Frustrated w Ohio Politics? Bob Fitrakis to run for OH Governor

[mod mom]

Long time advocate of social justice and champion of election reform, Freepress's Bob Fitrakis will announce on Tuesday he will run for Ohio Governor against Ken Blackwell and ohters in the field:

Candidates to Launch Campaigns in Columbus

Bob Fitrakis, Anita Rios, and Tim Kettler will announce their candidacy as
Green Party Candidates for the offices of Governor, Lt. Governor, and
Secretary of State respectively.  The announcement will be made in Columbus
at the west side of the State Capital Building at 12:30 PM on Tuesday,
November 29th. The candidates will begin delivering their message to the
people of Ohio and the members of the Green Party in order to earn your
support before the State Convention is held early next year.  Your
attendance at this event will allow these leaders to introduce themselves to
you and will serve to underscore the importance of the Green values and
priorities that we all share.  Hope to see you there.
 


Governor: Bob Fitrakis - Bob is a lawyer and veteran political activist who
edits the Free Press in Columbus. He is the author of two books that
document the fraud that took place during the 2004 and Ohio elections.

Lt. Governor: Anita Rios - Anita is one of Ohio's representatives to the
Green Party of the United States and one of the founders of the Ohio Green
Party.  She has filed suit against the current Secretary of State over the
policies that disenfranchised so many voters across Ohio. The case is
pending in Federal Court.

Secretary of State: Tim Kettler - Tim is a long-time anti-war activist who
led the 2004 election recount effort in East Central Ohio. He is also
involved in filing suit against the current Secretary of State and is active
in the SPANOhio Campaign to get universal health care for all Ohioans.
 

[Botany]

1. Great and split the vote .....

.... allowing a republican to win again. Think Bob!

[mod mom]

3. Botany, Michael coleman and Ted Strickland have not made an issue of the

fraudulent election system within Ohio. As things stand right now, Coleman + Strickland don't have a chance in a vote controlled by Blackwell. the silence of the Ohio Dems has frustrated us who work on election reform. Bob et al will bring up the real issues that need to be discussed.

[kansasblue]

4. come on Botany...leave it as it is and a Dem will never win..

the issue of screwed up elections must comem out. Can't he run on the dem party ticket? if he's the nominee then there's no vote split.

[kansasblue]

5. sorry Bot....... I see he's on the Green ticket

[mod mom]

6. The Ohio Dems tightly control their candidates, I don't believe the Dems

would endorse Bob. Bob has been a green in the past, but he endorsed Kerry in '04. I believe he will bring important issues to the table that need to be discussed.

[skipos]

9. Just like Nader did in 2000 and 2004

and who is talking about those issues now?

If people are disappointed by dems, I don't blame them for supporting third party candidates. But most people seem to support third parties in an attempt to "raise issues" or "make the Dems pay attention to progressive issues" etc, and I have never seen that happen, at least in presidential elections. Many people feel Nader cost Gore the election, and did it make Dems return to their progressive roots or pay attention to progressive issues? Not at all.

Third party candidate Perot took 20 million votes in 1992, and what issues did that raise, how did it effect future elections? Did third party candidate Roosevelt, the most electorally succesful third party candidate ever, get republican to rethink their issues? No, he just split the vote and helped start 8 years of democrat Wilson.

Again, vote third party if it makes you feel good. But after the election you will have 4 to 8 years of some other politician, probably the republican, sitting in office and no one will be talking about any issues raised by the forgotten third party candidate.

Although I support your freedom to vote for anyone you like, I will remind everyone that this is democraticunderground.com not greenpartyunderground.com.

[mod mom]

10. David Cobb got 198 votes in OH in '04. More importantly,

he stood up in the fight for those in Ohio who were disenfranchised and cheated out of a fair election. I have been a lifetime Dem, but when they fail to fight for the votes of their base, I am glad there are people around who are willing to stand up and fight for justice. My priority is fair, tranparent and verifiable elections. Every vote should count. Bob will force this to be an issue during the campaign.

BTW Nader was not on the ticket in Ohio in '04.

[skipos]

11. I hear ya. nt.

[EFerrari]

14. And I will remind you that progressives, not regressives, are

welcome here.

