Happy days are here again

About 250 Democrats walked under the marquee and into the 20th Century Theater in Oakley Square Thursday night for a Hamilton County Democratic Forum pep rally and walked out two hours later pretty well fired up.

And not just because there was an open bar.

The Forum had two of the better stump speakers in Ohio Democratic politics as their keynoters - Jerry Springer - ex-mayor, ex-anchor, host of a low-rent TV slimefest, now reincarnated as a liberal radio talkmeister - and Chris Redfern, the state representative elected six weeks ago as the new Ohio Democrtic Party chairman.

Springer handled the serious message Thursday night - how Democrats need to make sure the Ohio elections of '06 and the presidential election of '08 is about something more than partisan politics - while Redfern provided comic relief.

Redfern poked fun at a list of Republican politicians, including Phil Heimlich, Bob Taft, and the front-runner for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, J. Kenneth Blackwell.

Blackwell, Redfern said, likes to find issues that divide people; "he's probably cooking up something like a ban on gay illegal immigrant right now.''

Springer's run as a host of an over-sexed, under-brained TV show that even he will tell you is pretty stupid has all but dismantled his chances of ever becoming a serious candidate for public office again. But he has done his share to help Ohio Democrats raise money. If you are the chairman of the Putnam County Democratic Party and you need to sell tickets to your annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner, having an internationally-known TV star as your keynote speaker can help; and Springer does his share of that sort of thing.

Thursday night, though, he was in front of a crowd that knew him when, and were less impressed by his celebrity than his rhetorical skills.

"If we go out this year and tell people, 'vote Democrat, because the Republicans are bad' and turn this into an argument about which party is best, then we are going to lose,'' Springer said. "The selling point is this - we have to say to people who vote Republican, 'please love your country more than your party. It's time for change; one-party rule is not a good thing.

"People in Green Township will understand that, even if they usually vote Republican,'' Springer said. "Love your country more than your party. Green Township will get it.''

Springer said he hoped that in the 1st Congressional District, where John Cranley is trying to knock off six-term incumbent Republican Steve Chabot, voters would get that message and "and say, 'Steve, we like you, but we love our country more. You've got to go.'''

"Don't worry, Steve, we'll help you find another job,'' Springer said. "I will hire him personally. I will let him be audience coordinator for my TV show.''