Ohio Politics Online » Democrats

Irony: Cleveland Jewish News Smears Rob Portman

kevin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:33:29 +0000

UPDATE: Cleveland Jewish News has changed the headline. It now reads: “State reps urge Portman to sever ties over group’s “Nazi” posting” See? That is the kind of power this blog wields …

I wasn’t planning on writing on this issue (I have little time to write as it is) but when a friend pointed out this headline I felt compelled to post:

State reps urge Portman to sever ties over “Nazi” past

When you read that headline what do you think? You think Rob Portman has some sort of connection to Nazi’s in his past, right? It clearly implies a connection between Portman and Nazi’s; a skeleton in the closet that requires he come clean.

Now those who follow Ohio politics more closely might know that this is not the case. They might actually know that this issue is a trumped up red hearing put together by desperate Democrats hoping to distract voters from real issues.

You see, an organization known as COAST (Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending & Taxes) used a bit of hyperbole on their web page. Here is the outrageous hate speech in question:

COAST started with just two people, and virtually no funds, yet has had a profound effect upon politics in southwest Ohio. The Nazis in the State Legislature have created draconian campaign finance reporting laws that make criminals of those who fail to complete their paperwork correctly, but COAST refuses to be cowed by this intimidation and we encourage you to jump through their hoops and attempt to comply with their silly forms. It is important. You activism is needed. The Ohio Secretary of State has the rules for establishing and running a PAC.

Now would I have used that kind of terminology? No. Is it effective or appropriate? No.

But does it rise to the level of outrage that public office holders must sever any and all ties with the group and denounce them in public? Um, no.

But the Democrats being Democrats they have to hammer this fake issue as if it had something to do with real people and real issues. Like, I don’t know, jobs or something.

Normally, I would just ignore it and chuckle at the idiocy of the Democratic outrage machine. After all, there was a Democratic elected official at the recent COAST fundraiser so the outrage must not extend too far.

And we all know how polite and unoffensive the liberal interest groups are, right? I mean it isn’t like left wing activists are hyper-aggressive, vulgar, attack dogs without the slightest sense of decency or historical awareness. Wait …

But Cleveland Jewish News owes Rob Portman an apology. If they want to crank out news stories based on Democrat press releases like their colleagues in the media that is one thing. But to manufacture a headline that accuses Portman of a “Nazi past” based on one word on an organizations web page is beyond the pale. They of all people should understand this.

Maybe then we can get back to talking about how Ohio can quit hemorrhaging jobs and devastating families and communities.

Strickland and Dems out of answers

kevin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:06:20 +0000

I have been too busy with work related stuff to post here regularly (if you are interested in contriuting to the site please drop me a note) but wanted to note this incredibly lame response to John Kasich. Here is the article in the Vindy:

When asked later about Strickland, Kasich said: “There isn’t much to talk about there. I’m not worried about him. He’s been no leader, no leadership.”

In response, Seth Bringham, spokesman for the Ohio Democratic Party, told the newspaper that the governor “is working every day to create jobs and pull us out of the economic mess that was created by the Wall Street greed that John Kasich was a part of as managing director of Lehman Brothers.”

This is lame on so many levels:

Who cares if Strickland is working every day? It ain’t working people! Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost while Governor Strickland has been “working” on the problem. Maybe we need someone else to work on it?
The idea that the economic downturn was primarily created by greed on Wall Street is laughable; and unhelpful. Has greed been absent previously and suddenly a breakout caused the downturn? Prior to the fall of the Lehman Brothers was Ohio growing and creating jobs? Does this accusation even offer an over-simplified explanation of the problems we face. Um, no. This is just a desperate attempt to repeat a already worn out non sequitor.
And the idea that Kasich played some instrumental role in Lehman Brothers’ problems is also far fetched. As has been pointed out frequently, Kasich was a rather small cog in the large machine. Any connection between his work and the larger financial crisis is rather silly. Decisions that led to the problems were at a much higher pay grad than Kasich’s and were unrelated to his focus.

It all comes back to the fundamental problem the Democrats have: they really don’t understand economic development and growth. Their answer is always more government control, stronger unions, more regulations, more “investment” in public projects, etc. If asked why it isn’t working the answer is that we haven’t tried hard enough.

