Kasich Still Going After Workers

If you live in Ohio, you remember the ugly fight Gov. John Kasich and the Republican waged against Ohio's workers in the form of SB 5. Did you really think that Kasich and the Republicans got the message from Ohio voters when Issue 2/SB 5 was defeated? No.
Kasich, the Ohio GOP, and their powerful business buddies are pushing "right to work" legislation for the state.  Kasich wants you to have the "right to work" for less.

Plunderbund:

Republican State Rep Ron Maag is looking for cosponsors for an anti-union, Right to Work bill he plans to introduce in the Ohio House.
Maag’s “Workplace Freedom” bill will deal only with public sector unions and will “remove any requirement under the Public Employees Collective Bargaining Law that public employees join or pay dues to any employee organization and prohibits public employers from requiring public employees to join or pay dues to any employee organization.”
In early 2011, Maag voted for Senate Bill 5, which would have decimated collective bargaining rights for Ohio’s public sector workers.  The bill sparked a huge pro-labor backlash.  The law was overturned by referendum.

Of course, Ron Maag has ties to ALEC, the Koch sponsored anti-worker, pro-business group. The text of the legislation is linked here.

>>> The MaddowBlog has more on Republican efforts to eliminate younger voters.

MaddowBlog:

...Now Republicans in Ohio have come up with a new approach. In Ohio, eight of the 14 public universities routinely provide students with documents that make it possible for them to register to vote at school. But in the state House, Republicans are pushing a budget amendment (pdf) requiring schools that issue those documents to charge the student only in-state tuition, even if the student otherwise would pay the higher out-of-state rate. Under Ohio's scheme, the student votes and the school gets punished.

State Senator Nina Turner says the measure would give universities an incentive to make it harder for students to vote:

"[T]o force Ohio’s universities to do the dirty work of voter suppression is unconscionable."

Ohio's Republicans just hate those young Democratic college students!

Wait!!!!!  One more thing!!!!  
Gov. John Kasich's big deal with Diebold has gone down the toilet. Kasich promised Diebold $100 million of our money in return for jobs in Ohio.  Apparently, Diebold broke those promises and Plunderbund has the info here.

Expect More DeWine Press Conferences

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine appears regularly on local TV news.  He seems to have gotten obsessive about trying to get free p.r. with one press conference or another.  He might actually appear on TV more than a Kardashian!

Mike DeWine has made some slip ups and they've been noted by Plunderbund:

....DeWine’s past mistakes are many:

• His interpretation of state law related to the Highway Patrol put rank and file troopers at risk of litigation and required a new law to fix the problem.
• His misunderstanding about reporting felonies likely means the three most complicit witnesses in the Steubenville rape will never be charged with a crime.
• His multiple bad calls on voting rights laws caused DeWine to hire expensive out-of-state lawyers to argue in favor of restricting voting access only to lose multiple appeals on multiple cases.

Mike DeWine has also received criticism for his views on other issues---

> Abortion-
Politifact took Mike DeWine's statement, checked it, and found it "..Mostly False":

...DeWine appeared Feb. 20 on MSNBC’s "The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell" and was asked about Santorum’s assertion that amniocentesis, a prenatal screening test, directly leads to an increase in the number of abortions. Santorum had made the claim earlier that day on the campaign trail in Ohio.

Would DeWine advise Santorum to stop talking about amniocentesis, O’Donnell asked. DeWine responded he would not, adding that Santorum was correct.
"The fact is 90-percent of Down syndrome children were aborted in this country," DeWine responded...

As I've noted, Politifact called DeWine's statement as "..Mostly False".

> Women's Insurance Coverage for Contraception:
MaddowBlog:

...we saw in this Columbus Dispatch report over the weekend (via Taegan Goddard).

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine signed a letter this week to Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services, urging that an exemption to the coverage mandate extended to certain nonprofit religious organizations be broadened to include private employers who object to contraception for religious reasons.
DeWine said last night that requiring business owners to include prescriptions such as the morning-after pill, which critics say are abortive, as an employee insurance benefit could be a "direct contradiction" to the religious beliefs of some employers.

DeWine, a U.S. senator before his 2006 defeat, argued, "They're being forced to provide insurance coverage that violates their religious beliefs. They're being forced to provide insurance coverage for a form of abortion. To me, it's a religious-freedom issue."


In Mike DeWine's world, the more powerful get to force their beliefs on others.

In the news....

