Hamilton County GOP Chair To Tea Partiers: 'Welcome' Even If You Hate Our Guts

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- He must have a dagger behind his back. Hamilton County GOP Chair Alex Triantafilou thinks the Tea Partiers can be his kind of traditional Republicans even though they've filed candidates to run against 11 GOP congress people in Texas. Chairman Alex welcomes them in SW Ohio while there's a civil war under way. Of course, he hasn't put any of the insurgents into office locally, nor has he given them any choice party leadership spots. Down in Texas, establishment figures like the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee are being challenged. Even Ron Paul is among those being challenged. Maybe Alex figures they are right and his party has been wrong all along. About Texas, TPM notes:

"Around 20 candidates identifying with the Tea Party movement are running for Congress in Texas, most of them against Republicans. More than half of the Republican incumbents in Texas face primary opponents who claim to be affiliated with the Tea Party movement. That includes big names in Republican conservatives like Rep. Pete Sessions and even Rep. Ron Paul.The tea partiers are [also] taking on NRCC-selected candidates in elections where the seats are held by Democrats, making it tougher for the GOP to focus on flipping the seats to their side."

But Triantafilou extended an olive branch today in Cincinnati:

"I am pleased to report that we have an influx of new energy and excitement coming to our Republican party. Many of those energized by the Tea Party movement are coming into our party and seeking to become precinct executives and to become involved in other ways. My message to these great conservatives is very simple: WELCOME! The energy and enthusiasm demonstrated by this movement is important to what we are trying to accomplish in Hamilton County. While many Tea Party activists are unhappy with the direction of the GOP, I believe that our local effort to recruit, retain, and promote strong local candidates can only benefit from new energy and new ideas from strong conservatives."

Who is Triantafilou kidding? The Tea Party is a grass roots conservative movement begun by people who are fed up with the corporatist wing of the Republican Party, the people who put Bob Taft and his ilk on the ballot and into office. They aren't going to be fooled by the 4th Street Gang that runs the GOP. These people are storming the Bastille.

Congress Gets Measure To Ease Marijuana Laws: Cheech And Chong Announce Comeback Tour

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- It's like true. U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat, has filed House Resolution 5843, to lift federal criminal penalties for Americans carrying less than 100 grams of pot for personal use. Cheech and Chong, the comedy team who made millions with the movie "Up in Smoke" about the stoner culture, now say they are reuniting for a 22-city comedy tour that begins in September. Their press release is available here. Cheech and Chong said they may visit more cities. So far, no sites in Ohio are booked. But the tour does hit Indianapolis on Sept. 19, Detroit on Sept. 20, Minneapolis on Oct. 25 and Chicago on Nov. 11.

Frank's bill has seven co-sponsors. Ron Paul, the Texas congressman whose Republican presidential campaign is inactive, is among the bill's public supporters. None are from Ohio. But U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-10 Cleveland, has been a supporter of easing marijuana laws. Not long ago, Kucinich issued this statement:

"Most marijuana users do so responsibly, in a safe, recreational context. These people lead normal, productive lives--pursuing careers, raising families, and participating in civic life. In addition, marijuana has proven benefits in the treatment of numerous diseases, such as providing a valuable means of pain management for terminally ill patients. In either of these contexts, there is no rational justification for criminally enforced prohibitions. These unnecessary arrests and incarcerations serve only to crowd prisons, backlog the judicial system, and distract law enforcement officials from pursuing terrorists and other violent criminals."

At the moment, the official Cheech and Chong website is selling what it describes as legal highs and herbs.

Nosing Around The Campaign Trail: No, Obama Didn't Dig For Gold

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- A producer at Chicago's CBS affiliate -- WBBM-TV, Channel 2 -- has created an online slideshow of 26 candid shots of candidates on the 2008 campaign trail. You can see it by clicking here.

Ohio's Kucinich Holds 10th Spot On The Web: Huckabee's Hits Soar To 2nd Place

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's campaign Web site now is getting 36.12% of all the hits tracked in the Republican field, a surge that puts him a tad behind Ron Paul's Internet juggernaut. The former Arkansas governor -- whose poll numbers are in a steep climb -- has also taken off like a rocket in cyber space. Of the 16 campaign Web sites maintained by the Democratic and Republican candidates, Huckabee gets nearly a fourth of all traffic, making him No. 2 overall and right behind Paul. The candidate whose site seems to have tanked: Fred Thompson.

Here are the top four sites across the entire field: Paul, 24.22%; Huckabee, 23.62%; Obama, 12.28%, Clinton, 8.7%. Cleveland U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is No. 10 on the list at 2.52%. The least looked at Web site belongs to Sen. Chris Dodd.

The data is compiled by Hitwise, a commercial online intelligence service. It has been monitoring the presidential Web sites and charting their popularity since at least September. The company is a unit of Experian, the credit bureau. It says it has patented methodology that captures online usage, search and behavior of Internet users and can analyze online trends.

The Huckabee campaign is elated that its Web site is attracting heavier traffic as the January 3 Iowa caucuses approach. It put out the numbers on the campaign blog two days ago, and also said that this week has produced record numbers of hits.

