2010 or 2008: What should we believe from Stivers?

* Republican candidate, Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, often states that he wants to repeal the health care reform law. Do you remember what Stivers said in a televised debate on 9/17/2008? Here is the transcript below----

Project Vote Smart:

>> I'M DOLORES FROM COLUMBUS. WHAT ARE BASIC NON PARTISAN SOLUTIONS THAT YOU WOULD SUPPORT TO BREAK THE GRIDLOCK AND MAKE HEALTHCARE FOR AFFORDABLE?

>> AND WE BEGIN WITH MR. STIVERS.

>> THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION. EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT HEALTHCARE AFFORD ABILITY IS A IMPORTANT ISSUE IN THIS ECONOMY. PEOPLE ARE FACING VERY DIFFICULT CHOICES BECAUSE OF THE EXPENSIVE COSTS OF HEALTHCARE. I BELIEVE WE NEED TO FOCUS ON INNOVATION AND TRY TO FOCUS ON COST SAVINGS. I BELIEVE THERE ARE ANSWERS WE CAN FIND IF WE WORK TOGETHER. I PERSONALLY BELIEVE WE SHOULD ALLOW OUR SENIORS TO GET CHEAPER DRUGS FROM CANADA, TO SHOP IN CANADA IF THEY WANT, BUY THEM ON-LINE, IF THEY CAN FIND SAVER CHEAP DRUGS. I DISAGREE WITH THE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS IN CONGRESS ABOUT THAT. I THINK IT'S A WAY TO BRING COST SAVINGS TO THE SYSTEM. I ALSO BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD ALLOW SMALL BUSINESSES THAT HAVE JUST A FEW EMPLOYEES TO BAND TOGETHER TO GET THE BUYING POWER OF LARGER BUSINESSES SO THEY GET MORE AFFORDABLE INSURANCE RATES. I ALSO BELIEVE THAT THINGS LIKE WHAT GOVERNOR STICKLAND TALKS ABOUT, INSURANCE EXCHANGE, MAKING INSURANCE MORE PORTABLE. WHEN YOU LOSE A JOB YOU SHOULDN'T LOSE HEALTHCARE. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO DEAL WITH ISSUES OF HIGH RISK POOLS. 37 STATES HAVE FIGURED OUT A WAY TO DO THAT. CONGRESS NEEDS TO ENCOURAGE THE OTHER STATES INCLUDING OHIO, WE HAVE WORKED ON ONE BUT IT'S NOT DONE. WE NEED TO GET THAT DONE. PEOPLE WITH PREEXISTING CONDITIONS SHOULD NOT LOSE INSURANCE. I THINK WE NEED TO FOCUS ON COST SAVINGS AND LEGAL REFORM. WE'RE PAYING $500 BILLION A YEAR TO ATTORNEYS INSTEAD OF DOCTORS IN HEALTHCARE.

Readers should note a few things---
1. Strickland was misspelled in the original text.
2. Stivers said he agreed with Gov. Strickland.
3. Stivers supports people keeping their insurance even though they migh have pre-existing conditions.
4. There are other words misspelled or improperly used in the transcript.

Should voters believe the Steve Stivers of 2010 or 2008?


**** Stivers voted against this Mortgage Lending Bill on 5/24/06----
Votesmart:

Official Synopsis:

Expands the application of the Consumer Sales Practices Act to include certain consumer transactions in connection with a residential mortgage. Generally prohibits the appraisal of real estate for a mortgage loan without state certification or licensure. Prohibits any person from corrupting or improperly influencing the independent judgment of a real estate appraiser with respect to the value of the dwelling offered as security for a mortgage loan. Requires that a national criminal background check be conducted on all applicants for a real estate appraiser certificate or license, a mortgage broker certificate of registration, or a loan officer license.

Let me repeat---STIVERS VOTED AGAINST THIS bill that protects consumers!!!!

Stivers Needs to Do Some Reading

Steve Stivers, former bank lobbyist and current candidate for Congress, claims that Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15th-Democrat) has done nothing while serving in Congress. Obviously, Stivers has not read Kilroy's record in Congress.

According to records at the Library of Congress, Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy has sponsored 18 bills and
cosponsored 274 bills (see cosponsored bills at Library of Congress). Of the bills Kilroy has sponsored, many pertain to small business, workers, students, investments, schools, saving energy, small business lending program, etc., etc., etc.

Why is Stivers complaining? Does he feel bad that Kilroy has done nothing to protect bankers' bonuses/profits?

>>>>>Here is a small sampling of the record of Ohio Republicans in Congress:

* Rep. John Boehner (OH-8th), Republican leader, has sponsored 13 bills.

* Rep. Bob Latta(OH-5th) has sponsored 20 bills, most of which are for "...expressing the sense of the House..." and one for putting Reagan's face on coins (Did you know that 75% of Americans are against this idea?). Latta needs to spend more time writing legislation that helps people, instead of adding more worthless fluff to his Twitter page.

* Rep. Steve Austria (OH-7th) has sponsored 3 bills. Three! What the heck is he doing?

* Rep. Pat Tiberi (OH-12th) has sponsored 7 bills, of which a majority either commemorate or honor someone/group/event. This guy has been in Congress for many years and this is the best he can do? Where is the leadership?

* Rep. Steve LaTourette (OH-14) has sponsored 10 bills during this Congress, despite the fact that he has been in Congress for many years.

* Rep. Jean Schmidt (OH-2) has sponsored 4 bills during this Congress. Four?

Rep. Kilroy has sponsored more bills than many of the Ohio Republicans in the House. She has clearly taken a leadership role in sponsoring bills to help real people, real students and families, the unemployed, small business, and communities. Unfortunately, the Ohio Republicans have not provided any leadership, ideas, or legislation to help regular people. As a matter of fact, by voting NO on many bills, they've refused to help our country move forward.

