Ryan For Congress
Time coded Transcription
10001918
American democracy has suffered a bit of a kicking in recent years. Since 2000 the Republicans have been accused of stealing the presidency, the Bush administration has been heavily criticised over the war in Iraq.
10003113
Yeah, no, I’m ashamed to be an American.
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…and even grass roots democracy has been affected. In 2002, Jim Traficant, Democrat congressman for nearly two decades in north east Ohio was sent to Prison for seven years for abuse of his position.
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In April the nine term democrat was convicted of racketeering, bribery and tax evasion and faces several years in prison.
10005304
He traded his official office and powers repeatedly for money, through labour and equipment at his farm and other things.
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But, this being America he was still free to run for office again and was standing as an independent from prison.
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Congressman, will you continue running for re-election no matter what happens?
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I will be on the ballot. The people in my district will have my name on the ballot and if they vote for me and I get the majority of votes, then there’ll be a hell of a stink won’t there? If the truth comes out and I’m on the ballot, you’re looking at the first American in history to serve a constituency from a prison cell in America.
10013117
The nine term congressman, despite being a laughing stock to much of America was a hero in many eyes. A colourful Robin Hood character who had taken on the might of the federal government and won.
10014208
No American should fear their government, and this guy doesn’t.
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Many of his constituents believed that he was a scapegoat angry at his audacity and were willing to elect him to serve from his cell.
10015423
I’m having some rectal disorders as a matter of fact as a result of this.
10015724
Traficant was therefore unable to hit the campaign trail but his rather bullish supporters were on hand to offer their views.
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I’m supporting Jim Traficant because he’s the best candidate for the 17th Congressional District. I don’t even live in the district but when it comes to border security and China and everything, Jim Traficant’s always spoken what is right for this country and not what a political group wants him to speak.
10022301
Up against him was Ann Womer Benjamin, a four time state senator and experienced lawyer who had been selected as the Republican candidate. She hailed from outside the 17th District and in this parochial part of Middle America, that was a major drawback. She was using television to try and raise her profile. Her party was running attack ads detailing her opponents past conviction for using a fake I.D. as a student.
10024609
…including two disorderly conduct charges and three years ago when he tried to seal his criminal record the judge was not convinced of the defendant’s rehabilitation. Call Tim Ryan tell him to grow up.
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She claimed he adverts had been run without her knowledge.
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I had no control over that whatsoever, I didn’t know they were coming and I’ve only just seen it cause someone taped it. It’s not paid for by my campaign or controlled by my campaign.
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Despite requests she refused to allow us close to her campaign, even using human shields to keep her away from my prying camera’s eye.
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I’m not perfect, but I do love this valley and I want to see it move forward.
10032811
The subject of the attack ads was Tim Ryan, a twenty nine year old local boy of Irish Italian decent with just two years experience on the sate senate. He had unexpectedly won the Democrat nomination against the party’s favoured candidate, Tom Sawyer, overcoming a huge deficit in the final days of May’s primaries. From the outside it appeared he had little more than family and friends assisting his precocious push for a seat in Washington.
10035216
…but we have one thing on out side, we have Democracy.
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With older brother Alan as his campaign director and mum Rochelle keeping a close eye on proceedings.
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Ryan also promised to avoid negative campaigning. Since he first ran for the state senate two years earlier, he had instead chosen to focus on issues and other than responding to attacks on his integrity he had remained true to his word. Some doubted his grass roots approach.
10042109
A grass roots campaign? I think it’s just a cliché. When you think grass roots, you don’t think of hundreds of thousands of dollars, you know, fuelling a campaign. They jump onto the grass roots and they don’t really mean it.
10044210
The three candidates were competing in the first round of major elections since September 11th. In Ohio’s 17th Congressional District, an area defined by football, parades and faded industry, they were battling it out for a place among the 435 representatives in the house of congress.
10050623
To get close to the action I joined Tim Ryan on the campaign and it soon became clear that the people of Ohio understood democracy, what it was and what it meant to them.
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Because I believe in the democratic process and I’ve been voting since the age of 18 and I’ve never missed a vote.
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Democracy means freedom. The availability to do what you want, when you want, how you want as long as you’re not breaking any rules or any laws and that’s what democracy is all about.
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Democracy yep, everyone’s one vote, one voice, doesn’t get no better than that.
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However, this belief in democracy didn’t mean those same people were flooding to the polls.
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The sad part of it all is, when you figure out how many people vote after this election is over as compared to the number that are eligible to vote, it’s sickening.
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I would say the irony of democracy, we have all this freedom to vote yet half of us never do.
10060008
See, this group right here is like the perfect grass roots kind of group, type of people you would wanna get to start voting ‘cause they wanna vote. Only thing is they just have lost interest and become disheartened with the whole election process because they don’t feel like it works for ‘em.
10061409
There seemed to be a lack of faith in their politicians, hardly surprising given Traficant’s recent incarceration. Attempting to overcome Traficant’s legacy, Tim Ryan had enlisted the help of a motley mix of pensioners, college students and wannabe politicians.
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…a great singer right there.
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There was Tom Coroni, affectionately known as Shark, Tim’s sounding board, confidante and butt of his jokes.
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I got a mouth like a Shark.
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Quit stuffing yer face!
10064024
Look how big his head is! I mean his head is enormous, don’t move, don’t look at the camera you’re gonna break the thing!
10064900
Tim and I don’t refer to God as God. We refer to him as the allied supreme commander. And I talk to him all the time, you know, and I haven’t been wrong three times.
10070003
We’re not saying he’s endorsed our candidacy are we?
10070310
Yes he has.
10070508
I wanna be on record as saying I don’t think God has endorsed my candidacy. Tom?
10071019
Yes he has.
He has.
He has.
10071412
This beautiful young lady is my girlfriend Julie.
10071712
This is the lowest of low. Goodbye cruel world I’m jumping out in front of moving traffic.
10072409
Dean Thomas 502 7386, I enjoy long walks on the beach, candle light dinners.
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Dean Thomas political manager, comedian and self-styled lady’s man, who enjoyed a love-hate relationship with 20 year old student, Jess Fischel.
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I saw him kick a puppy the other day. It was the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen.
10074610:
Dean, why did you kick the puppy?!
It wouldn’t stop barking!
10075209
I’ve had it with you, aarrgh!
Champion! Sorry Jess he had you!
10075914
You wanna see a temper tantrum?
Get that fucking camera out of my face Susannah!
10080513
Politics student, “Baby” Ryan Keating.
10081111
Is that recording right now?
Yeah, if you see the red light it means its recording.
I just wanna make sure you got me wiping my nose on my sleeve.
That’s very grass roots.
Democracy’s ugly sometimes!
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Former attorney and the male model of the group, John Stefan.
He’s another disgruntled attorney.
To add to it, I had a full year of practise under my belt and then left it.
Just make us look cool!
10084021
This team shunned sleep, and braved the elements for their man, never more so than when it came to Ryan’s signature campaign technique; sign holding.
10085009
Tim originated the sign holding thing, and we have big signs and we go out. In the morning we get people going to work and we get them in the afternoon and this week we’re going to be outside the plants, holding when people get off work, like at the mills or what ever.
10090522
So where did you get the idea to do this time?
Up in New Hampshire…a bright young guy up there running campaigns told me to do it, I was campaigning for a state senate candidate. It worked!
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It’s the most effective way of campaigning, like a commercial that you can’t turn off.
10092319
You gotta work the corner. You can’t be stationary; you gotta go from one side to the other. How are ya?
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There’s nothing like the first time you do it, you’re just like, “How stupid am I?”
10093216
How are ya? Thank you. How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? Thank you! Waves are votes too; if they wave that’s a vote. A peace sign, if they give you the peace sign that means they support you but they may not make it to the polls.
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But above all, persistence seemed to be the key.
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How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? Thank you! They like me; they really, really like me! How are ya? Mate, I hope it snows, it’s gonna snow on Friday, we’ll be out in the snow, that’s grass roots. This is just cold as hell!
10103103
Hot chocolate! How do you like that?
That’s really good.
Its grass roots. Shame there’s not one for you.
10103821
Standing on street corners brought recognition but is was important to win endorsements from as many sections of the community as possible, particularly in an area with such a diverse cultural mix.
