"Values" Decline As Issue In Ohio

At least according to The Washington Post:

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Two years ago, Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell was a driving force in the triumphant campaign for a state constitutional amendment to outlaw same-sex marriage. That helped cause a surge in turnout of "values voters," who helped deliver this pivotal state to President Bush's successful reelection effort.

As the Republican candidate for governor, Blackwell has been counting on values voters to do for him this year what they did for the party in 2004. But the culture wars are being eclipsed as a voting issue by economic worries and Republican scandals that have altered the political dynamic here in striking ways. Several polls find Blackwell trailing his Democratic opponent, five-term Rep. Ted Strickland, by double digits with less than four weeks to go until the Nov. 7 midterm elections.

The difficulty Blackwell is experiencing winning support for his socially conservative message reflects the anxiety evident this year among voters in Ohio and elsewhere, some pollsters say.

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My Comments:
In my short experience here in Ohio, I don't see "values" going away as an important issue for voters. The people here are very concerned about values.

The problem is that the Republican Party establishment in Ohio, by blindly supporting the corrupt administration of Governor Taft, have pissed away the values issue, and have provided the Dems (pro-aborts that they are - though you wouldn't know it by the way they're pussy-footing around the issue) an opening through which to wedge "values voters" away from Republicans.