Before Mr. Steve "Repeal the 17th Amendment" Stivers starts attacking Mary Jo Kilroy, he should look at the members of his own party for their dismal records.

How do you feel about it?

* If your job was sent overseas to China, thank Republican candidate, Rob Portman!

Cleveland.com:

...In 2005, Bush -- with Portman as his trade adviser -- refused to impose quotas when Chinese imports of steel pipe were flooding this country. The U.S. International Trade Commission, a quasi-judicial body, had recommended the quotas.

Bush said that it wasn't in this country's economic interests to penalize the Chinese. Users of steel pipe, among others, had wanted the steady supply to continue. The case involved steel pipe used for plumbing and fence posts, as opposed to the steel pipe that V&M makes for the oil and energy industry....

....China then kept shipping its circular welded pipe, sometimes with subsidies from the Chinese government, and American steel makers laid off workers in plants around northern Ohio. The American steel industry lost a reported $150 million in profits from 2005 to 2007....

Bush and Portman helped Chinese steelworkers keep their jobs instead of American steelworkers. How do you feel about that? Should Portman be rewarded for losing American jobs and destroying the steel industry in Ohio?

* Ohio taxpayers must be diligent to make sure that our school districts do not buy any of the revisionist books from Texas. Those new guidelines and curriculum sound beyond bizarre. Capecodtoday has just a few of the items from the Texas right-leaning education program:

...The Texas schoolbooks will now inform students that Joseph R. McCarthy was justified in the blacklisting and red baiting actions he took in the early 1950's, the dark era that commonly bears his surname and which generally is understood to have been antithetical to a democracy. Students will be taught that because, after the collapse of Russia, documents indicated there were Russian spies in America, Sen. McCarthy should be exonerated and his fascistic approach forgiven.

American history of the 1950's and 1960's will also be revised to diminish the importance of the civil rights and the anti-war movements. Martin Luther King will share space on the new pages with the Black Panthers, and the word capitalism will be replaced with the term ‘free enterprise system.'

Moving forward to even more recent history, the 5 million revised textbooks will emphasize the presidency of Ronald Reagan as the herald of a positive, conservative revolution, and in the same vein the books will canonize such figures as Jerry Falwell, the radio and TV evangelist who founded the ‘Moral Majority' crusade and who is credited with the ascension of the New Christian Right as a political force....

Trust me, there is even more scary stuff in the article. When your school district offers the public the right to view possible new textbooks for adoption, please make a point to go to those meetings, and actually READ the sections of the books that cover the areas mentioned above. The last thing we want is to have our school children poisoned with the re-written history designed by the right wingers of Texas. The students in Texas are being brainwashed with the conservative philosophy/propaganda of ill-informed, deniers of history. Stand up for our Ohio school children to learn the historical truth, not the new-fangled, revisionist history from Texas.

***With casino gambling coming to Ohio, rules are being hammered out in Columbus.

WKYC.com:

Ohio's House and Senate agree that the state's new casinos should not give away free drinks, allow smoking or let anyone under 21 inside to gamble....

....The House, which is controlled by Democrats, wants the casinos' $200 million in state license fees to go toward urban worker training programs.

The Republican-led Senate bill does not have that provision but, unlike the House measure, it would allow the casinos to extend lines of credit to patrons of no more than $500...

Which part of these competing bills sounds better to you?

Really.

* Ohioans must realize by now that while the American economy was tanking and their portfolio/retirement funds were tanking, Lehman Brothers was still handing out massive bonuses to its employees, including managing director, John Kasich. It is fair to say that while your assets were depleted, Kasich and the Lehman directors filled their pockets with what looks like unwarranted bonuses.

Stronger Ohio has a political ad that addresses these facts: http://www.strongerohio.org/video.html

>> Additional facts from Building a Stronger Ohio includes:

...Lehman Brothers hid toxic loans from regulators and gave out more than 16 billion dollars in bonuses while John Kasich was a Managing Director.

• Report: Lehman's finances misrepresented: Executives accused of using 'misleading' accounting trick (The Washington Post, March 13, 2010)
  
  
• In his statement, Waxman said, "These were lucrative years for Lehman's executives and Mr. Fuld. Lehman paid out over $16 billion in bonuses.” (The Washington Post, October 6, 2008)
  

Past behavior predicts future behavior. Really.


**** Violent crime is down, according to a new report by the FBI as posted at ABC News:

_______________________

* Don't you wonder if Republican candidate for Congress, Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist,
still supports the oil companies as he did in the past? You Tube



Stivers, who once agreed that global warming was a scientific fact, now says it doesn't exist. This guy has more flip-flops than a shoe store.

By the way, Stivers is doing a great job of pulling in big, big, political contributions see (FEC.gov)
from oil company PACs, insurance PACs, coal PACs, lobbyists, and those bank PACs. Of course, Stivers is against any regulations on all these types of companies. Really.


***** The right wing Columbus Dispatch is keeping up its tradition by continuing to smear Democrats. Why don't they just change the paper's name to the Columbus Republican? Really.


*** Why have the Republicans declared war on Hispanics and Latinos?

Kasich: Past Behavior

When you look at the career of Republican John Kasich and the things he has advocated, you have to wonder if past behavior predicts future behavior.

Kasich wanted to cut programs for the poor so that the rich could get tax cuts.
Baltimore Sun (April 2, 1995):

House Budget Committee Chairman John R. Kasich, Republican of Ohio, will find himself in the middle of a bruising congressional battle later this week when the debate begins on legislation to slash the federal budget to pay for a massive tax cut....
...Mr. Kasich says he does not oppose social programs on their face, but because they so easily get out of control. He cites the example of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a cash assistance program for the low-income aged, the blind and those disabled more than a year....

If elected, would Kasich cut funding for libraries, schools, the poor, so that his rich pals can get tax breaks?