****  Ohio Democrat Ed Fitzgerald had a few things to say about Republican Gov. John Kasich's budget.

AthensNews:

...FitzGerald, currently the county executive for Cuyahoga County, called Kasich's efforts to balance the state budget at the expense of local government funds for cities and counties a "fraud," whose effects he can clearly see as the top official in one of Ohio's biggest counties....

...One state program that worries him in this regard, he said, is JobsOhio, the privatized economic development agency Kasich created. Earlier this year, it was reported that the agency had repaid the state $8.4 million in taxpayer dollars that had subsidized it for about its first year and half of existence. Before that, JobsOhio had been in a dispute with Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost, over the auditor's authority to inspect its private finances.

"I think the JobsOhio situation is just a walking disaster," FitzGerald said. "It's just so ill-conceived." He predicted that the agency is headed for more problems in the way it handles public moneys – "It's not even a question of if; it's a question of when."

That is just a small bit of information in the article. To read about what Kasich had planned with SB5, read the article at AthensNews. 

• • • • • • •

News from the ToledoBlade:

...According to a recent Quinnipiac Poll, Ohioans favor legalization of gay marriage 48 to 44 percent. Ohio women support it 52 to 40 percent.

On gun control, 84 percent of Ohio voters, including 80 percent of voters in households with guns, support universal background checks for gun buyers.

Those are telling numbers, suggesting that Mr. Portman ignored the overwhelming will of Ohio’s people when he opposed expanding background checks for potential gun buyers. Mr. Portman changed his mind on gay marriage when it touched him personally. Maybe he needs to go to the inner city in Toledo or Dayton and talk to mothers who have lost children to gun violence....

Republicans enjoy the money from the NRA and pro-gun groups. The opinions of citizens are not important to Portman and his fellow Republicans.

------

>>> Do you need further proof that the Columbus Dispatch is a right wing, conservative, propaganda machine? The Saturday, April 27th, edition had the guest columns of two conservative talking heads: Jeb Bush and Seth Morgan. Both men promote giving tax money to charter schools.

...

>> Those ads on TV that promote online learning are being challenge by research. In an article at Raw Story, Online Education Is Mostly A Fantasy, evidence shows that online learning is only successful for highly motivated students, and.....

RawStory:
.....Studies have shown that a fixed structure and the sense of belonging that comes from a student body improve completion rates. Allowing students to study on their own removes these components of the support system resulting in lower rates of course completion.....

In Ohio, online K-12 programs have dismal graduation statistics. But don't worry. Our Republican governor and legislators want to provide the corporations that own them with even more money. Some corporations and their stockholders are getting rich while students fail.

News to Use....

** Ohioans will face new school levies and bond issues because of cuts to education and local municipalities. Which elected official cut money to schools, cities, counties, safety forces, etc.?  Republican Gov. John Kasich made massive cuts to programs and this will cause taxpayers to pay out more so that local government and schools can operate. Teachers, police, and fire fighters are being laid off across the state all thanks to Kasich. Shame. Ohio's needs honesty and a new direction. We need someone that respects the middle class---not Kasich.

•••••••

* What is the matter with background checks for gun ownership? It might not be the perfect solution to prevent future Sandy Hooks, but it is a step in the right direction.

Here is a presentation on the U.S. Senators that voted against background checks:
TheyDon'tWorkforYou.  Notice that Ohio's Sen. Rob Portman is one of those listed.

------

>>>> Ohio Republicans are obviously working for those that contributed to their campaigns. In legislation that could have been written by beer distributors that supported Republicans, one of Ohio's biggest employers is on the losing end of legislation.

Dispatch:

One of the oddest Statehouse spectacles in recent years — a beer bill being put on hold after it passed both branches of the legislature unanimously — apparently is coming to an end.

Gov. John Kasich said he likely will sign the measure, pushed through a committee and both houses in only four hours last week, that whacks Anheuser-Busch InBev in favor of beer wholesalers that gave more than $600,000 to lawmakers’ 2012 campaigns.....

In Ohio, Republicans let their contributors control legislation.


>  Congress is working on getting furloughed air traffic controller back to work. When will they work on re-hiring food inspectors, funding Meals on Wheels, WIC, college programs, chemotherapy, etc.?

GOP Sequestration Math Flawed

* Last night Chris Hayes exposed how an error was made on the calculation used by GOPers to promote their plan for austerity and sequestration---
MSNBC  has the video.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Free Rent???

This Week News has exposed a special privilege that the City of Hilliard is giving to Republican Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15th).

