Questions for Stivers

* Did you know that Republican congressional candidate and former bank lobbyist, Steve Stivers, voted against a bill for the disabled when he was in the Ohio Senate?

According to Project Vote Smart, on May 7, 2008, Steve Stivers voted against SB 57, the Disability Scholarship Fund.
Official Synopsis:
Creates the Special Education Scholarship Pilot Program to provide scholarships for disabled children in grades K through 12 to attend alternative public or private special education programs in fiscal years 2010 through 2015....

Why would Stivers vote against a bill that would help disabled children? Someone should ask him.


* We have not heard Steve Stivers offer his opinion on the recent Arizona bill requiring people to provide their "papers" if asked by law enforcement. Does he support this law? Is he for or against a similar law in Ohio?


* Do you remember the huge controversy about the factory farm with 6,000,000 chickens? When Steve Stivers was in the Ohio Senate, he sponsored a bill (in 2003) that restricted what localities could do regarding the animal waste from a factory farm.

Buckeye State Blog (8/19/08):

...In an interview, Steve said:

"She's (Kilroy) criticizing me for a House bill (H.B. 152) that passed in 2003 that changed some different levels of pollution and things on concentrated animal feeding facilities. She's trying to say that it took away local control, but local control actually went away in Senate Bill 141 in the year 2000, and I was not in the Senate."

But hold up, according to Section 903.25 of H.B. 152:

"An owner or operator of an animal feeding facility who holds a permit to install, a permit to operate, a review compliance certificate, or a NPDES permit or who is operating under an operation and management plan, as defined in section 1511.01 of the Revised Code, approved by the chief of the division of soil and water conservation in the department of natural resources under section 1511.02 of the Revised Code or by the supervisors of the appropriate soil and water conservation district under section 1515.08 of the Revised Code shall not be required by any political subdivision of the state or any officer, employee, agency, board, commission, department, or other instrumentality of a political subdivision to obtain a license, permit, or other approval pertaining to manure, insects or rodents, odor, or siting requirements for installation of an animal feeding facility."

Note: Steve Stivers is listed as one of the sponsors for HB 158, 125th General Assembly: Link. The bill was introduced and passed in 2003.

Does Stivers have any concerns about those property owners near those factory farms?

Personally, I'd like to see answers to these questions on Stivers campaign website. I won't hold my breath waiting for answers.

Pathetic Response to Kasich's Big College "Convention"

The Republicans are once again overstating their crowds and impact. According to an article at connect2 at Ohio Wesleyan University, a crowd of 75 college Republicans from across the state had a convention. Speeches were given by Republican candidates John Kasich, David Yost, and Jon Husted.

Big deal. Seventy-five people? Is that the best they could do? Apparently, it was the best they could do. An announcement posted at connect2.owu on March 18, 2010, stated that 150 college Republicans were expected.

When Kasich was in Congress, he voted against increasing college grants and scholarships. His congressional record demonstrates his lack of understanding about the struggles of college students and their families.

The following is part of what I wrote about Kasich on this blog on April 10th following an article published in the Recordpub after his visit to Brimfield, Ohio:


...Kasich seems to want to interfere in programs offered at colleges and universities in the state---

-----Kasich says that "....Colleges need to not duplicate programs..."
Here we have Kasich interfering in the programs/classes/degrees offered at various institutions of higher learning. What if a student cannot afford the program at the other college, are they just to give up on their goals? (I'm sure that Kasich's cold approach to the needs and desires of college students will not win him any votes with the 18 to 25 year old voting block.) Does that mean that college professors and instructors who are experts in a given field will lose jobs because their school no longer will teach that program/course of study?...


If even college Republicans aren't interested in Kasich, he is in bigger trouble than he thought.

What is Kasich hiding?

You can't ask for more transparency than this!

Business First:

Gov. Ted Strickland on Wednesday released to the public income tax returns for the past four years, calling on Republican gubernatorial challenger John Kasich to follow suit.

Strickland’s 2009 return shows the governor recorded $166,321 in total income, with his $139,353-a-year job as governor his primary source of income. Strickland paid out $21,571 in federal taxes and made $30,749 in charitable contributions. The governor, who files jointly with his wife, Frances, also offered up returns from 2006 to 2008, making public a full decade of tax data when including a similar round of disclosures in his first gubernatorial run....

Wow! Gov. Strickland has released ten years of his returns.

....Of his more than $1 million income in 2008, Kasich earned $587,175 from Lehman. That included a $182,692 salary and $432,000 in bonuses earned in 2007 but paid early the next year....

I am a little suspicious as to why Kasich hasn't released more information. Even though Gov. Strickland has called upon Republican John Kasich, his opponent, to do the same, Kasich has refused. I heard that Kasich only allowed the press to look at his one income tax return for a short time, and they could not record any information. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

You have to wonder why Kasich won't release his previous tax returns. Is he afraid people will see what he was paid as a managing director at the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers? According to SalaryList, managing directors were paid a salary of $200,000 to $240,000/year.

The Timesonline noted the following on December 14, 2006:

Lehman Brothers said it would pay its average member of staff $335,441 (£170,933) this year as it reported a record fourth-quarter profit of $1.0 billion, capping its most profitable year ever.

The US investment bank is paying its 25,936 staff a total of $8.7 billion in salary, bonuses and other benefits for 2006 on the back of a 23 per cent rise in net income to a record $4.0 billion....

We can speculate that with his Lehman Brothers salary, bonus, and lucrative speaking engagements, Kasich was pulling in huge money. Not that there is anything wrong with that. We're just wondering what is Kasich hiding?

Once Tea Party Darlings....

Progress Ohio has a much better picture of the Steve Stivers photoshopped picture that appeared in the Republican's campaign literature:





The manipulated picture sent shockwaves throughout the local Tea Party groups because it
implies that Stivers has gotten their endorsement (he hasn't). This may actually cost Stivers
some votes among the far right conservatives. Tea Party members and their organizers are angry
that Stivers, Jon Husted, and other Ohio Republicans have attempted to hijack their group (see Daily Caller).

Stivers is running for the second time against U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15-Democrat). After
watching the greedy, heartless, jerks from Goldman Sachs from the congressional hearings, I cannot
fathom why anyone would support Stivers, a former bank lobbyist. Stivers is receiving campaign
money from bank PACs, financial firms, and individual bankers because they need someone like
Stivers in Washington, DC to protect them and their million dollar bonuses.

In a 912 survey (pdf download) that Stivers filled out earlier this year, his responses magnify his allegiances. He answered that he would support "...cutting the corporate income tax." He appears more concerned with corporations and banks than regular, hardworking, human beings.


* Republican Jon Husted, he of no water usage in Kettering, is a candidate for Ohio's Secretary of State. Husted has repeatedly filed lawsuits against our current Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, regarding his place of residence. Husted lives in Upper Arlington, but "owns" a home in Kettering.
Mr. "I won't be a partisan Ohio Secretary of State" Husted, managed to get to the all-Republican State Supreme Court to get his official voting residence declared as Kettering. Husted has gone on partisan attacks against Brunner (see Cleveland.com) and Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat. Now,
however, we are expected to believe he won't be partisan?????

