Republicans: Proposing Disaster

* I cannot believe that Republican Mike DeWine is running for office again.  I guess he didn't get the message the last time he ran for the U.S. Senate when he was soundly defeated. (There was lots of talk about how Mike DeWine got to run for this statewide office.  Some say that Mike DeWine only got the Republican nod because his relative, Kevin DeWine, is the Chair of the Ohio GOP.  Looks like some good old fashioned Republican nepotism.)  Mike DeWine was a big supporter of President George W. Bush's policies. Here is a picture from the DeWine political album:

Mike DeWine and best friend, President George W. Bush. Are they laughing about all their free trade agreements that sent tens of thousands of Ohio jobs to China?

 

 Mike DeWine gave our jobs away because of his support of free trade policy.  Mike DeWine voted for all the free trade bills that came his way (see OnTheIssues), and he voted with Bush over 92% of the time.  There was a lot of controversy over DeWine's poor attendance on the Senate Intelligence Committee when he served in the Senate (see C &L).  You'd think that a Senator would jump at the chance to serve on such an important committee and be interested in participating in the discussions involving our national security. Others have accused Mike DeWine of  being a "rubber stamper" for Bush policies and of being lazy.


**** Did you ever hear Kasich say he worked in a "two man office in Columbus" when he worked for the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers?  Would you like to see a picture of Kasich sitting in his Lehman office in New York City?  Check this link .

>>>>  Here is a very scary thought:  Dick Morris, according to TPM, gives a suggestion to Republicans:


Republican pollster Dick Morris told conservative political activists that newly elected Republicans should shut down the government next year. Morris said the party must elect lawmakers who will stand up and say "No" to President Obama's requests for more government spending and predicted a repeat of how Republicans forced a shutdown under President Clinton after they won control of Congress.

"There's going to be a government shutdown, just like in '95 and '96 but we're going to win it this time and I'll be fightin' on your side," Morris said at the Americans for Prosperity Foundation Conference on Friday in Washington.

Now, that's not exactly campaign trail material, but it's a fascinating glimpse into what Republicans may put into action should they win back control of Congress....

Now you have it---- The do-nothing, Republican Party will no doubt close down government again, if they follow the suggestion of  Dick "Toes" Morris.

(TalkingPointsMemo explains what happened when the GOP shut down the federal government in the '90's.)


***  This was just talked about on the Rachel Maddow Show: NJ Gov. Chris Christie and the "Race to the Top" Disaster

It looks like Christie screwed up on the application for the federal government's "Race to the Top" grant project for education.
NorthJersey:

...But on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education released a video of that presentation that showed neither Schundler nor the other four people from New Jersey's delegation were able to come up with the information for the correct budget years.

Before the video was released, Christie had said he would not fire anyone over a paperwork mistake made by a "midlevel" staffer.

It's still unclear how the error was made. The New Jersey Teachers Association produced a version as of May 27 of the bungled answer — from a draft including compromises later jettisoned — that included information for the correct budget years. The NJEA said the paper proved the administration had changed it in the process of re-writing the application to take out the compromises with the state's largest teachers union, which has been Christie's most vocal combatant during his first year as governor. The application was submitted June 1....

Here is a link to the video that shows that New Jersey had an opportunity to adjust/fix their application mistakes: video. 


*****  TheHuffingtonPost:

While many House Republicans in leadership positions have shied away from embracing Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) controversial budget proposal, a handful of GOP congressional candidates are doing so while campaigning in their districts to the party faithful.
Ryan is the top Republican on the House Budget Committee and set to become chairman if his party wins back control of Congress in November. Ryan claims that his Roadmap for America's Future Act of 2010 would eliminate the long-term budget deficit. It includes sharp cuts in just about all government spending -- Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, defense, education, the FBI, etc.

With so many top Republicans reluctant to name any painful spending cuts they would push in order to reduce America's deficit, it's not surprising that they have therefore been reluctant to endorse Ryan's "Roadmap." So far, there are just 13 co-sponsors to his plan....

Matthew Yglesias at Think Progress has more on Ryan's plan, which is described this way---

 Paul Ryan has gone where I thought no Republican would dare to tread and put out an alternative budget proposal that would, in fact, balance the budget over the long term. Part of the program is draconian real cuts in all domestic programs—less money for Pell Grants, less money for local schools, less money for the FBI, less money for job training, less money for National Institutes of Health research, less money for food stamps, etc. And part of the program is cuts in Social Security...
 
..In other words, Ryan is proposing to ration care for seniors.... 

Republican Rep. Paul Ryan wants to throw Grandma and Grandpa out on the street, and cut everything that helps improve our lives ---  college grants, job training, education, health and safety protection, etc., etc. 

Don't say I didn't warn you!!!!!!