ThisWeek:

Hilliard City Council members acted April 22 to temporarily provide free rent to U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Columbus), who has leased Hilliard's former police headquarters as his office for constituents since 2011.

The lease between Stivers and Hilliard included a provision for rent reduction in the event that federal budget cuts, or sequestration, resulted in a reduction to Stivers' representational allowances.....

Please!  Somehow this just doesn't seem right, ethical, or fair. What does the Hilliard City Council hope to gain from this arrangement?  Do other members of congress get free rent?

Values & Priorities

Are your priorities, and values different from those of Gov. Kasich and the Ohio Republicans?  I bet they are.

* In a post at the Beacon Journal, the writer shows evidence on how the Ohio Republicans just don't care about the state's poor. Isn't it time for Ohioans to vote out the right wing, tea party-influenced, anti-middle class, anti-worker, anti-women's rights, anti-public school, pro-corporate, pro-privatization, radical Republicans? Yes it is time, and we can start by looking to Democrat Ed Fitzgerald to provide a path away from the self-absorbed radicalism of the GOP.

> At Ed Fitzgerald's campaign website, there is this explanation on Ed's views on protecting Ohio's workers:

...From our factory floors to our school rooms, Ed stands firm with Ohio’s workers...

Ed’s plan: Stand with workers. Plain and simple. 

Ed wants Ohio’s state government on the side of the people. As Governor, he’d put workers over corporations, middle class families over millionaires. Ohio belongs to all of us, not just big corporations and millionaires — and we all have a role to play in shaping its future.

Today, Ed Fitzgerald announces his campaign to run for Ohio Governor. As the website reminds us, Kasich gave us SB 5. I believe that Kasich showed his disdain for workers, and the middle class with SB 5.


**** Are there problems within the Ohio GOP?  10TV reports that Matt Borges, Kasich's pick for Chair of the Ohio Republican Party, is receiving criticism and losing support from GOP leaders across the state.  Why do you think they are reluctant to support Borges?  Is it the back taxes that he owed? Was it Matt Borges and his association with Joe Deters? Was it because Borges "..pleaded guilty to one count of improper use of public office..."  in 2004? 

No matter how you look at it, the Ohio Republicans are wrong on just about everything.

Bad Numbers in Ohio

* Ohio lost over 20,000 jobs in March 2013. That is astounding! 

PlainDealer:

Ohio lost 20,400 jobs in March, more than any other state, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday. 

The decrease comes a month after Ohio reported a healthy 16,100 gain in jobs in February....

....George Zeller of Cleveland, an economic research analyst, said posting such a large job loss now is alarming....

Gov. John Kasich has gotten his way in restructuring how Ohio brings jobs to the state. In the process, Gov. Kasich has left the public out of the business deals, agreements, and financial transactions that he and his hand-picked administrators have made. In the super secret world of Gov. Kasich, we might never know about the "development deals" made behind closed doors.

> Looks like there is more trouble for Kasich's handpicked leader for the Ohio GOP, Matt Borges.

Examiner:

....In separate news Monday, the AP reported that Attorney General Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Jon Husted, both Republicans, expressed disappointment that Borges had not made them aware of the liens before he sought their backing. Borges’ attorney said his client owes $168,161 in federal taxes and $4,198 to the state following a recent adjustment. Others say the dollar numbers are far higher....

Holy cow!  How does one owe that amount of money in taxes and still be able to represent a political party???? Oh, wait! Now I remember---We are talking about the Ohio Republicans!!!!

News Items

* U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (OH-R) voted "NO" on background check last week in the Senate. He just wants you to know that the NRA had absolutely nothing to do with his vote, according to an article in the PlainDealer.  Of course, Portman doesn't want you to remember that he was endorsed by the NRA in 2010.

* The police, FBI, ATF, and other law enforcement did an incredible job last week in Massachusetts.  Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and the entire population of the state for what they've endured over the last week.

**** Speaking of the ATF (alcohol, tobacco, firearms)....
Why are Republicans in the U.S. Senate still blocking the vote to confirm a director of the ATF?   Is Sen. Chuck Grassley the person responsible for holding up the ATF director's confirmation? Ask Sen. Grassley at: https://www.facebook.com/grassley  or http://www.grassley.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm or on Twitter @chuckgrassley.

--------

>>>  Today is Earth Day. I remember the first celebration of Earth Day in 1970 at the Ohio State University. If you want to read more about how we can preserve our planet, visit the EarthDay web site.