There is a little hint in this article that Democrats might want to use. Kasich said that he does not like to be "hassled." No one likes to be "hassled" in life, but it is something we put up with on occasion. Is Kasich a poor, rich man accustomed to getting his own way? Did he get his way when he got the state retirement funds to invest with Lehman Brothers? How many contacts did he make with the retirement boards until he got his way for them to put their investment money in Lehman's grubby hands?

In 1996, when Kasich and the House advocated cutting federally-sponsored student loans, stopping increases of the federal minimum wage, planned to make severe cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, there was major opposition. When Kasich and his committee members went to a college campus hoping to enlist college students in their efforts to cut all these federal programs, they were met by students who were shocked by these incredibly drastic plans.

Once again we see that Kasich seemed clueless at the repercussions of cutting all these programs. Today, as Kasich pushes for repeal of the state income tax which provides the state with 40% of its budget, he has refused to enumerate which programs he will cuts. We might need to push Kasich to get some answers.

News to Use

* Do you remember the tort reform that Republican candidate for Congress, Steve Stivers brags about during his campaigns?
Dayton Daily News (March 31, 2003, page A.10):

...The proposal by state Sen. Steve Stivers, R-Columbus, is right out of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce's playbook - lay the plans side-by- side and you'll see they match almost word-for-word...

....Politicians, at the urging of business, want to strip ordinary citizens of their right to represent the community, to sit as jurors and decide what justice in such cases requires. This tort reform proposal replaces jurors with a pre-packaged brand of justice, pre- approved by business interests....

...The new proposal contains much more. It's the business community's wish list, virtually all of which is calculated to make life difficult, if not hostile, for citizens who try to navigate through the court system...

In 2003, Stivers had just been appointed to the State Senate after working as a lobbyist for Bank One. The business leaders in the state already knew Stivers and knew he was a sure thing for them when they picked him to fill an open seat. Unfortunately, regular people like you and me have been hurt by this tort reform that was orchestrated by Stivers and big business. Voters in Ohio's 15th district need to question why Stivers continues to support businesses over human beings and if he'll do the same if elected. With Stivers supporting repeal of the 17th Amendment and his legislation for tort reform to protect businesses, we continue to see that Stivers is a puppet of business, big oil, bankers, and lobbyists. Somehow that just won't jive with a lot of people in Ohio's 15th.


**** Jobs are coming to Ohio!
Dispatch:

Coda Automotive has chosen central Ohio as the site for a planned battery plant, a company official confirmed today, a move that could bring roughly 1,000 jobs to the region.

The California-based company is making an all-electric car that is scheduled to go on sale later this year....

Keep an eye on Coda and future announcements.


And..... WKYC is announcing some additional jobs in Mentor.

“Wall Street Johnny’’ and “Trade Czar Portman’’

* There are some new names for John Kasich of Lehman Brothers and Rob Portman of the Bush plan to send our jobs to China!

The Dayton Daily News is reporting that “Wall Street Johnny’’ and “Trade Czar Portman’’ are new nicknames that are floating around. Awesome!

Kasich (AKA "Wall Street Johnny") helped contribute to the looting of the retirement funds for state employees by making the contacts to set up the cash haul for Lehman Brothers. The funds lost millions of dollars with Lehman. With friends like Kasich, who needs enemies? I wonder how all those state employees feel every time they look at their retirement funds? Why do Republicans always feel the need to mess with people's money? How can we forget how Bob Taft allowed Tom Noe to "invest" money from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation? The state lost millions when the investment money was put into coins, paintings, beanie babies, a Christmas card signed by Mrs. Jackie Onassis, and other "commodities" chosen by Noe.

Portman (AKA "Trade Czar Portman") appears to be very proud of his association with the last Bush administration. Portman and Bush helped move American jobs and manufacturing out of our country. All you have to do is try to find clothing, toys, and household items actually made in the USA. We can blame Portman and Bush for that.


>>> Gov. Strickland has some news that will benefit the state. CBS News:

General Electric and an Ohio-based wind developer plan to build an offshore wind farm in Lake Erie in late 2012, the companies said Monday.

Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) and GE said they have formed a partnership to build a 20-megawatt wind farm in Lake Erie using GE's direct-drive turbines, which are designed for offshore wind. The companies announced the deal at the American Wind Energy Association's annual conference in Dallas....

Under Gov. Strickland's leadership, Ohio is becoming a leader in alternative energy. Alternate energy will put us on the road to energy independence.

* Did you ever wonder how all of Republican Jon Husted's mail is forwarded to his Upper Arlington home? He must have a nice arrangement with the post office because he has had his mail forwarded for years from his Kettering ghost house to his living quarters in Upper Arlington. I thought that the U.S. Post Office would only forward a person's mail for six months. How has he been getting his mail forwarded for years and years?

Students Lose in Texas

* It is a sad, sad, day for public education in Texas. With the right wing conservatives pushing through their re-write of American history, students will be given a slanted curriculum. One of the changes I heard about that the Texas Board of Education made in terms of teaching social studies included dropping the words "slave trade" from the social studies vocabulary. Now "slave trade" will be described as "the Atlantic triangular trade." Also included will be the coronation of Ronald Reagan, and the glorification of the "Moral Majority" movement (Note: They were neither moral nor a majority.) I'm sure the cultural, scientific, and academic contributions of African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, women, and other minorities will be completely eliminated from the Texas new-fangled, right wing, conservative, social studies curriculum.

Can you imagine the ridicule and embarrassment that high school seniors will face when they realize that their social studies curriculum was different than the other 49 states? How will Texas students taking the SAT test respond to history questions? According to the SAT College Board, the U.S. History section of the SAT "..... assesses your knowledge of and ability to use material commonly taught in U.S. history and social studies courses in high school..."