7 Presidential Candidates On VetVoice: New Blog Lands 6 Dems And Ron Paul

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- VetVoice made its official debut today. The blog is affiliated with VoteVets.org and hopes to become a strong online community for those who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Seven presidential candidates are posting there throughout the day -- including the Dem Big 3 of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards. All candidates from both parties were invited -- Ron Paul was the only Republican who accepted.

Ex-Moral Majority Director Chuck Baldwin: Religious Right Sold Out Its Principles

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Christian talk show host Chuck Baldwin is a former executive director of the Moral Majority, and he ripped into the religious right for political shallowness and called them "lackeys and doormats for President Bush.".

Baldwin said he can't support any of the leading Republican presidential candidates this year, and thinks values voters should at least look at Ron Paul, the Texas congressman. Baldwin is a Baptist minister with a following in the South. He is not on the same page as many evangelicals who are avid Republicans.

"The main objection I have with the Religious Right is they have (for the most part) given President George W. Bush (and the Republican Party in general) a complete and total pass. Over the past nearly seven years now, Bush and GOP leaders have betrayed most every principle that I ever understood the Religious Right to stand for. Yet, our national Christian leaders (and local pastors throughout America) have been content to look the other way and say nothing. Or worse, they have actually defended Bush's liberal, big-spending, anti-freedom and unconstitutional ways. In a nutshell, for a seat at the king's table, the Religious Right sold out its principles."

Notice that Baldwin -- if one reads his statement carefully -- chose to use the word "betrayed" in the paragraph above.

He employed betrayed to describe the conduct of Bush and national Republican leaders. Betrayed has also been used by the liberal Democratic left to describe politicians and Gen. David Petraeus -- specifically, the MoveOn.org ads that targeted Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and the infamous Petraeus/Betray Us.

Inquiring minds are wondering: Is betrayed becoming the buzzword of the 2008 political season? Over the years, we've had Big Mo, and Boys On the Bus, and Zero Based Budgeting. Is this the year for betrayal?

Watching From Ohio: Machine Malfunction, Fraud Charges Marring Iowa Straw Poll

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Some Republicans are questioning the reliability of voting machines, the accuracy of vote-count results and the honesty of the GOP-managed presidential straw poll in Iowa where nearly half the attendees reportedly didn't cast ballots. Fraud in polling places has been a staple of the left since 2000, when Bush edged Gore in Florida, and 2004, when the president received more votes in Ohio than John Kerry. Now the right seems to be growing suspicious as well.

Iowa's semi-official state Republican Party blog is carrying comments today implying that the Aug. 11, 2007 Iowa Straw Poll won by 2008 presidential candidate Mitt Romney was rigged. Anonymous skeptics have been commenting on Cyclone Conservatives, noting that a voting machine failed. The blog is operated by Dan McDonald, chair of the Iowa Federation of College Republicans.

[UPDATE: Sunday, Aug. 12, 3:08 PM -- Here is more from Iowa about the ballot counting flap. It does look like the Ron Paul camp is stirring the pot, but nobody has come back with a hay maker to knock down their complaints. This may be the Hawkeye State's first taste of what happens after a disputed election.]

[UPDATE 2: Sunday, Aug. 12, 5:49 PM -- David Duke -- yes, that David Duke -- has a Website, where the the Iowa straw polls results are being analyzed. Apparently, the far, far, far right fringe thinks Paul was the big winner. Is Ron Paul a front for the KKK crowd? This is a twist: Paul as the Fuerher's favorite son. Soon, the conspiracy theorists will be at full throttle.]

Apparently, some 1.500 votes were hand counted when a voting machine misfired, triggering comments like this:

"Only half those buying tickets voted? They paid 35 bucks to not vote? Right! There was massive voting fraud here. Four years ago twice as many votes were cast. Are we to believe there was less interest this year? Or did the voting fraud start four years ago."

Another in the same vein:

"I find this process very suspicious. They used Diebold voting machines, which have been shown time and time again to be security nightmares. They had 'machine troubles' which delayed the tally. On top of all this, only about half the attendees voted? Let me guess, no paper trail? Some people got robbed."

MSM blogger Charlotte Eby didn't pick up on the fraud complaints but reported from Ames Saturday that some 1,500 ballots had to be hand counted. Eby said a machine conked out, but offered no specifics.

On Friday, Ron Paul's supporters lost a federal lawsuit challenging the use of voting machines at the straw poll. The argument: The machines could not be trusted.

Now, it looks like the GOP has the beginnings of a mess on its hands. Romney's win will be under a cloud. Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, who both passed up the straw poll, can minimize its import and point to the flap about the event's reliability. Paul's supporters will fan the flames that it was a crooked election.

Bottomline: Iowa was meaningless except as another example that Americans are becoming more suspicious of election results, and many may be losing faith in the accuracy of vote counts.

There was also a report that three voting machine protesters were arrested Saturday in Ames on trespassing charges. That only adds to the mess.