Most political pundits across the country have their eye on Ohio as the key battleground in the upcoming elections. But besides being annoyed by seeing attack ads every commercial break on TV, I don't think most people in Ohio really care at the moment. And who can blame them? Our current Governor, one of the most crooked politicians ever to hold office, recently received a 17% approval rating, by far the lowest of any governor in the country. With people like that in office, it's hard to get excited about politics.

I for one though am pretty excited, or at least interested in the outcome. I'm not a huge fan of the Democratic candidate for Governor, Ted Strickland. But when faced with the alternative, it's hard not to rally behind the guy. His opposition is current Secretary of State, Ken Blackwell. Blackwell, with the loyal support of all the right wing religious extremists in the state, is trying to ride a wave of intolerance and hate into office. But thankfully, recent polls are showing that he's got an uphill climb, to the tune of 20%.

So what does Blackwell do? Just ratchet up the hate. In a recent speech, he called homosexuality a "transgression against God's law" that can be cured, and compared gays to arsonists and kleptomaniacs in that they can all be cured. How very tolerant. I guess that's what he reads in that Bible he is never seen without, and is a preview of what we can expect from the "government centered on God" that he hopes to put into place.

If you are interested in reading more about how religious extremists are influencing Ohio public policy, check out the new blog Happy Agenda, which is all about that very subject. Despite how Ohio turned out in the 2004 elections, it looks like the religious right isn't going to get it's way with politics in 2006. Thank God!

This entry was posted by Brad, on Sunday, August 20, 2006. You can leave your response.