WestChesterBuzz.com

Sheila McLaughlin reports:

Life in Republicanland isn’t what it used to be.

Here in Butler County – home to House Speaker John Boehner, a county so Republican the Democrats didn’t even bother to challenge him this year – the 2012 landscape is a far cry from 2008, much less elections before that.

Unemployment is 7.9 percent, compared to 5.1 percent in March, 2008. Nearly one in ten families live in poverty now. The days are gone when subdivisions were rising at every farm and commercial developments were exploding.

A look at how the economy has changed and Enquirer interviews with voters shows that Republicans and conservatives are looking for a candidate to bail them out of hard times.

They are divided on which candidate will do that, and that’s important: whoever wins Republican-rich Butler County on March 6 could take a big leap toward winning Ohio. In the 2008 primary, more Republican votes were cast in Butler County than in all but five other counties.

They aren’t particularly enthusiastic about any candidate, which could haunt Republicans on Nov. 6.

They see a field of candidates who may not be electable and who all have deep flaws – too many wives, too many negative ads, too young, too old.

But they are sure of one thing: Getting rid of President Obama is the cure to what ails Butler County.

“Do I think that there’s going to be some radical shift that Butler County can no longer be counted as a great conservative bastion? Absolutely not,” said Dave Kern, head of the Butler County Republican party.

‘The lesser of two evils’

Bill Langdon, 64, owns the Grand Ole Pub (GOP for short) in West Chester Township.

Langdon and his wife Pat opened their bar on Princeton-Glendale Road about 16 months ago. He calls it an “American pub” although it’s known as a gathering spot for conservatives.

Photos of all the U.S. Presidents get equal billing on a rear wall of the pub, no matter their political party. But there are a couple tell-tale signs which way the politics lean here. (more…)

Posted in: Election, News |

Tags: Tags: GOP, Grand Ole Pub, Grand Ole Pub West Chester Ohio, Mitt Romney, newt gingrich, Rick Santorum, ron paul

Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Jessica Brown stopped by Ron Paul supporter’s West Chester campaign office Monday night to find out why the GOP presidential candidate draws such a passionate following.

While there, Brown saw roughly 50 Ron Paul supporters gathered in a room full of long tables and homemade Ron Paul signs along the wall.

Brown writes:

(Organizer Tara) Menkhaus made sure to point out that everything I saw there, the signs, the leaflets, was paid for out of pocket by the local volunteers. Paul’s national campaign doesn’t have anyone on the ground here yet. Rumor at the office Monday was that he doesn’t plan to come to Ohio before the March 6 Primary. (The campaign has only told the Enquirer there are no current plans in Ohio).

But Paul supporters here have mobilized in spite of that. They’re manufacturing Paul gear in low-budget ways. One group was hand-painting signs. Another was converting 2008 Paul signs to 2012 signs.

Why are they so passionate?

“Because it’s the truth, not what sounds good,” said Menkhaus of Paul’s message of limited government and personal liberty. “It’s what we know is good because it’s based on logic, fact and history. It’s because the nature of being human is being free.”

Brown also asked other Paul supporters for their reasoning for joining the campaign. For the entire story, visit Cincinnati.com’s story “Why do people like Ron Paul.”

For more information about the Ron Paul campaign in Ohio, go to www.ohioforronpaul.com or www.facebook.com/RP2012OH.

Posted in: Election, News |

Tags: Tags: GOP, GOP primary, presidential candidate, ron paul, Ron Paul campaign office, Ron Paul Ohio, Ron Paul supporters, Ron Paul West Chester, Ron Paul West Chester campaign office, Super Tuesday Ohio, Tara Menkaus

Pam Jones of West Chester answers questions before the West Chester Tea Party Butler County Clerk of Court and Commissioner Candidate Forum night at Lakota West Freshman High School Thursday February 9, 2012 in Liberty Township. The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II

Howard Wilkinson reports:

Two years ago, the tea party movement in Ohio was a force to be reckoned with, an army of thousands of volunteers who went out and worked to turn Democrats out of Congress and fill the statehouse with conservative Republicans.

Today, it is a deeply divided movement.

With a primary election in Ohio where they could influence the Republicans’ choice of a nominee to defeat the Democratic president whose policies they universally deplore, they are an uncertain block of voters, with no one candidate to back who supports their values.

“I think our people are all over the map,’’ said Mike Wilson of Springdale, who, three years ago, founded the Cincinnati Tea Party and is running this year for the Ohio House.