False Advertising

Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist and current Republican candidate for Congress, has courted right wingers, tea partiers, 912 project followers, and all sorts of right wing extremists. Stivers has not yet gotten that desired tea party endorsement, but you wouldn't know that if you received one of his political mailers.

Politico:

The campaign of Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy is having some fun with this mailer from her rival, Steve Stivers. Her campaign manager emails supporters:

Here's the thing: the picture is fake. The sign was added in later.

Yes, you read that right. Slick Steve Stivers is so desperate for the support of the radical right that he's started doctoring photos, intentionally misleading people.

With just one week to go before the primary, let's show Steve Stivers that central Ohioans care about the truth.

Later in the article, John McClelland of the Ohio Republican Party claims the photoshopping of the Stivers sign at the tea party rally was done by the GOP. McClelland went on and claimed that this photo shows Stivers shares the same values as tea partiers. That is not the way I see it. It is clear that the Republicans hoped to let people believe the photo. Why would the Ohio GOP falsely claim an endorsement that doesn't exist? Were they purposely trying to mislead voters? If the Republicans had not gotten caught disseminating this lie, would they have owned up to it? I doubt it.

This is another example of the lies and scandals perpetrated by the Ohio Republicans against the people of Ohio. We've seen it all and it has made many voters reluctant to support Republicans.

Here is a brief history of Ohio Republican scandals and missteps over the years:

- We witnessed the failures of Republican Gov. Bob Taft and his ethics violations.

- Republican fundraiser, Tom Noe, gave us the "Coingate Scandal" in which millions of dollars were lost from the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation. He is currently in prison.

- Bernadette Noe, the former wife of Tom Noe, was part of voting irregularities in Lucas County.

- Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives Republican Bob Ney was involved with the Abramoff bribery scandal.

- Brian Hicks, former Taft chief of staff, was convicted of an ethics violation.

- There were voting problems when Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell ran the state's elections. There were jammed voting machines, not enough voting machines in Democratic precincts, challenges to voters, the attempts to block recount of votes, etc., etc., etc. Later Blackwell admitted to being a stockholder in the Diebold voting machine company.

- Once head of the Franklin County Board of Elections, Republican Matt Damschroder, took a "contribution" from the Diebold Company.

- The Ohio Supreme Court (all Republicans) ruled that Republican Jon Husted, who lives in Upper Arlington but was elected to represent Kettering, can use his abandoned home in Kettering as his voting address.

Stivers and the Ohio GOP were deliberately trying to mislead people with their photo. I think we've seen enough of this type of politics.

Filibuster This, Filibuster That

>>> Those Republicans in the U.S. Senate are so proud of their ability to stop discussion of the financial reform legislation with a filibuster. You can just imagine that they'll be generously rewarded with campaign contributions from their Wall Street and banking buddies.

These Republicans are using the filibuster as a way to stop any discussion/debate of legislation. Without any ideas or legislation of their own, the Republicans are attempting to shut down government until they can take over the Senate. Are the Republicans in running for the title as the
"Do Nothing Party"?

Using the filibuster is not working toward progress. The filibuster is being used by the Republicans as a tool. The Republicans are like cranky, spoiled children throwing tantrums because they can't get their way. Since the Republicans are unwilling to solve problems, debate/discuss legislation, perhaps they should give up their salaries and perks because they don't want to work.


> Those crazy proposals being put out there by Republican candidates are being noticed. Are these same Republicans trying to woo their base for a possible run for President? Which Ohio Republican's name is mentioned in the collection of possible presidential candidates?

Politico:

...John Kasich (Ohio) wants to get rid of Ohio’s income tax – though he has no clue how to make up the enormous revenue (40 percent of the state budget) this tax generates....

....Perhaps because so many have their eyes on the 2012 prize, Republican governors and candidates are increasingly talking past independents. Instead, they are targeting their far-right base, using language that would make Ronald Reagan blush.

Long gone are the days of “morning in America.” The message of today’s Republicans is one of anger, cynicism and doubt about our nation’s abilities.

John Kasich was disappointed when he pulled out of the 2000 presidential sweepstakes. That did not end his ambition to be President. While he puts his desire to be President on the back burner for now, Kasich appears to want to use the governorship of Ohio as his stepping stone to higher office. However, in the process of getting into the White House, Kasich hopes that as governor he can completely destroy the economic base, libraries, schools, and the state infrastructure in Ohio so that he can brag about his budget-cutting prowess.

Ohioans have to stop the Kasich budget-cutting plan by NOT electing him. Kasich is more interested in what Ohio can do for him instead of what he can do for Ohio.

Monday's Notes

* Does the John Kasich campaign remind you a little of the Fred Thompson for President fiasco? All Kasich needs is a pickup truck. His campaign seems a little lazy. Kasich has really only worked on campaigning in "safe" Republican areas with the base. He has done little to reach out to all Ohioans, especially in urban areas. Democrats outnumber Republicans in Ohio. Is Kasich afraid of approaching all areas in the state or does he feel he doesn't need them? That might be a reflection of Kasich's own arrogance. He thinks he doesn't need any of those "other" people.


* How about that Republican candidate for Congress, Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist? Here is an excerpt from Roll Call (August 4, 2008) that shows you how the Stivers campaign has continued to deny his title as a "bank lobbyist":

“Steve Stivers’ career as a lobbyist is a central theme in this race because Central Ohio residents are looking for real answers to the serious economic problems that have been caused by too much lobbyist influence in the state and federal government,” Kilroy’s communications director, Brad Bauman, said in an e-mail. “It simply cuts to the core of his credibility. ... He spends a lifetime advocating for banking deregulation and then wants to tell people in Ohio how he’s gonna help fix the mortgage crisis, people simply don’t buy it.”

Stivers’ campaign manager, Mike Hartley, said the Republican candidate “was an advocate” for one of the state’s largest employers and “worked to bring jobs to Central Ohio” when he worked for Bank One....

Stivers "was an advocate" for Bank One?????? He was a LOBBYIST. He worked for a bank promoting their issues with lawmakers to protect their interests and keep their profits high. He did not work to protect bank customers. In this current climate when we want to bring in more bank regulations, Stivers and his bank lobbyist advocacy is not the person we need in Congress.

Follower?

A quick check at Followthemoney.org, shows which big name contributors are depending on Republican John Kasich to deliver the goods for them.


Here are some interesting campaign contributions from Follow the Money:

- Murray Energy, that mining company, gave $17,885 to his campaign.
- Kokosing, the construction firm that builds lots of roads, chipped in $11,198.
- Kasich is a big fan of charter schools, and White Hat Management has contributed $32,790 to the campaign.

There are plenty of others to review.


**** What kind of member of Congress is Republican Rep. Pat Tiberi? Govtrack.us has the info:

...Tiberi is a follower according to our statistical analysis of bills in this legislative session. Tiberi tends to cosponsors the bills of other Members of Congress who do not cosponsor Tiberi’s own bills. For more, see congressional statistics...

...Patrick Tiberi has sponsored 26 bills since Jan 3, 2001 of which 19 haven't made it out of committee and 2 were successfully enacted. Tiberi has co-sponsored 806 bills during the same time period. (The count of enacted bills considers only bills actually sponsored by Tiberi and companion bills identified by CRS that were themselves enacted, but not if they were incorporated into other bills, as that information is not readily available.)...

