Ohio House Democratic Leader Joyce Beatty:

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern:

Presidential Candidate Barack Obama:

Later on, after Tubbs Jones’ death was announced, Obama released a second statement:

Victoria Wulsin, Congressional Candidate in the 2nd District:

Governor Ted Strickland

Richard Cordray:

Congressman Charlie Wilson (D-6th district):

And probably the most fitting one I received today came from Joyce Beatty when the reports that Tubbs Jones was in critical condition came out this afternoon:

Sadly, it was not to be.

Update:

DNC Chairman Howard Dean:

Update #2:

Nancy Garland, candidate for the Ohio House 20th district:

 Update #3:

Congressional Candidate Bill O'Neill

Update #4:

Bill and Hillary Clinton:

Rep. Betty Sutton (D-13th district):

 

"It is with deep sadness that we inform you of the passing of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, beloved mother to Mervyn Jones II, sister to Barbara L. Walker, dear colleague, loyal servant and friend to all. Congresswoman Tubbs Jones passed after being admitted to Huron Hospital having suffered an aneurysm while driving her car in Cleveland Heights, Ohio on Tuesday evening. She was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. today. The official cause of death was an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

"Her death followed a full day of activities, including planning for an upcoming forum on electoral reform and other administrative duties yesterday. Congresswoman Tubbs Jones was scheduled to travel to Denver on August 24, 2008 to attend the Democratic National Convention as a superdelegate.

"Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones is the first African-American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. Congresswoman Jones is a lifelong resident of the 11th District, which encompasses most of the East Side of Cleveland and parts of the West Side of Cleveland and includes parts of 22 suburbs.

"Currently in her fifth term in office, the Congresswoman was a strong advocate for many issues, and championed wealth building and economic development, access and delivery of health care, and quality education for all. The Congresswoman was the first African-American woman to chair the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (Ethics) and the first African-American woman to serve on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. She was an active member of numerous Congressional Caucuses, including the Congressional Black Caucus.

"Congresswoman Tubbs Jones has made a number of historic achievements in her distinguished career as a public servant. Prior to her election to the House, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones served as the first African-American and the first female Cuyahoga County, Ohio Prosecutor. She was the first African-American woman to sit on the Common Pleas bench in the State of Ohio and was a Municipal Court Judge in the City of Cleveland.

"Congresswoman Tubbs Jones has received numerous honors throughout her lifetime including the National Bible Association Capitol Hill Distinguished Leadership Award, Human Rights Campaign of Cleveland Equality Award, Backbone Campaign's Backbone Award, and the Carib News Multi-National Business Conference Marcus Garvey Award.

"Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones is a graduate of Cleveland Public Schools. She received her undergraduate degree from Case Western Reserve University, graduating with a degree in Social Work from the Flora Stone Mather College in 1971. She received her Juris Doctorate form Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1974. Additionally, she has received honorary doctorates from David N. Myers University, Notre Dame College, Central State University and Cleveland State University.

"An active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, she served on their national Social Action Committee. She was a lifelong member of Bethany Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio and was a member of their Board of Trustees.

"Her husband of 27 years Mervyn L. Jones, Sr. preceded her in death.

"The Family and the 11th Congressional District Office wishes to thank friends, constituents, and colleagues for their expressions of sympathy and asks that the community allow the family privacy at this time. Thanks are also extended to the Cleveland Heights Police Department and Emergency Medical Services, Huron Road Hospital, The Cleveland Clinic, and Dr. Gus Kious, Chief of Staff at Huron Road Hospital. Information regarding funeral arrangements will be forthcoming."

CNN is once again reporting the death of Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Again our thoughts go out to her friends and family, regardless of whether or not this is true.

Today it was announced that Joe Lieberman will be speaking at the Republican National Convention next month.

Senator Lieberman, of course, was the Democratic VP candidate back in 2000, but became an Independent in 2006 after losing in the Democratic primary for his Senate seat. Since then he’s still been allowed to caucus with the Democrats and retain his seniority and leadership positions in order to give the Democrats the majority in the Senate.

Lieberman was able to hold onto his status in the Democratic Party even after he endorsed Republican John McCain for president, but has he finally crossed the line? I think it’s time for a poll…

Should Joe Lieberman still be allowed to caucus with the Democrats?:

Yes

No

ABC News, the Plain Dealer, and the Associated Press have retracted their reports about the death of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones. Presently, they are all only reporting that she is in critical condition, but close friends are preparing for the worst because she has limited brain functionality, and unfortunately the anuersym is in a part of the brain that is unreachable by surgeons. 

