Kasich: "Total School Choice"

This is an update from the post below. We know that John Kasich is in favor of "total school choice" in education. However, did you know that Kasich's running mate, Mary Taylor, also has ties to David Brennan, the charter school king in Ohio?

Here is a little tidbit from Ohio.com (August 4, 2008):

...Two years ago, Taylor was dogged by parochial questions. Democrats accused her of being too close to GOP fundraiser, entrepreneur and charter school operator David Brennan and Summit County Republican Party Chairman Alex Arshinkoff.

And it is true that Brennan and Arshinkoff helped Taylor then and earlier in her career....

....She acknowledges Brennan has contributed to her campaign, as he has to many other Republican candidates, and she respects his efforts to work for the betterment of Akron and Summit County...

Is the deal already sealed?????

*In an article from the LA Times, Republican John Kasich said he wanted "...total school choice..."

...Education, for example, has been grabbed by Kasich as a perfect demonstration of his "bottom up" philosophy that power now held by the federal government should be sent back to Joe and Jane Citizen. He wants "total school choice," which would allow states to organize schools as they wish, even using tax money to send children to private schools. A free-market enthusiast, he envisions entrepreneurs setting up new schools and competing for students. What qualifications would the entrepreneurs have to have? "Minimal qualifications," he says...

He has little patience for concerns that some of the neediest children could be left behind: "I don't know what will come, but I know what we have ain't working."...

This is all very frightening. School entrepreneurs (AKA charter school owners) would have "...minimal qualifications..."????? Is he out of his mind? This kind of comment on his part shows his lack of respect for the teachers who work everyday with children. I am also very upset with Kasich's lack of concern for the poorest and struggling students. Does Kasich think anyone can teach or run a school?

In case you are interested, this LA Times article is from April 6, 1999. It might be worth asking Kasich if he still holds these same beliefs about "total school choice." If elected, Kasich plans to eliminate the state income tax which would indeed end funding for public schools, higher education, etc., etc., etc.,...

Today

President Obama is speaking at the Republican congressional meeting. He is hitting them back on every single question. President Obama said "...that there has be a test of realism..." in whatever the Republicans have offered in a health care bill. He said that Republicans can go for all or nothing but some component parts of their proposals can be broken up to be included in legislation. The President answered every single one of their "talking points" that were disguised as questions.

*** The economy is growing!!!

NYTimes:

....Gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter, after growing at an annualized rate of 2.2 percent in the previous quarter. Analysts had forecast annualized growth of 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter, and the better-than-expected result sent stocks higher Friday morning, though they fell back at midday.

The strong growth in the fourth quarter capped a year of the biggest contraction since 1946, when the country was still cooling off from World War II....

> There is even more good news from Reuters:

The world's largest household products maker has been working to attract shoppers who had shunned its name brands such as Pampers diapers and Bounty paper towels for cheaper store versions as the recession took hold.

Profit was $4.66 billion, or $1.49 per share, in the fiscal second quarter ended December 31, down from $5 billion, or $1.58 per share, a year earlier. Analysts, on average, expected P&G to earn $1.42 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of P&G were up 19 cents to $61 in premarket trade....

People are spending a little more money. Hopefully, this will translate into other areas of the economy.

>>>> I just found this article at the FreeLibrary about John Kasich and his "trickle down" economy:

...Persuading people that your story matches reality as they see it will do more to win their hearts and minds than all the charts, graphs, and statistics you can muster.

Congressman John Kasich, (R-Ohio), understands this. When he announced for president last month, he touted his 10-percent across-the-board tax cut not with investment models, but with an American tale of self-improvement. He did not deny the tax cut would be helpful to the rich. He did something unusual: He defended the rich....

...."You see" - Kasich loves us to see - "the people who are struggling every day in America, they realize that if a rich guy takes his money, invests it, creates a job - that I get the job. Then I go to college and I get smart, then I buy him out and he works for me. That's the way we see it in middle America." Only rarely does the story turn out exactly as Kasich tells it. But that's irrelevant - this is a parable. Americans do believe in upward mobility, even if it often takes a couple of generations to get there...

---

Railroad Jobs in the Future?

*** While Gov. Ted Strickland, Mayor Michael Coleman, and U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy celebrated the $400 million in funding for re-establishing Ohio's passenger rail, the other side, the Republicans, had no good words for the project that will put thousands of people back to work. (see Dispatch) Those Ohioans who are out of work will be watching the development of this story and the start of hiring.

* There is a very revealing story in The Other Paper that may have you looking at the anti-casino people in a different way.
The Other Paper:

...One of those casinos was earmarked for the Arena District, much to the chagrin of The Columbus Dispatch. In the weeks following the election, the Dispatch mounted a vigorous campaign of its own, launching a double-barreled assault of stories, columns and editorials against the casino. One column, titled “City leaders can stop casino in its tracks,” essentially was a blueprint for the mayor and council on how to throw a gauntlet of roadblocks in front of Penn’s local casino plans. It was written by Mike Curtin, the associate publisher emeritus of the Dispatch and the public voice of publisher John F. Wolfe.

In the eyes of some, however, Curtin, Wolfe and the Dispatch were not content to keep the casino fight relegated to the pages of its newspaper or the airwaves of its radio and television stations.

A number of sources, both on and off the record, now claim the Dispatch used its significant influence and power in the city to not only muster support for its anti-casino stance among politicians and civic leaders, but to punish those who worked at odds with Wolfe’s crusade....

Wow.

>>> Republican John Kasich, candidate for Ohio governor, had a rally of sorts. Pictures are posted at the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. In reviewing the photo gallery associated with the story, I was impressed that most of those supporting Kasich seem to be male and white.

In looking over some of the other parts of the article, I was dismayed that Kasich said he wanted to restrict the influence of special interests. I wonder if that includes the special interests of PACs, energy producers, bankers, lawyers, and owners of charter schools who seem to be contributing large amounts of money to the Kasich campaign. (See Ohio Sec. of State Campaign Finance)

Notes

* I was very pleased with President Obama's State of the Union last night. President Obama warned the Republicans that "....saying "No" is not leadership..." The President is absolutely correct. The politics of "NO!" does not create jobs, educate children, move our economy, or help our elderly.

Before the State of the Union speech, Jeb Bush, said the following about the upcoming address by the President. The Swamp:

..."America is a center-right country,'' Bush said. "President Obama, you know, is a liberal... The very fact that the term is not used anymore -- the term progressive is used -- is pretty telling, I think, that people don't want to be known as liberal... He is the most liberal president we have had in modern times.''

Obama has caught an early break, however, Bush says.