Sunday

The New York Times has ratings for the House and Senate on an interactive map. Here is what the NY Times had to say about Ohio's 15th congressional district:

Times rating: Tossup

Considering that Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy won with a narrow margin, it will probably be a tight race again. Kilroy represents people while her Republican opponent is the darling of banks, insurance companies, and rich, old, white guys. (Check out which groups are giving to each candidate at Opensecrets.org.)

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

* Ouch! At Cleveland.com, Columnist Thomas Suddes warns that

Republicans Who Run on Conservative Dogma Don't Win in Ohio

We'll see what happens. Some Republicans like Husted, Portman, Stivers, and Kasich, and Tea Bag partiers can't get any more conservative as it stands.

The Ohio GOP Leadership: Idiots

There are some days that you just say to yourself, "Some people never learn." Once again, we see that the Ohio GOP is doing all they can to disrespect women.

Cleveland Leader:


A recent newsletter sent out by the Medina County Republican Executive Committee urged voters to "take Betty Sutton out of the House and put her back in the kitchen." Her supporters and many women in general, are upset by the misogynist remarks.

The group's chairman, Bill Heck, confirmed that the piece came from a recent edition of the group's "Republican Review" newsletter, which is distributed to 15,000 households locally. He says he has not received any complaints, and suggests that Democrats are just as misogynist as the GOP, pointing to comments that have been made about Sarah Palin.

Heck suggests that anyone who was offended could pursue the matter with the Ohio Elections Commission, rather than trying to "get some noise going" and getting a newspaper to write about it. It seems as though at least one group is going to take him up on his offer. The members of the Emily's List political action committee, which raises funds to support female Democratic candidates, are riled up and "ready to do something about it."

U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, a Democrat representing Ohio's 13th District, has called on Bill Heck to resign. Unfortunately, he has not. Mr. Heck stated that he has not gotten complaints. If you'd like to make a complaint, you can call the Medina County Republican Party at (330) 723-0415 or visit their contact page.

If you'd like to file a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission, visit this link:

http://elc.ohio.gov/complaint.stm

Ohio Republicans wonder why a majority of women in Ohio support Democratic candidates. It might be that the Republicans just can't get it through their 1930's brains that women are in the workforce, and in the U.S. House and Senate. As long as Republicans keep living in the past, they'll be unprepared for the future.

Numbers

**** The campaign finance numbers have been published and Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland has a huge lead.

WHIO:

...The Governor's filing showed he had $7.12 million dollars in the bank....

...Kasich’s filing showed he had a cash balance of $5.2 million....


> Speaking of Lehman Brothers, we have this news from the New York Times:

Lehman Bankruptcy Bill Approaches $750 Million

Lehman Brothers has paid all its lawyers and advisers a total of $731.6 million in the 18 months since its collapse, including more than $250 million paid to its bankruptcy liquidator, Alvarez & Marsa, Bloomberg News reports, citing a regulatory filing by the onetime Wall Street firm....

That is a lot of money!


**** Do you believe that past behavior predicts one's future behavior?

John Kasich has still not explained what he'll cut in the state budget to make up for the lack of funds when he eliminates the state income tax. In an article in Time Magazine (May 24, 1993), Kasich is described as wanting severe cuts in the federal budget during the Clinton administration. Kasich proposed a budget that made enormous cuts. However, Kasich had no solutions for what would happen to people, cities, and states when certain programs were cut. (Luckily, all of Kasich's cuts did not become realities.)

Time:

....Kasich claims to save more than $70 billion by cutting "bureaucracy" and "overhead." Exactly how, pray tell? Says the Kasich plan, piously: "It is not the role of Congress to micromanage the administrative functions of Executive Branch agencies." Oh, that explains it.

Keep in mind that these huge but unspecified bureaucratic savings are supposedly after programs identified as "wasteful" have been eliminated or cut. Other Kasich "cuts," such as $6.8 billion in sewage-treatment grants, simply transfer costs to state and local governments, which will have to raise taxes or increase their own deficits to cover them....

Did you see that phrase---- ...simply transfer costs to state and local governments, which will have to raise taxes or increase their own deficits to cover them...? That is exactly what Kasich would do if elected governor. Counties, cities, and townships would have to raise taxes to bring in the needed income because the state would no longer be able to provide financial backing.

- In another article from the Baltimore Sun written by Carl T. Rowan (May 17, 1995), we see Kasich's priorities and allegiances:

I've been trying to decide which is the most destructive element of the Republican schemes to balance the budget.

My first inclination is to say it is Rep. John R. Kasich's plan to give a $340 billion tax cut to the rich and super-rich....

I suggest you read the entire article to see what else Kasich wanted to eliminate when he was in the House of Representatives.

- In an article in the NY Times (February 15, 1995), the GOP and John Kasich, then in Congress, wanted to tinker with the federal college aid program by ending/cutting the student subsidy and then add more interest to college student loans. Luckily, President Clinton stopped these cuts.

All of these examples show how Kasich acted in the past. Ohioans have to wonder if he'd move similarly if elected governor. What programs and services would Kasich cut to reduce the budget?

Where is Kasich?

John Kasich, former investment banker for the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers, was raising some big, big, big campaign money.

Sunlight Foundation's Political Partytime:

• For: John Kasich (R, OH)
• Hosted by: Ron Kaufman Ed Kutler Rick Shelby Steve Clark Barney Skladany Bruce Gates Don Fierce Mark Isakowitz Dan Meyer Ron Christie Karen Johnson Bob Rusbuldt Tom Scully
• When: 2010-04-21 (12 p.m. - 1 p.m.)
• Where: Capitol Hill Club - 300 First Street SE....
• Contribution Information: $5,000 PAC; $2,400 Individual; $1,000 PAC; $500 Individual...

Kasich went to Washington, DC to bring in his big haul.

_____________

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!!

***** The Dispatch's Daily Briefing has an obvious flip-flop by Republican candidate, Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist:

Was Steve Stivers for health-insurance mandates before he was against them?

The Republican candidate for a central Ohio congressional seat is advertising his opposition to requiring Americans to purchase health insurance. In one recent mailer, Stivers pledges to "work to stop job-killing measures like health-care mandates."

It wasn't always so. In his first run for Congress, two years ago, Stivers was at least open to the idea....

Flippity, floppity goes Stivers. As Stivers appeals to the Tea Party types, he has moved to the extreme right. Has anyone asked Stivers if he is for Wall Street reform? As a former stockbroker and bank lobbyist, we'd all like to hear his answer.

****** Sen. George Voinovich, Republican of Ohio, still hates the environment and the Earth. Through his career as Ohio Governor and the U.S. Senate, Voinovich has stood in the way of protecting our land, air, and water for future generations. As he finishes his last term in the Senate, he continues to fight against clean air and water.

NY Times:

...Voinovich is circulating a proposal (pdf) that would go beyond Clean Air Act pre-emptions to block the federal government from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under laws including the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The amendment would fully prohibit states from regulating greenhouse gases based on their effects on climate change and would prohibit public nuisance litigation related to climate change....