Our thoughts go out to her family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time. The Congresswoman's impact on her constituents and the greater Cleveland area is unmistakable. 

The Plain Dealer has a statement up from Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones’s office saying that she is in stable condition, but they also report that it doesn’t seem to match up with the mood in the hospital.

It’s also been revealed that the blackout was caused by an aneurysm.

All of us here at BSB are hoping for the best, and would like to wish Stephanie a quick recovery.

Politico is reporting that Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones was hospitalized last night after blacking out behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.

While details are still scarce, several people are reporting that Jones is still unconscious.

This editorial appears in today's Columbus Dispatch:

 The problem? The problem is, as I stated before, other states with same-day registration have seen turnout increases amongst young people. And since SurveyUSA finds that 18-to-35 year olds in Ohio break 57-35 for Barack Obama, the Ohio GOP wants as few of them to vote as possible. 

For the last few weeks, Governor Strickland has been traveling around the state holding forums on education with people at all levels of the school system to discuss the problems that need to be addressed. Last night I finally had the chance to watch part of one of these forums.

I was only able to attend the last half of the event, but during that time I heard teachers, professors, superintendents, parents, and even students stand up and raise their concerns about the education system. I heard issues ranging from charter schools to tutoring sessions for parents. The plan is to eventually work some of the concerns into the Governor’s forthcoming education plan.

During the event I couldn’t help but recall Congressman Zack Space’s forums in the 18th district. It really is democracy at it’s finest to invite the public into the governmental process like this. I look forward to seeing the education plan that comes out of this.

(Okay, I didn't clear this title with BSB admins, so they can feel free to dissent.)

Last week, Common Cause/Ohio wrote a letter to the REPUBLICAN leadership of the General Assembly asking that both houses pass a resolution denouncing the standard of impeachment set forth by the House Democratic caucus' impeachment resolution against Dann.  (According to all published reports, no such letter went to the House Democratic caucus-- the group that actually introduced the articles of impeachment.)  Apparently, the Board is even more upset that nobody in the media really paid any attention to their press release last week, so for some reason the AP's Statehouse bureau has decided today to report on it after all this time:

Here's what is so mind-numbingly stupid about Common Cause.  First, no standard of impeachment was established in the Dann case.  In order for a standard to have been made, the House would have first needed to actually PASS an impeachment resolution.  Does the General Assembly now have to affirmatively pass resolutions denouncing every other piece of legislation it doesn't enact in order to avoid "confusion" that their silence might be taken as acceptance?

Apparently, Common Cause/Ohio thinks so.  Idiots.

Second, why should the State Senate pass a resolution about the standard of impeachment?  Constitutionally, the standard of impeachment is an issue solely for the House to decide in interpreting its responsibilities under the Ohio Constitution.  It would be an infringement of the House's constitutionally delegated powers for the Senate to take a position as to the proper standard for impeachment under the Ohio Constitution.  For a public interest group that is supposedly so worried about the Ohio Constitution, you'd think they would have realized this.

Third, the General Assembly didn't "remove" Dann from office!  Something that never happened cannot be carried out in a rash and reckless matter.  Dann resigned.  Maybe he resigned in a rash and reckless manner containing little concern about the rights of over 2 million Ohioans who voted for Dann.  But after all, that would be consistent with how he ran his office during his short term.

Fourth, and I'm sick of repeating this--  the impeachment resolution did not use "removal standards that are inconsistent with the impeachment standard contained in the Ohio Constitution.â€Â  Again, we covered this: in this post and this post and well, countless others at the time.

Fifth, there's a difference between why Marc Dann had articles of impeachment introduced against him; and Bob Taft didn't.  Impeachment is inherently a political, not legal act.  Say that seven more times until you remember it.  You say that the effort to impeach Dann was largely political?  Duh.  And guess what?  If the Framers didn't want politics to play out into impeachment, then they wouldn't have given that power to one of the most political branches there is.

Sixth, yes, Dann's impeachment would terminate the mandate of the majority who elected him.  But if that's an argument against impeachment, then can only appointed officials be removed from office?

Common Cause's nonsensical protest over poor, ol' Marc Dann doesn't stop there.  No, they also criticize giving the IG the power to investigate Dann (originally presented as a delegation of the House's impeachment investigatory duties) and the "raid" against his office:

Is Woods so out-of-touch with the facts of the Dann affair that he really thinks the only issue was the sexual harassment complaint??  What about Gutierrez conducting private business from state resources, his questionable purchases, Dann's questionable hiring practices, the FBI investigation about Dann and games of chance, and is there anything else I possible forgot?  And since when do we blame law enforcement for seizing evidence in order to prevent the destruction of relevant evidence?  Maybe if Marc Dann had treated the trust of those 2 million voters a little more seriously, I dunno, maybe such a raid for evidence wouldn't have been necessary?