"If he does show humility and does try to find common ground... there are Republicans who will sign up for that,'' Bush said....

I have many issues with what Jeb Bush said, but I'll just pick a few to discuss----
> Bush and his sheeple always say that the USA is a "center right country." Bush is wrong. He is just professing his wish and desires, not reality. Our country is definitely politically moderate.
> Jeb Bush said he wanted President Obama to "...show humility..." Why would Jeb say that? President Obama has done nothing wrong. Somehow, Jeb Bush's request for "humility" sounds racist to me. Jeb's brother, George W. Bush, never showed humility and never owned up to his own mistakes.
> There is nothing wrong with the word "liberal." The liberals in this country were successful in getting voting rights, equal education, Social Security, Medicare, Civil Rights, equal pay for equal work, integration, and many more important standards that our part of our country today. There is nothing wrong with being a "liberal" or a "progressive" in my opinion. It means that I put people first.

> How is it that President Obama caught an early break?????? When President Obama came into office, he was given a boatload of problems left by Jeb Bush's brother:
...1. Two wars: Afghanistan and Iraq
...2. Unprecedented unemployment
...3. The near collapse of our banking system
...4. The collapse of the auto industry
...5. Failures on Wall Street
...6. Unprecedented anti-American sentiment around the world
...7. National debt at an all time high
...8. etc., etc., etc.

Exactly, where is the break Obama got?

***** Now some GOOD NEWS!!!!!

The state of Ohio will get some jobs and development in the months ahead----we are getting a passenger rail system!!!!!

Dispatch:

Ohio's long-planned passenger rail corridor is about to get a $400 million federal boost.

President Obama is going to Florida on Thursday to reveal how his administration will divvy up $8 billion in high-speed rail funding, but the good news will whistle all the way up to the Buckeye State, say Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rep Mary Jo Kilroy, D-Columbus....

....well-placed federal source told The Dispatch this afternoon that the figure will be $400 million....

This will be an important step toward recovery in the state.

Did Stivers flip flop on global warming?

* Yesterday (see post below), I noted that Republican candidate for congress, Steve Stivers, disagreed that global warming is a scientific fact. However, in 2008, as a candidate for office, Stivers seemed to agree that global warming was an important issue when he appeared at the Greenpeace Global Warming Tour at the Ohio Statehouse. (see Dispatch September 2, 2008) Has Stivers flip-flopped on the global warming issue so that he can win the votes of the far right teabaggers and extremists? Has Stivers sold his soul to the radical right? I wonder what college students (like OSU Dems) and educated people think of this about face by Stivers.

* Why are Republicans against health care improvements? Why do they continue to stand in the way of policies to insure more people?

* It may seem like a soap opera to some, but the power struggle fight continues in the Lucas County Republican Party. Now they are slugging it out in court, according to the Toledo Blade:

New motions added to the legal wrangling over control of the Lucas County Republican Party forced another delay yesterday in determining who is the rightful party chairman.

Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Charles Doneghy delayed until tomorrow a hearing on incumbent party Chairman Jon Stainbrook's petition for an injunction against an effort to have him ousted.

Mr. Stainbrook is trying to prevent claims by rival Jeff Simpson from being recognized by the Lucas County Board of Elections and ruled on by the state Republican Central Committee in Columbus....

How nice.

Stivers "disagrees" that global warming is a scientific fact.....

Toledo Blade:

Lucas County Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz joined a Democratic chorus yesterday attacking Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich's goal of phasing out the state's income tax....

... "Given the cuts that we have already made, the impact that Congressman Kasich's reckless tax plan would have on our community would be disastrous," Mr. Kapszukiewicz said during a news conference in the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library. He said libraries would lose money and local governments would have to cut services for schools, public safety, and other functions or raise local taxes....

Kasich's plan to abolish the state income tax seems to have less, and less support.

In 1995, then Congressman John Kasich suggested a budget plan that would make major cuts.

Bobpark.physics.umd: (May 12, 1995)

....The Kasich plan in the House has far more detail than the plan Domenici presented to the Senate; it is also necessarily more radical, since it includes a tax cut as promised in the Contract. But taxes aside, the two plans share a common outlook: privatize it where you can, devolve it to the states where you can't, and if you can't do either, abolish it....

• EDUCATION: The Kasich plan calls for abolishing the Department of Education and "returning education to the state and local level." What will become of the essential pieces? Well, maybe there won't be any; more than 150 programs would be terminated.

• OTA: Both plans eliminate the Office of Technology Assessment.....

Are Kasich's past plans an indication of what he'd do if elected Ohio governor?

* The Hill has information from a "912 Project" (that idea pushed by loon Beck) questionnaire about Republican Steve Stivers:

...(Stivers) ...also advocates for taking away the voter’s right to elect a U.S. senator and returning that power to state legislatures. Stivers acknowledged that repealing the 17th Amendment isn’t really a priority right now, but he said he sympathizes with its federalist underpinnings....

....During the course of the seven-page survey, Stivers also “disagrees” with the statement that global warming is a scientific fact and that catastrophe will ensue if carbon emissions aren’t lowered. In addition, he suggests that any of the federal departments not mandated under the Constitution — everything except State, Defense, Justice and Treasury — could be eliminated to return to a “constitutionally pure government.”...

Stivers sounds like a right wing radical. His ideas about global warming and eliminating certain parts of the government are very frightening plans. I'm sure that many people in central Ohio, especially students in the Ohio State campus area, would not vote for such a far right candidate.

The Ohio GOP vs. Ohio Tea Party

*** The teabaggers in Ohio are putting pressure on Ohio GOP Chair Kevin DeWine.
Citybeat:

An organizer of Greater Cincinnati's Tea Party movement is telling its members the Ohio Republican Party chairman is trying to manipulate potential candidates in the race for Ohio auditor to pit two Teabggers against each other and split the vote, clearing the path for the chairman's cousin to be the GOP's nominee in the general election.

Mike Wilson, leader of the region's Tea Party, wrote a mass e-mail Friday to followers urging them to tell Party Chairman Kevin DeWine to stop wooing Dave Yost to enter the auditor's race. Wilson says both Yost and current candidate Seth Morgan are true conservatives that the Tea Party supports, while the third candidate -- former U.S. Senator Mike DeWine -- is a "RINO," or "Republican in Name Only."

and this.....

...Wilson added, "I think both Morgan and Yost are good candidates and I think it is terrible that the ORP is attempting to manipulate the outcome in these races to pit good conservatives against each other to allow a RINO like Mike DeWine to run uncontested. Ohio Republican Chairman Kevin DeWine does not understand things and needs to get the message. He even lied in a Politico article last week where he claimed that he had reached out to Tea Party leaders."