10105011
This area was originally a part of the Kuneticate Western Reserve, where a bunch of white men from Europe came over and started steal mills, there was an influx of immigrations, there was originally Germans and then the Irish then the Italians and Greeks all settled here so it’s a really diverse area of middle class people who were able to earn a good living for many, many years. Who now have seen their kids leave because of the lack of opportunity here.
10112223
You know a lot of steal jobs have left here, there were once 20,000 steal jobs in Youngstown and that area and there are probably about 2 or 3 thousand there.
10112919
I lost my daughter for twenty-five years because she couldn’t find work, she had to go out of town to find work.
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I left this area because of the employment situation.
10113809
I lost everything that I had with LTV Steal. Bankruptcy and took everything, took all the benefits off of us, prescriptions, took the insurance off of us everything, we have nothing.
10114901
America has become stagnant, it’s not for the by the people, you know what I mean, it’s just for these Enrons. I call myself a true American, a true liberal American who thinks that the injustice in this country still prevails today as it did to me when I went in to the service, as it did when I went to school, it’s still here today.
10122203
As the campaign in Ohio reached its final few days, radio interviews were ten a penny, yard signs carrying the names of candidates for every post imaginable sprang up in the driveways of homes and on street corners everywhere. News paper headlines and endorsements came thick and fast while television aired live debates and advertisements.
10124521
The candidates, or in Traficant’s case, his loyal supporters had to be in a thousand places at once from college football games to Halloween parades, pensioners dinner clubs to churches and from labour organisations to the junctions of highways. To stand a chance at the polls the candidates had to have a presence at every event in the district.
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Look at the hands man!
Hey The Hawk.
The Hawk man!
10132100
Lets be low profile. Hello, I’m Ann Womer Benjamin.
10134715
Civil Rights, right down the line was lead by unions and the Democratic Party.
10135714
Government’s there because in this country, we create it.
10140610
Doughnuts!
10142224
When the Ryan team hit the parades they had a unique weapon, The Grass Roots Express, a battered 1974 Dodge Winnebago, picked up two years earlier it had come to symbolise the grass roots approach. Fitted with carpets on the ceiling it had been covered with home made signs and mounted with a speaker system previously used by Kennedy, Nixon and Gore. It had become his unmistakeable if cumbersome and highly unreliable calling card across the 17th District.
10152810
Thanks to Traficant’s heavily publicised trial, the local and national media were after a piece of the candidates. It was another way of securing crucial votes so they found time to field the same questions over and over again, as well as some rather unusual ones.
10154302
Dr Voit Graves and others have discovered evidence of the intentional creation of the HIV AIDS virus and other life threatening diseases and targeting of black populations by agencies of the US government. As a US congress-person will you support our demand for a full congressional investigation into this matter?
10160506
Absolutely.
10160610
That was quick and easy!
10160900
With three televised debates in the run-up to the election, Ryan met with the team at his Mum’s house to prepare, before making his way to the studio.
10161613
Would you have supported President Bush’s resolution to go to war with Iraq?
10162019
No I would not have voted for it. I’m extremely concerned that President Bush’s chief of staff, last January, sent out a memo saying that war would make a good political issue in the Fall and that we didn’t hear anything about Iraq in the Spring, we didn’t hear anything about Iraq in the Summer and all of a sudden all Bush’s corporate friends are getting busted for stealing billions of dollars from their clients, the economy’s in the tank and all of a sudden we pull Saddam Hussein off the mantle, we dust him off and we’re going to war again.
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I liked your answer.
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So did I.
10165021
I think it was good.
10165313
Here’s another good one too. We pay billions of dollars to the United Nations to help settle disputes like this, to help monitor rogue nations like this. Why do we always have to go in, why’s it always the United States? We pay a lot of money to this organisation, it’s a good organisation and we pay billions of tax-payers dollars to it. Let them go in and handle the problem.
I like that.
10171308
If you question the government you’re somehow unpatriotic, I don’t want our kids to die! President Bush is cutting the veterans benefits by 250 million dollars so three hundred thousand veterans don’t get health care, so we’ll send you off to war but when you come back you’re on your own.
I like that!
10172801
These presidential style debates offered the candidates the chance to go on the attack, something Benjamin took full advantage of returning to Ryan’s conviction for using a fake I.D. and claiming there were irregularities in his campaign financing.
10174206
The litany of campaign finance violations is not a personal attack. It is fact and I think it s important that we look at those facts because the 17th District needs someone who takes this job seriously not someone who, for whatever reason, whether it’s ignorance or sloppiness or whatever, doesn’t follow federal law.
10180709
Let me just address some of the comments Miss Benjamin made in her opening statement. I think it’s rather sad and I think our generation is pretty sad of politicians who fail to talk about the issues so they have to resort to personal attacks they have to play the same old…
(Applause)
10182914
Thank you.
10183607
Yeah!
10183904
She couldn’t cope. (Laughter) She threw her best at you tonight Timmy and guess what.
It didn’t work.
It didn’t fucking work baby. She thought she’d rattle you, “he’s a young guy I’ll rattle him”. She’s shit, she can’t rattle you.
10185410
I mean how about the answer is this, where is the money coming from? Listen, these Republicans, they out-raise Democrats ten-to-one and there’s one race where the Democrat out-raises the Republican and it’s illegal. I mean give me a fucking break!
10191112
With just days to go until the polls opened the schedule was becoming increasingly hectic.
So we’re going everywhere then Tim?
We’re going everywhere, we’re gonna go to the barber shops, bingo halls, beauty salons…
Everywhere.
10192413
The candidate’s next port of call was the Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown.
10192912
As we sang in church this morning, I will close with these words, “We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand. We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand. And together we will spread the news that God is in this land”. Thank you.
10195405
There’s an old saying, I do not promise you ease, I do not promise you comfort, but I do promise you these; weariness, hardship and sacrifice and with these I promise you victory. Thank you very much.
10201921
From there it was straight to one of the area’s many black churches; here it became clear that, as in the 2004 presidential election, the idea that politics and religion in America are exclusive is far from reality. So in this deeply religious area the candidates knew the importance of securing the church vote.
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We’re going to a Baptist church in Youngstown; their Pastors have a lot of influence over who they vote for, some pastors, others don’t. The one we’re going to today does.
10205002
To speak of that which is undeniably God is to speak of truth. If you cannot believe that in the beginning God created, you’re going to have a lot of trouble in believing that a human man stretched the rod just about five feet and the waters of the red sea divided.
10212008
Thank you very much for welcoming us to your church and you do have a great leader here and I enjoyed your preaching bishop very much.
10212905
I want to pray for you that you can fulfil your entire destiny, fulfil it, you’re going to need a supernatural power….
10214305
So does your opponent Ann Womer Benjamin go to black churches at all?
Probably….yeah, cause we will walk with each other we will walk hand in hand!
10215801
That afternoon was Youngstown State University’s homecoming parade.
10220516
We’re in a parade for Youngstown State University’s homecoming. Bunch of reporters, it’s heating up it’s the last weekend so everybody wants the last weekend story.
102214112
For the candidates it was a perfect publicity call and also a chance to sample some fine Ohio hospitality.
10222117
This is called tail-gating. You bring booze, would you like some? Spiced wine?
I’ll try a little bit.
Compliments of Pat Salker.
OK, thank you.
And we just party outside until the game starts and then win or lose we party after the game.
10224019
While Ryan moved from appearance to appearance, his team continued to spread his message.
10224620
We will go to a bingo or something in Youngstown and wait around until this thing is over and pass that out, OK?
OK.
Let’s go!
10225511
We’ll go to these bingoes and shit. God I’m swearing in front of fucking kids!
10230510
I’d like to thank the people of this communion for your help, from myself, from Tim and from the whole campaign, we would not be here without you and I appreciate your help…give everybody a hand.
10231901
Next on his schedule was Kennedy High School’s big football game. On the way there Ryan offered his thoughts on American Democracy.
10232712
Someone like me that doesn’t have money, doesn’t have influence, my Dad wasn’t in politics, my Dad doesn’t run a corporation, my family doesn’t have a lot of money, you know, a middle class guy…can have an impact and actually represent the average people without having to be forced to represent big money, special interests.
10241114
The game carried on late into the evening but the day didn’t end there. Ryan’s earlier promise that it would get colder was no idle boast, he hit the freeways outside one of the districts largest employers, the huge General Motors plant at Lordstown.
