Below are two letters written by me in support of Lew Katz for Congress.  The first is a letter to Lyin' Steve LaTourette's campaign manager for not bothering to return our phone calls when we invited LaTourette to Hiram College.

The second letter is my response to the Cleveland Plain Dealer's ridiculous endorsement of Lyin' Steve LaTourette.

The last few days have been busy for the Katz campaign.  A few things that are going on in our Northeast Ohio district:

1.  Lew has been running radio ads on major radio stations covering the district for a few weeks.  His latest one is excellent, tying Lyin' Steve LaTourette to Abramoff, Delay, and Ney.  You can hear it here.

Lew Katz, Democratic candidate for Congress, keeps up the pressure on Lyin' Steve LaTourette.  This weekend Katz will launch his second radio ad blasting LaTourette's connection to the scandal-plagued Republican trio of Abramoff, Ney, and Delay.

While TV ads would be preferable, in this Northeast Ohio district radio ads can be effective.  Katz continues to use his limited resources wisely, trying to make this race competitive and fighting the 50-state strategy.

Meanwhile, LaTourette continues to remain silent in the district, barely campaigning and ignoring his base.  This has all the makings of a major upset: Democratic wave of support, hard-working Democratic candidate, over-confident Republican incumbent, disgruntled electorate.

Every time I write a diary about Lyin' Steve LaTourette, the republican representative in OH-14, someone almost always mentions in the comments about his marital issues. Here are some of my favorites:

He lied to his wife.

He was screwing this lobbyist, and doing deals for her, to get laid.

All of this is perfectly fair game.  Especially since LaTourette is a pro-family adulterer.

The Katz (D) campaign doesn't really want to talk about LaTourette's infidelity.  They say that dirty laundry was all aired in the 2004 election (there were some pretty nasty TV spots run by Capri Cafaro, the millionaire heiress running against Steve in 2004).  But the story is so good, it bears repeating here during the campaign season.  After all, can we ever get enough Republican hypocrisy?

Lew Katz keeps putting the pressure on Lyin' Steve LaTourette.  Despite having very little money, he is using radio ads to deliver his message in addition to all the literature, yard signs, and personal appearances.

Meanwhile, LaTourette is relying on a few TV spots and little else.  Republican leaders in our community have begged him to speak at Hiram College (Katz has been here three times), but he just won't do it.  I'm sure he thinks he has this election in the bag (10-to-1 COH advantage, got 61% in the last election, no polls for this election), but the way Ohio is going these days, don't be so sure.

Lyin' Steve LaTourette has misled the voters of the OH-14 on a number of occasions, including his promise to only run for four terms (he's running for his seventh right now).  But his betrayals to his district were deepest felt on two crucial votes.  In the summer of 2005, LaTourette promised us and labor leaders that CAFTA was a bad bill and he would vote against it.  But some late night arm twisting by Denny Hastert and the Republican leadership made LaTourette go against his word - and he cast the deciding vote in favor of another bad trade bill.

But even more unbelievable was his vote in November, 2005 for the Republican budget bill that cut education and welfare spending.  Again the vote went late into the night to get passed.  Again the vote was very close.  And again a certain Congressman from Ohio went against his word.

The best part?  That night the amazing story was caught on radio as it happened.

Various newspapers, political pundits, and even the front page of Daily Kos tell us that the number one issue on the voters' minds is Iraq.  It certainly has been on my mind a lot -- in fact, it is the one thing above all others that motivates me the most to get these Republicans out of office.  They led us in this war, and it does not appear they have any idea or inclination to improve the situation.

Since July, Lew Katz, Democratic nominee for the 14th Congressional District in Ohio, has been speaking about the Katz Plan for Iraq.  He talks about the three R's: Reduce, Replace, and Redevelop.  Katz's plan is endorsed by a number of experts, including Joseph Hoar, a four-star general in the United States Marine Corps; Professor Michael Scharf, director of the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center at Case Western Reserve University and a nominee for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize; and Professor Amos Guiora, director of the Institute for Global Security Law and Policy at Case Law School and a counterterrorism expert.

A few days ago I wrote about some of the reasons why Lew Katz can win the OH-14 congressional race.

Today I wanted to include some numbers about the district that while daunting, do offer a little hope as to why Katz can win.  While there aren't any polls being done here, voting history indicates there is a chance of an upset.

Yesterday over at the Buckeye State Blog (must reading for anyone interested in Ohio politics), we were speculating in a comment thread about the pick-up opportunities for House seats in Ohio.  The consensus in Ohio is that there are five seats legitimately in play: OH-1 (Cranley-D vs. Chabot), OH-2 (Wulsin-D vs. Mean Jean), OH-12 (Shamansky-D vs. Tiberi), OH-15 (Kilroy-D vs. Pryce), and OH-18 (Space-D vs. Padgett).  Four of the five Rethuglicans are incumbents.

Winning two should happen.  Winning three would be great.  Winning all five would be part of a national Democratic landslide.