Is the love affair between the Ohio Republican Party and the Teabaggers hitting a rocky patch?
How wonderful! More Republican civil wars!!!

--- Can John Kasich, former Lehman Brothers investment banker and current Republican candidate, make money appear out of the air? Would Kasich phase out one tax only to replace it with another?

WFMJ:

National data don't back Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate John Kasich's assertion that phasing out the state's income tax will return money to residents' pockets.

Of the nine states without a broad-based tax on personal income like Ohio's, four - Alaska, Wyoming, Nevada and Washington - still collect more taxes per resident than Ohio.

That's because they tend to charge more in other taxes to make of the difference...

If Kasich wins and cuts out the state income tax, the revenue would have to be made up with new taxes, higher city sales tax rates, extra fees, or special assessments. License plate fees could double or triple. Property taxes might double. City income taxes could increase to make up for the lack of funding from the state. In the end, the Ohio taxpayer would end up ponying up more money in one form or another. More and more people are questioning the sanity of the Kasich phase out of the state income tax.

Just as I Predicted!

Yesterday, I wrote about how the Ohio GOP had been begging their "sheeple" to help in the election for the Ohio Auditor. (Remember that current Ohio Auditor, Mary Taylor, is now John "Lehman Brothers" Kasich's Republican running mate for Gov.-Lt. Gov.) With Seth Morgan, Ohio Republican from Huber Heights and Tea Party fan, the only announced candidate for the statewide office of Auditor, the Ohio GOP was becoming desperate. Then we have this development----

Dispatch:

Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost said yesterday he is "seriously considering" seeking the Republican nomination for state auditor instead of attorney general.

Ohio GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine acknowledged that he asked Yost to switch races in the May 4 primary, a move that apparently would give former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine an uncontested shot at the Republican nomination to run against Attorney General Richard Cordray, a Democrat, in November....

Many people know a lot about David Yost. Yost was part of the Republican Party plan to stop the recount for the presidential election in 2004 in Delaware County, Ohio.

Washington Post (December 1, 2004):

Sen. John F. Kerry's presidential campaign asked an Ohio judge yesterday to allow it to join a legal fight there over whether election officials in one county may sit out the state's impending recount.

A pair of third-party presidential candidates, who said that reports of problems at the polls on Election Day are not being addressed, are forcing the Buckeye State to recount its entire presidential vote. But David A. Yost, a lawyer for Delaware County, just outside Columbus, won a temporary restraining order last week blocking any recount there. He told the Columbus Dispatch that a second count would be a poor use of county resources. President Bush won the mostly Republican area handily, unofficial results show....

Yost was part of the Republican Party "counting" of the votes for the 2004 presidential election in Ohio. We have not forgotten his role in blocking the recount and the entire statewide voting fiasco involving Yost, Blackwell, Damschroder, Taft, Diebold, Bernadette and Tom Noe, and the rest of them.

The Democrats in Ohio are ready. No retreat. No surrender.

Good and the Bad

**The good news----
President Barack Obama was in Elyria, Ohio today!

New York Times:

President Obama, striking a no-retreat, no-surrender posture in the wake of his party’s humiliating defeat in the Massachusetts Senate race this week, vowed Friday to press on with his expansive domestic agenda — including a health care overhaul and tough new restrictions on banks — even if it meant he had to “take my lumps” from political critics....

...Mr. Obama came to this Cleveland suburb for the second stop on his “White House to Main Street tour,” to spread the word that his administration is all about jobs, jobs, jobs. With his approval ratings down to about 50 percent, a bruising season of midterm elections ahead and Democrats reeling from the resounding note of disapproval in Massachusetts, the ordinarily cool and cerebral Mr. Obama sounded unusually defiant, even fiery, during a town hall-style question and answer session at Lorain County Community College here.

Mr. Obama vowed to “never stop fighting for policies that will help restore home values.” He promised that he was “not going to stop fighting to give our kids the best education possible.” He pledged he would not “stop fighting to give every American a fair shake,” to continue fighting for a new Consumer Protection Agency and for openness in government. And of course, Mr. Obama pledged to fight for jobs....

President Obama must be listening to that Bruce Springsteen song--"No Surrender."

--------------------------

**It is a bad sign when the Ohio GOP big shots get on the phone and start begging their members to run for office.


Cincinnati.com:

...State Rep. Seth Morgan, a 31-year-old freshman legislator from the Dayton suburb of Huber Heights, announces his candidacy for auditor.

Ohio GOP officials have reportedly been making calls to better-known Republicans around the state, trying to entice them into running, but they’ve had no luck so far....

...Morgan has run for auditor before – Montgomery County auditor, that is. In 2005, the then-Huber Heights councilman was the GOP candidate for county auditor and lost to Democratic incumbent Karl Keith.

Ouch.

Seth Morgan, a tea party favorite, has been labeled as being politically similar to Ken Blackwell. Ouch!

More on Kasich

An New York Times op-ed piece written by Republican John Kasich from February 1, 2004, might tip Ohioans to some of Kasich's far right ideas.

NYTimes:

...I also have a few suggestions for my former colleagues on what needs to be done:

* Reduce government bureaucracy, shrink the size of the federal work force by 2 percent to 3 percent, and trim overhead expenses like travel and utilities....

* Close unnecessary military bases. Modernize and privatize Pentagon personnel operations where appropriate....

* Scale back the bloated farm program....

* Auction surplus federal assets to the highest bidder....

This is just a partial list from Kasich's op-ed but you might wonder if there is a correlation between his proposals in 2004 and what he'd do in Ohio if elected governor.

The Dayton Daily News is reporting that Kasich's office has just hired Scott Milburn as his communications director. Milburn currently works for a lobbying firm but had previously worked in the Bush White House.

Kasich: "...Privatize Some Things..."

Republican candidate for Ohio Governor, John "Lehman Brothers" Kasich, definitely loves to talk in generalities. It is fun to find some of Kasich's "ideas" and expose them. Here is a little tidbit I found at Kasich's blog:

....Turning the state’s current situation around will be tough, he said, because Ohio has developed many entrenched special interest groups.

“So what do we have to do?,” Kasich asked. “You find out if a program is working, if not you get rid of it. You might be able to reform some programs to make them work, or maybe you should privatize some programs and turn them over to the private sector.

“We also need to think about the assets this state holds,” Kasich added. “We have some assets that may need to be sold....."

