Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Do the Republicans make you feel queasy?

The stakes are high in this election. Will the Republicans win and take us back to the failed policies of the last Republican administration??  Do we need more tax cuts for the rich? Will the Republicans try to end Social Security? Here is my list of issues/stories to watch:


(1) The Republicans and their "fringe" still have no plans on how to fix the economic mess left by the Bush administration. The far right and their supporting cast (Sharron Angle, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Fox News, John Cornyn, Louis Gohmert, WND, Laura Ingraham, etc.) have called some Democratic candidates Socialists, terrorists, and other harsher names. This name calling by the far right is part of their political strategy.  This way they avoid having to come up with any ideas of their own other than tax cuts for the rich. The Republicans are just like the bullies on the playground---- only older.


(2) The Columbus Dispatch had an article about the campaign for Ohio's 15th congressional district.  Democrat, Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, is once again facing Republican, Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist. The Dispatch article today had this to say about Stivers:


...Stivers worked as a top lobbyist for one of those companies - Banc One Ohio Corp. - before it was absorbed into a larger company... 

The Dispatch called him a "top lobbyist" ---- not just a regular bank lobbyist. Very interesting.

Stivers has been staying out of sight. He must be attending more of those "private fundraising parties" with lobbyists and bankers.


(3) Rand Paul, Senate candidate in Kentucky, is against federal government mine safety rules and notes that "accidents happen," when referring to mining disasters. Why is Rand Paul so willing to  sacrifice miners' lives?
 

(4) Many people believe that the fall of John Kasich's former employer, Lehman Brothers, caused a domino effect in the global financial market. Has anyone asked Kasich if he knew about the "repo" stuff that went on at Lehman's?


(5) Dayton Daily News reports that ---

...Kasich was paid $50,000 a year for roughly one to four visits a month. He served as a guest lecturer and worked with the university’s Mount Scholars, a select group of students who do public service projects as part of their degree program. 

By comparison, full-time assistant professors at Ohio State had an average base salary of $64,410.86 as of June 2008, according to the Buckeye Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank that posts government salaries in an online database. Associate professors had a base salary of $78,543.53, and full professors $117,020.50....


Here is one more tidbit from the DDN:
...astronaut and former Democratic U.S. Sen. John Glenn also receives no compensation for his role at the university, which has included giving talks, serving as an adjunct professor and meeting with students....

OMG. John Glenn gets nothing?????   That $50,000 per year for Kasich is a lot of money to pay for a pompous, self-centered, greedy, fool.


(6) Can someone explain why John Ensign and David Vitter haven't faced ethics charges for their behavior or is this acceptable for the "family values" Republicans? Do the Republicans endorse Ensign's affair and the pay off of the family of the mistress? (see Politico)  Do the Republicans endorse Vitter's propensity to visit hookers? (see NOLA)


(7) Why is the group, Americans for Prosperity, hitting the tv/radio outlets with their pro-Republican propaganda?  The Americans for Prosperity are for the Republican agenda---- anti-Social Security, anti-teacher, pro-Wall Street, pro-Lehman Brothers, pro-tax cuts for the rich, anti-regulations, etc.  They are for their OWN prosperity.





(8) Great list of What You Should Know About Rob Portman (LINK):



Fact 1: In Congress, he voted for more than $30 billion in tax breaks for companies outsourcing American jobs -- and while he was George Bush’s trade czar, our trade deficit with China soared by $41 billion.




Fact 2: He has taken more money from lobbyists than any other Republican candidate in the country. He’s pulled in more than $125,000 in oil and gas industry contributions during this election cycle alone -- and he has remained silent on the BP oil spill that has dumped millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf.





Fact 3: He wants to repeal health care reform that will ensure affordable coverage options for 1.4 million Ohioans.


 Fact 4: He was a key supporter of George Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security, saying that Bush 'demonstrated political courage and leadership on this issue.'







Fact 5: When he took over as Bush’s budget director, he said he’d cut the $250 billion budget deficit in half. Two years later, under his watch, it had nearly doubled at $450 billion.

Rob Portman = George W. Bush



The Republicans do make you sick to your stomach. We've tried their policies and we are still cleaning up after them.