And that is why they are so desperate to smear Kasich. He represents something they fear. A charismatic and convincing leader who is rejecting the status quo; who understands that Ohio has to make serious changes if it is to be competitive. And they know that this economic downturn is exactly the type of environment that could cause voters – particularly independents – to give Kasich a chance to lead after years of stagnation and excuse making.

So keep up the lame responses, Democrats. But be surprised if voters decline to buy them.

Sherrod Brown: we won, you lost, get over it

kevin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:48:43 +0000

: Image by OhioProgressive via Flickr

I can see why Ohio elected Sherrod Brown to the US Senate. It was clearly his unique leadership ability:

“So this is a bipartisan bill. Republicans say they didn’t win on the big questions, but they lost the election on the big questions,” he said. “They lost we won, but we’re right where the public is. That’s what the elections said, that’s what the polls say now.”

This is the standard Democratic answer these days. President Obama, after all, started the we won, you lost, so shut up style of leadership.

I would offer that a great many voters did not in fact vote for Democrats so they could pass as many massive spending and government take over bills as humanly possible.

But put that aside for the moment, are the polls really on Sherrod Brown’s and the Democrats’ side in this debate? While it seems that a plurality to a slim majority can be seen to favor some aspects of the Democrat plan the situation is very fluid and there is no clear mandate.

The latest USA Today/Gallup poll finds that [emphais mine]

more Americans disapprove (50%) than approve (44%) of the way U.S. President Barack Obama is handling healthcare policy. There is a tremendous partisan gap in these views, with 74% of Democrats but only 11% of Republicans approving. Independents are more likely to disapprove than to approve of Obama’s work on healthcare.

The latest Rasmussen Reports

Sixty-one percent (61%) of voters nationwide say that cost is the biggest health care problem facing the nation today. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 21% believe the lack of universal health insurance coverage is a bigger problem.

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll

“Turning to the issue of health care: From what you have heard about Barack Obama’s health care plan, do you think his plan is a good idea or a bad idea? If you do not have an opinion either way, please just say so.”

.

Good Idea Bad Idea Do Not Have
an Opinion Unsure

% % % %

7/24-27/09
36 42 17 5

6/12-15/09
33 32 30 5

4/23-26/09
33 26 34 7

I am not saying the public sentiment doesn’t favor the Democrats in some areas. When you ask big picture questions the public seems to favor mandating insurance for everyone no matter the pre-existing conditions and a Medicare type program that offered government insurance to anyone who needs it or couldn’t get private insurance.

But I think the problem here is a disconnect between these charitable sentiments and the actual consequences of the policies. On the other hand, the public also seems to understand that this type of reform will cost them money:

“From what you’ve heard or read, do you think the health care legislation under consideration in Congress will or will not benefit you personally?”

.

Will Will Not Unsure

% % %

ALL 31 59 10

Republicans 20 73 7

Democrats 41 48 11

Independents 29 61 10

.

“From what you’ve heard or read, do you think the health care legislation under consideration in Congress will increase health care costs for most Americans, decrease health care costs for most Americans, or will it have no effect on health care costs for most Americans?”

.

Increase Decrease No Effect Unsure

% % % %

7/24-28/09 59 15 16 10

Given all of the polling and debate I think Sherrod Brown’s arrogance and petulance is unwarranted. The public may share some of the ideals of the Democrats but they are clearly concerned about the direction things are headed and they are not convinced any of this will benefit them or save them money.

But, hey, if the Democrats are convinced that their majority entitles them to ram through whatever health care bill they want I guess they can go ahead and try.

They might be surprised, however, at how quickly the public will turn on them.

A question for Democrats on Rob Portman

kevin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:29:35 +0000

Democrats and their lefty blog supporters have been trying to pin whatever negative association they can find on Rob Portman. The primary one being that he worked for George W. Bush (in one giggle inducing stunt they called him the “architect” of the Bush economy which was news to Portman and Bush I am sure).

They must be getting tired of that particular tune because now they are branching out in ever greater desperation [$ sub req]. They are now combing through the cases of the law firm Squire Sanders, & Dempsey and associating anything that might be seen as negative with Portman.

The firm is involved in a trade dispute? Blame Portman. Connected with the government bailout? Blame Portman.

Now this is pretty much deceptive campaign tactics 101. Anyone familiar with the workings of a large law firm knows that mere employment does not mean approval of every case handled or client represented.

