Profiles in Congressional Republican Cowardice

One would think working here makes someone appreciate America

Republican Texas Rep Louie Gohmert will not be in attendance at his constituent town hall during the current Congressional recess. Representative Gohmert is not alone in spineless Republicans who will not face their own voters. The Republican Party has political control of the entire Us Congress, the White House, and are poised to make a big move on the judiciary, yet they are hiding under their desks when it comes to the voters. The GOP has spent decades trying to make themselves look like the only true American party who are tough, and can stand up to any opposition. Unfortunately, Republicans like Louie Gohmert are not even coming close to live up to the false ideals of the GOP. Gohmert and his cohorts are a bunch of wimpy cowards. 

What makes Gohmert's absence so newsworthy is the fact that he uses the shooting of former Democratic Representative Gabby Giffords as his reason for not attending the town hall. This is extremely vile coming from an opportunist like Gohmert. In his letter to constituents, Representative Gohmert says, "Unfortunately, at this time there are groups from the more violent strains of the leftist ideology, some even being paid, who are preying on public town halls to wreak havoc and threaten public safety. Threats are nothing new to me and I have gotten my share as a felony judge." If Louie Gohmert is so afraid of the American people, why would he ever leave the comfy confines of Washington DC?

Gohmert does not care about anyone's views except his own. When Representative Giffords was shot, and some of her constituents were killed, Louie Gohmert was part of an effort that would allow guns in the US Capitol. His response to the Aurora Movie theater massacre was to speculate that the killer was not fearful of a vengeful god. He is a regular guest on Glenn Beck, Fox News, and Info Wars where he expresses his fear of immigration. At one time he even voted for non-Us House member, and tea party champion, Alan West as Speaker of the House. (side note: The US Constitution does not say that the Speaker of the House must be a member of the House) The history of Louie Gohmert in the US House of Representatives is a history of conspiracy theories, and laughable ineffectiveness.

Representative Gohmert is right that there will be people at his town hall who are not happy with him. His record is terrible. The things he and the GOP are trying to do right now will hurt a lot of people. What Gohmert is wrong about is that these people are paid, violent, protesters. The Fox News effort to paint all the protesters as being paid has been proven wrong so many times. Donald Trump paying people to attend his rallies, that has been proven true. The violence from "strains of the leftist ideology" only makes sense to a mind willing to accept any proven to be false conspiracy hearings. The recent violent protests in Berkeley give the Republicans their cover in claiming left wing violence. There are many questions to who caused this violence, but that is not the point. This myth of a sudden rise of violent actors in the left wing of politics is laughable. Way more people came out to protest Donald Trump's new Presidency than those that attend the inauguration itself. There is photographic evidence. No big acts of violence. In fact more people died when avowed right wingers took over the Malheur National Wildlife refuge. Why are the Republicans not calling out the violence from idiotic right wing ranchers who have very little understanding of American law? It seems like Gohmert is not telling the truth on why he refuses to look at his constituents face to face.

Ohio Senator Rob Portman decided to find a more creative way to not face the voters. During the recess, Portman's office sold tickets to a dinner where the Senator would appear and give a speech to his constituents. A group not thrilled with Portman's recent record bought tickets and planned on attending the speech. The day before the event, the group's tickets were rescinded and refunded with no explanation. It was discovered that the people who were banned from the event were people who voted for a Democrat in the last year. In order to avoid his voters, Senator Portman checked on people's voting records to ban them from exercising their Constitutional rights. Senator Portman has not responded to this incredibly un-American act. Rob Portman is a coward.

Many other Republicans have decided to not face their constituents in fear of being called to task for their dismal record. Spineless worms like Senator's Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have predictably ran away from their voters. The current group of Republicans in Washington DC have spent the last few decades claiming victim-hood, and fighting any meaningful growth of government. Now that they have the power, their horrible agenda is front and center. Many people, republicans included, are very fearful of where our country is heading. The only voice the voters have left is to go to a town hall and tell their elected officials what is on the common person's mind. The Republican Party has now taken this basic American right away.

The GOP has long been open about their disdain for the voter. Through gerrymandering, and the Democratic Party's lack of care on local elections, Republicans have taken Congressional majorities with record low voter turnout numbers. The only people who can get an audience with DC Republicans are the special interest groups who fund their campaigns. The entire Republican agenda is being pursued to make very few rich people even richer. The 98% of Americans being left behind need to talk to their representatives. Congressional Republicans are silencing the voters voices by not even granting hard working Americans a seat at the table.

During the first recess of the 115th Congress, Representative Louie Gohmert and Senator Rob Portman have invented new ways to be cowards. Along with many of their colleagues, Gohmert and Portman cannot stand up for their terrible beliefs. Most members of Congress attend the town halls, and do not really answer questions. Gohmert and Portman are so spineless they canot even pander anymore. America should be very afraid if their self processed tough GOP elected leaders cannot stand up to criticism from good Americans, how in the hell are they going to stand up to America'a enemies. Gohmert, Portman, and the majority of Congressional Republicnas have proven that they are not man enough defend America. They should step aside so the non-cowards can keep the US safe and secure.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He really, really, wants an explanation for why the Republicans despise the US Constitution. Come tell us. 

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.