Republicans, Boehner, and Nazis?

The owner of a fast food restaurant told employees to vote a certain way, or else.

Dayton Daily News:


An undetermined number of McDonald's employees in the northeast Ohio city of Canton received handbills in their most recent paychecks suggesting they vote for three Republican candidates.

The fast food chain's corporate headquarters quickly condemned the action, saying it violated company policy. Allen Schulman, an attorney representing one of the employees, said Friday he had forwarded the paycheck insert to Canton's city law director, citing an Ohio law against corporate advocacy in elections....

Is this an example of Republican strong armed tactics?

* NPR provided a hint about what kind of a leader John Boehner would be as Speaker of the House:

...During an appearance with conservative talk show host Sean Hannity this week, Rep. John Boehner, (R-Ohio) the House Speaker apparent, uttered the rallying cry.
From The Hill:

"This is not a time for compromise, and I can tell you that we will not compromise on our principles," Boehner said during an appearance on conservative Sean Hannity's radio show..

John Boehner is an arrogant, lobbyist-loving, fool.  We'll be able to add some other descriptions after Boehner campaigns with Richard Iott, Republican and Nazi SS reenactor.  Boehner will be helping Iott, Republican candidate for Ohio's 9th congressional district, on Saturday, October 30th, at the Lucas County Nazi Victory Center, 10 S. Superior St., Toledo (source: TPM).

TPM has provided a picture of Richard Iott as published by The Atlantic:

 

 Richard Iott is a disgusting human being.  Boehner's campaign support for Iott just shows you what kind of person Boeher really is.

Kasich on Issues

* If you look at some of the ratings put up at Project Vote Smart, Kasich had some very low ratings in some very important areas.
Project Vote Smart:
Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

2000   Kasich supported the interests of the American Civil Liberties Union 20 percent in 2000.
1999-2000   Kasich supported the interests of the Home School Legal Defense Association 60 percent in 1999-2000.
1999-2000   Kasich supported the interests of the Human Rights Campaign 10 percent in 1999-2000.
1999   Kasich supported the interests of the American Civil Liberties Union 22 percent in 1999.
1999   Kasich supported the interests of the Human Rights Campaign 9 percent in 1999.
1999   Kasich supported the interests of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 9 percent in 1999.
1999   Kasich supported the interests of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda 0 percent in 1999.
1997-1998   Kasich supported the interests of the American Civil Liberties Union 6 percent in 1997-1998.
1997-1998   Kasich supported the interests of the Campaign for a Color Blind America 100* percent in 1997-1998.

1997-1998   Kasich supported the interests of the Home School Legal Defense Association 80 percent in 1997-1998.
1997-1998   Kasich supported the interests of the Human Rights Campaign 12 percent in 1997-1998.
1997-1998   Kasich supported the interests of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights 16 percent in 1997-1998.
1997-1998   Kasich supported the interests of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 16.7 percent in 1997-1998.
1997-1998   Kasich supported the interests of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda 17 percent in 1997-1998.
1997   Kasich supported the interests of the American Civil Liberties Union 0 percent in 1997.
1996   Kasich supported the interests of the American Civil Liberties Union 6 percent in 1996.
1995-1996   Kasich supported the interests of the Human Rights Campaign 22 percent in 1995-1996.
1995-1996   Kasich supported the interests of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights 20 percent in 1995-1996.
1995-1996   Kasich supported the interests of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 18 percent in 1995-1996.
1995-1996   Kasich supported the interests of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda 10 percent in 1995-1996.

NOTE: * The "Campaign for a Color Blind America" is actually a right wing, conservative group opposed to affirmative action. 


** On Guns
For some reason, John Kasich has gone out of his way to make it seem like he has some endorsement from gun owners.  He doesn't.  The Kasich campaign has made such a spectacle of themselves over the gun issue, that the campaign looks just plain foolish.


The DailyBellwether blog has another screw up by the Kasich campaign related to gun issues:
The pro-gun Buckeye Firearms Association says John Kasich, Republican candidate for Ohio governor, has stooped to using a photo of a fake Ohio hunter in his campaign literature. It calls him a gun-rights phony.  Or, as Ken Hanson, the group's legislative chair put it today, "Kasich is finding religion like a nervous whore in church on Sunday."  Hanson said the picture of a hunter in a recent mailer wasn't from Ohio -- the hunter depicted is aiming a scoped rifle.  But hunting with such weapons is illegal in Ohio.  Rifle slugs can travel too far from open fields and stray into populated areas.  So the scene was staged.  Or it was purloined from some other state.  Either way, it proves that Kasich knows nearly nothing about hunting or guns.  In other ads this year, Kasich has used a fake steelworker and a fake journalist....


...Strickland talks about the days when his family had to hunt for food when times were hard.  The Buckeye Firearms Association says Kasich's mailer has another distortion -- it claims Kasich has NRA support....