10242905
Congressman’s giving directions.
Watching a man potentially hours away from taking a seat in the House of Congress giving directions to truck drivers in the middle of the night, it was easy to see why his team were willing to put themselves through the ringer, but why the need to hit the streets when most sensible people were tucked up in bed?
10244804
You know, the people will go into the plant and talk about how we were out here, then we’ll come first thing tomorrow morning. People coming in for day term will say, “Hey d’you see Ryan out on the corner?” and the people from midnight will say, “He was on there last night when we came to work!” It creates a nice buzz within the plant.
10250819
The guys going home are much more inclined to beep than the guys going to work. But you’re gonna have that.
That’s kind of understandable.
Yeah, I think so.
10251917
Thank you.
10252021
So it was, as dawn broke Team Ryan was back outside the plant.
This is grass roots.
We’re going to the plant gate we were at last night, as noted by the bags under everybody’s eyes, including mine. They’re gonna think we pitched a tent!
10253711
Same plonk as last night.
10254324
Thank you.
10254917
On November 5th Americans were going to the polls to vote for everything from Governor to Dog Catcher. Across the country they would be faced with e different voting methods and in Ohio you didn’t even have to leave the 17th District to find different systems. At the Trumbull County Board of Elections they were still using punch cards, the same system that had played its part in delaying the result in the Bush-Gore battle two years earlier. Working step by step through the process it became clear that mistakes could easily be made and that the complex and time-consuming nature of the system could discourage people from voting. A few miles away however, the electoral process was being hauled into the twenty first century. At the Board of Elections in Mahoning County a new electronic voting system was going to be used for the first time. If successful it could be rolled out across the country.
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My name is Mike Sciortino and I’m the Director of the Board of Elections…in Mahoning County.
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Mike Sciortino, Director of the board and Kennedy fetishist took me through the potentially revolutionary process.
10265022
(In JFK voice) Bobby are those my shoes that you found over at Marilyn’s house or did you actually go find ‘em yourself?
10265905
You can walk in anywhere, well not anywhere, but you’re a registered voter and you vote. There’s a lot of important decisions to get made every single day, it’s scary. Look at the length of our ballot; I got 15 pages of candidates and issues!
10271702
This is called a P.E.B. personalised electronic ballot. The poll worker will remove that and the voter is free to make his or her vote.
And they just touch it.
They just touch it.
And if they make a mistake, just touch it again. OK I’m gonna vote.
10273902
But do you think this is the future of Democracy?
There’s no doubt this is the future.
102274513
That’s right, they know who’s boss. (Laughter)
10275507
This is a 650 model…and it’s pretty fast, it’s pretty fast. (Laughter)
10280814
Does it make Democracy cheaper then? Or at least the election cheaper?
I don’t think you can put a price tag on Democracy.
We true, but what I mean is the err…
Can we minimise the cheeseball thing?! (Laughter)
10282318
As Election Day approached the colourful character of Jim Traficant hovered in the background, threatening to at least split the democrat vote and boost Ann Womer Benjamin’s chances or according to some opinions become the first congressman to represent his constituents from a prison cell.
10283820
The Dispatch also said Traficant had a shot, you’ve gotta be shitting me!
10284412
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I’m just the son of a truck driver. Ran for Sheriff. Mob tried to beat me; I beat the mob with their own money. Justice department took me to trial. Only American in history to ever defeat the justice department in a RICO case without being an attorney, they’ve hated me ever since.
10290616
He’s helped a lot of people that I know; he really helped us a lot.
I believe he’s an innocent man and just love Jimbo that’s all!
10291507
The achievements are significant, the achievements are overwhelming.
10292015
He was always there for the people and I just feel he got a bum deal that’s all, I think his punishment was much too harsh.
He’s got my vote and he should have everyone’s vote cause he did more for this community than any other representative we’ve had, congressman.
10293711
If I didn’t believe he didn’t have a chance, a solid chance I wouldn’t be bucking my head up against a brick wall. I firmly believe that in my heart of hearts that once Jim Traficant is elected on November 5th, he will be allowed to serve.
10295818
With the campaign entering its final hours Ann Womer Benjamin unexpectedly pulled her television ads, as Team Ryan pondered what this meant, the answer soon became clear. The Republicans were upping the stakes. In a last ditch attempt to swing the election her way they aired another attack ad against Ryan. In the first major election since September 11th the Republicans decided to play upon the electorate’s fears claiming that Ryan was soft on terrorism. The move backfired, by opening with shots of ground zero the advert sent shockwaves through a society still incredibly raw about the events of just over a year ago. First to take a stand were local fire fighters at a hastily convened press conference.
10304206
By George I think we have more morality as Americans to stoop to that level. If you’re gonna be my representative then dang it you have the courage not to put an ad like that out. Don’t condone your actions, don’t support it across the media and say to the Americans, “we’re sorry that the brave fire fighters and the brave police officers and all the civilians that died there” but then the next thing you put it in the dog gawn newspaper and in the front and you say “Well we’re after Tim”. Well you’re publicising what they did to those families! That’s what you’re doing!
10311508
You’re not even dealing with issues, you’re dealing with tragedy.
10312019
I mean we all went through a hard enough time as it is when we lost 433 of our brothers back there on September 11th but it made me sick when I saw it TV yesterday, really sick..
10313208
…and now you’re just throwing that all over the television, you know, making it sound like she was there helping out, and that’s not right.
10313909
I got no respect for her. Zero respect for her…and I’d fucking…I’d want anarchy if I was forced to vote Republican.
10315504
Buoyed by the fire fighters show of anger it gave Ryan fresh impetus for the final push. So on the eve of Election Day there was a quiet confidence around the Ryan team.
10320422
Everybody ready for tomorrow morning?
We will be.
Tom go home and get some rest will you?
Quit checking your stocks Tom.
Yeah, you didn’t make any money today.
10321419
Hit me with a quote, this is the night before the election mate, tell me.
10322116
I love your body Jake. (Laughter)
10323322
Today is Election Day. I feel good, I feel real good. I went and gave Tim a poke today, this morning…no question and I think we’re gonna go ahead and blow this lady out so it’s time to get down and busy.
10325014
In feel pretty good, I mean at this point there’s no point in worrying about it, you just gotta kind of roll with it and it’s out of our hands so…
10325915
I cut myself shaving mate! Look it, I got this bust out.
Is that grass roots or is it just bust out?
Yeah, licking your lip and putting a piece of toilet paper on it to stop the bleeding, that’s grass roots.
10331403
Projected voting today is 55% Trumbull, 45% in Mahoning and only in the 20s in Portage and Summit so where we’re from is projected to be a hell of a lot higher voting today than where she’s from.
10333300
I mean did she fucking throw everything at us or what? Jesus Christ! Phone calls, television commercials, I mean, the whole nine yards!
10334804
I gotta hear the story, right. The one about the fake I.D.
10335222
It wasn’t even in a bar, it was in a dorm room it was late, there were like four or five of us, and we were gonna go back to this one persons dorm room and there was someone sitting there, and I had a few sodas in me. You had to give them an I.D. to get into the dorm so I gave them my fake I.D. then you had to sign in, so then I signed in. So the I.D. was my brothers and it said Alan Ryan and when I signed in I signed in Tim Ryan. She goes, “Are you Alan Ryan or are you Tim Ryan?” and I said, “Oh no, well a little bit of both actually”. So they started making a big thing, I said “Just give me it back and I’ll leave” and they were like, “Well now wait a second here”, I says “We just wanna just get into the dorm here” You know, you would think a college kid…so they started bustin’ my balls, I started bustin’ their balls and next thing you know, we got a incident and the cops are there and I get written up for presenting a false operators license.
10351812
Ooooh…
10352000
Yeah, I’m a very bad person. Unfit for public office.
And yet to be rehabilitated.
Yet to be rehabilitated, yes.
10353207
This is Election Day, this is what it’s all about. This is democracy.
10354112
So what are you going to do today?
I’m just gonna be helping Dean out with the Mahoning County election, making sure that each precinct has enough literature and making sure that phone calls are being made to registered democratic voters who haven’t voted today, that’s what the big push is.
10355624
Just reminding you that today is Election Day and reminding you to vote. Thank you.
10361103
Doughnuts! Right there in the truck.
