I have been busy off line and so not posting much here. I apologize but life intrudes.

But I wanted to take a moment to post what may be the best editorial cartoon of the year.

That brings some holiday cheer to my heart.

Have a better cartoon this year? Leave a comment with a link.

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Reading this headline you are probably expecting some insightful analysis of how the Democrats misread the electorate and, running under the weight of a terrible economy, lost their majority. This combined with losing control of the apportionment board means GOP ascendency for the near future.

You are looking for vote totals, demographics, polling data – facts and figures to back up such important claims. Expert analysis that helps you understand the political landscape.

Sorry, I just wanted to link to this hilarious article at the Huffington Post.  Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman avoid all of the above and instead argue that Republicans and their nefarious allies Triad, ES&S and Diebold control the voting machines and are using this power to seize control of government and disenfranchise Democrats.

Here is the basic math: exit polls showed Democrats should have won + they didn’t win = stolen elections!

Don’t believe me? Well, how do you think George W. Bush won Ohio?

In 2004, Blackwell used the election night period between midnight and 2am to shift the outcome from John Kerry to George W. Bush, thus giving Bush a second term in the White House. Private contractors hired by Blackwell outsourced Ohio’s election results to a private company, SMARTech, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The computer specialist who constructed the system that made that possible was Michael Connell, the long-term computer guru for the Bush family, and a close associate of Karl Rove. Connell was deposed under oath in a federal proceeding about his role in Ohio’s 2004 election the day before the 2008 election. He died in a mysterious plane crash a month later.

Connell’s IT apparatus with its fabled interfaces are still in place. Democrats controlled the governor’s mansion and Secretary of State’s office from 2007 until now, but no significant reforms have been put in place. The new Secretary of State will inherit essentially the same sets of controls used by Blackwell in 2004.

And lest you think John Kasich is on your side, he took a million dollars from Fox News!!!!

I will give you a chance to stop laughing and breathe …

One of the ironies of this conspiracy theory is that the one person positioned to be a hero selfishly decided to run for US Senate rather than run again Secretary of State and protect Ohio’s precarious democracy.

Just like Lee Fisher quite as Job Czar when he was most needed Jennifer Brunner quit the fight as Secretary of State leaving the field clear for the GOP and Diebold.

Dispatch editorial makes the important point that Columbus should take note of Cleveland’s approach to charter schools and education reform:

Given how much worse the Cleveland Metropolitan School District fares on the Ohio Department of Education‘s school report cards than do Columbus City Schools, one might doubt the Columbus district could learn much from Cleveland.

But a recent initiative by the Cleveland district to embrace charter schools rather than fight them is an indication that the perennially troubled district is intent on providing new opportunities for students. It is a striking contrast to Columbus’ district, where officials’ persistent antipathy toward charters recently was highlighted by a free-thinking Board of Education member.

The editorial goes on to explain why this approach is important:

For charter schools that come under the district’s sponsorship, the benefits are simple: access to better facilities, through low-cost leases of closed district buildings, and the district’s vast administrative resources. Under Ohio law, charter schools receive state per-pupil funding but no tax money for buildings.

Some potential charter operators with a sound educational approach and tremendous potential fail for lack of a suitable building, dependable transportation and sufficient administrative savvy.

Columbus would do well to take the Dispatch’s advice – and children will be the direct beneficiary.

*In case you are wondering, my daughter attends a charter school.

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The Dayton Daily News recommends State Rep. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering as a replacement for Secretary of State elect Jon Husted. But what is interesting is not Rep. Lehner but the way the editorial goes out of its way to urge moderation and bipartisianship.

The editorial fairly screams “Don’t give in to the crazies.”

She has emphasized the need for bipartisanship, a call that serves the Republicans well as they are riding high. The last time they were riding this high, they managed to continue the ride for a long time by taking a pragmatic, non-ideological course when George Voinovich and Bob Taft were in the governor’s office.

Today, Democrats and independents are not major forces in the Ohio Senate. But they are plentiful in Montgomery County. Many of them would feel most comfortable going to Rep. Lehner to discuss local needs as they are affected by Columbus.

She is a team player, not a hot dog. Republicans in Columbus don’t have to worry about her looking for opportunities to outflank them on the populist right as they struggle with the tough decisions the state faces.

I consider myself a bit of a pragmatist but the line about Voinovich and Taft is a bit of a joke.  Sure, to be a majority in a state like Ohio requires a broad coalition in many respects. But following in the footsteps of Taft and Voinovich in this environment is a recipe for backlash pure and simple.

But that is exactly what DDN wants the target of their editorial is pretty clear:

Though he has been on the Huber Heights city council, Mr. Morgan’s unmistakable interest is in the conservative movement and higher office, rather than the nuts and bolts of state and local government. To many participants in Dayton, he remains a name in the news, rather than a contact.

Among other candidates, Lara Norris, a representative of the Montgomery County Republican Party on the state party committee, was associated with J. Kenneth Blackwell’s campaign for governor in 2006. Dr. David Westbrock is an official of the county party who twice ran for Congress. Reps. Lehner and Morgan have the best credentials.

Sen.-elect Beagle, who will sit on the screening committee that hears from the candidates, and his colleagues should understand that the future of the Republican Party in Montgomery County does not lie in moving the party further to the right, as Rep. Morgan would like.

The DDN is opposed to loose cannons like Morgan and Blackwell – figures who don’t look to the party first when they make decisions.

Again, I am very much in the coalitional and pragmatic wing but it would be foolish to think that the party can ignore the clear discontent of the grassroots and seek to block those candidates and leaders who appeal to this important part of the coalition.

The party simply can’t afford to lose the energy and passion of this segment of the base if it is to succeed. Proceed with caution is my advice.

Quite frankly, I don’t know enough about Rep. Lehner to know if she would be the best choice for this seat in the Ohio Senate.

But I do know that the Ohio Republican Party would be foolish to start taking the advice of editorial pages like the Dayton Daily News without a huge pile of salt.

Vindy.com columnist David Skolnick catches Rep.-elect Bill Johnson in what he believes is a hypocritical statement.

Johnson made a big deal of refusing Congressional health care benefits as a way to both show that he is not taking special benefits that his constituents can’t get and to protest ObamaCare.

Skolnick isn’t buying it. Why? Because Johnson does get Federal health care:

What wasn’t included in the statement is Johnson, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, has and will continue to receive federal health-care benefits from that branch of the military.

Skolnick then goes on to quote a bunch of Democrats attacking Johnson and a quote from a Johnson allie disappointed in the attacks.

This is typical gotcha politics. Point out hypocrisy, get quotes from both sides, pretend media is tackling the tough subjects, etc.

I think the whole issue is silly all around.

First, I don’t think Johnson needed to refuse Congressional benefits in the first place and doing so had little to do with ObamaCare. If he wanted to refuse the benefits as a symbolic gesture of solidarity with his constituents, fine. But getting benefits from the federal government because you work there is different from having government control the health care industry and impose mandates, cost-controls, coverage parameters, etc. on the entire country.

And this is the part Skolnick seems to miss. Johnson can oppose the federal takeover of health care and still receive his health care from the federal government. Military benefits are fundamentally different from ObamaCare and other government controls of private insurance. These are a basic part of serving in the military not a sign you favor governmental control.

But he does have a point that Johnson’s rejecting Congressional coverage and not military coverage weakens his case. I don’t think it is hypocritical but rather it undermines the symbolism.

We have an employer based insurance system for the most part. And an honest debate about health care would have discussed how to move away from that. But the reality is that most people get their coverage through their employer. Federal employees can continue to receive their benefits in this way and oppose ObamaCare without being hypocrites in the least.