This next section has the best summary on Voinovich's anti-environment work----Ontheissues:

Rated 11% by the LCV, indicating anti-environment votes.

Voinovich scores 11% by the LCV on environmental issues

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is the political voice of the national environmental movement and the only organization devoted full-time to shaping a pro-environment Congress and White House. We run tough and effective campaigns to defeat anti-environment candidates, and support those leaders who stand up for a clean, healthy future for America. Through our National Environmental Scorecard and Presidential Report Card we hold Congress and the Administration accountable for their actions on the environment. Through regional offices, we build coalitions, promote grassroots power, and train the next generation of environmental leaders. The 2003 National Environmental Scorecard provides objective, factual information about the environmental voting records of all Members of the first session of the 108th Congress. This Scorecard represents the consensus of experts from 20 respected environmental and conservation organizations who selected the key votes on which Members of Congress should be graded. LCV scores votes on the most important issues of the year, including environmental health and safety protections, resource conservation, and spending for environmental programs. Scores are calculated by dividing the number of pro-environment votes by the total number of votes scored.....

Voinovich has made it his career goal to stop any environmental protection.

Looking for Answers

Yesterday, the House Financial Services Committee had a hearing regarding the collapse of Lehman Brothers. With the Dispatch reporting that Ohio's pension funds lost $480 million in investments at Lehman Brothers, Ohioans are very interested in what happened to the once Wall Street giant.

As an interested person (I have my retirement in one of the Ohio pension plans), I have a few questions I'd like answered:

(1) Since these Ohio pension plans had such big money in Lehman Brothers and John Kasich worked at Lehman, is it possible that Kasich could have had a hand in selling some of these investments to the pension managers?

(2) Could Kasich have used his familiarity with Ohio's pension plans to get involved in the selling of the investments?

(3) Who were the contacts that the Ohio pension plans used in handling their accounts? Were the contacts directly or indirectly connected to John Kasich?

(4) While he worked at Lehman Brothers, was Kasich aware of or a participant in the Repo 105 transactions?

Of course, I don't think that Kasich will answer any of these questions because he avoids providing any complete answers to any inquiries (examples: a. his plan to cut state income tax, b. his planned cuts,
c. his real job at Lehman's, d. his complete salary history at Lehman's and Barclays). A lot of Ohioans with money in the public pension plans want some answers.

More Information Than You Need!

* It appears that Republican Jon Husted's attempt to label himself a "Tea Party candidate" has ushered in many anti-Husted remarks from the Tea Party members. Husted is running against Sandra O'Brien for the Republican nomination for Ohio Secretary of State. On O'Brien's website Jon Husted is called an "impostor."


* Do you remember when Republican Steve Stivers voted against lowering the payday interest rate lending legislation? Stivers did not want the interest rates lowered. Here is what the Dispatch had at the time:
Sen. Steve Stivers, R-Columbus -- Doesn't favor a 36-percent rate cap. "You can't take away people's ability to screw up their own financial situation by taking away the legal loan products, because they'll move to the illegal loans."


*** When John Kasich's Lehman Brothers went belly up, it took a real bite out of the Ohio pension funds. Cincinnati bizjournals:

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Ohio public pension funds lost $480 million in the wake of the collapse of banking giant Lehman Brothers.

The figures were released by U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy of Columbus in advance of Tuesday hearings on Lehman's failure. Ohio's Public Employees Retirement System took the biggest hit, losing about $368 million in market value between December 2007 and December 2008, according to the report.

State Teachers Retirement System's Lehman holdings lost $80 million in value, while the School Employees Retirement System lost $18.5 million. The Plain Dealer also reported that the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund saw its value decline by $11.2 million, and the Highway Patrol Retirement System lost $2.4 million in value during the same period.

OMG!

* Did you know that there is a Facebook page for Kasich for President 2012? Is there something Kasich isn't telling us?

Hubris

Hubris: Overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance (The Free Dictionary).

John Kasich, Republican candidate for Ohio governor is getting some not so positive attention.

Cleveland.c0m:

...Republican John Kasich is also without a primary opponent. His hubris may prove to be his toughest foe.

He shunned The Plain Dealer's voter guide, refusing to provide biographical information or answer questions. The former congressman and Fox News personality doesn't want to waste campaign energy on such details right now. As he told The Plain Dealer recently, voters are too busy watching pro wrestling to focus on his ideas....

That might make a lot of people think that Kasich doesn't have time to answer questions for the people. Kasich is always too busy to discuss his plan to cut the state income tax, what cuts he'd make, or how he'd fill the state treasury without money from the state income taxes. Is Kasich just too busy to deal with the "little people?"

> The Kasich campaign also had a Scooby-doo moment when their internet ad showed up in an unexpected place.

Dispatch:

Around the time last month that federal agents arrested eight members of a Michigan militia for allegedly plotting murder and anarchy, an ad for the Republican candidate for Ohio governor appeared on the Northern Michigan Backyard Protection Militia website.

Why would John Kasich buy ad space at that moment, on a site that surely put him in unwanted company, in a state where nobody can vote for him?

The answer: He didn't - or, to be more precise, he did not intend to....

Perhaps the Kasich campaign should be more careful about where their ads are appearing.

**** There are some accusations about Republican congressional candidate, Steve Stivers, coming from supporters from the far right organization, Freedom Works.

I think that it is time for the Dayton Daily News to update "Gubernatorial election" section on their politics page. The poll being quoted is from January 27, 2010!

> Oh, really? Steve Stivers, former bank lobbyist and current Republican candidate received a very interesting campaign contribution.

Dispatch:
....Today, opponents of Steve Stivers' campaign for Congress pointed out that the Republican received $500 in early March from a man who, days later, heckled a man with Parkinson's disease at a rally over President Obama's health-care plan.

Federal campaign-finance records show that Chris Reichert, a Victorian Village resident, gave $500 to Stivers' campaign March 6, days before the 40-year-old was scorned for his behavior at a rally in front of the office of Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, the Democrat whom Stivers is challenging....

There you go.

**** Did you know that Ohio's pension plans suffered severe losses when Lehman Brothers, John Kasich's former employer, collapsed? That is why Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15) asked for and got a hearing to examine more about what went wrong at the firm.

Fox8.com:

State records show that Ohio's public pension funds took a $480 million hit as a result of the collapse of banking giant Lehman Brothers.

Calculations on the shrinking values of the pension funds' Lehman holdings were released to U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy of Columbus in advance of Tuesday hearings on the collapse.

Kilroy, a Democrat, pushed for the hearings before the House Committee on Financial Services after a report released by a bankruptcy examiner. That report, released last month, found that Lehman used an accounting gimmick to hide $50 billion in debt ahead of the September 2008 collapse....

Good going!

**** Eschatonblog referred to this story at Philly.com:

Lower Merion School District employees activated the web cameras and tracking software on laptops they gave to high school students about 80 times in the past two school years, snapping nearly 56,000 images that included photos of students, pictures inside their homes and copies of the programs or files running on their screens, district investigators have concluded....

.....But in at least five instances, school employees let the Web cams keep clicking for days or weeks after students found their missing laptops, according to the review. Those computers - programmed to snap a photo and capture a screen shot every 15 minutes when the machine was on - fired nearly 13,000 images back to the school district servers.

