Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Portman's Albatross: He is a "Bush Guy"

* The election this November is about Wall Street vs. Main Street. Do we reward the lobbyists, investment bankers, and Bush budget directors for the crappy economy and financial risks they took by electing them to higher office?

* Nationwide Insurance will be doing some big time hiring.
Dispatch:

With fresh signs of an economic recovery, Nationwide has decided to fill 600 Ohio job openings.

The move is part of a plan to fill 1,400 openings companywide, the company said today as its issued results for the first quarter. This is the apparent end of a period when the Columbus-based company was cutting jobs and leaving positions vacant....

Visit the Nationwide Insurance career page for current and future openings.


* The prospect of construction jobs have a lot of people excited. Now that the vote to put the Hollywood Casino on the west side of Columbus was approved, construction will start soon. Later, casino employees will be hired. The Hollywood Casino has information about the types of jobs that they will be filling at their new facility. Visit the Hollywood Casino Columbus career site for more information.

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* I'm sure you are wondering about Republican candidate Rob Portman's views on women's reproductive freedom. Portman is to the right of Attilla the Hun.

* Moderate Left has these notes on Portman from when he was considered as a running mate with cranky John McCain:

Rob Portman used to be the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under George W. Bush. OMB is, of course, the office through which the executive branch interfaces with federal agencies, and is tasked with drafting and supporting the president’s budget. So if you think George W. Bush has done a great job with our nation’s policy, you’ll love Rob Portman. If you’re sane, not so much....

Get it? Portman wrote and supported the incredibly horrible Bush economic policy. That should give you little confidence in his ability.

---Even NPR had this to say about Portman during the 2008 campaign:

An expert on budgetary issues -- McCain's weak spot -- Portman would bring economic heft to the ticket. He's young, attractive and smart. And he's from a key swing state. But he is closely associated with the Bush administration and its economic policies, a clear albatross.


Rob Portman, the Architect of the Bush Economy website
has these tidbits:

....Portman’s dedication to the Bush Administration has been widely recognized within the Washington community. Portman proudly earned a reputation as “one of the president's closest Republican friends in Congress” and was acknowledged for “frequently [being] called upon to shepherd Bush-backed legislation through the House” (The Associated Press, 3/29/03).

In 2005, President Bush appointed Portman as U.S. Trade Representative. During his tenure, one of Portman’s biggest accomplishments was persuading Congress to pass the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Although the U.S. Business and Industry Council warned that CAFTA would solely benefit corporations while gutting the American manufacturing base, Portman aggressively moved forward with this job-killing trade agreement. He described CAFTA as “even better than NAFTA”, promising that the United States would “have a trade surplus as a result.”

As Trade Representative, Portman was extremely successful at allowing America’s trade deficit with China to increase by billions of dollars. Under his watch, the U.S. trade deficit increased by $41 billion to $202 billion in 2005....


Why would any hardworking Ohioan vote for Portman?