by Matt Barr

Vote for the crazy man

Papers like the Akron Beacon Journal, not to mention state Democrats, are trying to have their cake and eat it too on the gubernatorial election. Ted Strickland, the Democrat, is an ordained Methodist minister (ask... well, you don't have to ask, it'll come up) who runs campaign ads on -- gulp -- Christian radio. Plus, he's pro-gun. This, of course, is what Republican "values voters" are after, and almost guarantees his victory in November. So the thought goes.

So the two candidates are so alike you should vote for the Democrat, like normal people do? Not quite. They also want to make sure you understand that Ken Blackwell is nuts. Completely off his rocker. A plan to privatize the Ohio Turnpike is "ideological pining," the counterargument sufficiently understood by smart people that we've no need to communicate it to you, the voter. New rules on state spending, backed by Blackwell, "would require state agencies to justify all spending every two years rather than just press for additional amounts," reported the Beacon Journal editorial board, in a humorous "don't you see?" that points out how enamored of government they really are. (Next thing you know, I will have to justify my salary rather than just "pressing" for a raise.) And lest we forget, the B-J dusted off the old howler about how if conservatives really want limited government, they're hypocrites for running for office in its endorsement of voting against Blackwell in the primary.

The truth is a little different than the dual they're-both-the-same, after-all-they-both-go-to-church and vote-for-the-sane-guy spin you get, and it's illustrated in of all places the Beacon Journal this morning. Here it turns out both Strickland and Blackwell have economic recovery plans, and they're as different as night and day.

The link above is to the page A8 story, but there's a graphic on the front page that bullets each plan. Blackwell would:

• Cut single rate income tax to 3.25 percent, eliminate the stand-alone estate tax, roll back state sales tax to 5 percent.
• Limit government spending, with the Tax and Expenditure Limitation legislation that fixes growth in government spending at 3.5 percent.
• Lease the Ohio Turnpike for an estimated $4 billion to $6 billion, to invest in state economic development.

Cut taxes, cut spending, privatize and invest the proceeds. Strickland would:

• Expand state assistance to help start, save and grow Ohio businesses, including job training and unified budgeting for state economic development.
• Create jobs and energy independence by investing in alternative fuels and energy technology.
• Offer state-supported college savings accounts to keep Ohioans from leaving the state for college, and to provide state assistance for college.

"State assistance," "state economic development," "investing," "state-supported." There really is a choice, and it's not between the good Christian guy and the crazy Christian guy, or between Rethuglican fatcats and gate-crashing Democrats or whatever. It's between an approach that sees government as almost never the best way to do stuff and one that says it's the first and last resort. It's between a plan that gets government out of the way and one that beefs up its role in our lives.

I'll be the first to tell you that the Republican infrastructure here is no limited government, low tax machine. But Blackwell has risen to where he is by bucking the state establishment, even weathering its fierce attacks. Spin it however you want, but with a choice as stark as the one in November, it'll be easy not to vote for the nice minister without all the crazy ideas.

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