The data, given to The Inquirer on Monday by a school district lawyer, represents the most detailed account yet of how and when Lower Merion used the remote tracking system, a practice that has sparked a civil rights lawsuit, an FBI investigation and new federal legislation....

OMG! Sounds like this case will be going on for awhile.

Ohio Tea Party vs. Jon Husted

Looks like things are getting worse between the Ohio Tea Party and Republican candidate for Ohio Secretary of State, Jon Husted. Husted, elected from Kettering but lives in Upper Arlington, has claimed to be in agreement with the values of Tea Partiers, but they just don't seem to be ready to vote for Husted.

Dispatch:

Republican Secretary of State candidate Jon Husted’s recent appeals to the Tea Party movement seem to have backfired, with some of the group’s Ohio leaders rejecting his claims to hold Tea Party values.

Not only that, they say they are furious he is trying to latch on to the movement just as it gains political influence, weeks before the May 4 primary. They say - despite Husted’s claims to the contrary - that he largely ignored the Tea Party until recently.

"The only relation Jon Husted would have with the Tea Party is if he would have been driving the British ship into Boston Harbor," said Ralph King, who runs the Cleveland Tea Party Patriots....

Holy cow! Looks pretty ugly.


>>>> This next item is an example of David vs. Goliath.

Republican Rep. John "NO!" Boehner has a terrific Democratic opponent in the election for Ohio's 8th congressional district. The Democratic candidate is Justin Coussoule. We all know that Boehner has a boatload of money and lobbyist friends in every industry, but Coussoule has a background that Boehner doesn't---- Coussoule is a West Point grad, with a law degree, and a background in public service and business.

Visit Justin Coussoule's campaign website at http://www.coussouleforcongress.com/ asap.

More on Kasich

Here is an interesting quote from Newsweek, June 26, 2000:

"WHEN I SEE BUSH AND KASICH NEXT TO EACH OTHER, I SEE TWO BOY SCOUTS
AND NOT ENOUGH MERIT BADGES." POLLSTER JOHN ZOGBY, ON GEORGE W. BUSH
AND OHIO REP. JOHN KASICH.


*** If you are looking for a simple graphic that shows what happened during Bush's 8 years in office, you absolutely must see the Washington Post's interactive timeline.

* Newshounds has a past story on John Kasich suggesting a dress code for people at airports. Seriously.

Is it over?

Is the romance over between the Ohio GOP and the Tea Partiers?

Dispatch:

The Ohio Elections Commission will hear a complaint that one side says is part of the Ohio Republican Party's "war" against Tea Party candidates for the state GOP's governing body.

A commission panel found probable cause yesterday to have a full hearing on a complaint that mailings from the Ohio GOP and Chairman Kevin DeWine in state central committee races improperly say candidates are endorsed by the party when they are not. A hearing date has not been set.....

Yet there is more evidence that it is over....

According to another article in the Dispatch, Republicans John Kasich, Steve Stivers, and other big shot candidates, did not show up to the Tea Party rally at the State House. It appears that the Ohio Republican Party benefited from their association with the Tea Partiers, but now do not have time for them.

>>>>>> We know that Republican candidate, Steve Stivers, former bank lobbyist, enjoys those fundraisers at exclusive country clubs, and so does Kasich! In March, Kasich spoke at the Willow Bend Country Club (see LimaOhio.com). I guess Republican candidates can never get enough of that country club life.

***** The Stivers for Congress committee has $793,313.12 cash on hand, as reported by the FEC for 1/1/10 -3/31/10.

Major contributors to the Stivers committee continue to list their occupations as lobbyists, PACS (COALPAC, KOCHPAC, ARCHCoal PAC, Ashland PAC, Huntington Bank PAC, etc.) health care executives/PACs, lawyers, pharmaceutical employees/PACs, financial groups/PACs, insurance execs/PACs, and bankers. There is a huge amount of money contributed by executives, employees, and PACs associated with Huntington Bank.

You have to ask yourself these questions:

What do these individual bank employees, bank executives, and bank PACs expect if Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, is elected to Congress? A friendly relationship? Protection? What????? I'm just asking.

Still Living and Partying Like A Bank Lobbyist

Wow! Those Republicans certainly know how to throw a fundraiser for former bank lobbyist,
Steve Stivers!

EventsLinkedin.com:

The regional sales manager at IBM is throwing this fundraiser:

Steve Stivers for Congress Fundraiser

Starts:	Thursday April 22, 2010
Ends:	Thursday April 22
Event Type:	Fundraiser
Region:	Columbus, Ohio Area
Location:	The Country Club at Muirfield Village Dublin, OH 43017 US

If you act like a lobbyist, talk like a bank lobbyist, then you must still be a bank lobbyist. By the way, the country club mentioned in the invitation is a private, exclusive club--- not for regular people.

As the UAProgressiveaction stated:

....Steve Stivers: for 391% interest rates before he was against them

Interestingly, Ohio State Senator Steve Stivers, former bank lobbyist and Republican running against Mary Jo Kilroy for Congress, was for 391% interest rates before he was against them. Only a few months ago, Stivers was repeating payday lending industry talking points.

> Here is what, John Adams, a conservative Republican candidate for Ohio's 15th district said about Steve Stivers:

...Mr. Stivers has been funded tens of thousands of dollars by dozens of bankers and many Big Bank Political Action Committees. That is transparent factual information documented on the Federal Election Commission web site. Check it out....

> Warning! Warning! Warning!

Bring the children and pets inside and lock the doors: Karl Rove will be in Columbus on April 20th,
1:30pm at the Barnes and Noble Polaris location, according to a recent NBC4's Facebook post. He is on his book tour.

While doing a book signing in California at the end of March, Rove was NOT warmly welcomed. CommonDreams:

Former White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove was heckled and branded a 'war criminal' at a book signing in Beverly Hills, California, Monday night.....

....But the audience members were unable to get their copies of the book signed after Rove was shouted down and forced to leave the stage, reported CNN affiliate KCAL-TV.

The event was heated from the onset as several anti-war protesters interrupted Rove's talk to accuse him and his administration of lying to Americans about the threat Iraq posed to the United States - and thus, taking the country into war.....

Media Matters debunks Rove's book at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70yuC-c_128#

News to Use

There are some very disappointed right wing candidates in Ohio's 15th congressional district.
Dispatch:

Despite an appeal from a conservative Republican candidate, Ohio Right to Life is not endorsing anyone in the Republican primary for the 15th Congressional District.

The anti-abortion group is not taking sides in the contest between former state Sen. Steve Stivers, who supports limited abortion rights, and political novice John Adams, who opposes abortion....

Whatever.

>>>> YouTube--- Pat Tiberi, Unfit to Lead:

What has Pat Tiberi done in Congress---- whatever John Boehner tells him to do.

Tea and Money

**** The battle continues between the Republicans and the Ohio Tea Partiers/Liberty Council.

Plunderbund:

Tea Party leaders say the Ohio GOP is “declaring war” on the movement with mailers claiming all of its endorsed candidates embrace Tea Party values.....