*****  Democrat Ed Fitzgerald plans to announce his candidacy for Ohio Governor. Ed Fitzgerald will need all of our help to defeat Kasich.

****

*The next time Republicans start talking about cutting regulations, remind them of what happened in the fertilizer plan in Texas, and the alleged lack of obeying regulations.

>>> There is a must read by Luke Brockmeier at Plunderbund.  The article explains how the Republicans have moved to increase infant mortality in Ohio.

Every Republican voted to pass a state budget that won’t add jobs, but will add to the infant mortality rate.....

....Ohio has the 11th-highest infant mortality rate, and the highest infant mortality rate for African-Americans, in the United States. Higher than neighboring states. Higher among African-Americans than Mississippi and Alabama....

...Republicans are so obsessed with attacking Ohio’s women that they will actively and knowingly take strides to increase infant mortality in the process. The Senate needs to fix these provisions and send a sensible budget along–or else the governor needs to veto the budget.

Otherwise, John Kasich will be held accountable for Ohio’s abysmal and depressing infant mortality rate.

Read the entire post at Plunderbund to get a fix on the statistics on the health of the poor in our state.

If Republicans are so pro-life, why do they block every effort to feed children, help women receive gynecological care, and assist the poor with medical care?  There is nothing pro-life in your actions when you stop providing for those that are living.

The Shame

Shame on those U.S. Senators that caved to the interests of the NRA instead of listening to the American people. The Senators that voted "NO" on Senate Amendment 715 are listed below in the information from the Senate website:

NAYs ---46
Alexander (R-TN) Ayotte (R-NH) Barrasso (R-WY) Baucus (D-MT) Begich (D-AK) Blunt (R-MO) Boozman (R-AR) Burr (R-NC) Chambliss (R-GA) Coats (R-IN) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID) Cruz (R-TX)	Enzi (R-WY) Fischer (R-NE) Flake (R-AZ) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Hatch (R-UT) Heitkamp (D-ND) Heller (R-NV) Hoeven (R-ND) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE) Johnson (R-WI) Lee (R-UT) McConnell (R-KY) Moran (R-KS)	Murkowski (R-AK) Paul (R-KY) Portman (R-OH) Pryor (D-AR) Reid (D-NV) Risch (R-ID) Roberts (R-KS) Rubio (R-FL) Scott (R-SC) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Thune (R-SD) Vitter (R-LA) Wicker (R-MS)

Abstinence Education Increases Pregnancy Rates

*  Ohio Republicans want teachers to publicly endorse their support for abstinence education.

Cincinnati.com:

A Republican-dominated Ohio House panel has cleared the state budget on a party-line vote after making changes to restrict what's taught in health-education classes.....

....The panel added a provision to prohibit teachers from distributing contraceptives on school property and to require them to endorse abstinence as the only acceptable way to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases....

Why should teachers endorse a program that fails? What will the Ohio Republicans in the General Assembly support next? Chastity belts? Dial telephones?  Horse drawn carriages? Kitchen middens? Yes, folks, the Ohio Republicans are moving in one direction----- backwards.

In case you want to send Ohio Republicans some reading material on the failures of abstinence education, here are a few selected web links:

WashingtonPost  JournalofAdolescentHealth  ThinkProgress    ABC News  NBC News

 - - - - - - - -

* Is a Republican elected official taking care of his own?

ZanesvilleTimesRecorder:

The Ohio House has slipped a provision into the state budget exempting charitable fraternal organizations at least a century old from property taxes....

....The website of the Masons’ Grand Lodge of Ohio attributes the fraternal organization tax amendment to House Speaker William Batchelder, a Medina Republican. They identify “Brother Batchelder” as an active member and say the tax break would allow more money to be spent on charity statewide....

...The web posting said state Sen. Jim Hughes, also a Mason, offered a similar tax break proposal several years ago as a state representative. The bill was approved by the House but died in the Senate....

Carving out a portion of legislation to take care of a group, club, or organization that doesn't allow everyone to join is wrong, unethical, and scandalous.

•••••••••••

>>> Ohio's rich are doing better.
Bizjournals:

The number of millionaires in Ohio is on its way up again following the Great Recession, according to an analysis by the Dayton Daily News.

Almost 6,300 Ohio taxpayers made more than $1 million in 2011, which is an increase of 40 percent since 2009....

...On the flip side, more than 7 in 10 taxpayers earned $60,000 or less in 2011. Another 25 percent earned $60,000 to $175,000....

With Kasich's help, those millionaires will pay less in taxes.

