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Blackwell Making Waves PDF Print E-mail
Written by Daniel White   
Friday, 19 May 2006
Ken Blackwell, the Republican candidate for governor in Ohio, is fast becoming a Party superstar and a Democratic nightmare. While Republicans slowly dare to hope and Democrats feel their stomachs tighten, I think it is time for a reasoned prediction: Ken Blackwell will be Ohio's next governor.

Thus began one of a multitude of articles written about the OFCC endorsed candidate to be the next Ohio governor. While some of the articles were positive, and others were negative, one thing was clear: Ken Blackwell is the talk of the town.

The upcoming gubernatorial race between Blackwell and Democratic hopeful Ted Strickland is expected to be a hard fought battle on both sides. Republicans are trying to maintain their leadership in State government, while Democrats are trying to use the recent scandals to swing public opinion to their side.

The type of campaigning to be expected is demonstrated by the spin both sides placed on recent developments with Blackwell's TEL amendment proposal. This amendment, which would have added spending controls to the Ohio Constitution, had opponents and supporters on both sides of the political spectrum. It served as the centerpiece of the Blackwell platform during the primary election.

Yesterday, it was announced that a compromise had been reached between Blackwell and the Ohio legislature. Blackwell was going to remove the issue from the ballot, and the legislature was going to implement a simplified version into law.

Immediately, Blackwell opponents began toting this act as a sign of weakness, claiming Blackwell is "flip-flopping" on the issue.
"I’m just floored that we just witnessed the entire political underpinnings of a campaign being ripped away," said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern to the Columbus Dispatch.

"For him, in the face of political pressure, to so quickly abandon what he has said for months was so important to the future of Ohio, I think it does represent weakness," Strickland said.

The Toledo Blade editorialized:
The Ohio Republican Party's best choice to recapture the traditional mantle of fiscal reform all of a sudden looks like just another politician willing to jettison his long-held principles to get elected.

Closer to the truth is the fact that Blackwell is not even governor yet, but is already showing he is able to compromise and provide leadership to the Ohio legislature.
By substantially simplifying a proposed spending cap, the lawmakers have captured the essence of the proposed Tax & Expenditure Limitation Amendment. (Advertiser-Tribune)

"He’s used his bully pulpit to accomplish a significant portion of his economic agenda right now," Blackwell spokesman Carlo LoParo told the Dispatch. "I don’t think Ted Strickland would recognize an accomplishment if it hit him on the head."

What Blackwell accomplished was to get the legislature to do something it didn't want to do. He led them in the direction of reducing government spending, and did it the way it should be done; with a law, not with a constitutional amendment. While not as sweeping of a reform as he wanted, it is certainly redirecting the legislature in the right direction.

That's leadership, and that's what Ohio needs right now.