Yeah, I know but why?
Well they bring you coffee and doughnuts so you work harder.
Who’s they?
These guys always handle us. They bring us these doughnuts, we eat ‘em then we’ve gotta go out there and work and hustle votes.
10362912
What do you think of the electronic voting system?
Fine, it’s good.
You came across no problems at all?
No not too many. There was a lot to read in this one amendment or whatever.
10363615
I didn’t notice any problems with my ballot at all. It might have been easier if people have a stylus instead of using their finger.
I think it makes it much better it’s much easier to use.
10364610
As the morning sun gave way to torrential rain Ryan hovered outside polling stations whilst his increasingly fraught team encouraged rush hour drivers to cast their vote.
10365710
This sucks! I think I’m packing it in after this. Gonna go home and get cleaned up.
I need to become an AWB Believer at this point.
Can I just point something out? I’m wearing bags on my feet!
Once more into the breach dear friends.
10372215
So how’s everyone feeling?
Excited
I’m excited. Win or lose, I think we did a good job.
There’s nothing else we could’ve done. If we lose, it was out of our hands from day one.
10373318
With tension mounting, the Ryan brothers stepped out of the rain and into their lucky diner.
10373807
We’re at Jay’s Hotdogs in Youngstown, Ohio. We stopped here in the primary and it was about this time, it was about five o’clock, you know we’d stop and have the last supper here and we came here and we were nervous we didn’t know if we were going to win and we asked the owner if he thought we had a shot and he said, “Well I voted for you!”. That’s when we kinda thought maybe we were gonna win.
10380602
Slightly different this time.
10381119
This is where the presiding judges drop off all their supplies. This is democracy at work.
10382207
What they’re doing is taking the P.E.B.s out of the packages out of the bags that they came back from the precincts in. They’re putting them in a cart to take them to be downloaded into our system.
10383423
Ok first set of results coming in. Here you go.
Thank you sir.
10384502
Once the polls had closed, Team Ryan gathered at a friend’s house. Campaigning over they watched as their man’s fate was decided by the electorate.
10385414
I’m in the midst of saying five Hail Mary’s and five Our Father’s hoping that Jesus will listen.
10390101
I’d take 51, 28, 20 in a fucking cocaine heart beat. We quit, it’s over!
10390805
Mahoning’s all gonna come in at once.
10391715
New results from Mahoning County have Traficant now taking votes from her, he’s starting to steal votes from her and he’s not going to do well anywhere else, other than Mahoning really.
10393602
Hey babe, we’re gonna win. We’re kickin’ her ass in Summit! Right now? OK. Hey turn onto ONN Dean’s getting interviewed. Hey Jude, tell him to be real polite and humble, tell him to be real humble.
10400509
Hold on, action in Trumbull. 56, 27, 16 in Trumbull.
Percentages shake out 51, 32, 16 so we’re looking good at this point.
10401511
I wanna fucking win it, I want Kent to come in like gang busters and beat her ass in Portage.
Hey, you want the totals?
Yeah, Jimmy!
10402412
We got 53, 23 in Mahoning, 45, 44 in Portage, 57, 33 in Summit, 56, 27 in Trumbull.
You’re creeping up to 60.
10403318
We’ll be hanging loose in four days baby!
10403800
Oh well, while you’re down there Merv.
10403904
The early results were promising but they still needed one more return to be certain of success.
10405424
Yeah, yeah, this mutha fucker’s over boy!! Aah ha ha ha ha! Whoo! We’ve got ourselves a new congressman god dammit!
10410623
I don’t know if I’m on the way down from the beer or on the way from the two cups of coffee. We’re excited.
10411502
Can you deal with that?!
Can you deal with that?!
By the way, you didn’t even fucking win you home county! We’re winning in Akron by 20 points, we’re winning Mahoning County by 20 points, we’re winning Trumbull County by over 20 points and we’re tied in her county where she needed to absolutely destroy us…so it’s over.
10413508
Now, she hasn’t called. We’re not waiting around like we did for Sawyer though I know that much.
10414206
Al!
10414404
We’re here in Niles, where Tim and many of his supporters are here this evening, you haven’t made to the banquet hall where everybody’s waiting.
I think from day one the only thing we promised was that we would work as hard as any other candidate to try and turn the Mahoning valley around and that’s the plan and that’s the goal for the next few years.
Later on he’ll be at Molaka’s Banquet Centre and cheering on and congratulating, or receiving a lot of congratulations.
We hope so.
Yeah?
Yeah.
Good luck.
Thank you very much.
10421406
Drive around front and drop me off.
Now I like the grand walk.
Yeah, the grand walk’s nice.
That’s money.
Remember last time?
People come running!
10424021
Proud of you Tim.
Hey Father. I knew you’d be here.
10424900
We gotta go see Grandma.
10425213
It’s party time! Shit!
10425908
You’re gonna be the president of the United States, one day, one day.
Hey one step at a time!
10431008
What did I ever tell you?! Believe in yourself baby. You got it man. Aah, Timmy!
10431612
I mean Jeez at least I could move in the primary!
10431900
Hey how are ya? Democracy baby!
10432703
I give to you our next 17th District Congressman, Tim Ryan!
10434617
This is definitely the greatest moment in my life, but ladies and gentleman tonight is just the beginning. This for North East Ohio and the Mahoning Valley.
10440502
Campaign over, Tim Ryan was the new representative for the 17th District, winning more votes than his opponents managed between the, but what did this say about American democracy? The democrat candidate had won in a predominantly democrat area, personal attacks and negative campaigning were still very much part of the political process and despite a turn out more than twice the size of Mays primaries, less than half of the district’s voters had gone to the polls. But judging by it’s success the Ryan team’s approach was welcomed by the people of the 17th District and their disillusionment with negativity, in particular the response to the 9/11 ad offered hope. Two years later, Tim Ryan was re-elected with 77% of the districts vote, 50% more than in 2002. Ann Womer Benjamin became director of the Ohio board of insurance and Jim Traficant? Well, in 2004 Jim ran for president and that is democracy!
10450512
You were there when it all began. Thank you very much.
10451807
I thank the gentleman. I rise in opposition of this bill but I would like to clarify something. We’re not trying to scare kids; this president’s foreign policy is what’s scaring the kids of this country. And if people have said today, why are people believing this big internet hoax. Well it’s the same people who told us Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11, same people that told us Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, same people who told us we were going to be able to use the oil for reconstruction money, same people who told us we’d be greeted as liberators not occupiers, same people, same president that told us the Taliban is gone, same president who told the Poland is our ally two days before they pull out, same president who tells us Iraq is going just great, same president who tells us the economy is going just great, same people who told us the tax cut was gonna create millions of jobs, same people who told us the medi-care programme only cost 400 billion dollars when it really cost 540 million dollars! So please forgive us for not believing what you’re saying, please forgive the students of this country for not believing what you’re saying. Not one thing, not one thing about this war that has been told to the American people, that has been told to these college students has been true, not one thing. Grandma says we need more troops, the Pentagon says we need more troops and this president can’t get them from the international community, there’s only one option left, lets be honest with the American people.
10465704
I’m getting that funny feeling in my pants that I usually get two or three days before the election when things are going really well. I’m getting that vibe.
10470616
That’s the downside about being in this position. Everybody’s got a fucking opinion. Like I don’t know I look tired.
10471404
“Bust Out” means it’s just completely screwed up, it’s just like when you try and something right and things aren’t working out and one thing leads to another and it’s just a complete cluster fuck.
10473310
This is bullshit!
10473605
Well that’s the thing if I hang around the Shark I tend to look a little better than I normally do cause they compare me to him.
You see actually between the two of us Shark if we stand either side of him he looks brilliant anyway.
10475919
I thought I asked you to quit being an asshole six weeks ago but that didn’t phase you.
10480320
I’m going to campaign for the other side.
10480522
I’ve had it with this campaign, we’re going nowhere. Dean Thomas is the biggest asshole I’ve ever met in my entire life.
10481415
I want you to pickle her a little tonight Timmy.
Pickle her?
Not tickle her, pickle her.
You wanna tickle her, you know you do, you like her. Wait til I tell your wife.
I wanna take her skirt and put it up over her head!
Time coded Transcription
10001918
American democracy has suffered a bit of a kicking in recent years. Since 2000 the Republicans have been accused of stealing the presidency, the Bush administration has been heavily criticised over the war in Iraq.