Oh. I wonder exactly what Kasich would like to sell--- The turnpike? The prisons? How about those wasteful state parks? Would Kasich like to sell all the public schools to the lowest bidding charter school owners? Kasich favored privatizing social security. Does Kasich favor privatizing the Ohio State Teachers Retirement Fund or the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS)? We need answers to what he would "privatize" in the state.

Ohio GOP called "...elitist and demeaning..."

So what else is new? I've always thought of the Ohio GOP as "elitist and demeaning." (I'd like to add that I've also considered the Ohio GOP racist and anti-women.)

An editorial in the Toledo Blade scolds members of the Ohio GOP for their responses to Gov. Strickland's pick for his running mate, Yette McGee Brown. The editorial calls the GOP's response as "...elitist and demeaning."

...Ms. Brown, 49, brings a compelling personal story to the race. The daughter of a single, teenage mother, she worked her way through Ohio University and Ohio State University's law school. She was a Juvenile Court judge in Franklin County for 10 years before she retired to help found and become president of the Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus. Ms. Brown also is on the boards of several businesses and organizations, including service as chairman of OSU's Alumni Association board of directors. She has received numerous awards and recognition for her child and family advocacy.

Ms. Brown's name is not widely known outside the Columbus area and she has no political experience beyond her two elections in Franklin County. That could be a problem in areas such as Cuyahoga County that are critical to the success of Democratic candidates in statewide elections. Balancing that, however, is the likelihood that she will energize African-American voters, a critical component of the Ohio Democratic Party base...

...Ms. Brown's candidacy brings with it both risk and the possibility of rewards. She is, however, more than the mere social worker Ohio Republican Party Chairman Mike DeWine dismissed as "uninspiring."

(Note to the editorial board of the Toledo Blade---- The Ohio Republican Party Chair is a person named "Kevin" DeWine. Kevin DeWine and the Ohio GOP don't seem to have much respect for women. The only reason Mary Taylor was chosen as John "Lehman Brothers" Kasich's running mate was because she wasn't very good at raising her own re-election campaign funds.)

Yvette McGee Brown is well-known and highly respected in central Ohio. She brings her experience and background to politics. She also represents the hopes and dreams of many women in the state.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Day, Judge Brown spoke in Worthington for a special tribute to Dr. King.

Suburban News:

"Don't just think about Dr. King and what he did. Start thinking about what you can do," said Yvette McGee Brown, the featured speaker at the city of Worthington's annual Martin Luther King Jr. event held Monday, Jan. 18 at Worthington United Methodist Church.

King was a great man with many accomplishments to his name, Brown said, but he was just an an ordinary man like many others who were willing to sacrifice their own comfort to challenge the status quo....

Yvette McGee Brown has indeed taken on the challenge of how she can help children and families in Ohio by becoming Gov. Strickland's running mate.

Way to Go!

Here is some good news from the Marietta Register:

Five members of Ohio’s Congressional delegation voted for the environment and clean energy jobs 100% of the time in the past year and a half, according to the annual Congressional Scorecard on major environmental issues released today by Environment Ohio.

Representatives Boccieri, Driehaus, Kilroy, Space, and Sutton were all designated as “environmental champions” for votes tracked in the Scorecard....

....Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy, representing Ohio’s 15th Congressional District which includes Union, Madison and half of Franklin Counties, recognized that human health, jobs, the natural environment are connected. She stated, “I will continue in my dedication to green jobs, a clean environment, renewable and alternative energy, and our parks. Our environment will always be important to central Ohio. We must ensure that our families can live in a cleaner, more secure, economically sound place.”

Congratulations!

*** Another day and we have another announced candidate for office in Ohio. Republican State Rep. Seth Morgan will run for State Auditor. The Dayton Daily News had a few words to describe Seth Morgan in a recent editorial. Here are some of the words that the DDN used concerning Republican Seth Morgan:

...Morgan has been a lightning rod for controversy...

...he gave a flamingly ideological speech, embracing all the conservative hot-button issues

....Besides coming out of the religious right, Rep. Morgan has supported the emerging “tea party” movement with special speed and enthusiasm.....

...his overall direction is that of J. Kenneth Blackwell, who took the party to an historically huge defeat in the 2006 governor’s race....

Ouch! This all sounds very scary to me!

The good thing is that Democrats have a phenomenal candidate in David Pepper. Pepper has been out there raising campaign funds for awhile.

I Learn Something New Every Single Day!

Today I learned that.....

1. ... When John Kasich was hired as an investment banker with Lehman Brothers in 2001, the New York Times noted that Kasich...."...will be a managing director of the investment banking group. His responsibilities will span a range of industries on which Lehman focuses its investment banking efforts, including health care, power and utilities, financial institutions, consumer products, technology and manufacturing, the company said."

2. ... Republican candidate for governor, John Kasich, a former investment banker with the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers, could have been paid about $1,000,000 to $4,000,000 per year with the firm.
Dispatch:

...Former Lehman trader Lawrence G. McDonald, who wrote a book about Lehman's fall, A Colossal Failure of Common Sense, said by that definition, Kasich's annual compensation could have been $1 million to $3 million, perhaps even $4 million....

3. ... On October 8, 2009, Buzzflash awarded the "GOP Hypocrite of the Week" to John Kasich because, as Buzzflash noted....

John Kasich Wins GOP Hypocrite of the Week for Blaming Economic Meltdown on Britney Spears Instead of his Former Boss, Lehman

...Kasich gave a paid speech at the Bellagio in Las Vegas before the Nevada Development Authority Wednesday, in which he identified virtually everyone but himself as the root of the country's financial crisis. He went back to the old standards enemies of WorldCom and Enron, even going so far as to blame the downturn on Britney Spears and Paris Hilton....

...Clearly, it's our morals that are keeping us from succeeding as a country. Oh, and golden parachutes are also bad, according to Kasich's recent Vegas speech. So bad that he doesn't want to disclose how much money he got when he left Lehman....

Thank you, Buzzflash, for those interesting tidbits.

4. ... The Examiner had this little gem in an article about Kasich:

...Although a millionaire, Kasich has a strategy consulting job with Columbus-based Schottenstein Stores Corp...

Kasich is a millionaire. That might put a few dents in his "regular guy" image.

5. ... According to a profile published by Forbes.com (skip the welcome page!), Kasich has been pulling in some nice salaries, bonuses, and other perks because he serves as a director on various boards for large corporations:

Director Compensation (Worthington Industries) for 2009
Total Compensation $176,334.00

Director Compensation (Invacare Corporation) for 2008

Total Compensation

$65,828.00

That is not bad money for some part time jobs.