Fact: Nadar did not hand Bush the White House in 2000. The Supreme Court did, aided and abetted by the Congressional Democrats.

Fact: The stolen election of 2004 was not stolen by the Green Party. In fact, it was the Green Party who stepped up to the plate and made it an issue when the Democratic leadership ran away from it.

So spare this Green your ill informed Green bashing. Geezus on a trailer hitch.

[skipos]

19. Aah yes.

Anytime someone doesnt't support what you support, they are "bashing." When someone disagrees with you they are "ill informed."

Fact: I wrote "I don't blame them for supporting third party candidates."

Fact: I wrote "Many people *FEEL* Nader cost Gore the election"

Fact: Members are expected to be generally supportive of progressive ideals, and to support Democratic candidates for political office." (from DU rules) Hence my "reminder." You will notice it wasn't an attack.

Fact: And this one is probly the most ignored rule on DU: "Treat other members with respect." (from DU rules, and probably the most ignored rule here)

Remember, we are all on the same team here!
:hi:

[EFerrari]

20. You're right, skipos. I dislike Greens being blamed

for those two elections BECAUSE it allows Dems to ignore elections fraud. Which is why I went Green in the first place. The more things stay the same, the more they stay the same. lol

[emlev]

24. Hear, hear. (And it's your turn for the funny typo.)

Is Nadar on your radar?

And what's "Geezus on a trailer hitch" mean?

[EFerrari]

13. What are you talking about, Botany? How do you split

THE DISAPPEARING VOTE? :crazy:

[AndyTiedye]

2. I Wish Him Well, But What Passes for "Elections" in Ohio Are a Travesty

He has no chance, none at all, because his opponent, Mr. Blackwell
counts the votes!

He could be ahead by 2-1 and still "lose". We have already seen this
in this year's "elections" in that state.

[EFerrari]

15. The difference is, he has their dance card. This may be the best

thing that has happened to OH voters in years. Bob knows exactly how they steal elections. And he's not shy about exposing them, either.

Boy, this could be HUGH!!!!!!!!11

[AndyTiedye]

18. We ALL Know How They Steal Elections in Ohio, But How Do We Stop Them?

[EFerrari]

21. Well, we have to really out them first.

And the first comprehensive outing piece I read was by Bob. So, you could say he already has a track record in outing these bastards fearlessly.

[glitch]

7. Excellent! This will give election reformers better access to recourse. nt

[YvonneCa]

8. This is a way...

...to get a discussion going on Election Reform. I hope he is successful with that aspect, even if he does not win the election. It's not just about Ohio politics (as important as they proved to be in 2004). This is about AMERICAN politics! :patriot:

[Yellow Horse]

12. Kicked & Nominated -- Go Bob, Anita, and Tim!

Run, you guys, run -- and sing it out about the election fraud in Ohio -- loud and clear through the whole campaign!

[EFerrari]

16. We have to support them in whatever way we can, whereEVER

we are.

Wow. Christmas came early. :)

[BeFree]

17. Yeah, Sing It Out !!!

Raise hell, be a thorn in the side of the theives! Thorn hell, be the dagger that cuts the heart out of the stolen elections. It is what this country needs: The Truth!

[emlev]

22. Who wants to update Bob's Wikipedia entry?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Fitrakis


I'm still waiting to read Bob's speech from today. Not on www.freepress.org yet. I guess they're busy!

I dedicated my blog today to Bob and to the late Rev. Bill Moss. (I'm just about to post the entry.)

[jen4clark]

23. With Fitrakis in the race

the MSM will have a hard time not mentioning election fraud won't they? LOL!! Love it!

[emlev]

25. You're jumping way ahead with talk of who to vote for

What's most important now is what Bob--with our help--can do with his campaign. We have to help him get as much exposure as possible, not get cut out of the debate (or the debates).

Running for Governor, I imagine, will give Bob both a perspective and perhaps even standing that will be very useful to the movement. For example, wouldn't he have standing to challenge Blackwell's serving as chief elections official for the state when he's running for the highest office?

I think Bob's decision is all about strategy. I trust him to have thought this through.