10003113
Yeah, no, I’m ashamed to be an American.
10003301
…and even grass roots democracy has been affected. In 2002, Jim Traficant, Democrat congressman for nearly two decades in north east Ohio was sent to Prison for seven years for abuse of his position.
10004600
In April the nine term democrat was convicted of racketeering, bribery and tax evasion and faces several years in prison.
10005304
He traded his official office and powers repeatedly for money, through labour and equipment at his farm and other things.
10005921
But, this being America he was still free to run for office again and was standing as an independent from prison.
10010614
Congressman, will you continue running for re-election no matter what happens?
10010920
I will be on the ballot. The people in my district will have my name on the ballot and if they vote for me and I get the majority of votes, then there’ll be a hell of a stink won’t there? If the truth comes out and I’m on the ballot, you’re looking at the first American in history to serve a constituency from a prison cell in America.
10013117
The nine term congressman, despite being a laughing stock to much of America was a hero in many eyes. A colourful Robin Hood character who had taken on the might of the federal government and won.
10014208
No American should fear their government, and this guy doesn’t.
10014714
Many of his constituents believed that he was a scapegoat angry at his audacity and were willing to elect him to serve from his cell.
10015423
I’m having some rectal disorders as a matter of fact as a result of this.
10015724
Traficant was therefore unable to hit the campaign trail but his rather bullish supporters were on hand to offer their views.
10020315
I’m supporting Jim Traficant because he’s the best candidate for the 17th Congressional District. I don’t even live in the district but when it comes to border security and China and everything, Jim Traficant’s always spoken what is right for this country and not what a political group wants him to speak.
10022301
Up against him was Ann Womer Benjamin, a four time state senator and experienced lawyer who had been selected as the Republican candidate. She hailed from outside the 17th District and in this parochial part of Middle America, that was a major drawback. She was using television to try and raise her profile. Her party was running attack ads detailing her opponents past conviction for using a fake I.D. as a student.
10024609
…including two disorderly conduct charges and three years ago when he tried to seal his criminal record the judge was not convinced of the defendant’s rehabilitation. Call Tim Ryan tell him to grow up.
10025911
She claimed he adverts had been run without her knowledge.
10030200
I had no control over that whatsoever, I didn’t know they were coming and I’ve only just seen it cause someone taped it. It’s not paid for by my campaign or controlled by my campaign.
10031519
Despite requests she refused to allow us close to her campaign, even using human shields to keep her away from my prying camera’s eye.
10032419
I’m not perfect, but I do love this valley and I want to see it move forward.
10032811
The subject of the attack ads was Tim Ryan, a twenty nine year old local boy of Irish Italian decent with just two years experience on the sate senate. He had unexpectedly won the Democrat nomination against the party’s favoured candidate, Tom Sawyer, overcoming a huge deficit in the final days of May’s primaries. From the outside it appeared he had little more than family and friends assisting his precocious push for a seat in Washington.
10035216
…but we have one thing on out side, we have Democracy.
10035620
With older brother Alan as his campaign director and mum Rochelle keeping a close eye on proceedings.
10040416
Ryan also promised to avoid negative campaigning. Since he first ran for the state senate two years earlier, he had instead chosen to focus on issues and other than responding to attacks on his integrity he had remained true to his word. Some doubted his grass roots approach.
10042109
A grass roots campaign? I think it’s just a cliché. When you think grass roots, you don’t think of hundreds of thousands of dollars, you know, fuelling a campaign. They jump onto the grass roots and they don’t really mean it.
10044210
The three candidates were competing in the first round of major elections since September 11th. In Ohio’s 17th Congressional District, an area defined by football, parades and faded industry, they were battling it out for a place among the 435 representatives in the house of congress.
10050623
To get close to the action I joined Tim Ryan on the campaign and it soon became clear that the people of Ohio understood democracy, what it was and what it meant to them.
10051723
Because I believe in the democratic process and I’ve been voting since the age of 18 and I’ve never missed a vote.
10052207
Democracy means freedom. The availability to do what you want, when you want, how you want as long as you’re not breaking any rules or any laws and that’s what democracy is all about.
10053120
Democracy yep, everyone’s one vote, one voice, doesn’t get no better than that.
10053812
However, this belief in democracy didn’t mean those same people were flooding to the polls.
10054309
The sad part of it all is, when you figure out how many people vote after this election is over as compared to the number that are eligible to vote, it’s sickening.
10055521
I would say the irony of democracy, we have all this freedom to vote yet half of us never do.
10060008
See, this group right here is like the perfect grass roots kind of group, type of people you would wanna get to start voting ‘cause they wanna vote. Only thing is they just have lost interest and become disheartened with the whole election process because they don’t feel like it works for ‘em.
10061409
There seemed to be a lack of faith in their politicians, hardly surprising given Traficant’s recent incarceration. Attempting to overcome Traficant’s legacy, Tim Ryan had enlisted the help of a motley mix of pensioners, college students and wannabe politicians.
10062907
…a great singer right there.
10063021
There was Tom Coroni, affectionately known as Shark, Tim’s sounding board, confidante and butt of his jokes.
10063620
I got a mouth like a Shark.
10063811
Quit stuffing yer face!
10064024
Look how big his head is! I mean his head is enormous, don’t move, don’t look at the camera you’re gonna break the thing!
10064900
Tim and I don’t refer to God as God. We refer to him as the allied supreme commander. And I talk to him all the time, you know, and I haven’t been wrong three times.
10070003
We’re not saying he’s endorsed our candidacy are we?
10070310
Yes he has.
10070508
I wanna be on record as saying I don’t think God has endorsed my candidacy. Tom?
10071019
Yes he has.
He has.
He has.
10071412
This beautiful young lady is my girlfriend Julie.
10071712
This is the lowest of low. Goodbye cruel world I’m jumping out in front of moving traffic.
10072409
Dean Thomas 502 7386, I enjoy long walks on the beach, candle light dinners.
10072916
Dean Thomas political manager, comedian and self-styled lady’s man, who enjoyed a love-hate relationship with 20 year old student, Jess Fischel.
10073913
I saw him kick a puppy the other day. It was the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen.
10074610:
Dean, why did you kick the puppy?!
It wouldn’t stop barking!
10075209
I’ve had it with you, aarrgh!
Champion! Sorry Jess he had you!
10075914
You wanna see a temper tantrum?
Get that fucking camera out of my face Susannah!
10080513
Politics student, “Baby” Ryan Keating.
10081111
Is that recording right now?
Yeah, if you see the red light it means its recording.
I just wanna make sure you got me wiping my nose on my sleeve.
That’s very grass roots.
Democracy’s ugly sometimes!
10082606
Former attorney and the male model of the group, John Stefan.
He’s another disgruntled attorney.
To add to it, I had a full year of practise under my belt and then left it.
Just make us look cool!
10084021
This team shunned sleep, and braved the elements for their man, never more so than when it came to Ryan’s signature campaign technique; sign holding.
10085009
Tim originated the sign holding thing, and we have big signs and we go out. In the morning we get people going to work and we get them in the afternoon and this week we’re going to be outside the plants, holding when people get off work, like at the mills or what ever.
10090522
So where did you get the idea to do this time?
Up in New Hampshire…a bright young guy up there running campaigns told me to do it, I was campaigning for a state senate candidate. It worked!
10091901
It’s the most effective way of campaigning, like a commercial that you can’t turn off.
10092319
You gotta work the corner. You can’t be stationary; you gotta go from one side to the other. How are ya?
10092814
There’s nothing like the first time you do it, you’re just like, “How stupid am I?”
10093216
How are ya? Thank you. How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? Thank you! Waves are votes too; if they wave that’s a vote. A peace sign, if they give you the peace sign that means they support you but they may not make it to the polls.
10095606
But above all, persistence seemed to be the key.
10095823
How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? How are ya? Thank you! They like me; they really, really like me! How are ya? Mate, I hope it snows, it’s gonna snow on Friday, we’ll be out in the snow, that’s grass roots. This is just cold as hell!
10103103
Hot chocolate! How do you like that?
That’s really good.
Its grass roots. Shame there’s not one for you.
10103821
Standing on street corners brought recognition but is was important to win endorsements from as many sections of the community as possible, particularly in an area with such a diverse cultural mix.
