The Ohio Gubernatorial Race 2010

Every candidate for governor is a man and the running mates are all women, except for the write-in ticket.

Let’s go down the line here.  Start with John Kasich. 

He is totally in bed with Wall Street and its irresponsible lending practices and bailouts.  He voted for DHHS bills providing funding for Planned Parenthood.  He would not repeal gun control laws (The NRA is actually endorsing Strickland.)  There isn’t an issue for which Kasich hasn’t betrayed the Constitution and conservative voters.  Don’t waste your vote on him.  The only possible saving grace is Kasich’s choice of a running mate, Mary Taylor.

Next I’ll take on Strickland.  I really don’t know much about his record, the NRA gives him an A+, but I know that he’s pro-abortion so the discussion stops right there.

Ken Matesz is a designer and builder of masonry heaters. (OK, that’s not relevant, but I thought I’d just throw that in.)  He is a pro-life libertarian.  But I can’t vote him.  OK, its not that he answered “no” to question “Should minors who send sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges?”  Since it is not even crime for them to have all out sex intercourse, then what’s the point in having a law against this?  (I am assuming that Mr. Matesz is interpreting this question the same as I am - that the subject of the photos consented to being photographed nude.)  And I ordinarily would never vote for anyone who says that they are for allowing civil unions for same-sex couples, but Matesz qualifies his answer by saying, “I support getting government out of everyone's private lives. It is not up to the state to decide who can form a "union" or who can get married. That is up to the people, parents, clergy, etc.”  Tough to swallow, but maybe I could have made an exception in his case, given that I agree with him on every other issue.  But the nail in the coffin is this:  His running mate is pro-choice (pro-legalization of murder).  But you can’t just vote for one, you have to either vote for the whole ticket or neither of them. 

Dennis Spisak is a typical Green Party environmentalist wacko and typically pro-abortion too.  No need to look further into his record.

Then there’s the David L. Sargent & Andrew C. Pfeifer ticket.  I have no idea what they stand for.  Ordinarily, if I don’t know anything unacceptable about a candidate, then I vote for that candidate.  But I don’t ANYTHING about these guys.  No website, no questionnaire answers, no voting record, and no public statements that I could find.  I just can’t vote for someone not knowing if they are Communists, Fascists, Anarchists, or some other crazy ideologues.   If I could find out even one good thing about them I might vote for them.  Just say that you won’t support putting Jews in concentration camps, confiscating all privately owned property, or enforce Obama’s healthcare plan, and I’ll vote for you guys just to reduce the percentages of the other candidates! 

If I could I would vote for Matesz and Taylor.  This is why we need to get the law changed so that the more discerning, discriminating, principled and well informed voters can have more of an impact on the election.  The election for governor and lieutenant governor should be separate!  (Or, all the candidates could put into one pool and allow the voters to select up to two with the second place candidate getting the lt. gov. nod.)  But as it stands right now, I am going to leave all the boxes under governor unfilled on my ballot.