In the future, students who graduate from Texas high schools under the new re-written conservative slanted history lessons, will have limited access to colleges outside of their state. Texas students in the future will continue to under perform on tests involving science (Texas is anti-evolution) and American history and government.

Rand Paul?

* The more Rand Paul talks, the more he appears as a kook. Saying he believed that business owners should have the right to discriminate, really sounds absolutely bizarre in 2010. You almost wonder what other backward thinking and anti-civil rights views Rand Paul has. We might not find out since he apparently is planning to avoid any additional interviews with the press.

* Oh, my. There appears to be a battle for leadership for the Franklin County GOP, according to the Dispatch. Republicans need not worry because the powers in the Republican Party have already decided which candidate will lead the party in central Ohio. It seems that the Republican big shots will dictate what happens next.

* John Kasich loves to talk about his accomplishments--- some real, but most have been overstated. It appears that many people are doubting Kasich's latest claim.

DaytonDailyNews:

Republican John Kasich likes to tell voters in his campaign for governor that as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers, he was part of the team that took Internet giant Google Inc. public in 2004....

...Google hired 28 underwriting banks with Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston as the lead underwriters and Lehman coming in fifth in the pecking order, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Kasich’s former boss at Lehman Brothers, Gary Weinstein, said the company “didn’t play a significant role” in Google’s Initial Public Offering, or IPO.....

Is this just more b.s. from Kasich?

I'm Back!!!!

*** In a post at Telemarketing Indiana at Bankers Online (7/23/02), bank lobbyist Steve Stivers, tells bankers that there are ways to get around the Indiana "do not call" telemarketing law:

Indiana’s Do-Not-Call Law, One of Toughest in US

Indiana’s do-not-call law, which permits consumers to register their names on a list that prevents telemarketers from calling them is one of the toughest in the United States. The Indiana law does not allow an exception for financial organizations, nor is there an exemption for current customer relationships. Small and large banks alike claim the Indiana law is impeding their service with customers.

A Bank One government relations vice president, Steve Stivers said, “In this falling interest rate environment, we might give our customers some options for meeting with an investment representative, we might call them and say, ‘Look, we see you have a big balance. We have some options that might work for you.’ Unfortunately, under Indiana’s existing law we are not allowed to do that. Under Indiana’s law, that would be a sales call. To us, that would be a customer service call.”

OMG! Stivers was trying to skirt the law by labeling an obvious sales call a "customer service call."
Obviously, Stivers did not understand the concept of "DO NOT CALL" and had no respect for the laws of Indiana and the preferences of bank customers.


>>>> Great job news for Ohio! Dispatch:

After battling a decline in jobs for years, Ohio received a bolt of good news yesterday: The state added 37,000 jobs during April, the best number in the nation.

It also was the biggest jump in 22 years, helping the state's jobless rate to fall to 10.9 percent last month, down from 11 percent in March, the Labor Department said.....

The number of unemployed workers in Ohio declined slightly last month to 652,000. Gov. Ted Strickland said the state still has "a long way to go," but that Ohio is "making steady progress in the right direction."

This is definitely good news. The Bush created recession might be over.

**** The cozy relationship between the Kasich/Taylor ticket and charter school owners worries supporters of public schools.

Plunderbund:

....The bill that allows White Hat Management the ability to seize the charter schools’ property if their contract is not renewed, even if the charter schools had purchased the equipment with its own taxpayer provided funds, was passed in the final month of a lame duck session of the General Assembly in 2006 and signed into law one week before Gov. Strickland took office, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

To the surprise of nobody, White Hat Management’s executives have been major donors to the Kasich-Taylor campaign, as they’ve been to all other prior Republican causes. In fact, the lame-duck bill that gave White Hat Management so much leverage over the for-profit charter schools was authored by Ken Blackwell’s running mate, who also received considerable support from White Hat’s execs.....

....From David Brennan’s wallet to John Kasich’s mouth. He wants to give David Brennan more of the “market share” of building Florida mansions in Naples with tax dollars meant to educate children....

Kasich/Taylor's support of charter schools is dangerous for parents of school children. Why should tax dollars be given to charter schools when they continue to under perform? The charter school connection with Kasich/Taylor should worry every taxpayer in Ohio. (Jon Husted has also been a big recipient of Brennan and White Hat Management political contributions.) If Kasich/Taylor and Husted sell off our public schools to their charter school political contributors, our children will suffer from inadequate educations. It just might be what the Republicans want---- poorly educated Ohioans who will follow the GOP like sheeple.

Home at last!- More later.....

The Record

Why did John Kasich vote against veterans in June 1993 on HR2491? Does Kasich support veterans?

According to VoteSmart, Kasich voted against the bill that included---
Department of Veteran Affairs- $17.92 billion for the Veterans Benefits Administration- $15.85 billion for the Veterans Health Administration

Luckily, the bill passed even thought Kasich voted against it. Perhaps Kasich would have voted for the bill if it had been for Wall Street veterans instead of our military veterans.

Kasich's voting record was pathetic on issues pertaining to education, families, children, veterans, seniors, health issues, women, labor, and issues important to everyday people.(See ratings posted at Vote Smart.) Why should anyone believe that Kasich will support regular people over his Wall Street and right wing friends? He never supported real people in the past.