Ohio's Republicans At It Again

* Just when you thought Ohio's Republicans might be moving forward, they remind you that they are still Neanderthals.  Here is the evidence as provided by Innovation Ohio:

Today, Republicans on the Ohio House Finance Committee voted to adopt changes to the two-year state budget that will significantly restrict the teaching of sexual education in the state, mandating an abstinence-only approach.
According to a description provided by the Committee Chairman, Representative Ron Amstutz, the measure would:
      
prohibit the teaching of sexual education coursework that endorses non-abstinence as   an acceptable behavior or promotes sexual gateway activity....

Wow! Republicans are endorsing and promoting abstinence education---- a totally worthless, unreliable, unscientific, right wing religious, program that provides students with nothing.  Thank you, Ohio Republicans, for continuing to confirm the fact that you don't live in the real world like the rest of us do.

Monday's News

* Why are the right wing pundits now attacking the families of those killed at Sandy Hook? It just makes me ill. Hannity, Limbaugh, and others are just heartless a******s. The Progressive Professor has it right.

*** Plunderbund points out that Ohio's newspapers are just now learning what the rest of us already knew-----Gov. John Kasich is a failure.

Plunderbund:

...Kasich said, “you have to take responsibility… you have to lead”.   And with this budget, he’s done neither.

It is time to have a real leader govern our state, not someone like Kasich and the GOP that just follow the prescribed legislative agenda of the Koch Brothers, Americans for (their own) Prosperity,  and Grover Norquist. Ohioans should demand a governor that puts the middle class, education, and families first. Ohio's tax money and government does not exist for the pleasure of business owners and the friends of the governor.

By the way, if you are not reading Plunderbund on a regular basis, you just are out of the loop as to what is really happening in Ohio.

>>>>>  Which of Ohio's elected members of the U.S. House has this on his campaign website:

...As a proud card-carrying member of the NRA, I am and will continue to be a strong defender of our Second Amendment rights afforded to us in the United States Constitution. While in the Ohio Senate, I cosponsored the Castle Doctrine, was a cosponsor of Ohio's concealed carry law and I supported educational programs about the use of firearms, marksmanship, and safety.  As a Member of Congress I have supported Second Amendment rights by:

• Voting for and cosponsoring legislation to allow for reciprocity across state lines for concealed carry,
• Voting for legislation to stop the National Institutes of Health from using taxpayer's money for studies designed to make legal gun ownership seem like a public health hazard or to promote gun control,
• Signing on as a cosponsor of legislation to prohibit the Army Corps of Engineers from banning firearms on water resources lands, and
• Signing on as a cosponsor of legislation to allow collectible firearms to be imported into the U.S. without the approval of the Department of State or the Department of Defense....  

Apparently, Steve Stivers is more interested in protecting the NRA than our children.

***

•••••• The Republicans and their sequestration demands are changing cancer treatment.
Dispatch:

Cancer clinics in Ohio are facing the alarming possibility of having to send Medicare patients elsewhere to receive the treatment they need to stay alive.

The problem: The mandatory federal budget cuts of $85 billion that began March 1 slashed 2 percent from Medicare providers, including cuts to drug reimbursements.

Those cuts were far smaller than cuts to other federal agencies, but for cancer clinics they are debilitating....

If you are a cancer patient or have a family member with the disease, their treatment will be altered because of these cuts. Hospitals will not be able to accommodate all of the patients. Which patients will have to wait, and possibly die while waiting for treatment?

A Woman's Privacy and Freedom

Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, the failed vice presidential candidate, has decided that he and others should have a say in your private business.

ABC News:

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.,  called for anti-abortion rights advocates to reach out to pro-abortion rights advocates Thursday evening, making him the latest Republican to urge like-minded voters to be open to a group not traditionally viewed  as conservative.

“To advance the pro-life cause, we need to work with people who consider themselves pro-choice, because our task isn’t to purge our ranks. It’s to grow them,” Ryan said at a D.C.  gala for the  Susan B. Anthony List,  a political action committee  that helps anti-abortion candidates get elected to Congress....

“We don’t want a country where abortion is simply outlawed,” Ryan said. “We want a country where it isn’t even considered.”

Paul Ryan obviously thinks that a woman who was raped should be forced to continue a pregnancy. PoliticsUSA even suggests that Paul Ryan would give rights to rapists instead of to a rape victim. Why are Republicans like Paul Ryan for privacy, and freedom, except when it comes to a woman's privacy and freedom?

