Taking it to Cincinnati

Cross-posted at TakeBackCincinnati.com [1]

I made the trip to Cincinnati today to help my friend John Cranley, who is running for Congress in Ohio's 1st Congressional District. You remember we helped raise over $15,000 [2] for John last week.

Well, I felt I had to make the trip to Cincinnati because Cranley's opponent, Rep. Steve Chabot, had been telling everyone that he had my support because of his civil rights record.

You can imagine my surprise at learning this knowing that Chabot has long supported the modern day version of the poll tax, the photo ID voting requirement. This measure would impose unnecessary barriers to vote for the most vulnerable American citizens - African Americans, the elderly, the poor and the disabled.

I was also surprised that Steve Chabot would claim my support knowing that he had also worked to cripple the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for years using his subcommittee to tie up the commission,s resources with false allegations of misconduct that had no merit.

And of course, Steve Chabot was one of those people who supported Ken Blackwell's work in 2004 to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters

So, I took a flight from Detroit to Cincinnati and spent the day with Chabot's opponent, a rising star in Democratic politics, John Cranley.

I joined John meeting with local ministers at the Southern Baptist Church. We discussed the issues that Cincinnati residents are facing and had a nice lunch. Reverend Pankie led us in prayer and it was good to see old friends again in the southern Ohio area.

Mr. Cranley and I also dropped by the radio show, the Buzz, where local DJ Jay Love interviewed John and I talking about the issues that face the African-American community in Cincinnati.

The Republican Chabot is the type of guy who would blame his opponent for the riots that occurred in 2001. No really. He's been doing that. So Jay Love, Cranley and I had a good laugh over that and spoke to the Cincinnati audience about how important the upcoming election was and why they need to get to the polls.

I had a great time with John Cranley and hope to work with him in the 110th Congress. Right now it's all down to turnout. Make sure you vote.