UPDATE: 2:10 pm -- At Ohio Daily Blog, which has linked to The Daily Bellwether, Kasich's hunter photo is being compared to a golfer teeing off with a putter.  Only idiots would try to play like that.  And only the Kasich campaign would try to fool sportsmen with an idiotic photo.  Says Ohio Daily:  "There are numerous reasons why Ohio sportsmen reject John Kasich. First, is his F rating from the NRA. That's right. I said it. F! F! F! The Ohio Elections Commission today dismissed Kasich's claim that somehow he didn't receive an F. He did. And we're repeating it in case you skimmed over it. F!  Second, Kasich forgets that many of Ohio's sportsmen and sportswomen are hard-working, blue collar, union-workers. And John Kasich just called those people 'thugs' earlier in the week.  Third, Kasich forgets that many of Ohio's sportsmen and sportswomen are residents of rural areas. They don't go hunting as part of some junket paid for by some lobbyist that starts with mimosas & eggs benedict and ends with strippers & cigars. They go hunting to provide for their families. And John Kasich's campaign mocked those same Ohioans, with humble, rural roots, in a statement a few months ago."

OMG!  That is a real smackdown by gun owners. 

What were they thinking?

In examining recent roll call votes of some of our elected officials, you really wonder how they can make certain claims about themselves.


Republican Rep. Bob Latta (OH-5th) may claim to support veterans, but a recent "NO" vote in the House of Representatives, should make us question his backing of our vets.  Latta voted "NO" on HR5993: Roll Call Vote 552 (Securing America's Veterans Insurance Needs and Goals Act of 2010). Should we assume Latta doesn't really support our military veterans?

In another vote for HR 5297: Roll Call Vote 539 (Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010) Ohio Republicans Austria, Boehner, Jordan, LaTourette, Latta, Schmidt, Tiberi, and Turner, all voted "NO" for a bill that helps small businesses.  I guess, these Ohio Republicans don't really want to help small businesses.

Boehner, Jordan, and Latta even voted against a bill called HR 4380:Roll Call Vote 456 (United State Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010) because I guess they don't want to help American manufacturers!!!!


Will you be going to see John Boehner campaign with the Nazi SS imitator, Rich Iott?  According to the Huffington Post, Boehner and SS-lover Iott, will be at the Lucas County Republican Headquarters.  If you go, please take plenty of pictures (and post them on the web) because we need to see Boehner supporting a Nazi-loving candidate like Iott. (See picture from The Atlantic.) 

Our military fought against the Nazis and many were killed, were wounded, or taken as POWs.  Every veteran should be insulted by Iott's "hobby" that glorifies a group that did so much damage and cost so many lives.

Kasich Hiding?

Can you imagine your first grader coming home from elementary school with this question, "Mommy, what is an abortion?"  In Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt's district, children as young as a 6 years old were given a lecture about abortion by none other than Jean Schmidt.  Ohio Daily Blog had information about Schmidt's appearance at a Catholic school in her district and the fallout.  You might wonder why the voters in Schmidt's district haven't heard the whole story. 

>  Ken Rudin is still talking about Kasich's no show for yesterday's Talk of the Nation radio program:
...Yesterday's segment focused on the Ohio gubernatorial race with Democratic incumbent Ted Strickland.  John Kasich, his Republican opponent, was scheduled to appear but canceled 15 minutes prior to the show.

**** Republican Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist has been forced to take down his campaign ad that seemed to have some McCarthyism in it. Stivers had applied for and accepted stimulus funds for an organization with which he is associated.


>>>  Has anyone seen John Kasich or is he still running away from people?????

Kasich Chickens Out

* John Kasich did not appear on NPR this afternoon.

NPR:

Starting today, there will be a series of "mini-Political Junkie" segments on NPR's Talk of the Nation on most days between now and the Nov. 2 elections.....

Today, at 2:40 p.m. Eastern:  Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat seeking his second term, and Republican challenger John Kasich, a former congressman.

UPDATE:  With about 15 minutes before we went on the air, Kasich canceled; his campaign said they did not want to field questions, but from the beginning the Talk of the Nation staff made it clear that there would be questions from listeners.  The segment was only Strickland, which you can listen to here:

It figures.  Kasich did not want to take questions from callers. Kasich is afraid of random questions from the public and must feel more comfortable hanging out with the Fox News right wing propaganda machine.

As Gov. Strickland said in today's interview, Kasich got a $400,000 bonus. Strickland said that because of the President's leadership and Democrats, the auto industry was saved.

Strickland said that when he became governor, Ohio only had 4 wind turbines that provided electricity, but now there are 500.