***** How can you get a clear answer from a career lobbyist? I love when you catch a flip flopping bank lobbyist:

Last month Republican Steve Stivers and the Ohio Republican Party sent a mailer out with a doctored photo of a recent Tea Party Rally to mislead voters into believing he had secured an endorsement from local Tea Partiers. [Columbus Dispatch, 4/27/10]

Republican Steve Stivers claimed support of repealing the 17th Amendment on two separate occasions. The first, which was almost 6 months ago was in a survey authored by a local 912 group, and again when asked by a reporter. Last week, with the general election in his sights Stivers changed positions, claiming “he made a mistake” and no longer supports a repeal of the 17th amendment which would take away the voters right to elect their U.S. Senators and instead leave it up to state legislators to make appointments. [Columbus Dispatch, 4/30/10]

The Columbus Dispatch recently revealed that Steve Stivers stated insurance mandates would create a “robust marketplace” as a reason for supporting the proposal in 2008, and in 2010 Stivers is now claiming the proposal is a “job killer.” [Columbus Dispatch, 4/21/10]

He was for it before he was against it. What other surprises does Stivers have for us? With the House and the Senate moving on banking reform, Stivers, Mr. Former Bank Lobbyist, is the last person we need to protect bankers instead of ordinary people.

Why did they support jobs in China?

WYTV:

A day ahead of the presidential visit, opponents of the two Republicans running for U.S. Senate and Ohio governor are being taken to task for their stands on foreign trade.
Congressman Tim Ryan was one of a number of speakers criticizing the policies of candidates John Kasich, running for Ohio governor, and Rob Portman, running for U.S. Senate.
The group complained the candidates' support of treaties like NAFTA have caused too many jobs to be moved out of Ohio and overseas to places like China. Sherry Killian, the recording secretary for USW Local 98L at Denman Tire, said Chinese manufacturers underbid US tiremakers "because they don't have the enviromental cause we have in the United States, they don't have the safety standards we have in the United States."

Kasich and Portman helped ship our jobs out of Ohio and into China. Why would they continue to support this type of trade that has cost Ohio thousands and thousands of jobs? Why don't you ask them?

Not so good....

How is that repeal of the 17th Amendment going for Republican candidate for Congress, Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist? Not so good. TPM :

....The "Repeal The 17th" movement is a vocal part of the overall tea party structure. Supporters of the plan say that ending the public vote for Senators would give the states more power to protect their own interests in Washington (and of course, give all of us "more liberty" in the process.) As their process of "vetting" candidates, some tea party groups have required candidates to weigh in on the idea of repeal in questionnaires. And that's where the trouble starts.In Ohio, Steve Stivers -- the Republican attempting to unseat Democratic Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy in the state's 15th District -- came under fire from Democrats when it was revealed he had checked the box saying he would repeal the 17th Amendment on a tea party survey (see question 11 here).
Kilroy's campaign set up a website slamming Stivers for the stance, and attacked him in the press......

Stivers admits now that he made an error in pushing for the repeal of the 17th Amendment. Why did he make the mistake? Did he think no one would find out his answers to the survey he filled out for the right wing group? Did he even know that the 17th Amendment was the one that allowed voters, and not state legislatures, to vote directly for their own U.S. Senators? Was Stivers really in favor in repealing the 17th Amendment but has flip-flopped on what he wants?

No matter the reason, Stivers looks like someone who is trying to take rights away from the voter. I am not happy with that idea on any level.


*****The Knox County Democrats visited a recent speech by John Kasich and noticed that there was something missing from his talk to the pitiful crowd of 200 people: "substance."

While Kasich talks in generalities, and goes on and on and on, he never mentions specifics. That would be too hard and cause people to really start asking questions. He won't tell you what services he'll cut, if elected. You can be assured that if elected, our lives will never be the same. Every Republican contributor that owns a company will get the contracts to take over parts of the state government. Good bye, public schools. Good bye, libraries. See you later, state parks.

Once you lose those services, agencies, public schools, state assets, they won't come back.

Was Kasich an "accessory" to the losses?

CQ Politics has it right when it notes that things are heating up between Gov. Ted Strickland, Democrat, and John Kasich, Republican and former investment banker with the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers.

The more I read about how Republican candidate for governor, John Kasich, was involved in "introducing" the Ohio pension board members to his colleagues at Lehman Brothers, the more I realize that he played the part of an "accessory" to their losses. He may not have done the orginal investments, but he made the introductions and used his familiarity with the pension boards to help grease the path for Lehman to take their money.

In the process, Kasich, laid the groundwork for huge losses for the pension funds. He got his humongous bonus of $400,000 while Ohio's public employee retirement funds started to lose money.

How many other times did Kasich intervene to assure the pension fund managers that everything was okay? Did he speak to anyone to try to calm their fears about losing the money? Was Kasich responsible for other contacts with the pension fund board members (dinners, golf, meetings, etc.)? Are there public records or other notes that would show that he personally spoke with these board members other than his initial meetings? I'm positive that those employees who lost millions of dollars in their pension funds that were invested in Lehman are waiting for answers.

Kasich may say that Strickland is going negative, but in reality Strickland is looking for the truth. We are not getting answers from Kasich about the pension funds, the state income tax cuts he wants, his preference for charter schools over public, the services and state holdings he'll sell off, and the programs he'll cut. He avoids it all while he talks in generalities to tiny groups of people in small, well-known Republican strongholds. Kasich continues to play it safe.

I know I wouldn't buy a used car from Kasich. His lack of candor bothers me and I remember his brutal budget proposals from his time in Congress. Thank goodness they were not all enacted!!! I'm just wondering if other Ohioans distrust Kasich as much as I do?

Just as we thought...

It looks like Republican John Kasich did in fact use his influence to get Ohio pension funds to invest with Lehman Brothers. Whether Kasich did the actual investing or made the introductions, he used his familiarity and trust to open the door.

Dispatch:

Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich tried to persuade two state pension funds in 2002 to invest with Lehman Brothers while he was the managing director of the investment banking house's Columbus office.

In a reply to questions from The Dispatch, Kasich campaign officials acknowledged that the former congressman helped arrange the two meetings between Lehman officials and representatives of the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, known as OPERS.....

You can read the rest of the article. Obviously, Ohio's public employees and teachers will not be happy.

People are talking....

