U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Miami Township) just doesn’t fare so well in unscripted situations. In the latest example of that political truism, Schmidt testified Monday for nearly five hours in a deposition taken by attorneys for David Krikorian.

The deposition was taken in preparation for a Sept. 3 hearing before the Ohio Elections Commission. Schmidt filed a complaint with the commission alleging that Krikorian knowingly made a false statement about Schmidt in a piece of campaign literature last year.

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The Tea Party might be good at organizing rallies outside the Capitol building in Washington and staging rallies at Fountain Square, but just how pervasive is the group’s views among the American people?

Not very, according to a new poll.

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The Republican Party likes to say it embraces the Tea Party movement, except when it’s preparing to possibly have followers arrested.

With Teabaggers angry over state GOP leaders convincing Dave Yost to run for the party’s nomination for Ohio Auditor against the more conservative Seth Morgan, Republicans in Yost’s home county are preparing for trouble when the central committee meets next week.

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**UPDATE AT BOTTOM**

It's 72 hours and counting.

That's how long it has been since CityBeate-mailed Mike Wilson, a Republican candidate and Cincinnati Tea Party leader, to learn why he skipped a planned appearance at a candidates' forum Wednesday night in Forest Park. So far, we've received no reply.

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Less than three months after winning his latest term on the Hamilton County Commission, Todd Portune is considering seeking the Ohio Democratic Party’s nomination to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated next year by Republican George Voinovich.

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As if the tightly wound Jean Schmidt hadn’t embarrassed Greater Cincinnati enough with her odd remarks sparking a Saturday Night Live parody in 2005, this weekend it was John Boehner and Mitch McConnell taking their turn in the satirical spotlight.

In SNL’s opening skit, Dan Ackroyd portrayed Boehner (the congressman from West Chester) and Darrell Hammond played McConnell (the U.S. senator from Louisville) as the pair plotted the Republican Party’s misguided comeback and debated whom the GOP should take advice from, Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh.

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Nearly 15 months after the disputed election, a federal judge ruled today that Hamilton County elections officials must count roughly 300 provisional ballots cast in a 2010 Juvenile Court judge race.

U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott said that the Board of Elections violated the voters’ constitutional rights when it decided to count some provisional ballots but discard others based solely on the location of where they were cast.

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CityBeat would like to thank everyone who joined us Saturday afternoon on Fountain Square for the broadcast of Comedy Central's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. We had no idea how many of you would venture down to the Square for a healthy dose of hot food, cold beverages and comedy from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, but we were very pleased with the turnout. A nice crowd indeed. I'd even call it a “throng.”

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Some critics have alleged Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) doesn't pay enough attention to the needs of his district, a charge he flatly denies. But come Election Night, Boehner won't be celebrating (or drowning his sorrows) in Southwest Ohio.

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UPDATE AT BOTTOM:

Now it makes sense.

Many political observers wondered why Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper would agree to introduce Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory at last Wednesday's event and endorse Mallory’s re-election bid.

After all, although Pepper and Mallory are both Democrats, they were rivals in the 2005 non-partisan mayoral race and have starkly different approaches to policy-making. Nevertheless, there Pepper was on a podium at Union Terminal, stating that Mallory had helped unify City Council and improved Cincinnati’s image.

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