*  Head for the hills!  Newt Gingrich, the multiply married and divorced former Republican leader who bounced 22 checks when he was in the House of Representatives, is coming to Ohio to campaign for John "I work on Wall Street" Kasich.

Those of us who have money in the Ohio pension funds want to know what happened to the nearly $500 million that Kasich lost for us at Lehman Brothers.  Kasich used his contacts in Ohio to get the investments for Lehman.  Why hasn't Kasich properly answered questions about why Lehman was offering toxic assets for investments?  How many other pension funds lost money with Lehman? 

______

*  *  * Steve Stivers, Republican candidate and former bank lobbyist, said the stimulus plan did not work, BUT he applied for and got stimulus money for an organization with which he is associated.

Here is the latest from Brad Bauman of the Kilroy campaign-

".......Stivers sits on the board of an organization that received stimulus funds and created jobs right here in central Ohio.

“In 2009, I served on the Board of Directors for IMPACT community action, with Steve Stivers who is both Treasurer of the organization as well as Chair of the Finance Committee,” said State Representative Carlton Weddington. “Steve Stivers, didn’t just KNOW about the grant, he helped approve it, and helped steer it. Stivers can talk all he wants about his opposition to the Stimulus, or how its not working…its not true. He’s lying.”

In 2009, IMPACT Community Action received a grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which directly led to the creation of 42 new full-time jobs with benefits weatherizing houses in central Ohio. Those jobs were made permanent through a public-private partnership. Stivers, as Treasurer and Finance Chair of the organization had a hand in procuring and disbursing this grant money....."

 

I think that Stivers can appropriately be called a liar.

Stivers in deeper trouble

Republican congressional candidate, Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, has been running a campaign ad that has been called "red baiting" by newspapers, bloggers, writers, political analysts, and news outlets.  Stivers, who seems willing to go to any level to win an election, has made false accusations against Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15th). Putting out false information about a candidate is against Ohio law. 

Recent developments tonight have indicated that the Kilroy campaign has moved on the Stivers campaign ad.

RHRealityCheck.org:

Kilroy Campaign Sends Cease and Desist Letters to 

Columbus TV Stations on Stivers Ad

Lawyers for the Kilroy for Congress campaign sent a letter to Columbus area TV Stations and cable providers asking for them to stop airing a new television ad paid for by Steve Stivers which contains false statements, about which we wrote earlier today....


...As we noted earlier today, the ad claims that Congresswoman Kilroy voted to use taxpayer funds to create and grow jobs in China.

It "questions Congresswoman Kilroy’s loyalty to her country,” the letter says....

Shame on Steve Stivers and his entire campaign staff.

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John Kasich, Republican candidate for Ohio governor, has been on a personal crusade to anger and disenfranchise public school teachers, union workers, health care workers, hospital administrators, and now members of  the State Medical Board of Ohio.  In an interview with WSAZ, Kasich reviews how he'd "fix" the state:


...To fight the public outcry from the southern Ohio pain pill epidemic - the overdose deaths - the crime - the candidate said to shut down dirty doctors offices, perhaps the Ohio medical board was the doctors policing doctor’s problem. 

"If the medical board doesn't want to do it, maybe we need new members, or get rid of the board all together," Kasich says...

Despite what Kasich thinks, he cannot just get rid of the State Medical Board of Ohio.  This isn't Lehman Brothers!  Kasich, who seems to be completely ignorant about how the state government works, is unaware that members of the State Medical Board of Ohio, are appointed by the governor for five year terms.  The board members have terms that expire in the following years:

1 board member's term expires in 2011 

4 board members have terms that expire in 2012  

4 board members have terms that expire in 2013  

2 board members have terms that expire in 2014  

1 board member's term expires in 2015

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Louie Gohmert of Texas is today's "Worst Person in the World" on Countdown with Keith Olbermann.  I think Gohmert should be the "Worst Person in the World" for more than one day. Gohmert is the originator of the stupidest conspiracy theory in recent history, "terrorist babies."  Science blogs has the video, the text, and some interesting comments from readers.

YouTube



The people in the first district in Texas should hang their heads in shame to have elected such an ignorant person.

Boehner Rescues Tea Party Candidates

Republican leader, John "I'd rather be golfing" Boehner, is coming to the rescue of Tea Party favorites, according to the Washington Post:

House Minority Leader John Boehner has long had a knack for raising campaign funds from Wall Street firms and blue-chip corporations, which he typically spreads among rank and file House Republicans to bolster loyalty. 

But this year, Boehner is using a different strategy as he tries to position himself as the next House speaker. He's diverted more than a quarter-million dollars of his business-funded war chest to 29 avowedly anti-establishment candidates who have been endorsed by elements of the tea party.....

