Wednesday, June 23, 2010

New Trouble For Kasich

Republican candidate for Ohio governor, John Kasich, a former investment banker with Lehman Brothers, has made several mistakes in the last few days.

Blunder #1, as reported by Politico:

Kasich Mocks Strickland's Upbringing 

...former Rep. John Kasich’s campaign to unseat Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland took direct aim at the governor’s modest origins, when spokesman Rob Nichols accused Strickland of mismanaging Ohio’s cities because he grew up “in a chicken shack on Duck Run.”

The comments came in response to a speech on urban policy by Strickland’s running mate, Yvette Brown, who recalled: “When Ted Strickland led a congregation in his small Methodist church, he put up a sign. It read, ‘Whoever you are, wherever you live, whatever color you are, you are welcome here.’” 

..."Only the congressman from Wall Street would be so out of touch as to insult Ted's humble upbringing. While Congressman Kasich may have spent a lot of time in boardrooms at Lehman Brothers and rubbing elbows with lobbyists at cocktail parties in Washington, Ohioans are looking for a Governor who will represent their values-and clearly that is not John Kasich,” she shot back....



Also,the Washington Monthly  questioned the wisdom of the Kasich campaign to joke about someone's humble beginnings: 

....As if that weren't enough, the Kasich campaign also mocked Strickland's modest upbringing the day before, saying the governor doesn't care about urban areas because he was raised "in a chicken shack on Duck Run."
Is this really where the Republican campaign wants to go? After John Kasich left Congress, he split time between Fox News and Lehman Brothers ... and now his campaign wants to insult the governor based on his modest upbringing?
DNC Chairman Tim Kaine appeared in Cleveland today, and defended Strickland: "I noticed that the other campaign yesterday ridiculed him for 'growing up in a chicken shack on Duck Run Ohio.' I don't know why they thought that's a bad thing, but maybe that's how it looks from the perspective of a Lehman Brothers consultant."
In the 21st century, it's rare, even for wealthy Republicans, to go out of their way to run a pro-elitist statewide campaign. It's curious move for a candidate whose polls seem to be moving in the wrong direction, and we'll see if this strategy works out well for Kasich...

< Blunder #2, as reported by NBC Sports has to do with Kasich's refusal to join with  Ohioans to keep LeBron James in Cleveland.

Hint: ---the picture below is from NBC Sports


 


Here is the video put up by the Strickland campaign (from Youtube):



Is this how Kasich is trying to win votes by "dissing" LeBron James and his Ohio fans?