....While O’Brien can boast support of some local Tea Parties, (Chris) Littleton said, “Husted has no business doing it. Period. It’s laughable. It’s a joke that he would consider himself a Tea Party person when he has for the past 10 years been part of the destruction of Ohio’s economy.”

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

___________________

* The John Kasich campaign is soliciting volunteers to make phone calls from their own homes to get people out for the primary. I think this is strange for several reasons:

(1) Normally, on political campaigns, calls are made from a phone bank office where the calls are supervised and recorded.

(2) This is a very, very, very cheap way to get something done. Once again we see the notoriously cheap Kasich is at it again. He doesn't have to pay anyone to get something accomplished. It may also be a signal that the Kasich campaign is experiencing financial difficulties. (Kasich should invest some of his own millions into his campaign.)

********

Remember the financial reform we were all hoping for after the Bush bailouts? Looks like Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is being won over by the Wall Streeters and is backing down under their pressure and campaign contributions.

Huffington Post:

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) entered a political memo written by GOP strategist Frank Luntz into the official Congressional Record on Wednesday, arguing that it belonged there because Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other Republicans were repeating it verbatim in their effort to block Wall Street reform.

On Tuesday, McConnell came out against the Democratic reform plan, arguing that it would enshrine the system where some banks are too big to fail. The plan, which passed through Dodd's Banking Committee on a party-line vote, uses a tax on banks to create a $50 billion fund to wind down and liquidate major failing financial institutions.

McConnell, under attack for meeting with some two dozen top Wall Street executives before coming out against banking reform, shielded himself behind Kentucky community banks on Tuesday....

Nice job, Mitch! Keep supporting those greedy Wall Streeters and bankers because it seems to be paying off in your campaign contributions. According to OpenSecrets, McConnell has received
over $1,147,000 from the Security and Investment Industry (from 2005 to the present).

Why do Republicans always favor banks, financial and security firms over the rights of human beings?

Battle of the Tea Cups

*** The oatmeal has hit the fan!

There is a battle going on between a Republican candidate for Ohio Secretary to State, Jon Husted (the guy who represents Kettering, but lives in Upper Arlington) and Tea Parties in Ohio. Apparently, Husted used a symbol used by the Tea Parties (see Husted's campaign page for picture). Husted is trying to make it appear that he has the endorsement of the Tea Parties ---- but he doesn't. The Oxford Press reports that many in the Tea Party movement feel that Husted and the Ohio GOP are trying to hijack their movement, their labels, and their platform.

Let the battle begin!

Kilroy vs. former bank lobbyist, cont.

* A site called Politicaldog101.com had these opinions about Ohio's 15th congressional district:

Republican Steve Stivers (R-OH) is back for a Rematch against Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH). Kilroy won the 2008 Race only by 2.300 Votes thanks to Barack Obama winning Franklin County and the City of Columbus by a 2 to 1 margin over John McCain. Again Obama isn’t on the Ballot this year AND to make matters worse for her she VOTED FOR the Health Care Reform Bill, Even more worrisome for her: Will those young Voters and College Students from the Ohio State University who propelled Obama to Victory turn out again this year? That’s highly doubtful. The PVI of this District is D + 1

Therefore My Call today: Leans Republican Takeover.

It does sound like Republicans and teabaggers are hoping that those college students in Ohio's 15th district don't show up to vote for Kilroy. Kilroy has done a lot to help college students, the American people, and recovery from the destructive, catastrophic Bush administration. Stivers, her Republican opponent, has worked to help banks. I'm sure it will be difficult for that massive block of college students to decide which candidate they favor.

>> >> This is from this blog from November 28, 2007. With what we know now about the banking problems, the Wall Street collapse, does Republican candidate for Congress, Steve Stivers, seem even more callous and out of touch with the needs of people?

Ohio15th.blogspot.com (11/28/07):

Steve Stivers: State Oversight of Mortgages A Bad Idea

Republican candidate for Ohio's 15th congressional district, Steve Stivers, worked as as lobbyist for Bank One (now part of Chase). In his capacity as a member of the Ohio Senate, Stivers worked hard to protect banks and lenders. Here is an example from the Dispatch (January 19, 2006):

...Sen. Steve Stivers, a Republican and former lobbyist for Bank One, said Ohio should remain one of only two states that exempts the mortgage industry from the Consumer Sales Practices Act......
....Instead of expanding the consumer-protection law, the attorney general's office should coordinate with local law-enforcement agencies to create "strike forces" that can quickly go after and punish predatory lenders, Stivers said.....
.....But Stivers isn't finding much support in his own caucus, much less among advocates for the poor.Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, said the proposals would not address Ohio's mortgage lending problems.....

Wow! Stivers is against consumer protection laws? Sounds to me that Stivers continues to be a lobbyist!

*****************

That was then, and this is now: Can you imagine what would have happened if Stivers would have worked for better consumer protection laws and state oversight of mortgages? People would not have had to face the difficulties of losing homes and protecting their nest eggs.


The truth is that what Stivers said and did in the past is a predictor of what he'd do in the future. Stivers may have worked for banks in the past, but his heart, mind, and leanings are on the sides of banks. In the world of Republican Steve Stivers, banks and businesses are more important than people.

A Case of Voodoo Tax Cuts?

You know you are in trouble when your running mate is unable to explain your plan to cut the state income tax. Kasich's running mate, Mary Taylor, did an interview on ONN where she tried to make some sense out of his tax plan.

OhioDems:

Appearing on ONN's Capitol Square Republican State Auditor Mary Taylor could not explain the specifics of how our state could fill a more than 40 percent hole in the state budget that would be created by eliminating the state income tax, a proposal championed by her running mate John Kasich.

Asked by ONN's Jim Heath for her take on such a proposal, Taylor said, "Well I think you have to, first of all, understand what the proposal is, you know, what is the proposal…"

That's a good question that Congressman Kasich needs to answer. What cuts would he make? What taxes would he raise? When would the cuts begin? And what cuts are on the table? Would Kasich be open to massive cuts in education, Medicaid, or other vital programs he voted to cut during his 18 years in Congress?

If your running mate is unable to figure it out, how in the world does Kasich expect the rest of us to get it? Is Kasich's tax plan more voodoo economics or trickle down economics? Why won't Kasich talk about his plan? Does he understand it?

**** There is another revelation about the inner workings of Lehman Brothers in the New York Times. Since Kasich, a former director at Lehman, only released his tax returns from his last year at the firm, people want to know when the rest of his tax returns will be viewed.

Warning to Columbus Tea Party from Their Leaders

Are leaders of the Columbus Tea Party accusing its members of indulging in something other than tea?
I'm shocked! Shocked!

TPM Muckraker:

In a mass email sent out last night to the supporter list of the Columbus Tea Party and obtained by TPMmuckraker, leaders of the group issued a set of "do's and dont's" for protesters attending an April 15 Ohio State House event -- chief among them: absolutely no pre-gaming.

Specifically, the email warns those planning to attend the "Tax Day" event, "No alcohol (or other mood-enhancer) or pre-drinking."

....It instructs, "Display a picture of dignity in the way you behave. No violence, no threats, no profanity, no bigotry or law-breaking. We outnumber them, let's not act desperate or foolish."