There you have it. Is this the guy you want to handle your future?

Strickland Picks Former Judge as Running Mate

According to Business First, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, Democrat, has named Yvette McGee Brown, as his running mate for the upcoming election.

....Brown served as a Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge from 1993 to 2002, when she retired. She then led the charge to create the Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, a child abuse and family violence prevention program.....

Yvette McGee Brown is well-known in central Ohio because of her work and judicial experience. She has also been a regular contributor on Channel 10 (WBNS-TV).

10TV.com:

Yvette McGee Brown is the founding president of the Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children's Hospital. A multi-disciplinary child abuse and family violence program that is the first of it's kind to co-locate prevention, assessment, treatment, research, advocacy and education services for children and families experiencing abuse. In 2002, Judge McGee Brown retired from the Franklin County Common Pleas Court to lead the effort to create the Center. In her role at Nationwide Children's Hospital, she leads a team of 400 child abuse, medical, and behavioral health professionals that in just five short years has become a national model for integration of multi-disciplinary services....

.....In 2008, Judge McGee Brown was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame. She has been honored for her community service with the Public Service Award from Ohio University; The Medal of Merit Alumni Award from Ohio University; The Distinguished Service Award from The Ohio State University; the William Oxley Thompson Alumni Award for Distinguished Achievement from The Ohio State University Alumni Association; the Champion of Children Award; and the YWCA Woman of Achievement Award, to name a few.....

....Judge McGee Brown is a native of Columbus, Ohio. She received her undergraduate degree in Journalism/Public Relations from Ohio University; her Juris Doctorate from The Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law; an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Ohio Dominican University; and, an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Mount Carmel College of Nursing....

Judge Brown has a very impressive resume.

In March 2009, Yvette McGee Brown served as the commencement speaker for the Ohio State University Winter Commencement, according to the Lantern.

Leave it to Republican Chair Kevin DeWine (who'd be nothing if his name wasn't "DeWine") to bash the Strickland-Brown ticket.

Dayton Daily News:

Ohio Republican Chairman Kevin DeWine doesn’t think much of Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland’s expected choice for his lieutenant governor running mate....
.....“He’s had nearly a year to make this selection, and the best he could come up with in the face of an unprecedented fiscal emergency is a social worker with no experience in public finance or state government,” DeWine said in an e-mail....

Thank you once again, Kevin DeWine, for showing that you are still a putz.

"...Kasich is an investment banker on Wall Street..."

* Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15) has announced a mobile office location on January 28th from 10am-1pm at 946 Parson Avenue.

Dispatch: Constituents of Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, D-Columbus, can get congressional help with everything from Social Security benefits to veterans issues.....


* The Times Bulletin has more on Republican candidate for governor, John Kasich's, planned cuts if elected:

....Kasich favors eliminating the state income tax over 10 years, which estimates say will require government spending reductions of $12 billion by 2020 if current economic projections hold.....


Kasich also seems to be accusing his fellow Republicans of not cutting enough in previous legislative years. I'm sure that was not received well by Kasich's fellow Ohio GOPers.

****When John Kasich was in Congress, he created a budget plan that included $100 billion in cuts to federal programs. Kasich's plan was reviewed by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities on May 19, 1998. Here are some highlights from the analysis done by the CBPP in 1998:

....Among the most striking features of the Kasich budget plan are its disproportionate cuts in programs for low-income families and its focus on reducing support for low-income working families and individuals and those seeking to leave public assistance for work....

.....The Kasich budget also would eliminate the funding for food stamp workfare slots included in last year's budget agreement. The 1996 welfare law contained a provision, co-authored by Rep. Kasich himself, that limits the provision of food stamps to non-disabled individuals aged 18 to 50 who are neither employed nor raising minor children to just three months out of every three years, except for months in which they are performing workfare.....

....The Kasich budget reduces funding for child care for low- and moderate-income working families. It cuts the Social Services Block Grant by $3.1 billion over five years....

...The budget also cuts job training programs designed to help low-income and disadvantaged individuals improve skill levels and be better able to find and retain jobs that can lift a family out of poverty....

.....The Kasich budget would raise taxes on one of the poorest groups of workers in America...


There is a more extensive analysis at the CBPP website. Kasich's past proposals might be the basis for similar cuts he plans if elected governor. So far, journalists do not seem to have the ability to ask Kasich for specifics on what programs, departments, and agencies he'd eliminate if elected Ohio governor. Kasich's plan to do away with the state income tax means that major cuts would have to be made. We are all waiting for Kasich to provide some specifics.

>>>> Here is more on Kasich from Recharge Ohio:

....Kasich is an honorary chairman for Recharge Ohio, an organization created in the summer of 2008 and aimed to promote the rebirth of Ohio....

And this----

....Kasich is an investment banker on Wall Street where he maintains responsibilities in groups including retail, power and utilities, technology, media and communications, industrial and financial institutions.....

There it is again----> "...Kasich is an investment banker on Wall Street..."

Do Ohioans want a former investment banker running our state?

We've Heard It All Before.....

Republican candidate for Ohio governor, John Kasich, seems to have some of the same talking points as previous Republican candidates like Taft, Voinovich, and Kenneth Blackwell.

Here is an excerpt from the Cincinnati Enquirer (October 25, 2004) which has information on what Republican candidate for governor, Kenneth Blackwell intended to do if he were elected governor:

....In the course of a half-hour speech in Loveland, he (Blackwell) proposed to privatize state university dormitories, abolish the Ohio Turnpike Commission (a "cesspool of public corruption") and cut income taxes, property taxes, estate taxes and capital gains taxes in a tax-strapped state.....

Privatize university dormitories? I wonder if Kasich also plans use the same ideas as Blackwell.

Kasich's campaign theme is "A New Day." However, other politicians have also used the "New Day" phrase in recent campaigns.

> "New Day" was being used for a campaign to help Muscogee County schools in 2009 in the NewDayCampaign.

> There is a book called The New Day: Campaign Speeches of Herbert Hoover 1928. OMG! Is Kasich purposely trying to emulate Hoover?

> Chrysler has "It's A New Day Campaign".....

> "A New Day" was used extensively by President Barack Obama in his campaign.

In conclusion, Kasich can't even come up with an original campaign theme!!!!

Insanity of Kasich's Tax Plan

* Republican candidate for U.S. Senator, Robert Portman, was given a nickname by then President George W. Bush----"Robby Bobby."
***** The New Times has this about Portman:

...Mr. Portman, a lawyer, has been a longtime associate of the Bush family, serving as a chief liaison to Congress in the first Bush administration before running for Congress in his Cincinnati-area district. His more recent stints as trade envoy and director of the Office of Management and Budget helped establish his economic acumen, but colleagues from both parties have called him a practical politician first and a fiscal conservative second. – this line is lifted from Rutenberg and Andrews....