And Portman didn’t even work in the department that handles the issues sited and played no role in the cases or policies he is being accused of supporting.:

Portman works in the firm’s economic regulations department and “has nothing to do with that client work,” said Drez Jennings, a spokeswoman for the law firm. She added that he also had no role in the firm’s work in guiding funds released in the bank bailout last year.

Again, pretty basic stuff. This isn’t policy disagreement but a smear attempt. (Notice too how the left goes after Portman for something they support – the bailouts – simply in hopes that they might sow dissent with conservatives.)

But put that aside for a moment. Here is my question for the lefties pushing this story: Do you really want to follow this path?

Are you saying that if you work for a firm then any and all cases handled by that firm reflect on you? That this guilt by association should be equally applied to Democratic elected officials and candidates? Are you saying, for example, that anyone Barack Obama worked with or whose issues his firm supported are fair game? Joe Biden? Hillary Clinton? You get the idea.

No, I am pretty sure this is in fact a giant case of hypocrisy. Given that there are a great many law firms and companies that handle cases that cross ideological and party affiliation. Lobbying, consulting and law firms in particular often represent a wide variety of clients and issues; some who are likely on different sides of any given issue.

No one who has experience in government and the law is going to buy the argument that what a large law firm does is reflective of everyone who works there. Heck, lawyers don’t even agree with their individual clients all the time. This is how the legal system works.

No, what is really going on here is that Democrats are afraid the Rob Portman is exactly the type of center-right experienced and appealing politician that Ohio voters support. They know there is no real scandal in his squeaky clean background and they can feel the political ground shifting under their feet.

So they are simply throwing whatever slime they can find at him in hopes that some of it sticks. Portman = Bush must not have been working so now they are trying to find some other distraction.

Portman campaign manager Bob Paduchik understands this:

This attack is flat-out false, and they know it. It’s unfortunate that the Democrats are choosing to run a no-holds-barred negative campaign, manufacturing false accusations like these at a time when the many challenges we face demand a thoughtful discussion of the issues. Ohio voters are tired of politics as usual, the Democrats’ YouTube attack ads, constant barrage of negative e-mails, and fake Web site are all acts of desperation from a party that must be really afraid of Rob Portman’s candidacy.

But again, I have to ask if the left wants to declare this sort of guilt by association fair game. Because if they do then I think there are an awful lot of Democrats with some explaining to do.

Bob Taft is feeling pretty good these days

kevin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:53:26 +0000

What with Ted Strickland taking all the heat from left and right while the economy makes Taft’s time in office seem like an oasis of prosperity.

The folks over at the Education Gadfly had the bright idea of talking to him about his new found perspective. And it produced some interesting quotes. These two in particular caught my attention:

Is a good education a matter of money?

Overall, funding is not the biggest obstacle to school improvement in Ohio. It’s how we can best use the time and talent of educators to improve education for all kids, particularly for kids in urban areas…. Resources are important but more important is how the dollars are used at the school level to change what is happening in the classrooms.

Is it time for a tax increase?

It’s nice not to be governor right now and worry about those decisions….The temporary one-cent sales tax increase was not popular, but I believed it was necessary after all the cuts we had already made. Today, I’m not close enough to the details of the budget to answer that question…. I do believe, however, that it is important to continue the income-tax reductions underway because Ohio’s rates are too high from a competitive standpoint when you put the state income tax together with our city income taxes. You don’t want to be one of the highest income-tax states…. It’s hard to compete with Texas and Florida [and other states without income taxes] but now we’re not even competing with surrounding states.

“Turning to the issue of health care: From what you have heard about Barack Obama’s health care plan, do you think his plan is a good idea or a bad idea? If you do not have an opinion either way, please just say so.”
						.
		Good Idea	Bad Idea	Do Not Have an Opinion	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	7/24-27/09	36	42	17	5
	6/12-15/09	33	32	30	5
	4/23-26/09	33	26	34	7

“From what you’ve heard or read, do you think the health care legislation under consideration in Congress will or will not benefit you personally?”
						.
		Will	Will Not	Unsure
		%	%	%
	ALL	31	59	10
	Republicans	20	73	7
	Democrats	41	48	11
	Independents	29	61	10
						.
“From what you’ve heard or read, do you think the health care legislation under consideration in Congress will increase health care costs for most Americans, decrease health care costs for most Americans, or will it have no effect on health care costs for most Americans?”
						.
		Increase	Decrease	No Effect	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	7/24-28/09	59	15	16	10