10105011
This area was originally a part of the Kuneticate Western Reserve, where a bunch of white men from Europe came over and started steal mills, there was an influx of immigrations, there was originally Germans and then the Irish then the Italians and Greeks all settled here so it’s a really diverse area of middle class people who were able to earn a good living for many, many years. Who now have seen their kids leave because of the lack of opportunity here.
10112223
You know a lot of steal jobs have left here, there were once 20,000 steal jobs in Youngstown and that area and there are probably about 2 or 3 thousand there.
10112919
I lost my daughter for twenty-five years because she couldn’t find work, she had to go out of town to find work.
10113421
I left this area because of the employment situation.
10113809
I lost everything that I had with LTV Steal. Bankruptcy and took everything, took all the benefits off of us, prescriptions, took the insurance off of us everything, we have nothing.
10114901
America has become stagnant, it’s not for the by the people, you know what I mean, it’s just for these Enrons. I call myself a true American, a true liberal American who thinks that the injustice in this country still prevails today as it did to me when I went in to the service, as it did when I went to school, it’s still here today.
10122203
As the campaign in Ohio reached its final few days, radio interviews were ten a penny, yard signs carrying the names of candidates for every post imaginable sprang up in the driveways of homes and on street corners everywhere. News paper headlines and endorsements came thick and fast while television aired live debates and advertisements.
10124521
The candidates, or in Traficant’s case, his loyal supporters had to be in a thousand places at once from college football games to Halloween parades, pensioners dinner clubs to churches and from labour organisations to the junctions of highways. To stand a chance at the polls the candidates had to have a presence at every event in the district.
10130600
Look at the hands man!
Hey The Hawk.
The Hawk man!
10132100
Lets be low profile. Hello, I’m Ann Womer Benjamin.
10134715
Civil Rights, right down the line was lead by unions and the Democratic Party.
10135714
Government’s there because in this country, we create it.
10140610
Doughnuts!
10142224
When the Ryan team hit the parades they had a unique weapon, The Grass Roots Express, a battered 1974 Dodge Winnebago, picked up two years earlier it had come to symbolise the grass roots approach. Fitted with carpets on the ceiling it had been covered with home made signs and mounted with a speaker system previously used by Kennedy, Nixon and Gore. It had become his unmistakeable if cumbersome and highly unreliable calling card across the 17th District.
10152810
Thanks to Traficant’s heavily publicised trial, the local and national media were after a piece of the candidates. It was another way of securing crucial votes so they found time to field the same questions over and over again, as well as some rather unusual ones.
10154302
Dr Voit Graves and others have discovered evidence of the intentional creation of the HIV AIDS virus and other life threatening diseases and targeting of black populations by agencies of the US government. As a US congress-person will you support our demand for a full congressional investigation into this matter?
10160506
Absolutely.
10160610
That was quick and easy!
10160900
With three televised debates in the run-up to the election, Ryan met with the team at his Mum’s house to prepare, before making his way to the studio.
10161613
Would you have supported President Bush’s resolution to go to war with Iraq?
10162019
No I would not have voted for it. I’m extremely concerned that President Bush’s chief of staff, last January, sent out a memo saying that war would make a good political issue in the Fall and that we didn’t hear anything about Iraq in the Spring, we didn’t hear anything about Iraq in the Summer and all of a sudden all Bush’s corporate friends are getting busted for stealing billions of dollars from their clients, the economy’s in the tank and all of a sudden we pull Saddam Hussein off the mantle, we dust him off and we’re going to war again.
10164818
I liked your answer.
10165006
So did I.
10165021
I think it was good.
10165313
Here’s another good one too. We pay billions of dollars to the United Nations to help settle disputes like this, to help monitor rogue nations like this. Why do we always have to go in, why’s it always the United States? We pay a lot of money to this organisation, it’s a good organisation and we pay billions of tax-payers dollars to it. Let them go in and handle the problem.
I like that.
10171308
If you question the government you’re somehow unpatriotic, I don’t want our kids to die! President Bush is cutting the veterans benefits by 250 million dollars so three hundred thousand veterans don’t get health care, so we’ll send you off to war but when you come back you’re on your own.
I like that!
10172801
These presidential style debates offered the candidates the chance to go on the attack, something Benjamin took full advantage of returning to Ryan’s conviction for using a fake I.D. and claiming there were irregularities in his campaign financing.
10174206
The litany of campaign finance violations is not a personal attack. It is fact and I think it s important that we look at those facts because the 17th District needs someone who takes this job seriously not someone who, for whatever reason, whether it’s ignorance or sloppiness or whatever, doesn’t follow federal law.
10180709
Let me just address some of the comments Miss Benjamin made in her opening statement. I think it’s rather sad and I think our generation is pretty sad of politicians who fail to talk about the issues so they have to resort to personal attacks they have to play the same old…
(Applause)
10182914
Thank you.
10183607
Yeah!
10183904
She couldn’t cope. (Laughter) She threw her best at you tonight Timmy and guess what.
It didn’t work.
It didn’t fucking work baby. She thought she’d rattle you, “he’s a young guy I’ll rattle him”. She’s shit, she can’t rattle you.
10185410
I mean how about the answer is this, where is the money coming from? Listen, these Republicans, they out-raise Democrats ten-to-one and there’s one race where the Democrat out-raises the Republican and it’s illegal. I mean give me a fucking break!
10191112
With just days to go until the polls opened the schedule was becoming increasingly hectic.
So we’re going everywhere then Tim?
We’re going everywhere, we’re gonna go to the barber shops, bingo halls, beauty salons…
Everywhere.
10192413
The candidate’s next port of call was the Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown.
10192912
As we sang in church this morning, I will close with these words, “We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand. We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand. And together we will spread the news that God is in this land”. Thank you.
10195405
There’s an old saying, I do not promise you ease, I do not promise you comfort, but I do promise you these; weariness, hardship and sacrifice and with these I promise you victory. Thank you very much.
10201921
From there it was straight to one of the area’s many black churches; here it became clear that, as in the 2004 presidential election, the idea that politics and religion in America are exclusive is far from reality. So in this deeply religious area the candidates knew the importance of securing the church vote.
10203810
We’re going to a Baptist church in Youngstown; their Pastors have a lot of influence over who they vote for, some pastors, others don’t. The one we’re going to today does.
10205002
To speak of that which is undeniably God is to speak of truth. If you cannot believe that in the beginning God created, you’re going to have a lot of trouble in believing that a human man stretched the rod just about five feet and the waters of the red sea divided.
10212008
Thank you very much for welcoming us to your church and you do have a great leader here and I enjoyed your preaching bishop very much.
10212905
I want to pray for you that you can fulfil your entire destiny, fulfil it, you’re going to need a supernatural power….
10214305
So does your opponent Ann Womer Benjamin go to black churches at all?
Probably….yeah, cause we will walk with each other we will walk hand in hand!
10215801
That afternoon was Youngstown State University’s homecoming parade.
10220516
We’re in a parade for Youngstown State University’s homecoming. Bunch of reporters, it’s heating up it’s the last weekend so everybody wants the last weekend story.
102214112
For the candidates it was a perfect publicity call and also a chance to sample some fine Ohio hospitality.
10222117
This is called tail-gating. You bring booze, would you like some? Spiced wine?
I’ll try a little bit.
Compliments of Pat Salker.
OK, thank you.
And we just party outside until the game starts and then win or lose we party after the game.
10224019
While Ryan moved from appearance to appearance, his team continued to spread his message.
10224620
We will go to a bingo or something in Youngstown and wait around until this thing is over and pass that out, OK?
OK.
Let’s go!
10225511
We’ll go to these bingoes and shit. God I’m swearing in front of fucking kids!
10230510
I’d like to thank the people of this communion for your help, from myself, from Tim and from the whole campaign, we would not be here without you and I appreciate your help…give everybody a hand.
10231901
Next on his schedule was Kennedy High School’s big football game. On the way there Ryan offered his thoughts on American Democracy.
10232712
Someone like me that doesn’t have money, doesn’t have influence, my Dad wasn’t in politics, my Dad doesn’t run a corporation, my family doesn’t have a lot of money, you know, a middle class guy…can have an impact and actually represent the average people without having to be forced to represent big money, special interests.
