Ohio Democratic Chair Chris Redfern Channels Dick Cheney: Drops the F-Bomb At Political Rally

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Republicans are feigning outrage after Ohio's Democratic Party chair Chris Redfern called opponents of healthcare reform "fuckers." He seems to have had Tea Party activists in mind. Former Vice President Dick Cheney had a similar opinion about critics of George W. Bush. On the Senate floor in 2004, Cheney told Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, to "go fuck himself." The U.S. Senate is supposed to be an august body with a bit more decorum than a political rally with union steelworkers. That's where Redern uttered his expletive. Ohio GOP Chairman Kevin Dewine pounced on Redfern for boorish behavior. But I can't find anything that shows Dewine ever said anything that took offense to Cheney's foul mouth on the Senate floor.

Here's Dewine about Redfern: “No one likes trailing in the polls but Ohioans deserve better than angry speeches full of name-calling and profanity. It’s certainly far from the political of post-partisanship that the Democrats promised two years ago. Let’s show a little class.”

Cheney remains unrepentant and said earlier this year that blurting out the obscenity was "sort of the best thing I ever did." Here's more on that: "(Newser) – As potty-mouthed vice presidents go, Dick Cheney is utterly unrepentant about his 2004 slip of the F-bomb in which he told Pat Leahy to go 'fuck yourself.' Dennis Miller on his radio show yesterday thanked the former veep for 'almost kicking Patrick Leahy's ass,' reports Think Progress. Cheney responds: 'You'd be surprised how many people liked that. That's sort of the best thing I ever did.'

In a counterintuitive way, Cheney is correct. It certainly wasn't the worst thing he ever did in office. Yep, Cheney did way worse than that.

Matt Naugle at Right Ohio is shedding tears, obviously crocodile tears, about Redfern.

Ohio State GOP Vice Chairman Kevin DeWine: He Has Personal Knowledge Of "Thin' Military Records

DAYTON (TDB) -- The No. 2 official and chief fundraiser for the Ohio Republican Party has not spent a single day in military service, according to his biographies. Yet deputy GOP chairman Kevin DeWine audaciously is attacking Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's "thin record (that doesn't contain a single day of military duty)." DeWine is a state representative whose district includes communities near one of the nation's largest military installations -- Wright Patterson Air Force Base. There must be an armed forces enlistment office in that neighborhood. With wars and troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, DeWine doesn't seem to have taken any time to drop by and sign up for a hitch in uniform, thus enriching his own "thin record."

This bare spot in DeWine's resume is being exposed because he is behind a GOP fundraising letter that says the Obama campaign has been "outrageous and offensive." The sin: Gen. Wesley Clark said Sen. John McCain's service as a Naval Aviator and Vietnam POW does not mean McCain is qualified to be president. Clark did say McCain was a hero, which DeWine failed to note. Here's the text of DeWine's letter:

"Outrageous and offensive.
There’s just no other way to describe the gutter campaign tactic the Obama campaign pulled Sunday.
'I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be President.' That’s what Obama spokesman Gen. Wesley Clark said Sunday on national television.
Sadly, it’s not the first time the Democrats have tried to smear John McCain’s war record, and it won’t be the last.
Will you contribute $100, $250, or $500 today to help us push back?
We’re building an Ohio defense fund to counter these insidious attacks by Sen. Obama and his supporters.
John McCain spent five years being tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. His heroic service to our nation stands in stark contrast to Sen. Obama’s thin record (that doesn’t contain a single day of military duty).
Please help us fight back.
Your contribution of $100, $250, or $500 will help us build a defense fund here in Ohio so we can counter these slash and burn tactics by a candidate who promised a “new” kind of politics but delivers more of the same.
Kevin DeWine
Deputy Chairman"

There is a fabrication in that letter, too. Gen. Clark is not an "Obama spokesman." Clark is a Democrat who supported Hillary Clinton. He endorsed Obama when Clinton ended her campaign. (H/T to BloggerInterrupted for the text of DeWine's letter.)

Ohio Republican Party: Shifts Fire From Hillary To Obama

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- For most of the past year, Hillary Clinton has been the prime target of GOP strategists. This week, the Ohio Republican Party proclaimed Obama even more liberal than the woman who's been its sturdy arch-villain. Is the shift a sign that Republicans now recognize the Illinois senator poses a greater threat? After all, just 10 days ago ORP deputy chair Kevin DeWine told the Clermont County Chamber of Commerce that Clinton was the candidate his party preferred to face. Indeed, he said he endorsed her run -- a counterintuitive remark.

Now the attack on Obama has appeared on the ORP's official blog:

"And this is the guy Democrats think will unite the country? The only part of the country he's uniting is the far left wing of the Democratic Party."

GOP's Kevin DeWine and Dem Chair Chris Redfern: This Year, Ohio's Prezzie Primary Counts

BATAVIA, Ohio (TDB) -- The two party leaders shared a stage at the Clermont County Chamber of Commerce today and agreed: Ohio's March 4 presidential primary now seems certain to play a significant role in selecting nominees for the White House. Deputy GOP Chair Kevin DeWine said he's convinced the early primaries and Super Tuesday on Feb. 5 won't lock things up for any candidate.

"It's my personal opinion it won't be decided by then. Hold on, because here come the presidential candidates."

Dem Chair Chris Redfern was equally as certain: "Ohio will be important, obviously, in November. But it appears Ohio will play a role in the primaries as well. There's no end in sight."

Traditionally, Ohio is a key state in the general election and often decides who wins the presidency. Its primary -- which comes late in the cycle -- is usually meaningless because the everybody already knows who the Republicans and Democrats plan to crown at the national conventions. So far, that hasn't happened.

DeWine and Redfern also agreed the run up to the November vote for president will be more intense in Ohio than ever before. Both said the campaign will be fought across all 88 counties, and Redfern said John Kerry lost in 2004 because his strategists focused too narrowly on urban areas. Redfern said Kerry could have won if he'd spent money in small towns, "just a few bucks on rural radio in places like Fulton County." He said the Dems have no intention of ignoring Clermont County this year even though it is overwhelmingly Republican.

DeWine said the state Democratic Party "now has a more organized 88-county strategy" that the Republicans intend to match. "We are planning to play in counties that have a dark blue Democratic tint to them."

Both said Ohio was crucial in November, but DeWine elaborated:

"Ohio has a long history of being on the side of the winner. The bottomline is: If you don't win the Buckeye State you don't win the White House. Especially if you are a Republican."

A questioner from the audience wondered who Redfern was backing -- Hillary, Obama or John Edwards. The state Dem chair said he was staying neutral. GOP leader DeWine said he had endorsed Hillary Clinton. That remark wrinkled some foreheads and led to a round of nervous laughs in the room. DeWine continued, "In the Democratic primary."