I guess after anti-health care protesters attacked a man suffering from Parkinson's Disease outside of Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy's office, organizers are afraid that their members will do something stupid again.
(See Raw Story if you need a reminder.)

Republican Ignorance or Something Else?

*** On Saturday, Gov. Ted Strickland and John "Lehman Brothers" Kasich spoke in front of part of the membership of the Ohio State Medical Association. In looking over what they've said (see Dispatch), I've noticed that Kasich once again mentioned Naples, Florida. I'm not sure if Kasich has some sort of obsessive-compulsive thing about continuing to mention the city of Naples, but it is strange. What is his attachment to that area of Florida? Why does he continue to use Naples, Florida, as some comparison to Ohio?

I think it is possible that Kasich doesn't know enough about Ohio to realize that there are large charities, charitable trusts, and foundations in Ohio that do an excellent job of helping those in need. Is he trying to hint that he wants charities to pick up more of the needy if he becomes governor? Since his only released tax return indicates that he is not a large contributor to charities, he might be unaware of the work that many foundations and charities do in our state.


*** Over the weekend, I saw a TV ad for Jon Husted. The commercial mentioned Husted was a "conservative" many times. However, it did not mention that although he represents Kettering, he really lives in Upper Arlington.


-----> Republicans better be careful if they anger the wrong people. Some of their "secrets" might get in the wrong hands if they continue to attack their staff members that they refer to as
"little punk staffers."

Politico:

First, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Capitol Hill staffers have no “contact with reality” and spend “their entire life being arrogant to visitors from back home.”

Then, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) dismissed Democratic staffers writing the financial regulatory reform bill as “little punk staffers.”

.... And then, the National Republican Congressional Committee produced T-shirts mocking Democratic aides who will lose their jobs in November if their bosses lose theirs....

Those staff members might explain why a Republican leader shows up without socks on a TV morning show: (YouTube)

Kasich Dropping Hints of His Cuts

Everyone in the state knows that Republican candidate for governor, John "Lehman Brothers" Kasich, wants to eliminate the state income tax. However, Kasich has refused to give specifics of what he'd cut when 46% of the state's money would disappear. At a recent speech in Brimfield, Ohio, that was a joint effort of the Portage Co. GOP and Portage Co. Tea Party, Kasich dropped some hints at what Ohioans would lose. This is what I've gleaned from the Recordpub.com article about Kasich's speech and visit:

(1) Ohio workers might lose some of the benefits from workers' compensation---
---"Kasich said Ohio needs to change its workers’ compensation program costs to business."
Isn't that just like a guy who just doesn't care about people but only about businesses?

(2) Ohioans would lose local control of schools--
----Kasich appears to suggest "merging districts or merging functions, such as transportation and purchasing, to save money."
School boards, teachers, parents, and students might not support this idea. Families move to a particular area (Dublin, Worthington, Bexley, etc.) because of the quality of the public schools. Would Kasich force districts to merge, thereby eliminate local decision-making, teaching positions, and student programs? Oh, that is right, Kasich is a big proponent of charter schools.

(3) Kasich seems to want to interfere in programs offered at colleges and universities in the state---
-----Kasich says that "....Colleges need to not duplicate programs..."
Here we have Kasich interfering in the programs/classes/degrees offered at various institutions of higher learning. What if a student cannot afford the program at the other college, are they just to give up on their goals? (I'm sure that Kasich's cold approach to the needs and desires of college students will not win him any votes with the 18 to 25 year old voting block.) Does that mean that college professors and instructors who are experts in a given field will lose jobs because their school no longer will teach that program/course of study?


This all seems very frightening to me. Kasich's cuts would be Draconian, and then he'd be off running for President again. Ohioans would be left with a major disaster. Kasich has been known as a person who always made cuts with a chainsaw instead of a surgical knife. In Congress, instead of fine tuning programs he wanted to eliminate, entire agencies and departments were on Kasich's chopping block. If Kasich wins as governor, we'd suffer the consequences for years to come.

__________

Please support Democrat Bev Campbell for the Ohio Senate, District 3.

Numbers

DailyKos is reporting some new polls that show Democrats doing better than their Republican opposition in the race for Ohio Governor and U.S. Senate:

Senate race

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 4/5-7. Likely voters. MoE 4% (7/6-8/2009 results)

Rob Portman (R) 39 (35)
Lee Fisher (D) 43 (42)
Undecided 18 (23)

Rob Portman (R) 40 (36)
Jennifer Brunner (D) 41 (40)
Undecided 18 (24)

And....

Governor's race

Ted Strickland (D) 45 (44)
John Kasich (R) 40 (39)
Undecided 15 (17)

I'll keep an eye on these polls.


**** People wonder about Republican candidate Rob Portman who is running for U.S. Senate. Portman has always been known as a "Bush" guy because of his close working relationship with
President George W. Bush and the entire Bush family. Portman served in the Bush administration as trade representative and Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

In an article published at TradeReform.org, Portman's trade record is explained:

“George Bush chose him for a reason. His votes in the House betrayed Ohio workers time and time again,” said Doug Sizemore, executive secretary-treasurer of the Cincinnati AFL-CIO. Portman voted repeatedly to fast-track international trade agreements, voted against helping workers who had lost their jobs due to outsourcing, and voted against banning taxpayer dollars from being used to outsource jobs, he said. Portman also supported the North American Free Trade Agreement “and still thinks that it created jobs,” he added. “I can tell you there are 50,000 Ohio workers who would disagree with him on that.”

....Trade-related job losses and the U.S. trade deficit “skyrocketed under Portman’s watch,“ said Karen Hanson, director of the Ohio Conference on Fair Trade. In Ohio, more than 17,000 workers had their jobs shipped overseas during Portman’s tenure as trade representative, and the trade deficit rose by nearly 6.5%. “It’s unthinkable for Portman to receive anything but failing marks for his record as Bush’s U.S. trade representative,” she said.

Further, the trade imbalance with China spiked to more than $200 billion for the first time in U.S. history under Portman, she continued, and what she described as Portman’s failure to address China’s currency manipulation only exacerbated the imbalance. The statistics “don’t begin to reveal all the collateral damage to Ohio families and communities by this decimation of our manufacturing base in this state,” Hanson remarked....

If all Ohio voters knew this information, Portman would never get elected. (For information on how other parts of Ohio's economy were changed under Portman, see the link at TradeReform.org.)

Facts

>>>> BearMarketNews:

After months upon months of enthusiastic, cheer-leading coverage of any rally that involved tea, tea bagging or tea partying, the Fox News network has miraculously disproved itself by producing a new poll that finds Americans think more highly of the Internal Revenue Service than they do the vocal conservative minority.

Atop the fourth page of a Fox News Opinion Dynamics poll released April 8, the questioner explains that respondents would be read a series of names and asked whether their opinion is positive or not. The most popular among the names is Barack Obama, who scored a 50 percent approval rating. Second was the Internal Revenue Service, at 49 percent.....

Then there is this ---

Boehner has an approval rating of 12 in a recent FOX News poll.

Amazing. What qualified Boehner for such a monumental approval rating? Was it his arrogance? Lack of leadership? Lack of formulating any meaningful legislation? His ability to speak only "NO!" to progress?