....Boehner has given another $14,000 to another candidate, Steve Stivers, a former state lawmaker and lobbyist for Ohio's Bank One who has accused his Democratic opponent of wrongly supporting "taxpayer-funded bonuses given to failed Wall Street executives." Stivers's spokesman John Damschroder said that he thinks the funds were given because "speaker-to-be Boehner knows how critical Ohio is to control of the House." 

Boehner personally hand-picked Stivers as the candidate for Ohio's 15th.  Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, is being supported by bank lobbyists, the Chambers, and major polluters (oil, utilities, mining).

Boehner is soooooooooo greedy for power he'll support anyone.

Why?

Why is Tom Ganley trying to claim an endorsement from the
NRA when he never got it?

Why is Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, accepting
money from a group that teaches companies how to outsource
their jobs?

Why are so many people so unwilling to trust Kasich? Sure
he lost Ohio pension funds of almost a half a billion dollars.
He even signed off on allowing Invacare to outsource to China.
Kasich just doesn't care about average people. It is all business.
If Kasich wins, the secret deals will skyrocket.

Ties

Mary Taylor, the running mate of Republican, John Kasich, admits she went too far, according to the Dispatch.  Mary Taylor was acting as a Republican, not as an independent State Auditor.

* Have you noticed the attempts by Republican candidate John Kasich to vilify the public school teacher?  A quick search of the internet can bring up many speeches by Kasich in which he attacks classroom teachers, even those in his home district of Westerville, Ohio. (See Ohio15thblog for video and points to ponder.)

Some of the Kasich videos that you see on the web are sponsored by Kasich's organization, Recharge Ohio.  In examining the Kasich's organization, Recharge Ohio, Tammy Chabria is listed as the treasurer. Tammy Chabria is Jai Chabria's wife.  Jai Chabria is Kasich's buddy from Lehman Brothers.  This is how the Kasich business connection scenario will work for Ohio. Did you know that Kasich has lobbyists working within his campaign organization?  (See this Dispatch link.)What do they hope to gain for themselves and the companies/groups they represent? 

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* If you are interested in explaining to your child how the gulf oil spill impacted the lives of wildlife dependent on the sea, visit a story written by a child at EDF/Lucky Seagull.

Obama Visits Ohio State

 I feel bad if you missed President Obama and Michelle Obama last night at Ohio State.  Besides the Obamas, Gov. Strickland, Lt. Gov. Fisher, Yvetter McGee-Brown, Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, Mayor Coleman, and other dignitaries gave speeches and pumped up the volume on the upcoming elections.

The Lantern has some terrific pictures and a slideshow of the rally. You can view it HERE or on Youtube or below:



I really wonder where the reporter who posted the story for MSNBC was standing at the end of the Obama rally on the Oval at the Ohio State University. In a posting at MSNBC Politics Daily, Senior Correspondent Walter Shapiro, wrote this: 

...Yet watching the faces in the crowd at the Ohio State rally and listening to the chatter afterward as the largely student audience wandered toward the restaurants and bars on High Street, I had a sense that the Obama piece was still missing in action.....

Really.  As I walked off the Oval at the end of the rally, students, individuals, and families, were smiling and talking about how wonderful it was to see the Obamas and how hard they would work for the election.  Many people commented that they planned to go down to the Board of Elections and vote this week.  

Cleaning Up the Mess Left by Republicans

Democratic candidate Joe Sestak, candidate for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania, has a campaign ad that can be used by every Democrat:

(YouTube)



In Ohio, Gov. Ted Strickland came in after the unethical behavior of Republican Gov. Bob Taft, and the large numbers of scandals that the Ohio Republicans had created.  Strickland started to clean up the mess in the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation, Bob Ney, Tom Noe, Boehner passing out tobacco money, Boehner's revelation about a secret court ruling about the Bush administration, the theft of the 2004 Ohio elections, Jessica Cutler-the blogger in Mike DeWine's office that exposed all the sex in DC, etc., etc., etc.

Republicans Buying Election?

The Republicans are tapping the wallets from special interests (polluters, big oil, foreign companies primed for our outsourced jobs, banks/bankers, lobbyists) in an effort to get as much money as possible to run their attack ads.  With the help and cooperation of people like Dick Armey, Karl Rove, and those in the Chamber of Commerce at home and abroad, out elections are being bought and sold by corporations. 

Will 2010 be the year that we'll look back on and say, "Remember when the corporations didn't pick and elect our candidates?"

If you don't go out and vote for Democrats, the rich will get richer, and the poor will get poorer, and our public schools will be dismantled.

Huh?

* Have you wondered why Jon Kasich has to have his running mate, Mary Taylor, with him at all times?  Is this Kasich's way of exerting complete control?

* Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, has an absolutely stupid campaign ad running in central Ohio. The ad starts out with an ominous voice with quotes from the right wing Wall Street Journal and then shows a picture of Mary Jo Kilroy.   At the end of the ad, Stivers is shown in living color, and with a voice that sounds like he is reading a storybook to children.