The part that reads---".... Mr. Portman, a lawyer, has been a longtime associate of the Bush family..." sends shivers up my spine. Can you imagine having someone representing Ohio who is so closely aligned with the entire Bush family and both administrations?

>>> ABCNews has picked up the story about how Republican candidate for Ohio Governor, John Kasich, would do away with the state income tax.

Last night at dinner, we discussed Kasich's plan to do away with the state income tax. We all agreed that such a proposal was absolutely reckless. How would the state pay for public education, roads, agencies, police and fire, and the everyday workings of a state government?


If elected, would Kasich have to put this sign above public schools, police and fire facilities, and government buildings, state parks, libraries, and roads:









Swing State Project has this about Kasich---

OH-Gov: Who knew that John Kasich had the power to transcend the boundaries of space and time? In an effort to court the GOP's restive base, Kasich said "I think I was in the Tea Party before there was a Tea Party."

Oh, my. Kasich's job in the plush offices of the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers seems to have somehow divorced him from reality.

*** Republican candidate for Ohio's 15th district, Steve Stivers, has been trying to stay away from the label of bank lobbyist. However, when Stivers ran for Congress in 2008, he gladly took contributions from his former colleagues at the Ohio Bankers League. The Ohio Bankers League claims to be "Working for Banks and Bankers" on their website.

With just a glance at Open Secrets of which groups are giving to U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15-D) and Republican challenger, Steve Stivers, you can see a clear division. Kilroy's contributions come from people who work, and Stivers campaign money is coming from banks, insurance companies, drug companies, etc.

Open Secrets (Steve Stivers-Republican) This is just a sampling---

American Electric Power..$31,050
JPMorgan Chase & Co.....$6,250

White Castle	$4,800
Casto Real Estate	$3,400
Blue Cross/Blue Shield	$3,000
Nationwide	$3,000

Abbott Management Group..$2,400
Evergreen Securities..$2,400

Knox Energy	.....$2,400
Oxford Oil	.....$2,400
Rh Resources	....$2,400

I guess those bankers and investment groups, insurance firms, drug corporations, oil companies, and utility corporations know which candidate will represent them the best ----Stivers.

Kasich's Tax Plan Would Cause Disaster

Plunderbund has a great post about the Republican Kasich-Taylor ticket for governor and lieutenant governor for Ohio. I suggest that you read Plunderbund because it explains the entire meltdown of Ohio if the Kasich income tax plan succeeds.

Here is more from the Dispatch (also noted by Plunderbund) article that explains what the Legislative Services Commission predicts if Kasich's bill to eliminate the state income tax passes:

...An analysis completed this week by the nonpartisan Legislative Service Commission said the bill would reduce general revenue fund totals by $814 million in fiscal year 2011, rising to a cut of more than $12 billion by 2020. It also would mean the loss of $79 million in 2011 for local governments and libraries, a figure that also would rise each year.....

Wow! This sounds like total destruction planned by Kasich and the Republicans!!!! Kasich would wipe out funding for schools, local governments, libraries, and state programs/agencies. Kasich gambled with other people's money when he worked with the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers. Now Kasich and the Ohio GOP want to gamble with our children's education, our state's economic status, and our future.

You'll Be Talking About....

****First the good news---
The Ozone Net:
The Ohio State Department of Athletics has announced that the 2010 season opener has been rescheduled for a Thursday night.

Head Coach Jim Tressel had this to say about the schedule: "The Thursday night before Labor Day is a great night to play. To be one of the first games that kicks off the 2010 season will be exciting! The Buckeyes and the Thundering Herd will both be veteran teams, and it will be a fun night in the Horseshoe. We cannot wait to tee it up!"

GO BUCKEYES!!!!

>>>> Ohio's public school system has been ranked as the 5th best in the country.
Dispatch:

...Ohio's public-school system is ranked fifth best in the nation...

...Ohio earned its highest rating ever on the well- regarded and closely watched report cards issued each year since 1997 by Education Week newspaper....

Can you imagine what ranking Ohio's public schools would have received if the Ohio Legislature would have fixed the school funding controversy? Teachers, school board members, students, and school administrators should be proud of this ranking because they've done so much with very little funding from the state legislature. However, the Republicans want to take even more from their funding. Despite this high ranking for Ohio's public schools, Republican Jon Husted still would like to take more money from public schools to help create more charter schools for his one of his best contributors, David Brennan of White Hat Management.

--------------------

* Does this spell disaster for the Ohio GOP? It appears that the Ohio State Auditor Mary Taylor will be Republican John Kasich's running mate for the office of Ohio Governor. Seriously. As an Ohio.com article indicates, this move is very risky for the Republicans:

Dropping any plans to run for re-election as state auditor to join gubernatorial candidate John Kasich as his lieutenant governor is not a step up, or even a lateral move, for Mary Taylor.

Taylor is the incumbent auditor and the lone nonjudicial Republican candidate to win statewide in 2006....

The news article also suggests that Taylor was offered the Lt. Governor candidacy with Kasich because she had not raised enough campaign funds, and the Ohio GOP was not willing to help her raise campaign money.

*** Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has issued an important directive for all members of county boards of elections.

Dispatch:

Anyone with a criminal conviction for ethics or elections laws will not be allowed to lead a county board of elections under new requirements set by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

Brunner issued a directive this week setting minimum qualifications for board directors and deputy directors. She also is requiring that applicants undergo a criminal background check and disclose any convictions, regardless of whether they have been expunged, sealed or pardoned.

The move was made to help maintain public confidence in the election system and came in response to the chairman of the Summit County Board of Elections being convicted last year on ethics charges, Brunner spokesman Jeff Ortega said....

This sounds like a great idea. I wonder why such requirements were not deemed necessary before this? I'd like to see which politicians complain about this.

Trying to Lower Drug Costs

U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy has been very busy working to lower drug costs for her constituents---
PRNewswire:

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz and key members of Congress, including Representative Chris Van Hollen, Chairman Bobby Rush, and Representative Mary Jo Kilroy, today renewed their call for legislation that would put an end to anticompetitive patent settlements, which drug manufacturers have been using to keep less-expensive medicines off the market and charge consumers billions of dollars a year in higher drug prices.....

From Marketplace American Public Radio:

House and Senate leaders met to work out differences over generic drugs in their health care bills. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports the House wants to be sure there's a provision for bringing them to the market sooner, saving billions...

...Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy, an Ohio Democrat, says the lack of generics hurts her constituents.

MARY JO KILROY: I've heard from people who have heart medications that have had an impossible time paying for their drugs, get half of their prescriptions....

Meanwhile, her opponent, Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, has been working the far right extremes in the Ohio Republican Party as he talks about states' rights, and the usual far right litany of topics.

Kasich Should Stick to Facts

I read the article over at Cincinnati.com about John Kasich and Jeb Bush visiting Mason, Ohio. Two parts of the article caught my eye:

Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich came to a robotics factory Tuesday to make the argument that Ohio government is killing jobs through red tape, high taxes and an unfriendly environment for entrepreneurs....

And this.....

...An hour before Kasich and Bush appeared at FANUC Robotics, Betty Davis, a former Republican mayor of Mason, held a press conference organized by the Ohio Democratic Party about two miles away at the business she owns, a firm that provides group home and home care to the developmentally disabled. Davis was a member of the Republicans for Strickland Committee during the 2006 election, when Strickland was first elected governor.
Davis, who served as mayor in the 1990s, said that she is a Republican who supports Strickland’s re-election, crediting the Democratic governor for “creating a good climate for small businesses.”...

She is correct and Kasich is wrong. Ohio's ranking on the Small Business Survival Index has changed dramatically:

In 2005, when Republican Bob Taft was Governor, Ohio was ranked #40 on the Small Business Survival Index.

In 2009, with Democrat Ted Strickland as Governor, Ohio was ranked (see page 2) #11 on the Small Business Survival Index.

If it weren't for the financial policies of the Bush administration and the greed of Wall Street firms, our state would not be in the mess we see today. The financial collapse happened during the Bush administration and we're left with this disaster. Kasich is still sucking up to the Bush family. Haven't we had enough???

Kasich and Bush

The Dayton Daily News has pictures on their website that shows Republican John Kasich (a former director at Lehman Brothers) and Republican Jeb Bush, brother of George W. Bush. The picture below was taken today in Mason, Ohio by Nick Daggy:


I've looked through the other pictures taken at the Kasich-Bush event and I'm amazed that a huge majority of the people present are white males. In the article published at the Dayton Daily News, Kasich explains his plans for Ohio which I can sum up in this way:

1. Get rid of business regulations and things like workers compensation.
2. School vouchers for everyone (and thereby destroy public schools.).
3. Tax cuts for everyone (The state doesn't need money to cover anything.).

In my humble opinion, Kasich is either completely reckless or just plain off his rocker.

Major Turns in the Ohio GOP

* The Dispatch is reporting that Republican candidate for Ohio Governor, John Kasich, is leaning toward having State Auditor Mary Taylor on his ticket. Taylor is the only Republican that holds a statewide office.
Muckety.com:




Here is a reminder about Richard Fuld (see NY Times), friend and colleague of Kasich.


* U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15th-Democrat) will be running against the same Republican candidate Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist. However, it appears that Stivers has taken a dramatic turn to the far right and is now courting the teabaggers and extremists.

The Hill:

.....Stivers recently filled out a questionnaire for a local 912 Project group that lays out some of his more conservative leanings. On the form, Stivers criticizes cap-and-trade legislation and praises the Stupak amendment that puts greater restrictions on abortion funding.

He also advocates for taking away the voter’s right to elect a U.S. senator and returning that power to state legislatures. Stivers acknowledged that repealing the 17th Amendment isn’t really a priority right now, but he said he sympathizes with its federalist underpinnings.....

....During the course of the seven-page survey, Stivers also “disagrees” with the statement that global warming is a scientific fact and that catastrophe will ensue if carbon emissions aren’t lowered. In addition, he suggests that any of the federal departments not mandated under the Constitution — everything except State, Defense, Justice and Treasury — could be eliminated to return to a “constitutionally pure government.”

I think that Stivers is definitely courting the far right, loony, tea bag group. His turn to the far right might actually scare off moderate Republicans and Independents.

True. True. True.

* President Barack Obama will be coming to Lorain County, Ohio, January 22nd, according to the MansfieldNewsJournal.

* Last week I wrote about Republican State Sen. Jon Husted's job with the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce. He apparently must still "work" there because he has this on his campaign website:

...Husted resides in Kettering where he represents the 6^th Ohio Senate district. After serving as Speaker of the House, Husted returned to work at the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce and serves as the Director of Workforce Education and Employer Services.....

Is there anyone else that would like to see his time card for the salary he receives from the Dayton Chamber? In his biography, he says he "resides" in Kettering. I'm sure that his neighbors in Kettering are rolling on the floor laughing hysterically at that.

* Here is a little tidbit from epluribusmedia (2/22/08) that has Gov. Strickland accusing Husted of delaying legislation which caused the loss of jobs:

OhioNews Bureau ONB COLUMBUS: With the announcement that a potentially job-rich steel plant decided to pull the plug on locating in Ohio because of electric rate uncertainty, Gov. Ted Strickland, who had called for his energy plan to be passed by the legislature last year, laid the blame of the job losses on Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted for delaying the passage of the bill. The company considering Ohio was Steel Development LLC, a scrap-based still mill owned by a group of American and European steel executives. The group was exploring Ohio for its $1 billion facility that would have employed 500 people, according to a report in the Mansfield News Journal (MNJ). A steel plant official said the uncertainty of knowing what the cost of electricity would be over a multi-year period was reason enough to look elsewhere....

It looks like Husted wanted to keep his friends at First Energy happy.

* Mahoning County Democratic Party Chair Dave Betras has some interesting comments about Republican candidate John Kasich. Ohioans should make note of what he said about Kasich. Mahoningcountydems.org:

"One year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers set off the Great Recession, Mahoning County residents continue to lose their jobs and their homes as a result of Wall Street greed," Chairman Betras said. "Not only was John Kasich Managing Director of Lehman Brothers, as a member of Congress he consistently and actively opposed reasonable regulations that would have reined in Wall Street and protected Ohio families. Instead, he went out of his way to make it easier for predatory lenders and speculators to lay waste to our economy and threaten the standard of living of millions of American workers...."

“...At a time when Mahoning County and the state of Ohio are struggling to recover from the economic catastrophe Kasich helped cause, we need a leader who knows how to create jobs and prosperity here in Ohio, rather than in Mexico and China. We need a governor who puts Main Street ahead of Wall Street. And that, as he has proven time and time again, is clearly not John Kasich.”

