk radio, make elections into a quasi philosophical battlefield. Cowards like Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck use their time on publicly created radio and television airwaves  to claim America will be ending if their chosen politicians do not win. The professional left (once again thanks Robert Gibbs) makes every election into a referendum of their latest cause. With all of this noise, very few people actually vote, especially in non-presidential elections.

What the hell is wrong with you people? I get that a non-presidential election is not very exciting, but it means so much more to your life than you know. The national (and most state) Democratic Party has totally given up on local elections so they can win the "Best in Show" ribbon that is the Presidential election. Way to go Democrats, Obama won two elections. How has that worked out? We have the psychopaths of the tea party in congress now, non-stop obstructionism, and the glowing profiles of dirt bag Paul Ryan because he is the least crazy person we could get to be the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Democratic Party's lack of developing any local candidates, and supporting them, has led to nut jobs like Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and worst of all Ted Cruz. The mighty party of the people has completely failed at building a strong stable of candidates, and left the power to the most self serving political movement in American history.

The people who are on your school boards, city/town councils, and municipal courts have a ton more power over your lives than anyone who is elected to Washington DC. Your kids go to schools run by the philosophical whims of the school board. Your emergency services are managed by your city councils. Your home values are dictated by the people elected today. Yet nobody seems to care. We all get excited to vote for history (Obama) or vote to take our country back (anyone in the modern Republican field), but we care not to vote for the person who will give the next generation a chance to thrive. What is wrong with us? The election you do not participate in today will elect the crazy person to your school board. That person will next move on to win a city council race you refuse to vote in. Next thing you know, that crazy person is being featured on "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" as another crazy right winger who belongs in the 1800's. They got there because we refused to stop them from winning their first election.  We elected them by not participating.

Wake up and get your ass out to vote. I know that levies, school boards, and trustees do not excite our electoral urges. Grow up. Your home values, your kids education, and the overall future of our society depends on who wins this November 3rd, 2015. If you decide not to vote, I will blame the next Ted Cruz on you. 

Vote.

(Special thanks to FairVote.Org  for help with research. Plus I do know about John Oliver's recent episode about local elections. I only wish he did the episode a few weeks ago when people could still register to vote.)

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor of SeedSing. He does not know what to write over the next year because Hillary has already won the 2016 Presidential election. Is he wrong? Go tell him.

How do you solve a problem like Ohio Part 2: Local Messaging

(feel free to sing along)

Ohio always turns out for the president

But all other elections she is absent

Ohio attracts all the talent

Except in non summer Olympic years

I hate that I have to say it

But I feel very strongly

Ohio may not be an asset to her citizens

How do you solve a problem like Ohio.

Local candidates are rarely experienced, nuanced, political animals.  Many times these candidates are recruited by local parties because they have strong opinions and can articulate these ideas well. The local bosses rely upon state and national support in order to maintain their positions in the local party offices.  It is in the interest of the local political bosses that their candidates toe the national party line  These national ideas do not always serve the best interest of the local voters.  This causes a lack of voter enthusiasm and usually leads to low voter engagement.

The local candidate should create a local message.  National politics is a glamour contest.  The Republican Party has not fared well the last two presidential elections because they could not capture the votes needed in a contest for millions of votes.  The Republicans use divisive and outdated rhetoric, and as a consequence they are not growing their voter base (see here for a deeper explanation). When it comes to local politics, the republicans tend to not be overshadowed by their national figures.  The current divisions in the national Republican Party can be directly linked to the rise of strong, ideological, local movements. The religious right, tea party, and libertarians all began as smaller local movements.  These groups maintain their strength at the local level, and they can rarely find national success.  The lack of success with a bigger voter pool has caused these local movements to radicalize their beliefs and create division within their own national party.  These groups were co-opted by the national party when there was electoral success down on the regional level. Theses groups also can use local electoral advantage (gerrymandered districts, lower voter turnout) that is not possible in a large national election. They cannot create a message that works for a large, diverse, pool of voters.

The Democratic Party needs to take a page from the republican regional success.  The democrats need to create messages that directly speak to the voters they need.  Some of the national party issues should be ignored, and in some cases should be rejected.  Not that long ago there were pro-life democrats.  Those democrats won local elections. Once a locally elected official wants to move on and campaign for higher office, their message should evolve for the voters that are needed for victory. Many would call this flip-flopping. The only people who care about flip-flopping are the media and the opposition. The regular voter does not care.  By evolving the message, there is a greater chance to add voters.  The ability to add voters is more important than any other aspect of a political campaign.