* Oh, no! Sen. Jim "Waterloo" DeMint has some additional crazy ideas and this time he put them in writing at Politico. In the article, DeMint and his pal from the Heritage Foundation had this little bit of information:

...It’s no surprise that pollsters Scott Rasmussen and Doug Schoen found that more than “half of the electorate now say they favor the tea party movement, around 35 percent say they support the movement, 20 [percent] to 25 percent self-identify as members of the movement and 2 [percent] to 7 percent say they are activists.”

 

ROFLOL:  “...half of the electorate now say they favor the tea party movement..." ??? Where did they get their people for this survey --- -- down the hall at the Heritage Foundation???

 

Jim DeMint wants to end public education.  Wow. This idea is terrific if you want to promote stupidity.  I guess DeMint would like to return us to the Dark Ages when only the rich and powerful could afford to learn to read and write. I have a name for DeMint's plan:

 

Jim DeMint's Plan to Promote Ignorance:

End Public Education.

I think that Jim DeMint is a complete moron. How the hell did anyone vote for him?

Boehner's Promises

Republican leader, John "I'd rather be golfing" Boehner, is making a lot of promises to be redeemed if he gains control of the House of Representatives. Personally, I would love to see Boehner with egg on his face.  I think Boehner is a pompous jerk who protects the rich, the powerful, and his lobbyist friends.

From Politico we can see that Boehner has a new promise for a Republican candidate:

Minority Leader John Boehner has promised that Missouri Republican Vicky Hartzler would get a seat on the Armed Services Committee if she wins and Republicans take control of the House. Hartzler, a former state Representative, is running against Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton in southwest Missouri, and with two large bases in the district, military issues have defined the race....

You should know that:  Republican Edward Martin, not a veteran, has endorsed the Paul Ryan budget plan which would cut veterans programs and aid to their families.  If you are a vet, or have a vet in your family, I'm going to guess you won't want to vote for Ed Martin.

I wonder if John Boehner has made any promises to Republican candidate, Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist.  Boehner would probably appoint Stivers to the House Committee on Financial Services and the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. If Boehner made such an appointment, it would be like Boehner spitting in the face of consumers.  It would be like the fox guarding the hen house.

Republicans never noticed the debt during Bush years?

Here is some useful information from CBS News (September 29, 2008), while George W. Bush was still President:

With no fanfare and little notice, the national debt has grown by more than $4 trillion during George W. Bush's presidency.

It's the biggest increase under any president in U.S history.

On the day President Bush took office, the national debt stood at $5.727 trillion. The latest number from the Treasury Department shows the national debt now stands at more than $9.849 trillion. That's a 71.9 percent increase on Mr. Bush's watch....

The Republicans have just noticed the debt.  Where have they been?  Were they asleep during the Bush administration?

Note--- The date of that CBS story was 9/29/08, and Bush remained in office until the morning of January 20, 2009. On 1/20/09 when Barack Obama became the President, the debt was, according to the U.S. Treasury:

$ 10,626,877,048,913.08

Women Should Support Candidates who Support Reproductive Freedom

Where has Deborah Pryce been now that she is retired from Congress?  Pryce now works for SZD Whiteboard which is described in the following manner at their website:

SZD Whiteboard is a consulting enterprise with roots in one of the legal industry’s most forward-thinking providers, Schottenstein Zox & Dunn, Co., LPA.
Located in Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio, the group provides growth and development strategies to corporations, organizations and state and local governments through operating groups that focus in the following areas:

• Government relations, lobbying and public policy consultation....

Funny thing is, SZD Whiteboard is NOT listed as a lobbying group at the JLEC (Office of the Legislative Inspector General Joint Legislative Ethics Committee) even though it list lobbying as one of its activities.

In an article at Politico, Deborah Pryce said the following:

“Let’s see what they call it this year when we have so many Republican women elected. And look at these women who we’re going to elect,” Pryce said. “They’re no shrinking violets. These women are going to be household names. They are no Patty Murrays by any stretch of the imagination...."

Sen. Patty Murray is running for re-election from the state of Washington.  It really is too bad that there are no female fighters like Patty Murray in the Republican Party.  Republican women always seem to take a backseat to men in the GOP.  They wait for instructions from Boehner and McConnell.  

Pryce is not someone I'd take any advice from considering how she knew about the page sex scandal and lied about it: (See BuckeyeStateBlog)

Youtube

 

Sen. Patty Murray is facing Rossi in the upcoming election.  Republican Dino Rossi must hate women.  He is against women having reproductive rights. In a Seattle Times article, Rossi said this: 

Pressed at the Spokane breakfast forum, Rossi said he opposes abortion 

for "anything other than maybe rape, incest or life of the mother."

Maybe?