*** Republican candidate for Ohio Attorney General, Mike DeWine, has expressed his desire to sue the federal government over the new health care reform law. DeWine is ready to waste taxpayer money on a completely frivolous lawsuit. Current Attorney General, Richard Cordray, a Democrat, has stated that DeWine's plan to sue the federal government is nothing but a waste of time and money. Check out the Newark Advocate for the full text of Cordray's comments on why pursuing this lawsuit is wrong on many levels.

My own suggestion is that Mike DeWine should go back to law school and take some classes on constitutional law.

..............................

* Another bit of news caught Republicans by surprise.

Dispatch:

After Attorney General Richard Cordray announced a $9 million settlement with an insurance company Wednesday, the Ohio Republican Party questioned whether the deal was a bonanza for private lawyers whom Cordray and his predecessor had hired to work on the case.

Only one problem: There were no private lawyers on the case....

The Republicans, and Kevin DeWine, need to stop jumping to conclusions.

***********

*** Now that Mitt Romney is clearly supporting Republican congressional candidate Steve Stivers, I wonder if Stivers has seen a backlash. Romney, a flip flopper and dog abuser, is not loved in all corners of the GOP.

___________

>>> Newt Gingrich, a possible Republican presidential candidate, has made some over the top comments about President Obama. Gingrich is a liar and has sunk to a new low in his political attacks.

YahooNews:

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a potential presidential candidate in 2012, called Barack Obama on Thursday "the most radical president in American history" who oversees a "secular, socialist machine."...

I'm not surprised. Gingrich, who has been married three times and resigned his leadership position in disgrace, is not a person I would call upon for advice or honesty.

dKosopedia:

...Gingrich, preacher of personal responsibility, honesty, and ethics, used tax-exempt foundations for political purposes in violation of House Rules. To his credit, Gingrich admitted his guilt, and was fined $300,000 by the House Ethics Committee.

Gingrich, critic of the president's infidelity and preacher of family values, was also carrying on an affair with a much younger congressional employee who reported to him. Gingrich served his first wife (Jackie Battley, his high school math teacher) with divorce papers while she was in the hospital with cancer, and split with his second wife (Marianne Ginther) over the phone on Mother's Day, soon after learning that she had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

Gingrich has admitted that he was having an extra-marital affair while he was condemning President Clinton for infidelity...

Nicely put.

__________________

Anyone looking to John Kasich to fix Ohio must look at his previous work.
Kasichfacts:

Kasich Voted to Support Permanent Free Trade Status for China, Which Cost Ohio Over 91,000 Jobs. In 2000, Kasich voted for normalizing trade relations with China, paving the way for China's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001. Since then, Ohio has lost 91,800 jobs as the trade deficit with China has increased. [HR 4444, Vote #228, 5/24/00; Dallas Morning News, 5/25/00; Economic Policy Institute, 5/23/10; Akron Beacon Journal, 3/24/10; Chicago Tribune, 5/25/00.]

Kasich Voted To Approve, Expand NAFTA. In 1993, Kasich voted for NAFTA. Then in 1997, Kasich voted for the US-Caribbean Trade Partnership Act, which would provide free trade benefits to Caribbean and Central American countries similar to those provided to Mexico under NAFTA. From 1993 to 2004 alone, Ohio lost 49,886 jobs, making it the state with the fifth-highest amount of job losses over that time period. [HR 3450, Vote #575, 11/17/1993; HR 2644, Vote #570, 11/4/1997; Washington Times, 4/15/99; Economic Policy Institute, 7/20/05, 9/28/06]...

Kasich Voted Against Helping American Industry Compete. In 1993, Kasich voted against the National Competitiveness Act, which would have authorized $1.5 billion over two years for various grant, loan and technical aid programs for U.S. industry. [HR 820, Vote #173, 5/19/1993; Washington Times, 5/23/93]...

Kasich's Transportation?

John Kasich must have gotten accustomed to the good life when he was employed by the now bankrupt, Lehman Brothers. Kasich apparently likes to fly in a private jet. According to the Ohio Secretary of State Campaign Expenditure page, Kasich has spent campaign money for aircraft charter services:

New World Aviation, Allentown, PA - Expend date: 10/07/09 - Event date: 10/09/09 - Aircraft
Charter Services - Amount: $15,506.88

New World Aviation, Allentown, PA - Expend date: 10/07/09 - Event date: 10/13/2009 - Aircraft Charter Services - Amount: $9,379.59

Must be nice to have that private jet at your disposal.

Now You Know

*** According to WHIO-TV, both Gov. Ted Strickland, Democrat, and John "Lehman Brothers" Kasich, Republican, will be addressing the Ohio State Medical Association PAC in a few days. This PAC that represents doctors is pro-Republican (99.9% of the time). They've already sent out fundraising materials for donations for Republican candidates for the State Supreme Court. They always, always, lean right. Not all doctors contribute to this PAC because of the right wing leanings.

> Does anyone know if Kasich is still using a private jet to get around the state?


> The Swing State Project's Research 2000 has some info on potential problems for Republican candidate for Congress, Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, and other Ohio GOPers:

....Dems are looking at five competitive retentions in Ohio (including OH-13, where wealthy auto dealer Tom Ganley completed his switch for the Senate race, and OH-18, where state Sen. Bob Gibbs deciced to pull the trigger. Potential problems lurk for the GOP in OH-15, where David Ryon filed as the Constitution Party candidate (meaning Steve Stivers might get screwed from the right a second time), and in OH-16, where NRCC fave Jim Renacci faces a competitive primary against more conservative (and presumably less electable) Matt Miller, who almost won the open seat GOP primary in 2008. The GOP’s big disappointment is probably OH-06, where their best bet seems to be former Belmont Co. Sheriff Richard Stobbs (who lost by a wide margin in 2008)....


Oh goody!


* People often wonder what type of legislation John Kasich wrote when he was in Congress. As an example, a 1993 bill written by John Kasich and Tim Penny tried to cut $90 billion from the federal budget. This bill was defeated because it would have made drastic cuts in Medicare, the Commerce Department, as well as cuts in military programs, and other agencies.


LA Times:

....Congressional leaders warned that Penny-Kasich had been poorly crafted and represented a dangerous effort to speed massive spending cuts through Congress without thinking about the long-term consequences.

Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, noted that the bill would eliminate the Interstate Commerce Commission, despite the revenue it generates for the government, "because the people who wrote this bill didn't know what they were doing."

More recently, it has been suggested that Kasich doesn't know what he is doing when he proposed cutting the state income tax. Those economists and other financial experts who've criticized Kasich's reckless proposals are right.

Kasich has always been accused of pushing for cuts without caring about the consequences. This example shows that Kasich's penchant for budget cutting was done many times without any thought to the repercussions. (Case in point--- The Kasich plan to eliminate the state income tax would result in severe cuts in schools, state agencies, libraries, police, road maintenance, funding to townships/cities/counties, as well as the likelihood of eliminating the state prisons.)

>>>>> The battle goes on between Republican candidates for Ohio Secretary of State, Jon Husted (of Kettering, but mostly Upper Arlington) and Sandra O'Brien (Tea Party darling). The Dayton Daily News has the mudslinging.