“We haven’t been tremendously impactful in the primaries so far, and it is hard to imagine that we will be in Ohio,’’ said Wilson. “Tea party people aren’t getting around one candidate.”

It could be that the tea party activists who wielded such influence two years ago could turn their attention this year to Ohio’s U.S. Senate race instead of the presidential contest.

Wilson and other tea party activists in the area say that if the Republicans nominate a candidate who doesn’t excite them – Mitt Romney, for example, who is seen as a moderate by many of them – they could end up spending more energy trying to elect Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel – the front-runner for the GOP Senate nomination – over Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

“I think you will see tea party folks gravitate toward Mandel,’’ said Chris Littleton, a co-founder of the Cincinnati Tea Party and the Ohio Liberty Council, an umbrella group for tea party organizations. “That is a race that could get people excited. And then they vote for Romney or whoever along the way.”

A Mandel vs. Brown race, Wilson said, “might get people excited. Josh has a lot of support among tea party people. He’s got them more excited than any of the presidential candidates at this point.”

There is some new evidence that tea party voters may be coalescing around former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum.

(more…)

Posted in: Government, News, Tea Party |

Tags: Tags: election, GOP, newt gingrich, obama, politics, President, presidential, republican, ron paul, santorum, Tea Party, West Chester Tea Party

Ron Paul supporters have opened a Cincinnati area campaign office for the GOP presidential candidate in West Chester.

Another office has already opened in Columbus and “additional locations are planned to be opened over the next two weeks for the final push before Ohio’s primary on March 6th.”

The Enquirer’s Politics Extra blog reports:

The Ohio campaign efforts, under the name Ohio For Ron Paul, are not affiliated with Paul’s official campaign, but instead are considered “regional centers for volunteers to make phone calls, pick up signs, organize neighborhood walks and any other activities which help grassroots activities in support of Ron Paul,” according to a news release, which was sent out by Chris Littleton, president of the Cincinnati Tea Party.

Paul’s national campaign has not announced any plans yet to visit the Buckeye state. But Paul fans in Ohio say his support here is clear: he won a straw poll here in October sponsored by the Franklin County Republican Party.

They also note that grassroots support is notoriously one of Paul’s strongest campaign assets.

The West Chester office is at 5430 West Chester Road.  For information on the West Chester office, contact chris.littleton@ohiolibertycouncil.org.  For more information about the Ron Paul campaign, go to www.ohioforronpaul.com or www.facebook.com/RP2012OH.

Posted in: Election, News, Tea Party |

Tags: Tags: campaign office, GOP, Ohio, presidential candidate, primaries, republican, ron paul, West Chester

The Grand Ole Pub in West Chester, which opened almost a year ago, was recently featured in an Associated Press article that has been featured online throughout the country, including on the websites of the Atlanta Journal Constitution and the San Francisco Chronicle.

The story focuses on the mixed feelings of Republicans and how Ohioans are currently undecided on who to vote for in the Republican primary. The local pub has become a gathering spot for local republicans and earlier this year featured a viewing party for the swearing-in of John Boehner as the 61st Speaker of the House.

Dan Sewell of the Associated Press recently visited the pub and wrote the story:

The Grand Ole Pub in this Cincinnati suburb is a good place to find Republicans. It’s not so easy, though, to find one who feels settled on, or even enthused about the party’s current field of presidential candidates.

Patron Jim Goll sat near a portrait of conservative standard-bearer Ronald Reagan, and the walls are decorated with pictures of talk show hosts Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly and other political figures. It seemed that Goll and other patrons couldn’t see any of the current field joining the Republican icons on the pub wall.

They’ve all got some points that I like,” Goll said. “If I could take all the candidates and put them in a pot and mix them together, that would be awesome.”

Ohio has been a swing state for decades, and recent polls indicate Republicans could take it back in 2012 after Barack Obama’s 2008 win — Republican George W. Bush carried Ohio twice, as did Democrat Bill Clinton. But first Ohioans would have to rally around a common candidate.

Mixed feelings and indecision seem common across a swath of Republican-dominated suburbs that provide votes for Republican nominees — whom history says must win Ohio to win the general election. A recent statewide Quinnipiac University poll indicated support for Mitt Romney was at 24 percent, with “don’t know” at 22 and Rick Perry at 21 and the rest scattered among the other candidates. (more…)

Posted in: Business, Election, Government, News |

Tags: Tags: American, American pub, bars, business, business news, GOP, Grand Ole Pub, Grand Ole Pub West Chester Ohio, political, presidential race 2012, presidential race 2012 Ohio, presidential race 2012 West Chester

Approximately 400 friends, family members and constituents traveled to Washington D.C. to witness the swearing-in of John Boehner as the 61st Speaker of the House. Back in his hometown, a crowd of his supporters gathered at the Grand Ole Pub.