>>> Ohio's right wing Republican Sen. Rob Portman voted to block debate on gun restrictions, according to the DaytonDailyNews. Shame on Rob Portman for protecting gun lobbyists instead of our families.  Why is Portman afraid of even having a discussion about guns?

• • • •

**** Awkward!!!!  Another Republican Sen. Rand Paul gave a very, very awkward speech at Howard University this week. 
HuffingtonPost:

During an appearance at Howard University on Wednesday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) made misleading claims about his past support for the 1964 Civil Rights Act. 

“I’ve never wavered in my support for civil rights or the Civil Rights Act," he said, speaking at the traditionally black school. "The dispute, if there is one, has always been about how much of the remedy should come under federal, or state, or private purview."

But that's just not true. In 2010, as a Senate candidate, Paul came under fire for a series of comments he made criticizing the Civil Rights Act....

HuffPost links the video from ThinkProgress on Rand Paul's original comments on how he wouldn't have supported the Civil Rights Act.

This is a potential presidential candidate for the Republicans in 2016????? OMG.

••••••••

>>>> DailyKos has picked up on the Ohio GOP fights happening between Gov. John Kasich and his Republican sheeple in the Ohio General Assembly. Chances are, they will all cave to their almighty, King John Kasich.

Kasich Not Helping

Ohio school districts are looking over the new grading system instituted by Gov. John Kasich.

CantonRep:
If the state’s new way of grading schools had been in effect when the 2011-12 report cards were released, Canton City’s optimistic-sounding rating of “Continuous Improvement” would have been a slate of C’s, D’s and F’s....

...Canton City Schools Superintendent Adrian Allison said he was not surprised by the letter grades, but “not 100 percent sure they are a reflection of what we do.”

His staff, he said, work to overcome both academic and non-academic barriers....

StateImpact notes that these new grades for districts exposes something else:

Last week we told you that projections show under the new school report cards most charter schools in the state would get F’s.

It turns out the Urban 8 districts would perform just as poorly – if not worse – in many areas....

Will Gov. Kasich and the Republicans help those under performing schools or continue to take funds away from schools to finance his pet projects? Since a majority of Ohio's students attend traditional public schools, Kasich's plan to take more money away from them to give to charters is completely ridiculous. Then again, most of what has been in Kasich's agenda has been outrageous, including the super secret JobsOhio.

*** If you are working a minimum wage job, and having difficulty making ends meet, do not seek understanding from Republican Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15). He just doesn't care about your problems because he is more concerned about businesses, bankers, and the wealthy. In a story posted at 10TV, Steve Stivers responded in the following way:

...Republican Congressman Steve Stivers says increasing the minimum wage isn’t necessary.

"I generally believe market forces set wages really well," said Stivers....

Now that Stivers has moved up to the fancy suburb of Upper Arlington, and has the support of far right business PACs, he doesn't care that much about the middle class and those surviving on minimum wage.  A quick look at OpenSecrets reveals that Steve Stivers has received a majority of his campaign committee funds from PACs:

Cycle Source of Funds, 2011-2012, Campaign Cmte only

	Individual Contributions  - Small Individual Contributions  - Large Individual Contributions	$1,268,592 $40,377 (1%) $1,228,215 (45%)	(46%)
	PAC Contributions	$1,450,228	(53%)
	Candidate self-financing	$0	(0%)
	Other	$29,538	(1%)

Steve Stivers and the rest of the Republicans only feel the need to hear from you at election time.  Until then, forget about it.

Rep. Steve Stivers continues to have the endorsement of the NRA on his campaign website. Does Stivers support the NRA and the far right, pro-gun mantra? Does Stivers care that 90% of Americans support background checks for gun ownership? Call Stivers at one of his office and tell him to support background checks:  

(202) 225-2015 - Fax (202) 225-3529

 or  

(614) 771-4968 - Fax (614) 771-3990  

or 

 (740) 654-2654 - Fax (740) 654-2482  

 or  

(937) 283-7049 - Fax (937) 283-7052

Public on Losing End

* Gov. John Kasich is the latest recipient of the "Pants on Fire" award from Politifact Ohio for his claim that his plan for the Ohio Turnpike would lower tolls. Kasich is lucky that he doesn't resemble Pinnochio.

Kasich's budget cuts to public schools in Ohio have more school districts going to voters in the form of school levies.  The Dispatch has the details.

Kasich has celebrated his planned income tax cuts. However, not everyone agrees with Kasich, as the Dayton Daily News explains:

...Some economists disagree, saying the cost of a tax cut is better spent on state services, and income tax cuts have not led to more business growth.

