Happy National Watermelon Month: July Is For The Big Fruit Thanks To OH-02's Jean Schmidt

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The House has officially declared July "National Watermelon Month," and U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-OH-02, cosponsored the fruity measure. She was the only lawmaker from Ohio who put her name on the resolution. There's more from The Daily Bellwether's archives about National Watermelon Month.

[UPDATE: 7:45 PM -- July is already National Baked Beans Month. And, as they say, "Good God, open the window."]

Pro-Life PAC Endorses Schmidt And Latta in Ohio: Pledges Susan B. Anthony Dollars

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Republican Bob Latta's NW Ohio campaign to claim the vacant OH-05 congressional seat in a Dec. 11 special election has been endorsed by the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, which bundles political donations from across the nation for its approved slate. The 501c organization has been described as a conservative counter to EMILY's List, which backs Democrats. U.S. Rep Jean Schmidt also is being backed by the Susan B. Anthony List, a key endorsement that may help her raise money for the March GOP primary contest against challenger Phil Heimlich. She had the group's support in 2006 as well.

In July, the PAC had about $110,000 on hand to spend on the 2008 campaign. It claims about 140,000 members across the U.S. and bundles donations for candidates. The PAC's goal is to elect pro-life women to Congress, but it will support men if they are facing a Democratic candidate who supports a woman's right to choose an abortion. Marjorie Dannensfelser, who heads the group, called Latta and Schmidt pro-life "heroes" who need money immediately for their races in Ohio.

"Susan B. Anthony List members are eager to support pro-life heroes when they need it most -- right now. The consequences of disengagement are dire. The lives of women and their unborn babies are on the line, and the Susan B. Anthony List candidate fund is ready to defend them at the ballot box."

OH-02 GOP Jean Schmidt: Lands Key Appearance At Major Values Voters Confab

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, who faces an OH-02 primary against a Republican rival angling for evangelical and family values voters, is going to get important face time at a national Values Voters Summit later this month in Washington.

Eight GOP presidential candidates will appear at the gathering, which is called the Washington Briefing 2007 and is billed as the largest confab of values voters ever. Schmidt is on the opening day schedule, and appears with two other right-leaning GOP congresswomen immediately before an address by Fred Thompson, the former Tennessee senator and Republican presidential candidate. Rudy Giuliani also plans to appear, which for him will be like walking into the lion's den.

Details about the conference are here and here. It is a huge conclave of actors in the Christian right, and is cosponsored American Values, Focus on the Family, FRC Action, Alliance Defense Fund and High Impact Leadership Coalition. There will be a presidential straw poll and FRC Action President Tony Perkins' organization calls it "the first pulse-taking of values voter activists now that the (presidential field) is complete."

More is in the press release that describes the straw poll, the speaker list and Giuliani's acceptance of an invitation to attend, which puts him a center stage in hostile territory. Many leaders int he values voters movement have said they cannot support the former New York mayor, who has been married three times, supports gay rights and is not adamant in repealing Roe v. Wade.

OH-02's Steve Black: He's Cozying Up To The Influential Vern Riffe Clan

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Newly minted Democrat Steve Black is sponsoring a reception in Indian Hill -- the toney Cincinnati suburb that could be Ohio's priciest Zip Code -- for Vernal G. (Skip) Riffe III, political heir of the late legislative baron who has a 32-floor, $153 million state office tower graced with his name in Columbus. The August 15 event unites Ohio 2nd District Congressional candidate Black with Scioto County Commissioner Riffe, who is a Democratic power broker on the rural eastern edge of OH-02 in Appalachia.

In that part of the district, the Riffe name is still tall cotton. There used to be signs on the state highways proclaiming the area "Vern Riffe Country," and his legacy includes Ohio Route 32, Shawnee State University, and a chair in the Ohio State University political science department -- plus far more impossible to list. Let's just say he was the Kingfish in southern Ohio.

Skip Riffe has been travelling across the state recently hawking his father's autobiography, Whatever's Fair. Vern Riffe, who died in 1997, was speaker of the Ohio House for 20 years and pretty much called the shots over state government during his unprecedented reign. Nobody has ever held that position for so long. The Ohio Historical Society has compiled an encylopedia about Ohio's movers and shakers and describes Vern Riffe as "a dominant force in state politics for his 36 years in the Ohio House." That's an understatement.

Black is a Cincinnati lawyer who switched from the GOP to run in OH-02 against Victoria Wulsin, the Democratic nominee in 2006 who is running again. Black appears to have scored a coup by signing up to sponsor the reception.

For those who don't know about Riffe there's a good bit of information in this Portsmouth Times story about his birthday last June. They still celebrate it in the hill country even though the man everyone still calls Mr. Speaker has been gone for a decade.

The Ohio Historical Society's take on Vern Riffe is here. He was a Democrat all his life. And if Black is making inroads with Vern Riffe's clan -- with a possible endorsement nearly in hand -- it could be another sign that Wulsin has a huge task ahead if she hopes to reclaim the nomination.

Convicted Cincy Anti-War Protestor: The Real Criminals Are Still Free

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- An Iraq War protestor who was found guilty of tresspassing over a sit-in at U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot's office said after the trial that the true criminals are those who irresponsibly led the nation into an unjust war. Greg Flannery, news editor at the alt/weekly City Beat, blogged HERE about the sentence he faces and the appeal that is coming.

And he crafted a simple, single, powerful line that summed up the six-day trial:

"The real crime -- the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq -- went unpunished."