10241114
The game carried on late into the evening but the day didn’t end there. Ryan’s earlier promise that it would get colder was no idle boast, he hit the freeways outside one of the districts largest employers, the huge General Motors plant at Lordstown.
10242905
Congressman’s giving directions.
Watching a man potentially hours away from taking a seat in the House of Congress giving directions to truck drivers in the middle of the night, it was easy to see why his team were willing to put themselves through the ringer, but why the need to hit the streets when most sensible people were tucked up in bed?
10244804
You know, the people will go into the plant and talk about how we were out here, then we’ll come first thing tomorrow morning. People coming in for day term will say, “Hey d’you see Ryan out on the corner?” and the people from midnight will say, “He was on there last night when we came to work!” It creates a nice buzz within the plant.
10250819
The guys going home are much more inclined to beep than the guys going to work. But you’re gonna have that.
That’s kind of understandable.
Yeah, I think so.
10251917
Thank you.
10252021
So it was, as dawn broke Team Ryan was back outside the plant.
This is grass roots.
We’re going to the plant gate we were at last night, as noted by the bags under everybody’s eyes, including mine. They’re gonna think we pitched a tent!
10253711
Same plonk as last night.
10254324
Thank you.
10254917
On November 5th Americans were going to the polls to vote for everything from Governor to Dog Catcher. Across the country they would be faced with e different voting methods and in Ohio you didn’t even have to leave the 17th District to find different systems. At the Trumbull County Board of Elections they were still using punch cards, the same system that had played its part in delaying the result in the Bush-Gore battle two years earlier. Working step by step through the process it became clear that mistakes could easily be made and that the complex and time-consuming nature of the system could discourage people from voting. A few miles away however, the electoral process was being hauled into the twenty first century. At the Board of Elections in Mahoning County a new electronic voting system was going to be used for the first time. If successful it could be rolled out across the country.
10263710
My name is Mike Sciortino and I’m the Director of the Board of Elections…in Mahoning County.
10264124
Mike Sciortino, Director of the board and Kennedy fetishist took me through the potentially revolutionary process.
10265022
(In JFK voice) Bobby are those my shoes that you found over at Marilyn’s house or did you actually go find ‘em yourself?
10265905
You can walk in anywhere, well not anywhere, but you’re a registered voter and you vote. There’s a lot of important decisions to get made every single day, it’s scary. Look at the length of our ballot; I got 15 pages of candidates and issues!
10271702
This is called a P.E.B. personalised electronic ballot. The poll worker will remove that and the voter is free to make his or her vote.
And they just touch it.
They just touch it.
And if they make a mistake, just touch it again. OK I’m gonna vote.
10273902
But do you think this is the future of Democracy?
There’s no doubt this is the future.
102274513
That’s right, they know who’s boss. (Laughter)
10275507
This is a 650 model…and it’s pretty fast, it’s pretty fast. (Laughter)
10280814
Does it make Democracy cheaper then? Or at least the election cheaper?
I don’t think you can put a price tag on Democracy.
We true, but what I mean is the err…
Can we minimise the cheeseball thing?! (Laughter)
10282318
As Election Day approached the colourful character of Jim Traficant hovered in the background, threatening to at least split the democrat vote and boost Ann Womer Benjamin’s chances or according to some opinions become the first congressman to represent his constituents from a prison cell.
10283820
The Dispatch also said Traficant had a shot, you’ve gotta be shitting me!
10284412
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I’m just the son of a truck driver. Ran for Sheriff. Mob tried to beat me; I beat the mob with their own money. Justice department took me to trial. Only American in history to ever defeat the justice department in a RICO case without being an attorney, they’ve hated me ever since.
10290616
He’s helped a lot of people that I know; he really helped us a lot.
I believe he’s an innocent man and just love Jimbo that’s all!
10291507
The achievements are significant, the achievements are overwhelming.
10292015
He was always there for the people and I just feel he got a bum deal that’s all, I think his punishment was much too harsh.
He’s got my vote and he should have everyone’s vote cause he did more for this community than any other representative we’ve had, congressman.
10293711
If I didn’t believe he didn’t have a chance, a solid chance I wouldn’t be bucking my head up against a brick wall. I firmly believe that in my heart of hearts that once Jim Traficant is elected on November 5th, he will be allowed to serve.
10295818
With the campaign entering its final hours Ann Womer Benjamin unexpectedly pulled her television ads, as Team Ryan pondered what this meant, the answer soon became clear. The Republicans were upping the stakes. In a last ditch attempt to swing the election her way they aired another attack ad against Ryan. In the first major election since September 11th the Republicans decided to play upon the electorate’s fears claiming that Ryan was soft on terrorism. The move backfired, by opening with shots of ground zero the advert sent shockwaves through a society still incredibly raw about the events of just over a year ago. First to take a stand were local fire fighters at a hastily convened press conference.
10304206
By George I think we have more morality as Americans to stoop to that level. If you’re gonna be my representative then dang it you have the courage not to put an ad like that out. Don’t condone your actions, don’t support it across the media and say to the Americans, “we’re sorry that the brave fire fighters and the brave police officers and all the civilians that died there” but then the next thing you put it in the dog gawn newspaper and in the front and you say “Well we’re after Tim”. Well you’re publicising what they did to those families! That’s what you’re doing!
10311508
You’re not even dealing with issues, you’re dealing with tragedy.
10312019
I mean we all went through a hard enough time as it is when we lost 433 of our brothers back there on September 11th but it made me sick when I saw it TV yesterday, really sick..
10313208
…and now you’re just throwing that all over the television, you know, making it sound like she was there helping out, and that’s not right.
10313909
I got no respect for her. Zero respect for her…and I’d fucking…I’d want anarchy if I was forced to vote Republican.
10315504
Buoyed by the fire fighters show of anger it gave Ryan fresh impetus for the final push. So on the eve of Election Day there was a quiet confidence around the Ryan team.
10320422
Everybody ready for tomorrow morning?
We will be.
Tom go home and get some rest will you?
Quit checking your stocks Tom.
Yeah, you didn’t make any money today.
10321419
Hit me with a quote, this is the night before the election mate, tell me.
10322116
I love your body Jake. (Laughter)
10323322
Today is Election Day. I feel good, I feel real good. I went and gave Tim a poke today, this morning…no question and I think we’re gonna go ahead and blow this lady out so it’s time to get down and busy.
10325014
In feel pretty good, I mean at this point there’s no point in worrying about it, you just gotta kind of roll with it and it’s out of our hands so…
10325915
I cut myself shaving mate! Look it, I got this bust out.
Is that grass roots or is it just bust out?
Yeah, licking your lip and putting a piece of toilet paper on it to stop the bleeding, that’s grass roots.
10331403
Projected voting today is 55% Trumbull, 45% in Mahoning and only in the 20s in Portage and Summit so where we’re from is projected to be a hell of a lot higher voting today than where she’s from.
10333300
I mean did she fucking throw everything at us or what? Jesus Christ! Phone calls, television commercials, I mean, the whole nine yards!
10334804
I gotta hear the story, right. The one about the fake I.D.
10335222
It wasn’t even in a bar, it was in a dorm room it was late, there were like four or five of us, and we were gonna go back to this one persons dorm room and there was someone sitting there, and I had a few sodas in me. You had to give them an I.D. to get into the dorm so I gave them my fake I.D. then you had to sign in, so then I signed in. So the I.D. was my brothers and it said Alan Ryan and when I signed in I signed in Tim Ryan. She goes, “Are you Alan Ryan or are you Tim Ryan?” and I said, “Oh no, well a little bit of both actually”. So they started making a big thing, I said “Just give me it back and I’ll leave” and they were like, “Well now wait a second here”, I says “We just wanna just get into the dorm here” You know, you would think a college kid…so they started bustin’ my balls, I started bustin’ their balls and next thing you know, we got a incident and the cops are there and I get written up for presenting a false operators license.
10351812
Ooooh…
10352000
Yeah, I’m a very bad person. Unfit for public office.
And yet to be rehabilitated.
Yet to be rehabilitated, yes.
10353207
This is Election Day, this is what it’s all about. This is democracy.
10354112
So what are you going to do today?
I’m just gonna be helping Dean out with the Mahoning County election, making sure that each precinct has enough literature and making sure that phone calls are being made to registered democratic voters who haven’t voted today, that’s what the big push is.