Maybe? Women would be at the mercy of Dino Rossi making up his mind?  Maybe?  Try telling that to your daughter if she was raped.

In the past, Dino Rossi supported old John McCain's plan for health care. Unfortunately, the Rossi and McCain plans hurt women.

Seattlepi:

...Rossi, like McCain, has opposed policies that would improve women's health. Though it is now state policy, Rossi voted against requiring insurance plans that cover prescription drugs to cover prescription contraception. He also doesn't believe that pharmacies should be required to fill prescriptions for FDA-approved birth control. Rossi voted against funding family planning services for low-income people even when research shows that for every dollar spent on family planning services we save $4 in related health care costs. Like McCain's, Rossi's approach to health care harms women.

Reducing access to basic health care has a devastating impact on women. According to the Guttmacher Institute, women of childbearing age spend 68 percent more in out-of-pocket health care costs than men, in part because of reproductive health-related supplies and services....

If women want safe, affordable health care, vote for Patty Murray.  

However, if you want some right wing man telling you if you can use birth control or maybe have an abortion following a rape/incest, vote for Dino Rossi.

Women should encourage their friends to vote for candidates who support reproductive freedom.  We don't need to move backwards with people like Dino Rossi.

John Boehner's Plans?

*  Does the prospect of John Boehner controlling the House of Representatives worry you?

Check out boehnersamerica.org for the consequences of Boehner in a leadership position:

Boehner’s America: The Economy

Corporate greed runs rampant: CEOs are unchecked, consumers’ rights are weakened, foreclosures jump up.

Boehner’s America: The Environment

More dependence on fossil fuels that create climate change, big breaks for big oil, lower emission standards....

...Boehner’s America: Reproductive Rights

Loss of funding for Planned Parenthood, no information about choice from health care providers, major support of anti-choice groups....

YouTube




- If the Republicans gain control of the House and/or the Senate, they will close down the government, like they did in the mid 1990's.  You may not remember those days when Republican chaos ensued, but it was a mess:  Social Security checks were halted, hundreds of thousands of federal employees were out of work, federal buildings were closed, etc.  President Clinton refused the Republican budget proposal because, as President Clinton said of the Republican budget plan in his address to the nation....

CNN:


....Remember, the Republicans are following a very explicit strategy announced last April by Speaker Gingrich, to use the threat of a government shutdown to force America to accept their cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, to accept their cuts in education and technology and the environment. 

Yesterday they sent me legislation that said -- we will only keep the government going, and we will only let it pay its debts if and only if we accept their cuts in Medicare, their cuts in education, their cuts in the environment, and their repeal of 25 years of bipartisan commitments to protect the environment and public health....

......My message to Congress is simple -- you say you want to balance the budget, so let's say yes to balancing the budget, but let us together say no to these deep and unwise cuts in education, technology, the environment, Medicare and Medicaid. Let's say no to raising taxes on the hardest- pressed working families in America. These things are not necessary to balancing the budget. Yes to balancing the budget, no to the cuts..... 


John Boehner and Mitch McConnell want to shut down Congress again, if they gain the majority.

The Debate

Newspaper columnist, Jonah Goldberg, thinks that young people have abandoned President Obama in favor of the old, white, pro-business, anti-minimum wage, anti-health care Republican Party.  You have to ask yourself why are  Republicans trying to discourage young people from voting?


Last night's debate between Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and John "Lehman Brothers" Kasich was very interesting.  Strickland looked cool, calm, and in control of facts.  Kasich was flailing around the podium repeating the same lines about his plans, of which we've seen no written evidence.  Kasich also showed that he wants to abandon local control of schools and consolidate many school districts.  Kasich knows nothing about education, yet his massive ego allows him to think he is some expert.  Voters must keep in mind that Kasich's only business experience was at a firm that cheated retirees and investors of their savings and retirement funds.  What kind of business experience is that?

You know that Kasich ad that has the unemployed steelworker in it?  That spokesperson is not a steelworker and has a police record.  Even though the Kasich campaign said the ad would be pulled, it continues to run.

Husted Lied About Where He Lives, What Else is He Lying About?

Is Jon Husted, Republican candidate for Ohio Secretary of State, hiding something on his income tax returns?

How can we trust Jon Husted to be honest and fair when he hasn't been honest about where he actually lives?  Although Husted was elected to the Ohio Senate to represent Kettering, Husted lives (eats, sleeps) in Upper Arlington, Ohio, with his family.  

Here is a press release from Mary Ellen O'Shaughnessy, the Democratic candidate for Ohio Secretary of State.


