DGA:
John Kasich and the Republican-controlled legislature are using Karl Rove-style tactics to steal Democratic seats by manipulating the redistricting process.
Every ten years, legislators draw new legislative districts to keep up with population changes. But instead of drawing these districts fairly, Ohio Republicans are going for an all out power grab so they can try to dominate the statehouse and our Congressional delegation for years to come.
Enough! Stand with the DGA against Tea Party Republicans' plans to steal elections through unfair redistricting.....
For more info, click on the DGA link.
***** It appears that Republican Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15th) and his staff don't really read their e-mails from their constituents. Debra Beight writes about the response she got when she voiced her worries about some of the legislation that Stivers has supported. Unfortunately, the Stivers camp sent Debra Beight a....... Nevermind. Here is what she has to say about the response she received from the office of the former bank lobbyist.
Thank you for your generic form letter response to my e-mail. In the future you may want to actually read the e-mails before sending out an off-topic, placating response.....
....My concerns were over the attacks against Planned Parenthood and by extension the attacks on women. You have made your position clear on that matter, especially with your affirmative vote on H.R.3.Women’s health issues are not important to you, don’t tell me they are, if they were, you would not want or encourage government interference in the services that benefit women’s health. You would not support any measures that threatens the reproductive rights of American women, measures that try to remove decision making from women, their own families and physicians and their own insurance companies. Are we children? Incapable of making difficult, practical and personal choices on our own? Because, amazingly, we make difficult choices every day of our lives, and we don’t need government obstructions that trivializes and infantilizes the course of own lives....
Thank you, Debra, for saying exactly what many of us have wanted to say!
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Here is a little insight into who had some input on the Stivers Facebook page-------
Americansdiscussingrepstevestivers:
Comprehensive List of Rep. Steve Stivers' Media Façade Brigade
by Americans Discussing Rep. Steve Stivers on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 8:35am
- Matt Dole, PR Consultant, of Communication Counsel, a GOP media consultancy owned by Mark Weaver
- Jordan Ohler, of King Strategic Communications (KSC)... not even a resident of OH-15
- Sara Donlon, also of King Strategic Communications (KSC)
- Greg Lawson, Statehouse Liaison and Policy Analyst for the right-wing Buckeye Institute, likely associated with KSC through co-worker Holly Karg, former employee of KSC
- Megan Zaffini, Account Strategy Manager at Resource Interactive formerly: Deputy Communications Director at Ohio Republican Party, FB friend to Jordan Ohler, Greg Lawson, Amanda Swank, Matt Dole
- Amanda Swank, Assistant to the Chief of Staff at Franklin County Auditor's (Republican Clarence Mingo) Office
- Patrick Bell, Director of New Media for House Republican Conference (http://www.legistorm.com/person/Patrick_Bell/143394.html )
And one more----Jesse Walls, a Stivers staff member (see Legistorm for employee list), has also recorded a "Like" on a post at the Stivers Facebook page. (Jesse Walls also worked for Voinovich form 2005 to 2010, per Legistorm.) Wow. He has to stack the deck? Does he have to pay them to post?
Then, the Americansdiscussingrepstevestivers point to something very interesting---> the Stivers response on a question about the Paul Ryan plan to kill Medicare:
The Stivers You Tube response:
Stivers is wrong. In a post from the National Journal and DailyKos, we have information that shows everyone will be hurt if the Republicans kill Medicare:
...The policies in the House GOP budget, if enacted, would begin affecting millions of seniors almost immediately by increasing their costs for prescription drugs and probably long-term care. Further, Medicare costs could rise over time if healthier seniors choose to abandon the traditional benefit program....
...Some 9 million seniors qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid benefits, and about two-thirds of all nursing-home residents are covered by Medicaid. The GOP budget proposes cutting some $744 billion from Medicaid over 10 years by turning the system into block grants that limit federal contributions and give states more choice in structuring benefits. No one knows exactly which Medicaid services states would choose to cut back, but senior citizens account for a disproportionate share of Medicaid outlays and would almost certainly bear some of the burden....
The Republicans have been trying to end Medicare and Medicaid since the very beginning. Don't let them cut off your benefits, or those of your parents or grandparents. Stephen Colbert said it so well the other night in describing the Republican alternative to Medicare:
Blood in the urine
A tingling down the left arm.
Walk it off, Grandma.