“(Income tax cuts) are always sold as the magical elixir that fixes everything and it never pans out that way,” said Michael Mazerov of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a national left of center think tank that analyzes tax issues.

Mazerov said companies rarely move or choose to expand out of state, but consider factors such as nearby professional contacts and infrastructure. He said revenue lost from income tax cuts would be better put to use on education and infrastructure improvements....

Gov. Kasich's planned hand outs for the rich won't do anything to help the middle class or school children.

How about some honest answers?

* Can Ohio Gov. John Kasich answer a direct question? Kasich's lack of response during his appearance at the Cleveland Press Club leaves us wondering....

Dispatch:

....One of the questions to Kasich came from a woman who asked for his stance on Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s support for a federal exemption for businesses that do not want to pay for insurance coverage for contraceptives for religious reasons.

“I’ve never heard of this before,” Kasich said. “Ma’am, I don’t know. I don’t want to get into answering something until I have full knowledge of what’s being talked about.”

....In a statement released after Kasich’s speech, Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said......
“Women deserve to know where you stand. Do you think women deserve the right to determine the health care they need or do you think their employer should?”

Don't hold your breath waiting for an answer from Kasich. Unfortunately, not one member of the press in the state has the b***s to demand an answer from the Governor. 

I totally agree with the OhioDailyBlog's assessment of Gov. John Kasich's performance at the Cleveland event:

Our Governor Is An Idiot. Still

Our governor, Taxin' John Kasich, appeared at the City Club of Cleveland today. He was asked whether he agrees with attorney general Mike DeWine's little crusade to allow private employers — not religious institutions — deprive women of access to reproductive health care in insurance provided through the employer....

Wow. Mike DeWine would allow a private employer, most likely headed by a male, to decide whether it was against his own religious beliefs to cover a female employee's reproductive care. Mike DeWine obviously wants to treat women as second class citizens and wants employers to do the same. Ohio's Republicans like Mike DeWine and John Kasich have no right to interfere in a woman's reproductive decisions or health care.

Same Old Story

> Republican Jean Schmidt of Ohio is in the news, and once again it isn't good.
Dayton Daily News:

Former U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, has avoided an order to repay roughly $500,000 that the House Ethics Committee ruled she wrongly accepted in legal fees from a Turkish-American group.

The order stems from a U.S. House committee ruling that Schmidt violated House rules when she let the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund pay for a slew of legal battles against her 2008 Democratic opponent David Krikorian....

...Schmidt’s final financial disclosure statement filed in March states she owes three legal firms — two named as being paid by the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund in the committee report — between $515,000 and $1,050,000 combined....

As the article notes, Schmidt does not need to pay these bills now that she is no longer in Congress.  However, this case may still be litigated by the law firms and/or election commissions.


* Gov. John Kasich continues to claim that the new jobs in Ohio had nothing to do with President Obama's auto rescue plan. A few months ago, Kasich dissed the auto bailout plan and the resulting jobs.

The Hill:

...Kasich, a Republican and supporter of Mitt Romney, said that the rescue of auto companies accounted for just 400 of the 112,000 new jobs that have come to Ohio since early last year...

What b.s.! John Kasich will do anything he can to diminish the success of Obama auto revival plan. Kasich also fails to note the jobs related to suppliers, transportation, and other industries  tied to the auto industry in Ohio.

•••• Ohio Treasurer and far right Republican, Josh Mandel, has started to collect campaign contributions for his re-election campaign. Mandel, who was trounced by Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown last fall, has been on the road in Ohio visiting the Republican dinner circuits in the state.  Mandel's arrogance, lack of depth on issues, and anti-middle class rants, have not stopped him from exploring his political ambitions.

DaytonDailyNews:

Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel has received the support of Citizens United, a conservative nonprofit best known for its 2010 U.S. Supreme Court case. 

The Citizens United Political Victory Fund pledged $11,500 to Mandel’s state campaign — the most of the 18 politicians it announced it supports in the 2014 election cycle . Mandel has said he intends to run for reelection to the treasurer’s office... 

Mandel is only interested in himself and his far right benefactors. He has little if any support for the working men and women of Ohio as was demonstrated by his support of
SB 5/Issue 2.

Republicans- Still Neanderthals

> A majority of Americans support a path to citizenship (h/t DailyKos).  The WashingtonPost  has poll results:

Nearly six in 10 Americans support a path to citizenship for undocumented workers in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, but that number is drastically lower among self-identified Republicans  – evidence of the political peril for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and other GOP politicians involved in the negotiations on a compromise immigration bill.