O’Shaughnessy Campaign Statement on ONN Secretary of State Debate

“In today’s first Secretary of State debate, Maryellen O’Shaughnessy used this opportunity to connect with voters and address the issues Ohioans are most worried about. O’Shaughnessy laid out her plans for increasing job creation in the office as well and ensuring fair and trustworthy elections. While incumbent Sen. Jon Husted launched smears at O’Shaughnessy, she spoke directly to the voters about why she is the best choice to bring jobs to Ohio and partner with boards of elections across the state.

“One week after Maryellen asked Sen. Husted to join her in releasing her tax returns, Husted is still avoiding the question as to whether he is stealing thousands of dollars each year from taxpayers. While he continues to point to the Supreme Court saying he can vote in Kettering, it’s now up to the court of public opinion to decide if they’re ok with Husted stealing thousands of their dollars for trips he isn’t taking.

“While Jon Husted wants to punt the job creation responsibilities of the Secretary of State and allow big businesses to screen their competitors, Maryellen will use her experience as a small business owner as well as her experience creating or retaining tens of thousands of jobs to tackle the job creation duties of the Secretary of State.”

Why won't Husted release his income tax returns? 

Secretary of State Candidate Husted Refuses Transparency
Declines to Release Tax Returns

COLUMBUS - The Dayton Daily News reports today that incumbent State Senator Jon Husted has refused to release his taxes. Husted’s Democratic opponent Maryellen O’Shaughnessy released her taxes yesterday and called on Husted to do the same.

"What's Jon Husted hiding from voters?" asked O'Shaughnessy Communications Director Heidi Hubmann. "Jon Husted claims to promote transparency in government, but apparently he doesn’t apply the same standards to himself."

For tax year 2009, State Senators living more than 50 miles away from the Statehouse were eligible for a tax deduction of up to $55,870 for food and lodging. Husted represents Kettering in the state legislature, though he and his wife own a home in Upper Arlington fewer than ten miles from the Statehouse.

"This is a person who’s clearly out for himself and not out for the best interest of Ohio," said Hubmann. "This is an opportunity for Jon Husted to show he is interested in serving the people of ohio, rather than using his office to line his own pockets. If Ohioans can’t trust Husted to be transparent as a candidate, how can they trust him to do so as Secretary of State?"

Cleveland.com:

.....Ohio Democrats have accused Husted of taking $55,000 worth of legislative tax breaks for travel between the state capitol and his voting address in Kettering despite living in a Columbus suburb with his wife and family. Husted has refused to say whether he took the tax breaks and has not released his returns which would show if he did or not.....

Why does Husted want to reduce voting times?

New bumper sticker: "Bring back pre-existing conditions. Vote Republican"

 In an opinion piece in today's USATODAY, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (OH-Democrat), suggested the following bumper sticker: "Bring back pre-existing conditions. Vote Republican."  If Republicans take control of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, that is exactly what would happen.  Sen. Brown reminds voters that "....Progressives brought us minimum wage and Social Security in the 1930s, civil rights and Medicare in the 1960s, and health care and Wall Street reform in 2010...."  Brown also reminds us that conservatives fought against these important structures when they were proposed, and they continue to fight against them today.  Only this time, conservatives, Tea Party groups, and Republicans are getting help from corporations.

In the USATODAY piece, Sen. Sherrod Brown, says the following:

...No one should be surprised over what has happened in the last 18 months:

•We passed health care reform, so the insurance companies are coming after us at election time.

•We enacted consumer protections for homeowners and credit card users, so Wall Street is spending millions to defeat us.

•We worked to end tax breaks for corporations that ship jobs overseas, and now large multinational corporations are doing everything possible to beat us....

Sen. Brown wrote that under the two terms of President Bill Clinton, our nation "....added more than 22 million private sector jobs...."  Then George W. Bush became President and those sizable tax cuts for the rich were pushed.  What happened then?  Under Bush "....only 1 million jobs were added, incomes stagnated or plummeted for most Americans, and we were left with record budget deficits...."

Republicans, conservatives, and their Tea Party cohorts are offering a return to those days of the Bush policies that had poor job creation, layoffs, Wall Street greed, but tax cuts for the rich.  

Here in Ohio, we have two Wall Street types running for office.  Republican John Kasich, a former investment banker with the now bankrupt  Lehman Brothers, spent nearly a decade with Lehman pushing their investments. In central Ohio, Republican Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist (with Bank One, now part of Chase) and stockbroker (with The Ohio Company), is running against U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15).  Stivers is being bankrolled by major financial PACs, bank lobbyists, individual bankers, insurance executives/PACs, and groups/individuals/lobbyists associated with oil/gas/mining.

Both Kasich and Stivers are against the progress we've made and wish to cut regulations to help their Wall Street and financial/utility/insurance friends make more profits and bonuses.  Kasich and Stivers aren't progressives - - - they think backwards.  Kasich talks about Reagan.  Stivers talks about repealing parts of the U.S. Constitution!!!!!  