The Ohio Democratic Party has really gotten the attention of the Ohio voters with their campaign ad featuring workers who "lost their shirts" and jobs because of Rob Portman (could be used because of Kasich too!). It is an awesome ad that shows the repercussions of Kasich's past endeavors.

Pat Tiberi, Republican member of Congress representing Ohio's 12th district, is getting a lot of criticism for his failure to vote for a job that has job creation written all over it. It appears that the Republican members of Congress from Ohio are like Boehner's little puppets. They look to him for directions on how to vote. What a waste!

* Does Jon Husted still have his job with the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce? Considering how poorly Dayton has been doing recently, it might be time for the DACC to fire him for lack of results. How many hours per week does he actually work for them? Do we have documentation or does he get paid for doing nothing?


NOTE: We'll be on the road the next few days. I'll keep you posted on updates!

TIBERI VOTED AGAINST IT!

Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy's (OH-15) recent amendment to a bill in the U.S. House will help homeowners, home construction companies, and Ohio's vinyl siding manufacturing plants. It sounds like a win-win-win for everyone.

Dispatch:

...The Kilroy amendment would offer rebates to homeowners who install insulated vinyl siding as part of a plan to reduce their energy use. The Columbus Democrat said four of the nine vinyl-siding plants in the country are in Ohio.

The $6.6 billion "Cash for Caulkers" measure, which passed the House by a vote of 246-161, would provide as many as 3 million homeowners with rebates to finance better insulation and energy-saving doors and windows.

Here is the strange part of the Dispatch article---

Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Genoa Township, who co-sponsored the Kilroy amendment, then joined most Republicans in opposing the bill, contending that it was not paid for...

TIBERI co-sponsored the amendment and THEN VOTED AGAINST IT!

What kind of idiocy is that? People in his district must keep in mind that Tiberi voted against an amendment that helps homeowners reduce utility costs, gets remodelers back to work, and gets manufacturing plants back to work.

*** Rachel Maddow noted that 97.3% of the people who have served on the U.S. Supreme Court have been men.

We know that the Senate Republicans have already objected to Elena Kagan because she was not former judge.

Husted

* Anyone who has had to deal with Republican Jon Husted knows that he is very difficult to deal with and prone to angry outbursts. Don't believe me? Just ask people in the Ohio Department of Transportation, Ohio AFT (6/26/09 newsletter), the various state retirement boards in June 2007, Husted's support for the profits of utility companies, Dayton Public Schools Board President Jeffrey Mims, Jr., and many others. I'm sure there are many, many people who have found Jon Husted a very unpleasant man.

Consider this--- if someone else lived in Upper Arlington with his family yet represented and voted in another district, wouldn't they have been charged with voter fraud? Husted was deemed legit by the all Republican Ohio Supreme Court. If elected as Ohio's Secretary of State, he'd get to question your residency.

What is that about?

When you read through the Federal Elections Commission reports, you find a lot of very interesting material. The recent reports submitted by Stivers for Congress and Candidate Steve Stivers have a wealth of information:

Here are some highlights from the Stivers candidate/committee 24 hr. reports:

KOCHPAC contributed: $4000 to Stivers

Turkish Coalition USA PAC: contributed $1000 to Stivers

Cardinal Health Inc. PAC: $5000

Marathon Oil Company Employees PAC (MEPAC): $1000

California Dairies Federal PAC: $5,000

State Auto Employees Federal PAC: $1,000

I think that these are a little curious. Stivers is getting contributions from oil and insurance company PACs. We know that bank PACs and lobbyists have given heavily to Stivers, but why the Turkish Coalition PAC? What is that about? What do these PACs hope to gain by sending Stivers to DC?

The strangest alliance that I question is the one between Mitt Romney and Steve Stivers. Why is Mitt Romney supporting and contributing to the Stivers campaign?

"...scaling back strict regulations...."

John "Lehman Brothers" Kasich, a Republican candidate for Ohio governor, isn't promising an immediate fix for Ohio. On a recent visit to Clark County Ohio, Kasich provided some details about the things he'd like to scale back.

The Springfield News Sun:

“We gotta create an environment where jobs will stay, where companies will expand,” Kasich said. “Over time, we can get people to come in.”

Kasich noted that lowering taxes and scaling back strict regulations are essential to make Ohio more inviting for small businesses.

Two things jump out at me immediately:

1. “Over time, we can get people to come in.”

How much time will Kasich need to get companies to come to Ohio? Four years? Eight years?

2. "...scaling back strict regulations...."

Does he want to get rid of worker safety rules, the state minimum wage, and workers' compensation? Kasich seems unable and unwilling to provide details.

Here is another tidbit from Kasich's visit recorded by the Springfield News Sun:

...He (Kasich) countered that legislators can shrink the budget by eliminating lobbyists and special interests....

Wait. Doesn't Kasich have some very close lobbyists advising him and sponsoring his fundraisers (see TPMMuckraker for details). What special interests would Kasich like to eliminate?

Just like he won't release his previous tax returns, he won't tell us what programs and agencies he'll cut.

What a guy!

Lots of people are talking about Republican congressional candidate Steve Stivers and his proposal to repeal the 17th Amendment. Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, has worked against consumer protection in the area of mortgages. He also tried to protect the profits of those horrendous predatory lenders AKA check cashing stores. Now he wants you to lose your right to choose your own U.S. Senator. What a guy!

Stivers--- Everything kills jobs (repeat, and repeat, and repeat....)

>> This isn't a surprise --- A former bank lobbyist is against regulation.

USA Today:

"We're all for financial regulatory reform," said Steve Stivers, an Ohio Republican and former bank lobbyist running in a competitive House district that covers western Columbus. "But the form it's in, it really kills jobs."

We need to face it. Steve Stivers is against all regulations that penalize banks. He wants to give permission to bankers, financial institutions, stock brokers, and investment firms to take your money. Stivers wants these bankers to be in the driver's seat--- not the consumer.