Just 35 percent of Republicans support the idea of a path to citizenship while 60 percent oppose it in the Post-ABC poll, which was produced by Capital Insight. Among self-described “conservative Republicans,” the numbers are even more negative toward a path, with just 30 percent supporting the idea. And, Republican support is waning — ticking down seven points since a Post-ABC survey in February.

At the same time, Democratic support is reaching new highs — moving up to 73 percent from 68 percent in February — and more than eight in ten (84 percent) self-identified liberal Democrats...
Once again Republicans demonstrate their inability to be open, inclusive, forward-thinking, decent human beings..

********

If you need another example of a backward-thinking Republican, I present Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. When he was a member of the U. S Senate, Mike DeWine was a right wing, faithful, obedient follower of President George W. Bush. Now Mike DeWine continues his right wing campaign as he tries to eliminate women's health decisions. Plunderbund has the ugly details.

Mike DeWine and the Republicans are always talking about freedom. However, if you are a woman, or gay, new to this country, poor, old, young, or not one of the Republican  supporters, they want to limit your freedom to decide, to vote, be employed, be educated, etc. I just wish Mike DeWine, Kasich, and the rest of the GOP would stop worrying about people's reproductive parts because it is just plain weird.

--------

>>>  Gov. John Kasich is squarely to blame for the layoffs, cuts to services/schools, and confusion in communities across Ohio. Kasich's budget has cut even more money from cities/counties in Ohio than in previous budgets. Citybeat has the sad results of Kasich's cuts.

Get Ready....

>>>> The Pulse reports that contributing money to the Kasich campaign will get you a job on a board, even if you have no relationship with the school for which you'll serve.

ThePulse:

....Kasich has appointed his own donors at eight out of eleven university boards across the state examined by the Pulse. Of those eight schools, three – including Ohio State – have only received Kasich donors as new board members since 2011.

Kasich’s three donors placed on the OSU board donated a combined total of over $32,000 to his campaign in 2010, with all three giving at least $10,000 each. At the University of Cincinnati, all three Kasich appointees to the university’s board donated a total of over $17,000 to his 2010 campaign, with two of those donors donating over $15,000 more to his 2014 reelection campaign in December 2012.

Under Ohio law, the governor is allowed to appoint trustees to state college and university boards with the approval of the state Senate. Student trustees are also appointed by the governor after a committee at the respective university makes nominations, but those student trustees are barred from voting on board decisions.....

I wonder how students feel about having people with no ties to their schools make decisions about their programs, fees, and policies. Do these new board members have any regard for the history and traditions of these schools, or are they just fulfilling the wishes of Gov. Kasich?

*  Gov. John Kasich signed his budget for transportation, according to the Dispatch.

***  DailyJobCuts had two links that relate to Ohio. First, there is a report about Wal-Mart from Bloomberg:

More than 1,000 e-mailed complaints signal that Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s (WMT) restocking challenges are more widespread than the world’s largest retailer has said. 

Wal-Mart customers from Hawaii to Florida and from Texas to Vermont wrote to express their frustration after Bloomberg News reported March 26 that there aren’t enough workers in the stores to keep shelves stocked, cash registers manned and shoppers’ questions answered. In response to the original article, Brooke Buchanan, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said in part: “The premise of this story, which is based on the comments of a handful of people, is inaccurate and not representative of what is happening in our stores across the country.” 

The e-mails began arriving shortly after the article was published and were still coming a week later. Most were from previously loyal Wal-Mart customers befuddled by what had happened to service at a company they’d once admired for its low prices and wide assortment. Many said they were paying more and driving farther to avoid the local Wal-Mart. Some had developed shopping strategies, including waiting until the last minute to grab ice cream, lest it melt in the lengthy checkout lines.....

Is Wal-Mart cutting back on employees to increase their profits?

And......
DailyJobCuts also noted that layoffs will be happening in Ohio at Owens Community College because of less funding (They can thank Kasich for those cuts.).
NorthwestOhio:

Next school year, the staff at Owens Community College will be smaller. It's part of the schools plan to fill a huge budget deficit.
Owens Community College has announced a projected budget deficit in excess of $7.5 million dollars for the 2013 - 2014 fiscal year which begins in July.
Facing that reality, the school says at least 30 people will be out of job....

In the coming weeks, more schools and cities across the state will be announcing layoffs because of Gov. John Kasich's budget.