(Steve Stivers, if elected to the House of Representatives, wants to 

1. Repeal the health care reform bill, 

2. Repeal the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, 

3. Repeal the 17th Amendment to the Constitution,

4. Eliminate the Department of Agriculture,
5. Eliminate the Department of Education, 

6. Eliminate the Department of the Interior, 

7. Eliminate the Department of Housing of and Urban Development, 

8. Eliminate the Department of Transportation, 

9. Eliminate the Department of Energy,  

10. Repeal Wall Street Reform,  

11. Eliminate the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

(source for Stivers @ http://912ohio.com/mtc/pdf/912Survey-Stivers.pdf)

Sen. Sherrod Brown is correct.  We can choose to continue to move forward with Democrats or be forgotten once the Republicans, conservatives, Tea Party-types, and Wall Street types take control.  In a Republican controlled House and Senate, you and your rights are less important than those of millionaires and corporations.  Are you interested in moving toward a better future with Progressives and Democrats?  Do you want to revisit the financial policies, health insurance discrimination, poor job growth, and tax cuts for the rich that created this recession?

Trouble????

According to Huffington Post, "...Ganley allegedly sexually assaulted..."  a woman that wanted to volunteer for his campaign.

YoungOhioDem has a MUST READ posting about Republican/Tea Party candidate, Tom Ganley, at DailyKos.   Here are some excerpts from DailyKos:

...A long time ago, such accusations would almost certainly doom any campaign. The fact that it has not is just one sign of how bad our political discourse has deteriorated. The Republicans are running candidates who have had sex with prostitutes, dabbled in witchcraft, mocked autism, and denied global warming. How can they claim to represent the people when they can't even take care of themselves?

...The truth? Tom Ganley owns the largest group of car dealerships in the state of Ohio, with 32 dealerships and all of your major brands. He has been sued over 400 times for age and gender discrimination, as well as deceptive business practices. In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina, the Ohio Attorney General filed a lawsuit against one of his dealerships after they advertised deals for cars moved out of Louisiana. The resulting investigation found that Ganley had never even received a shipment from Louisiana....


.....Betty (Sutton) is one of the best progressives we have in the US House. She's worked for the common man and woman to get them back on track. Tom Ganley may appear to be right, but he's nothing but a bad deal for Ohio.

I wonder if these accusations will change the minds of voters.

***** It appears that Republican Meg Whitman is in trouble in California for allegedly knowingly employing an illegal immigrant for nine years.  The New York Times has the details, including this: 

....Ms. Whitman has been an advocate of penalties against employers who hire illegal immigrants.....

Whitman has spent over  $100 million of her own money for her campaign, according to the article.

Against All Abortions - even for victims of rape and incest

Time and time again I question why Republicans are so concerned with a woman's uterus.  If a woman is brutally raped, and then finds herself pregnant, some Republicans want the government to force that woman to carry that pregnancy to term.  These same Republicans repeat the mantra that government has to get out of people's lives, but they continue to insert their noses into a woman's reproductive decisions.

Raw Story:

A partial list of Republican candidates running for US Congress in this year's mid-term elections shows that at least 78 of them have professed to oppose abortion in all cases, including where rape or incest are involved.....

.....A list of responses from this year's candidates indicate that 78 Senate and House candidates answered that they are "pro-life without discrimination," meaning they don't agree with any exceptions to a ban on abortion....

...Among the more notable candidates backing a full abortion ban are Christine O'Donnell, running for the Senate in Delaware; Rand Paul, running for the Senate seat from Kentucky; Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann; and Missouri Senate candidate Roy Blunt.....

The article explains that not all anti-abortion candidates are listed:  Sharon Angle and Joe Miller are against all abortions, but not on the list.

Republican National Coalition for Life has their list of candidates who "....indicate they are faithfully pro-life, and do not justify abortion for babies who are conceived through rape or incest, have a handicap, or a genetic defect....."

Which Ohio Republicans are against all abortions, even for victims of rape and incest???

Here is the Ohio list from the website:

OHIO
CD-02	Jean Schmidt (Incumbent) (1)
CD-05	Bob Latta (Incumbent) (1)
CD-08	John Boehner (Incumbent) (1)
CD-10	Peter Corrigan (1)
CD-17	Jim Graham (1)
CD-18	Robert Gibbs (1)

Also, there is some news regarding Republican/Tea Party Tom Ganley: Huffington Post: Ohio GOP congressional candidate Tom Ganley is the target of a new lawsuit alleging that the multi-millionaire businessman sexually assaulted a Cleveland woman in his office last year. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the claims come from a 39-year-old married mother of four who says she met Ganley at a Tea Party rally in July of last year, where she asked if she could get involved in the campaign. After a series of meetings revolving around campaign duties and a potential car repair, on August 1, 2009, Ganley allegedly sexually assaulted the woman.....