A comment left at the bottom of the USA Today article has this:

' "We're all for financial regulatory reform," said Steve Stivers, an Ohio Republican and former bank lobbyist...'
=====================

Then why did you oppose even opening the subject to discussion.

Now you don't even let the subject be discussed, but want to claim that it isn't in the right form?

If you refuse to discuss it, it can only mean you won't accept any regulation change in any form.


Stivers uses the same excuse for everything--- "kills jobs."

1. From Stivers own campaign website, he states the following on the issue of Energy:

....What Congress has passed amounts to another tax on families and another job killer in our communities, especially here in Ohio....

2. From Stivers own campaign website, Stivers has this about Jobs:

...we must create jobs and we must fix our economy. In order to do so, Congress must take several steps. First and foremost they must stop passing legislation that kills American jobs....

3. From the Stivers Facebook page, Stivers calls the VAT tax.....

...The VAT Tax is a terrible idea that imposes a secret tax on Americans that
Democrats in Washington are considering. This new Democrat idea is another certain job killer!...

4. On healthcare reform, Stivers said....

www.stivers4congress.com

Columbus, Ohio - At time when Congress should be focused on economic recovery, they instead voted today on a government-run healthcare mandate that will kill jobs, grow the national debt and increase government ...

Here is my point--- Stivers wants to keep the status quo so that - all his bank buddies can continue to rip off our pension plans, people can remain without medical care, we continue to rely on the Middle East for our oil, coal company executives can continue to get coal and skirt safety laws, bankers can remove consumer protection laws, bankers can get million dollar bonuses while your investments lose their value, etc., etc., etc.

Steve Stivers should stop using the "job killer" phrase even though it is clearly part of the Republican talking points. Face it. We've all suffered with the job losses that were created by the mismanagement of the economy by the Bush administration. We can't lose anymore jobs! Right now, under President Obama, the economy is improving, companies are hiring, and change and improvement will create new jobs--- in health care, renewal energy, science, computer technology, etc. Stivers has to stop going negative, using fear, and protecting his banking buddies. We are sick of it!

Someone needs to print bumper stickers that show that Stivers wants to repeal the 17th amendment.
How about this---

Steve Stivers: Repeal the 17th Amendment

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* The following news was buried inside the right-leaning Columbus Dispatch:

Shane Ostrowski, a former lobbyist and Republican political consultant, is expected to plead guilty this month to possession of child pornography.

The 39-year-old Bexley resident faces up to 10 years in prison for having more than 300 pornographic images. He is expected to plead guilty in federal court May 20 to a bill of information, a court process that allows him to avoid a grand-jury indictment....

....Ostrowski was part of the Ohio team that the Republican Party sent to Florida to observe the presidential recount in 2000, was a regional field representative and political director for the Ohio GOP, ran Betty D. Montgomery's campaign for governor in 2006, and was executive director of the Virginia Republican Party....

I can see why the Dispatch hid the story.

____________

*** Apparently, Rush Limbaugh has been caught lying----again! Limbaugh said that the Times Square Bomber was a registered Democrat. As I said, Limbaugh is a fat liar.

NOTE: The Times Square Bomber is (1) not a registered voter, (2) not a registered Democrat (source: Media Matters). Media Matters actually checked with the board of elections for verification. We can all guess where Limbaugh pulled that story.

The sad part about all this is that there are morons who actually believe everything Limbaugh says.

> Since Republican Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, has stated that he wanted to repeal the 17th amendment, many voters are questioning his reasons. The 17th amendment allows voters the right to vote directly for their own U.S. Senators. You can sign a petition telling Stivers to keep his hands off the 17th amendment--- Sign the Petition. There are other petition sites on the web to protect the 17th amendment.

Just Asking

The Ohio Republican Party has given us their usual collection of candidates--- a former bank lobbyist, a former Wall Street investment banker, and the budget director for former President George W. Bush. What harm could they bring us?

What does a bank lobbyist do? A bank lobbyist is a person who works for a bank, protects the bank against laws and regulations, and lobbies state and federal government to reduce and remove consumer protection laws so that the banks can run roughshod over the rights of ordinary people.

Why should we fear a former Wall Street investment banker? Wall Streeters were playing and gambling with the money from home mortgages, individual investments, and the retirement funds of state employees, while the rest of us were left unaware of their high risk handling of our funds. As evidenced by the congressional hearings, they joked about selling of worthless funds and showed little respect for their investors, life savings, and retirement funds of the everyday people.

What does it matter if someone was the budget director in the past Republican administration? What decisions did he make as the director of the Office of Management and Budget? Did his decisions about the economy create the financial disaster we've experienced?

What does it all matter that the candidates offered by the Ohio Republican Party, Stivers, Kasich, and Portman, are right leaning, anti-worker, pro-banker individuals? Do we really want to go back to having decisions made by the "old rich white guys" of the Republican Party?

Ready, Set, Go!

Gov. Ted Strickland released his first campaign ad for his re-election. (h/t Plunderbund)

YouTube




It has been said that Ohioans don't know much about Republican John Kasich. Hopefully, now they will know more.

May 4th

Forty years ago today, I was a freshman at the Ohio State University. When we heard the news of the shootings at Kent State University, we were devastated, shocked, and very afraid. What had happened? Why did the guard open fire on the students?

Students at Ohio State were notified that campus would close on May 6, 1970, and all students had to be off campus. We all rushed to get rides home or to stay with friends. The images and emotions of those days remain with those of us who were on campuses in Ohio and across the country.

NPR has a story about the Kent State shootings along with pictures of events. LINK


*** If you see Republican candidate for Congress, Steve Stivers around the area, ask him why he wants to repeal the 17th amendment. Why does Stivers want to take away our right to vote directly for our U.S. Senators?????

And it continues...