In order for Ohioans to see a more representative state and local government, the parties need to learn and adapt to the voters in these smaller elections. That has not happened because of the national drain that occurs on the homegrown politically talent. When politically minded Ohioans learn to work for themselves, we will see the Ohio problem begin to disappear.

RD Kulik

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for Seed Sing. He wants to solve the media problem by having you write for Seed Sing.

How do you solve a problem like Ohio Part 1: Technology

(feel free to sing along)

Ohio always turns out for the president

But all other elections she is absent

Ohio attracts all the talent

Except in non summer Olympic years

I hate that I have to say it

But I feel very strongly

Ohio may not be an asset to her citizens

How do you solve a problem like Ohio.

Last week I presented my case for why Ohio voted for President Obama twice, yet has a conservative republican state government.  We know the why, let's figure out how to change this duality in Ohio's voting behaviors.

The primary obstacle that needs to be dealt with is the ineptness of the county parties.  When you have the same people in charge after years of failure, staff replacement is not an option. These party bosses are in their position because they played the right political game a decade ago. These bosses think things like knocking on doors, bowing to the local unions, and swearing fidelity to the national party are the ways to run political elections.  Technology has changed the process over the last ten years.  The rise of social networking has made the idea of door knocking antiquated and wasteful.  

Let's talk about technology.  The first iPhone debuted in 2007, and the public started to enter the world of smartphones.  Twitter came on line in 2006, Facebook allowed non-college students to join in 2006, Instagram started sharing photos in 2010.  The party bosses running the local elections were in charge when the rise of social networking and the ability to share information started to take hold.  There was a new wave of political strategists that understood the power of social media.  These strategists did not respect, or were respected, by the established local political bosses.  The future of political outreach rested in social media, and nobody was taking advantage of this incredible tool.

The rise of the internet allowed political candidates a new, and usually less expensive, portal to voter outreach.  All that was needed for a candidate was a simple website that showed the public what the candidate believed in, and how you could contribute money.  Today we see very few local candidates use the benefit of the internet.  Many local parties refuse to invest the low cost / high reward resources on websites and social media.   They would still rather rely on high resource / low benefit activities like door knocking for voter outreach.  The average dedicated voter would rather spend time on the internet than answering an unknown doorbell pusher.  In 2015 if your doorbell rings it is usually a solicitor, unexpected family member, or a political candidate.  In today's world, none are a welcome presence.

How do we reach the dedicated voter in the twenty-first century?  The smart candidate will first use the free tools available, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.  The minimal time spent to set up a profile for the social networking sites will pay large dividends in the end.  Instead of knocking on 100 doors on a Saturday, use the time to post and respond to 1000 potential donors.  Do not be bullied into canvasing by other "establishment" candidates.  Build your online profile and watch the support (and money) pour in.  The most fertile voter base for local candidates is the millennial generation.  They are going to be much more excited by a candidate's online presence than they will be impressed by a one sheet paper handed to them on a sunny summer day.

Embracing the idea of online voter outreach will also attract a new, dynamic, type of candidate.  Many people interested in running for local office are new to the political process. Telling them that they have to spreed their spring / summer / fall days knocking on doors is usually a hard sell.  Many winnable candidates will turn down the offer to run for office when the local party bosses start talking about canvasing.  Let's use these candidates greatest assets to get them elected.  Walking door to door is nobody's greatest asset.  We want great ideas and voices to be our leaders.  Social networking gives these ideas and voices a megaphone to needed voters.

The days of mapping out neighborhoods and going door to door is over.  In order to get a truly people elected government you have to find out how to get the people to vote for your ideas.  We do not like to answer unknown front door visitors.  We do get excited by leaders who understand the twenty-first century.  If you want to start to solve the Ohio problem, do not talk to 100 potential voters on a Saturday in September.  Connect with thousands of potential voters every day equipped only with your passion and ideas.

The establishment has lost the way.  You are your own political boss.

RD Kulik

RD Kulik is the creator and Head Editor for Seed Sing.  He wants your ideas to run the country, not the ideas of an antiquated party system.  Contact seedsing.rdk@gmail.com for support on launching your political career.