10355624
Just reminding you that today is Election Day and reminding you to vote. Thank you.
10361103
Doughnuts! Right there in the truck.
Yeah, I know but why?
Well they bring you coffee and doughnuts so you work harder.
Who’s they?
These guys always handle us. They bring us these doughnuts, we eat ‘em then we’ve gotta go out there and work and hustle votes.
10362912
What do you think of the electronic voting system?
Fine, it’s good.
You came across no problems at all?
No not too many. There was a lot to read in this one amendment or whatever.
10363615
I didn’t notice any problems with my ballot at all. It might have been easier if people have a stylus instead of using their finger.
I think it makes it much better it’s much easier to use.
10364610
As the morning sun gave way to torrential rain Ryan hovered outside polling stations whilst his increasingly fraught team encouraged rush hour drivers to cast their vote.
10365710
This sucks! I think I’m packing it in after this. Gonna go home and get cleaned up.
I need to become an AWB Believer at this point.
Can I just point something out? I’m wearing bags on my feet!
Once more into the breach dear friends.
10372215
So how’s everyone feeling?
Excited
I’m excited. Win or lose, I think we did a good job.
There’s nothing else we could’ve done. If we lose, it was out of our hands from day one.
10373318
With tension mounting, the Ryan brothers stepped out of the rain and into their lucky diner.
10373807
We’re at Jay’s Hotdogs in Youngstown, Ohio. We stopped here in the primary and it was about this time, it was about five o’clock, you know we’d stop and have the last supper here and we came here and we were nervous we didn’t know if we were going to win and we asked the owner if he thought we had a shot and he said, “Well I voted for you!”. That’s when we kinda thought maybe we were gonna win.
10380602
Slightly different this time.
10381119
This is where the presiding judges drop off all their supplies. This is democracy at work.
10382207
What they’re doing is taking the P.E.B.s out of the packages out of the bags that they came back from the precincts in. They’re putting them in a cart to take them to be downloaded into our system.
10383423
Ok first set of results coming in. Here you go.
Thank you sir.
10384502
Once the polls had closed, Team Ryan gathered at a friend’s house. Campaigning over they watched as their man’s fate was decided by the electorate.
10385414
I’m in the midst of saying five Hail Mary’s and five Our Father’s hoping that Jesus will listen.
10390101
I’d take 51, 28, 20 in a fucking cocaine heart beat. We quit, it’s over!
10390805
Mahoning’s all gonna come in at once.
10391715
New results from Mahoning County have Traficant now taking votes from her, he’s starting to steal votes from her and he’s not going to do well anywhere else, other than Mahoning really.
10393602
Hey babe, we’re gonna win. We’re kickin’ her ass in Summit! Right now? OK. Hey turn onto ONN Dean’s getting interviewed. Hey Jude, tell him to be real polite and humble, tell him to be real humble.
10400509
Hold on, action in Trumbull. 56, 27, 16 in Trumbull.
Percentages shake out 51, 32, 16 so we’re looking good at this point.
10401511
I wanna fucking win it, I want Kent to come in like gang busters and beat her ass in Portage.
Hey, you want the totals?
Yeah, Jimmy!
10402412
We got 53, 23 in Mahoning, 45, 44 in Portage, 57, 33 in Summit, 56, 27 in Trumbull.
You’re creeping up to 60.
10403318
We’ll be hanging loose in four days baby!
10403800
Oh well, while you’re down there Merv.
10403904
The early results were promising but they still needed one more return to be certain of success.
10405424
Yeah, yeah, this mutha fucker’s over boy!! Aah ha ha ha ha! Whoo! We’ve got ourselves a new congressman god dammit!
10410623
I don’t know if I’m on the way down from the beer or on the way from the two cups of coffee. We’re excited.
10411502
Can you deal with that?!
Can you deal with that?!
By the way, you didn’t even fucking win you home county! We’re winning in Akron by 20 points, we’re winning Mahoning County by 20 points, we’re winning Trumbull County by over 20 points and we’re tied in her county where she needed to absolutely destroy us…so it’s over.
10413508
Now, she hasn’t called. We’re not waiting around like we did for Sawyer though I know that much.
10414206
Al!
10414404
We’re here in Niles, where Tim and many of his supporters are here this evening, you haven’t made to the banquet hall where everybody’s waiting.
I think from day one the only thing we promised was that we would work as hard as any other candidate to try and turn the Mahoning valley around and that’s the plan and that’s the goal for the next few years.
Later on he’ll be at Molaka’s Banquet Centre and cheering on and congratulating, or receiving a lot of congratulations.
We hope so.
Yeah?
Yeah.
Good luck.
Thank you very much.
10421406
Drive around front and drop me off.
Now I like the grand walk.
Yeah, the grand walk’s nice.
That’s money.
Remember last time?
People come running!
10424021
Proud of you Tim.
Hey Father. I knew you’d be here.
10424900
We gotta go see Grandma.
10425213
It’s party time! Shit!
10425908
You’re gonna be the president of the United States, one day, one day.
Hey one step at a time!
10431008
What did I ever tell you?! Believe in yourself baby. You got it man. Aah, Timmy!
10431612
I mean Jeez at least I could move in the primary!
10431900
Hey how are ya? Democracy baby!
10432703
I give to you our next 17th District Congressman, Tim Ryan!
10434617
This is definitely the greatest moment in my life, but ladies and gentleman tonight is just the beginning. This for North East Ohio and the Mahoning Valley.
10440502
Campaign over, Tim Ryan was the new representative for the 17th District, winning more votes than his opponents managed between the, but what did this say about American democracy? The democrat candidate had won in a predominantly democrat area, personal attacks and negative campaigning were still very much part of the political process and despite a turn out more than twice the size of Mays primaries, less than half of the district’s voters had gone to the polls. But judging by it’s success the Ryan team’s approach was welcomed by the people of the 17th District and their disillusionment with negativity, in particular the response to the 9/11 ad offered hope. Two years later, Tim Ryan was re-elected with 77% of the districts vote, 50% more than in 2002. Ann Womer Benjamin became director of the Ohio board of insurance and Jim Traficant? Well, in 2004 Jim ran for president and that is democracy!
10450512
You were there when it all began. Thank you very much.
10451807
I thank the gentleman. I rise in opposition of this bill but I would like to clarify something. We’re not trying to scare kids; this president’s foreign policy is what’s scaring the kids of this country. And if people have said today, why are people believing this big internet hoax. Well it’s the same people who told us Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11, same people that told us Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, same people who told us we were going to be able to use the oil for reconstruction money, same people who told us we’d be greeted as liberators not occupiers, same people, same president that told us the Taliban is gone, same president who told the Poland is our ally two days before they pull out, same president who tells us Iraq is going just great, same president who tells us the economy is going just great, same people who told us the tax cut was gonna create millions of jobs, same people who told us the medi-care programme only cost 400 billion dollars when it really cost 540 million dollars! So please forgive us for not believing what you’re saying, please forgive the students of this country for not believing what you’re saying. Not one thing, not one thing about this war that has been told to the American people, that has been told to these college students has been true, not one thing. Grandma says we need more troops, the Pentagon says we need more troops and this president can’t get them from the international community, there’s only one option left, lets be honest with the American people.
10465704
I’m getting that funny feeling in my pants that I usually get two or three days before the election when things are going really well. I’m getting that vibe.
10470616
That’s the downside about being in this position. Everybody’s got a fucking opinion. Like I don’t know I look tired.
10471404
“Bust Out” means it’s just completely screwed up, it’s just like when you try and something right and things aren’t working out and one thing leads to another and it’s just a complete cluster fuck.
10473310
This is bullshit!
10473605
Well that’s the thing if I hang around the Shark I tend to look a little better than I normally do cause they compare me to him.
You see actually between the two of us Shark if we stand either side of him he looks brilliant anyway.
10475919
I thought I asked you to quit being an asshole six weeks ago but that didn’t phase you.
10480320
I’m going to campaign for the other side.
10480522
I’ve had it with this campaign, we’re going nowhere. Dean Thomas is the biggest asshole I’ve ever met in my entire life.
10481415
I want you to pickle her a little tonight Timmy.
Pickle her?
Not tickle her, pickle her.
You wanna tickle her, you know you do, you like her. Wait til I tell your wife.
I wanna take her skirt and put it up over her head!