But there is one race I keep coming back to -- OH-14 (Northeast corner of Ohio, see map) between Lew Katz (D) and Lyin' Steve LaTourette.  Katz has said several times on the campaign trail that the road to a Democratic majority in the House goes through the Ohio 14th.  I'm not sure that is exactly right.  But I am convinced that somewhere nationally we'll have to have one or two upsets in order to take the House.  And in upset I mean, a race no one is talking about, like the OH-14.  Below are five reasons why I think Katz can win:

Hat tip to the best Ohio blog right now, the Buckeye State Blog.

Today the Cleveland Plain Dealer had their endorsement interviews for the OH-14 race between Lew Katz (D) and Lyin' Steve LaTourette (R).  Apparently the PD was none too impressed with LaTourette, because they decided to write about the interview on their political blog.  It appears LaTourette admitted (a) the Republicans haven't been doing their jobs, and (b) Rumsfeld is a joke.

Well, the idiots at the News-Herald had a great journalism day today.  The News-Herald is based in Willoughby, Ohio in Lake County, near the headquarters of Lew Katz, Democrat running in the 14th Congressional District against Lyin' Steve LaTourette.

I've never read the News-Herald.  I'm a Plain Dealer and Akron Beacon Journal man myself.  And I imagine the News-Herald has a circulation about as large as my high school newspaper, so I shouldn't be too upset at what they print, right?  Well, I am.

They ran an endorsement and an article about a Katz event.  And they got both of them wrong, which is not terribly surprising since some in the Katz campaign call the paper the "LaTourette News-Herald".

It has been an interesting couple of days in the 14th U.S. Congressional District in Ohio (pictured at left).  A debate, a couple of campaign stops in our little village (Hiram is located in Northern Portage County), a well-placed ad in the Akron Beacon Journal, and the first appearances ofg yard signs have all (finally) got people talking about the race a little bit more.

Last week the Akron Beacon Journal made their endorsement for the Ohio 14th Congressional District, choosing Lyin' Steve LaTourette (R) over Lew Katz (D).  This morning they have an article saying "LaTourette's war chest gives big advantage -- Democratic challenger lacks cash to hit back on two key votes" (failing to mention Katz' name in the headline).  Apparently the Beacon Journal is ready to declare this election over.

A careful look at the text -- and God forbid the facts -- reveals that a) LaTourette needs to be voted out, and b) Katz might be the guy to do it.

Yesterday I woke up with the Rep. Foley news and emails and IMs and Republican cover up ringing in my ears, and I thought, "Damn!  Why couldn't this happen in MY district?"  

I live in the Ohio 14th congressional district, and I've been represented by Lyin' Steve LaTourette (R) since 1994.  Don't get me wrong -- what Foley did was horrible and I don't wish that on ANYONE, let alone a 16 year old congressional page.  But I wouldn't mind another massive scandal that rocked the very foundation of the Republican Party, and have LaTourette's name all over it.

LaTourette has more money than he needs and lots of name recognition up here.  He's also got lots of baggage, so the race is winnable.  But realistically, we need a hail mary pass/big scandal to make things REALLY competitive.

Since that hasn't happened (yet), I did what thosands of other Democrats across the nation did today: I went out and canvassed for my candidate.

While you may not really paying attention to the OH-14 race, you should be.  With no money and little name recognition, our guy is working hard and making waves.

Lew Katz, the Democratic nominee for Ohio's 14th Congressional District, is hosting a "Support Our Soldiers -- Past and Present" rally on Saturday, October 7 in Willoughby.  "Supporting our veterans, as well as those currently serving in the Armed Forces, should not be political," said Katz, a former Navy officer. "Too much politics already has occurred at the expense of our brave soldiers. I am encouraging a bipartisan discussion on this issue to ensure that our troops and military families are convinced that we are 100 percent in support of their incredible sacrifices."

Here at Hiram College we've been trying to arrange a debate between Lew Katz (D) and Rep. Steve LaTourette (R) for several weeks.  Strangely, the LaTourette campaign manager Dino DiSanto has not returned any of our calls: not from me, not from the president of Hiram College, not from the Republican precinct chairs.  It is like we don't exist.  In fact, a call to the congressional office a few weeks ago led to this exchange:

LaTourette's Washington DC office: "Where are you calling from again?"

me: "Hiram"

LaTourette's office: "Hiram....Hiram....is that in our district?"

The Dixie Chicks have finally recorded another album -- their first since declaring publicly that they were embarrassed to be from the same state as President Bush in 2003.  God Bless Them.

If their first single from the album, "Not Ready To Make Nice" is any indication, this album will be their best yet.  And I'm not a country music fan, either.

I'm a big fan of the BBC, especially for the quality international reporting it does (I like their sports coverage too, but that's for another day).  Today -- April 7, 2006 -- they are covering Iraq in depth on their web site, and it is really quite fascinating.  They are giving minute-by-minute accounts of the day, from the mundane (soap operas and lottery results on TV) to the important (prime minister discussions) to the horrific (bombing at Baghdad mosque kills 40).

Go here BBC News Iraq in Depth Goes Behind the Headlines for live reports minute-by-minute.  They also have a great section of daily life photos and a Q & A with Iraqi citizens on life there today.