The atmosphere was the equivalent of a Super Bowl party. Bar goers cheered on their man (John Boehner) and heckled their enemy (outgoing speaker Nancy Pelosi).

“Well I am 63 and this has never happened before and I doubt it will ever happen again in my lifetime,” Grand Ole Pub owner Bill Langdon said. “So, to me, it is much bigger than the Super Bowl. That happens every year. Having the Speaker of the House be your congressman, never happened to me. This is a monumental event.”

>>>PHOTOS OF BOEHNER PARTY AT GRAND OLE PUB<<<

Many of the people who visited bar felt a personal connection to Boehner just because they share the same hometown, others have actually known the man before he was a congressman.

“I am trying to let this soak in,” said Ohio Senator Gary Cates, who has known Boehner for 28 years. “To see this happen to someone you know is unbelievable. Outside of knowing the President of the United States personally, this is pretty big stuff.”

Cates actually knew him from the beginning when Boehner served as the president of the Lakota Hills homeowners association and as a Union Township trustee.

>>>PHOTOS OF BOEHNER THROUGH THE YEARS<<<

“He has really started at the grassroots level. It is a real great accomplishment on his part to persevere to get to where he is today,” Cates said. “I am sure I speak for a lot of people, we are all really proud of him for what he has done for our area.”

Former Cincinnati Enquirer caricature artist Jerry Dowling, who was involved in the Lakota Hills homeowners association back in the late 70s, was also at the American Pub to witness Boehner’s special moment.

“It is unbelievable that this could happen. No one expected John to rise up the way he has. This is just flabbergasting. We are so thrilled.”

Judging by the celebration at the West Chester bar so is his community.

“He is the American dream,” Langdon said. “He came from humble beginnings, in a small house with eleven brothers and sisters. He started out as a small businessman. That is quite a journey in one lifetime. That is the American dream.”

Posted in: Business, Election, Events, Government, News, Political events, Tea Party |

Tags: Tags: 8th Congressional District, American, American pub, bars, business, business news, Gary Cates, GOP, Grand Ole Pub, Grand Ole Pub West Chester Ohio, John Boehner, photo gallery, photos, Senator Gary Cates, Speaker of the House

It is not uncommon this time of year for local bars to host special parties for big football events, like bowl games or the NFL playoffs, but what about political events?

On Wednesday, Jan. 5, West Chester’s Grand Ole Pub will be hosting a unique bar gathering to watch the swearing-in of local politician John Boehner as he becomes the 61st Speaker of House.

The American pub, which opened in late October of 2010, will display special Miller Lite and Budweiser event banners for Boehner’s special day. The bar will also feature $1 16 oz. draft beers and half-price hanky pankies.

“Hopefully the hanky panky will now stop in Washington,” Grand Ole Pub owner Pat Langdon said. “Too much of it goes on right now.”

The Grand Ole Pub made national news in November due to its unique political and republican theme.

At the time of its opening, fellow owner Bill Langdon (Pat’s husband) denied the political theme saying, “There is nothing on these walls that is political in my mind. It is just an American pub.”

The bar displays the Constitution, pictures of every former President of the United States and historical information about America framed on its walls. However, it also displays caricatures of Fox News anchors on its wall and its televisions are typically tuned into the cable news network. Not to mention, the bar’s name, “Grand Ole Pub” is short for GOP or the “Grand Old Party.”

“I am very conservative and so is my bar,” Pat Langdon said.

Whether it is truly a political bar or just an American pub is up for debate. Either way, the Grand Ole Pub is a perfect place to watch Boehner become the next Speaker. In fact, Boehner has already visited the bar twice, once before the opening and again to have dinner on the night before Thanksgiving.

The bar will be offering its discounted beer and hanky pankies from noon to 4 p.m. Jan. 5. The official swear-in will take place at approximately 1 p.m. All of the bar’s flat-screen televisions will be tuned in for the event.

Grand Ole Pub is located at 8177 Princeton-Glendale Road and can be reached at 513-942-2444.

Posted in: Business, Events, Government, News, Political events |

Tags: Tags: American, American pub, bars, business, business news, GOP, Grand Ole Pub, Grand Ole Pub West Chester Ohio, political