I can't name one single positive policy achievement in Ohio that was the result of Common Cause/Ohio (thanks for those RON amendments, guys).  If you go to their website, you'll see an exhibit of sporadic activity (and all of it mostly failures).  You will see that they still have a "Guide to Coingate", and therein you see the real rub.  Common Cause is hitched to Marc Dann over Coingate.  The press that Dann was able to generate with that story gave Common Cause/Ohio a hook to fundraise over.  And they're trying to defend an ol' political friend who was the only thing that had made this entity anything close to being politically relevant in this State by helping him play the "rush to judgment" victim card.  Boo-hoo...

So Common Cause of Ohio owes Marc Dann and is now (well after the fact when it can do so without suffering too much political heat because Marc Dann is so backpage news) trying to repay it.  Meanwhile, their national Board is supporting the impeachment of the President (how many millions voted for that guy-- twice). It also supported the impeachment of former AG Alberto Gonzales because of the partisan hiring practices of the AG's office.  So apparently, Common Cause believes an Attorney General should be impeached for hiring someone based on whether they are a Republican, but it's ok if they make hiring decisions based on the applicant's "ass and tits" like Dann's office did.

Until Common Cause shows some common sense, don't give them your hard-earned dollars and cents.

Breaking a 2-2 tie in the Franklin County Board of Elections, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has ordered that they must keep early voting going during the weekend. 

I really have to question the motives of the 2 Republicans that had voted against weekend voting. If a person can go get a Big Mac at 3 A.M. on a Sunday morning, why shouldn’t they be allowed to vote on a Saturday afternoon. Either these people are living decades in the past, or they don’t think the type of people who work long hours during the week deserve to vote.

Our email list has grown far bigger than I expected it to in such a short amount of time, but there's still plenty of room for more.

The first email will go out in the next few days, and once it sent out that's it. It won't be republished (at least as a whole) on this site, and it won't be sent out to people who subscribe late.

Subscribe in the next 24 hours and ensure that you don't miss it. After that, it's open season.

There won't be anymore storing voting machines in poll workers homes under Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's watch. The Secretary of State's office has just sent out secure voting machine transportation instructions for every county in Ohio.

It's good to see thatsome people are actually interested in fixing Ohio's elections, rather than just trying to pass the blame on to others.

Q: What do you call it when a person says they didn't do something that they actually did?

A: Lying!

It's really a simple concept to grasp, but apparently Steve Stivers just can't seem to catch on. In an interview, Steve said:

But hold up, according to Section 903.25 of H.B. 152:

So Steve, you want to try that again?

When Nick and I fly into Denver this weekend, we’ll probably see something rather unusual from the plane: a giant Papa John’s pizza!

As you can see, the company has made a giant crop circle “pizza†as an advertisement for those flying in to Denver.

The pizza was created by Stan Herd, a man who makes his living by creating crop art. The “ingredients†used in the pizza?

How else can you frigging write a headline like: Facts are true, but Obama ad still misleading. Oh really? That's like saying the ground is dry, but its still raining. 

In a mere 6 days, the BSB team will be jetting off to the Mile High City to begin our coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention. According to DNCC rules, only one of us (David or myself) will be allowed inside the Pepsi Center or Invesco Field at a time, so whoever is "tagged out" will likely be hanging out in the Big Tent or otherwise scrounging for stories on the streets of Denver.

We are also working on a joint effort with Jeff Coryell of the Ohio Daily Blog called Denver Diaries, where we hope to post our experiences in Denver that are not of a strictly political nature. More on that as we get closer. All that's left now is to speculate who Sen. Obama's VP pick will be. My money is on Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, who has forgotten more about foreign policy than John McCain will ever know.

This video was e-mailed to me earlier today from the Ohioans for Honesty. It does a great job highlighting how Mean Jean Schmidt exploits a loop hole in Ohio law to pay only $95 in property tax on a parcel of land worth at least $2 million. See below for the video:

Perrysburg plant to grow

The company estimates there will be an additional 134 jobs added at the Perrysburg facility.  Need I mention that the Strickland Administration's electrical energy plan for the next 20 years has 25% of Ohio's electricity being generated by renewable means by 2025.  This includes wind and solar.  The legislation which passed earlier this year mandates that 50% of that should be generated in Ohio.  Hopefully, First Solar is one of many renewable energy companies that will recognize Ohio's emphasis on their industry.

In a press release, First Energy said that state and local incentives helped them make the decision to expand in Ohio.