Looks like the Steve Stivers and the 17th amendment repeal controversy is growing. As you recall, Stivers, a Republican candidate for Congress, responded to a survey by the 912Ohio group by stating he'd support repealing the 17th amendment. In other words, Stivers was in favor of having state legislatures vote for U.S. Senators, instead of regular Americans. Citizens all over the country are weighing in on Stivers support for the repeal and his reversal of his statement.

The Hill:

...The 17th Amendment provides for direct election of U.S. senators, and it turns out it isn’t too popular in the Tea Party movement. It’s a strange issue to be taking a position on, but when the base calls for something, it’s hard to say no.

And nobody knows that better than Steve Stivers...

....But after Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy’s (D-Ohio) campaign began to make an issue of that position, Stivers backed away from it in recent days...

The Hill goes on and explains that this idea of repealing the 17the amendment has been hatched by the Tea Party as a way of gaining back some states' rights. Stivers was for it, but now he is against it. By next week, he may have another opinion.

Which Candidate Will Work for You?

U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15) has announced a special scholarship.

ProgressOhio:

U.S. Representative Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15) today announced that children of military personnel who died in the line of duty since Sept. 11, 2001 can apply for an educational scholarship similar to the new Post-9/11 GI Bill due to the implementation of the “Fry Scholarship” law she helped pass in Congress last year. Benefits are retroactive to Aug. 1, 2009.

“It’s imperative to keep the promise we make to our military and their families the moment they commit to serve our country and protect us” said Kilroy. “Honoring those who have fallen by making a pledge to their families is no replacement for a father or mother, but this scholarship will give children of our fallen opportunities they deserve.”

For further information, check the Progress Ohio blog.

**** According to the FEC website, individuals who work for banks, have contributed to the Steve Stivers campaign. Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, is a Republican candidate for Congress. These individual bankers represent the banks listed below: (THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE PACs.)

Delaware County Bank
First Community Bank
Park National Bank
Comerica Inc. Bank
National City Bank
Huntington National Bank
Arlington Bank
JP Morgan Chase

There are plenty of lobbyists too. Individual contributions have been sent to Stivers from representatives employed by financial firms such as----- Ameriprise, CAMCO Financial, Stonehedge Investments, UBS, Everhart Financial Wealth Management, Diamond Hill Investments, etc.

Are you seeing a pattern here???? It appears that these bankers, lobbyists, and investment firms know a good bank lobbyist when they see one! They know Stivers will have their backs!

Stivers Flip Flops or Is He Just Confused

We have a flipflop by Republican candidate for Congress, Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist. Stivers, who has made huge efforts to get the votes of the far right 912ers, tea partiers, "patriot" groups, birthers, anti-birth control advocates, clearly flip-flopped on answers he gave to a 912 group survey.


Flyovercountry.org noted that "...Stivers folds like a cheap lawn chair..." This was in response to a question about Stivers supporting the repeal of the 17th Amendment. Stivers originally supported having members of the U.S. Senate picked by state legislators instead of by voters.

On February 11, 2010, I wrote about the the written survey that Stivers had filled out for 912ohio.com. This is part of my entry for 2/11/10 Ohio15thblogspot:

Page 2
4) Name one or more federal departments or programs that you would introduce legislation to phase out or eliminate. Explain your position.


Stivers' response:
This is a hard question, because only four Departments perform Constitutional roles. (State, Defense, Justice & Treasury), so you could eliminate the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Interior, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy and other to return to a constitutionally pure government.

One example I would eliminate is the Department of the Interior - The Department of the Interior is responsible for managing land owned by the federal government.... The Interior Department should be abolished, and those lands that have recreational or historical value should be sold or given to private conservation groups......


Page 3
4) Man-made global warming is a scientific fact and immediate action to lower CO2 emissions is necessary to prevent an environmental catastrophe.

Stivers checked Disagree.


Page 7
7) Do you believe the Bush administration was justified in using enhanced interrogation techniques as they did?

Stivers checked Yes.


8) Do you think water-boarding is torture?

Stivers checked Undecided.

_____________________________
_____________

Stivers should be careful that he doesn't go too far to the right. Will voters support someone who wants to take away their right to vote for their own U.S. Senators? I guess voters need to remember that Stivers is really interested in taking your rights away from you.

Bob Latta

* Looks like Republicans in Crawford county are talking about some recent remarks made by Rep. Bob Latta (OH-5th) at one of those meet the candidates dinners. Latta went on a rant attacking President Obama and other Democratic member of Congress, according to a blog by SteveMaloneyGOP.

Govtrack.us has these statistics for Latta:

The top campaign contribution to Latta in 2007-2008 was $20,000 from employees of National Auto Dealers Assn. Robert Latta’s net worth was between $828,025 and $2,170,000 in 2007, according to Latta’s mandated financial disclosure statements....

Of the nineteen bills sponsored by Latta in the 111th Congress, eleven of them are House Resolutions (a statement of support for a group or event).


Latta has gone over the edge in the past. On November 5, 2007, the Toledo Blade, wrote about a reprimand given to Latta by the Ohio Elections Commission:

The Ohio Elections Commission unanimously slapped congressional candidate Bob Latta with a reprimand after ruling today that his congressional campaign knowingly or recklessly lied about opponent Steve Buehrer’s positions in political flyers......

Wow. The unanimous vote shows that both Democrats and Republicans thought Latta lied. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.


*** I just discovered Buster's Blog and thought it was great:

...John Kasich watched a lot of Hogan's Heroes too. Because when he was recently asked about what role he may have played in the failure of his former employer, Lehman Brothers, Kasich immediately went into Sgt. Schultz mode:

"Nein! Nein! I know nothing! I hear nothing! I see nothing!"

That is the best comparison I've read! While Lehman Brothers was going through other people's money at a rapid pace, Kasich claims he saw nothing. It is hard to believe.