True. True. True. Kasich put the needs of Wall Street before the needs of regular, working Americans families. Both John Kasich and Rob Portman are just clones of George W. Bush. If Ohioans want a repeat of those economic policies, they are your men. As our state suffers through the mess left by the likes of Bush, Kasich, and Portman, do people want the mess to continue?

Sheriff Gives High Paying Job to Sister

* Is there a hint of a scandal in Montgomery County, Ohio?

Dayton Daily News:

Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer suspended his sister from her job appraising foreclosed homes for his office on Friday, Jan. 8.

Plummer is seeking an Ohio Ethics Commission opinion on the legality and ethics of employing his sister, Kimberly Solomon, in a job that paid her nearly $142,000 last year.

Plummer temporarily removed Solomon, who lives in Butler Twp., a day after the Dayton Daily News raised questions about her employment by his office....

And you wonder why you can't find a job! Apparently, Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer, a Republican, likes to hire Republicans. Ten of his eleven appraisers are Republicans. His sister sure got a cushy job! Is there anyone out there that would like to have $142,000 per year? Did I hear ethics investigation?

Just the facts!

* U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15) is being attacked by right wing Republican Steve Stivers.
Emily's List:

The attacks are already flying in Ohio's 15th congressional district and, oddly enough, they're about an issue on which some believe the candidates would agree -- in theory.

Former right-wing state Sen. Steve Stivers sent out an email to supporters earlier today, calling EMILY's List candidate Cong. Mary Jo Kilroy a "rubber stamp" and arguing against her opposition to the Stupak/Pitts Amendment. Here's the kicker, though: Stivers took serious heat from Republicans when he ran against Kilroy in 2008 for his mixed choice record....

....Apparently, now that Stivers is looking for a rematch, he's planning to move farther to the right to win over the Republican base...

>Here is part of a profile of Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy from Emily's List:

A strong advocate for Ohioans

An attorney and former social worker, Kilroy is a powerful voice in Congress for her constituents, many of whom have been profoundly affected by the economic downturn. She successfully pressured a reluctant AIG subsidiary to participate in the federal “Making Home Affordable” program and restructure subprime mortgages. She courageously voted for landmark environmental legislation to curb greenhouse gases. And Kilroy, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2003, is a passionate leader on health care reform. She’s giving Ohioans a voice in the debate through an interactive web site that links citizens to resources and solicits their ideas for reform...

-------------

*Did you ever wonder how much time Republican State Sen. Jon Husted (Kettering (for voting purposes) and Upper Arlington) spends at his other full time job? I know you are saying to yourself, "He has another job???!!!!"

Republican State Sen. Jon Husted, besides being a candidate for Ohio Attorney General, is also an employee of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce. (There had been talk that Husted would resign this Chamber job, but he is still listed as an employee.) Wouldn't you like to see his time card? Is this a real job in which he receives a paycheck or is it a ghost job? Could there be conflicts of interest between his elected job as a State Senator and an employee of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce?

Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce:

Linda Ashworth, Administration lsa@dacc.org
Jon Husted, Director, Workforce Education and Employer Services, 937-226-8233
If you wish to email Husted, you may use this: jhusted@dacc.org

I don't live in Kettering, but I wonder how the people of Kettering feel about having the illusion of a State Senator representing them. As a member of the Ohio Senate, Husted currently is paid $60,584 plus payments for various committees. Is he also receiving a salary from the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce? If you want to know, call the telephone number listed above.

Check it out!

* Jobs? You bet. Dispatch:

The Obama administration and Ohio Democrats touted the release yesterday of millions of federal stimulus dollars aimed at creating "green" jobs by retraining workers for clean-energy fields.

Of $100 million in competitive grants nationally, Ohio will share in five separate awards totaling $23.4 million, according to the Department of Labor. Two grants dedicated to Ohio total about $8.8 million. Ohio will share with multiple states the proceeds of three grants totaling about $14.6 million.

The money is designed to help steel, auto, communication and other workers develop skills to work in clean-energy manufacturing and sustainable-energy fields -- making, for example, wind turbines or solar panels. The awards were announced in a conference call yesterday by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis; Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, D-Columbus; and other Democratic lawmakers....

For info call 1-877-872-5627 or visit www.dol.gov.

GOP Nuttery

*** Get your foil hats ready!!!! Cover your windows and lock your doors! Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann will be coming to Ohio to speak at the Hamilton County Republican Party's special event, according to the HCRP blog. The insanity will take place in February somewhere in Hamilton County Ohio. Run for the hills!!!!!

**** We all know that deregulation caused the financial meltdown that happened on Wall Street and in the business world. Now, Republican candidate for governor, John Kasich, wants to deregulate small business and end the state income tax. Here is more from the Times-Gazette:

...After his speech, Kasich took questions about his policy stances regarding education and economic issues. On education, he said reform isn't as much about money as it is accountability for what's happening in the classroom.

"Funding is not the target issue," Kasich said. "The issue is what's coming out of the schools ... It's not complicated. We need to go back to the basics."

Back to basics? What does he intend to do, if elected? Does he mean he plans to cut funds to schools? Will he end funding for public schools and give the task of educating our children to the lowest bidding charter school corporation?

Whoa!!!!!

The Dispatch, the right wing, conservative, pro-Republican, newspaper of Columbus, seems to think that Republican proposals to eliminate the state income tax "...would drop a nuclear bomb on the budget..." According to this Dispatch editorial, the elimination of the income tax is being proposed by Republican Rep. John Adams of Sidney, Ohio. (The same proposal is the center of John Kasich's candidacy for Ohio governor.)

Here is what the right wing, conservative, Dispatch said about this proposal to eliminate the state income tax:

...Perhaps Adams and other would-be income-tax radicals mean to make up the difference with sales taxes or something else. In that case, they should be forthcoming with that little detail.

Adams' pitch is simple and not without some truth: Lower income taxes would encourage economic development and might persuade more people to stay in the state and be more productive.

But that leaves out the inescapable reality that the state has a large budget that won't be cut without tremendous political and social pain.

John Kasich was best friends with George W. Bush and we know exactly what the Bush financial policies did to our nation, our jobs, our banking system, stock market, and standing in the world. Is Kasich willing to gamble the future of every man, woman, and child in the state because of his cockamamie idea to end the state income tax? Where would he get the money to run the state? What departments of the Ohio government would be eliminated? How many current state employees would lose their jobs? Would he end public education?

Kasich and his Lehman Brothers employment may have influenced his judgment. Ohioans don't want our state to end up like Lehman Brothers. Kasich needs to start answering questions and stop talking about Ronald Reagan like he was deity. I remember the Reagan years, and trust me, it was no picnic.