Newt Gingrich, shown here working closely with Tom DeLay, will be in town on Wednesday for a Chabot fundraiser downtown. For $1000.00 a ticket, you can rub elbows with the former Speaker of the House and hear him speak on a number of issues. However, we doubt he will want to discuss any of his dealings with Mr. DeLay........or talk about his first wife, or his second wife, or his third wife........who happens to be one of his former staffers with whom he had an affair.

It seems pretty risky for Mr. Chabot to bring in someone with such a speckled past to help him raise money, given the hot water his own office has been in during recent weeks. Gingrich not only has serious moral issues, but ethical ones as well. On top of his notorious infedelity during his three marraiges , he has been involved his several high level scandals including the House bank scandal where he personally wrote 22 bad checks, not to mention his close relationship with Tom DeLay as shown in the photo above.

Tap Project

"It's our single most bountiful resource. Yet, water is a daily privilege millions take for granted. The little known truth is that lack of clean and accessible drinking water is the second largest worldwide killer of children under five."

That is the Mission Statement of TAP PROJECT, an organization which pairs with UNICEF to bring clean drinking water to children around the world who would otherwise go without.
Beginning Sunday, March 16 through Saturday, March 22, restaurants will invite their customers to donate a minimum of $1 for the tap water they would normally get for free. For every dollar raised, a child will have clean drinking water for 40 days. There are several local restaurants on the list, go here to check them out:http://www.tapproject.org/cities/cincinnati

We think it is a worthy cause and hope you will too.

Chabot Caught Lying about Term Limits

As we have reported here earlier, Congressman Chabot was elected to Congress in 1994 under the wave of Republican momentum mainly garnered by Newt Gingrich's "Contract with America". What Mr. Chabot promised that day, along with everyone else who signed the "Contract" was that if elected he would limit himself to six terms or twelve years and then step down.
Link to our previous story here:http://ohiofirstpolitics.blogspot.com/2008/02/steve-chabots-contract-with-who.html

During an online chat with The Enquirer in October of 2006, Chabot was asked about his refusal to keep his word on that promise. Here is the actual transcript from that exchange:

SHARKY (12:19:03 PM)
Congressmen Chabot, Why have you changed your mind about term limits? You originally supported term limits and now your running for another term in congress.

Steve Chabot (12:19:43 PM)
Actually, I have not changed my mind about term limits. I never promised to self-term limit.

The exchange was left at that and never brought up again.
Link to the entire transcript here:http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061030/NEWS01/310300017

Given the recent scandal out of Steve Chabot's office paired with a pattern of corruption that leads back to campaign contributions from Mississippi Indian Tribes looking to buy Casino votes, we feel this is an issue of character that must be raised this election cycle.

Chabot breaks House rules.........again.

On Friday, Steve Chabot's office sent an email to other Congressional offices asking all members to send their interns to the NRCC (National Republican Congressional Committee) to help make campaign calls for Jim Oberweis who was running to take over Dennis Hastert's seat in Illinois.

It is a violation of house rules to use taxpayer and House resources for campaign purposes.
From "The Hill":

“If you have interns sitting around today, please send them over to the RNC...to phone bank for Oberweis,” the e-mail states.
Matthew Lillibridge, a staff assistant in Chabot’s office, forwarded the e-mail to aides in other congressional offices, apparently violating House rules against using House resources for campaign purposes. Lillibridge used his House e-mail address, forwarding the e-mail to other addresses on the House e-mail server.
“It raises questions as to what other activities are taking place in Congressman Steve Chabot’s office on the taxpayer’s dime,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spokesman Doug Thornell told The Hill.

Link to the entire story here:http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/chabots-office-apologizes-for-apparently-breaking-house-rules-in-campaign-e-mail-2008-03-08.html

This is not Mr. Chabot's first episode exploiting taxpayer resources for campaign purposes. He came under fire last election cycle for the illegal practice of "franking". Members of Congress do not have to pay postage on mail sent to constituents when it is not campaign related. Mr. Chabot used this privilege to send campaign flyers to Republican households throughout his district, allowing him to use taxpayer money and save campaign cash.

Chabot slams community, votes "NO" on GIVE act

Yesterday Steve Chabot once again voted lockstep with Congressional Republicans and voted "NO" on H.R. 2857 which would reauthorize the GIVE act (Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education).

Major text and purpose of the bill follows:

`(9) expand and strengthen service-learning programs through year-round opportunities, including during the summer months, to improve the education of children and youth and to maximize the benefits of national and community service, in order to renew the ethic of civic responsibility and the spirit of community to children and youth throughout the United States;
`(10) assist in coordinating and strengthening Federal and other citizen service opportunities, including opportunities for participation in emergency and disaster preparedness, relief, and recovery;
`(11) increase service opportunities for our Nation's retiring professionals, including such opportunities for those retiring from the science, technical, engineering, and mathematics professions to improve the education of our Nation's youth and keep America competitive in the global knowledge economy, and to further utilize the experience, knowledge, and skills of older Americans;

The bill would extend school-based incentive programs introduced in 1990 including "Learn and Earn" which grants higher-learning scholarships to students in grades 6-12 who participate in at least 100 hours of community-based service education during those years.

You can read the full text of the bill here:http://www.rules.house.gov/110/text/110_hr2857.pdf

Mr. Chabot has a long record of voting against such programs, including the State Children's Health Insurance Program. It will be interesting to see what effect his record will have in his race against Mr. Driehaus, who has long supported Ohio's children and communities.

More questions on Steve Chabot and Indian tribes...

During the 2006 race between Chabot and John Cranley, some interesting questions were raised that we feel never got answered. During the "great scandals" within the GOP that year, it was revealed that somewhere in the shuffling of money between Jack Abramoff and his clients that Steve Chabot had received campaign contributions from at least three Indian tribes (none of which are anywhere near the First Congressional District of Ohio). After receiving this money, Mr. Chabot, along with other various Republicans in the House, wrote letters and essentially lobbied on their behalf. Link to the story here: http://www.capitaleye.org/inside.asp?ID=191

More on Chabot's "Abramoff money" from the Indian Tribes here:http://www.capitaleye.org/abramoff_recips_detail.asp?type=R&Name=Steve+Chabot+(R-Ohio)

Outside of the main concern of corruption here, our biggest question is :

WHAT DO THE MISSISSIPPI BAND OF CHOCTAW INDIANS HAVE TO DO WITH THE FIRST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF OHIO???

We feel Mr. Chabot needs to come clean on this issue during this campaign.

Does this make Bush a communist?

President Bush, seen here with Chinese leader Hu Jintao dressed in traditional Chinese garb. It makes us wonder if the same rules apply here as they have for Barack Obama over the past few weeks. Quick, someone call Matt Drudge.................