Plunderbund » GOP

Niehaus keeps digging deeper on Issue 2 hypocrisy with Senate staffer raises

ModernEsquire — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 13:51:45 +0000

It is better to remain silent and suffer that people might think you a fool than it is to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Senate President Niehaus should really just stop talking because he keeps digging a deeper and deeper hole on the retroactive raises and how it reflects why Issue 2 is just bad policy. Niehaus’ latest spin in today’s Cleveland Plain Dealer is that these raises actually are entirely consistent with the values embodied in Issue 2. So that I can’t be accused of misrepresenting him, here’s what the Plain Dealer reported Niehaus said:

[...]

For the second month in a row, Ohio’s unemployment rate went up

ModernEsquire — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:23:30 +0000

For the second month in a row, Ohio’s unemployment rate in July increased .2% to 9%. This was the first full month of the new FY 2012 since Governor Kasich signed his “Jobs Budget” into law.

The number of unemployed Ohioans increased for the second month in a row. In July, the number of unemployed Ohio grew 12,000 from June. In June, the number of unemployed Ohioans grew 11,000. In other words, the growth in the number of unemployed Ohioans stayed relatively flat, with some slight growth.

But job creation can’t keep up with the changes [...]

Ohio GOP Chairman’s ’12 Victory Plan: (Don’t) Remember SB 5!

ModernEsquire — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:02:18 +0000

In today’s Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine states he knows the key for his party to win in Ohio next year… it’s hoping that the entire State gets collective amensia on one of Governor Kasich’s signature legislative achievements this year:

The GOP leader said he doubts anyone will be talking about Senate Bill 5 come November 2012.

“What we do know is that for 90 percent of the people, the economy is the number one issue and in November 2012 no one is going to be talking about Senate Bill 5,” DeWine said. “And Barack [...]

Kasich threatens veto if General Assembly continues to provide more money for schools, seniors, and local governments

ModernEsquire — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:23:41 +0000

Welcome Kasichstan, where the Governor issues veiled veto threats if the legislature considers more funding for schools, seniors and local governments!

Here’s Governor Grumpy Pants in today’s Columbus Dispatch:

Gov. John Kasich said the Senate’s version of the two-year budget shares his overall vision, but he warned that he soon will grow cold to additional spending.

"We are watching spending very carefully," Kasich said. "We cannot put ourselves back in the hole by spending too much. There can be some give, but if there’s much more, we’re going to have a problem with it."

John Kasich is still seething [...]

Something about Mark Kvamme just doesn’t add up right…

ModernEsquire — Thu, 05 May 2011 15:07:43 +0000

Today’s Dispatch article about Mark Kvamme adds a new piece to the puzzle that suggests there is something highly unusual about his interest in JobsOhio and Ohio in general, especially for a guy committed to return to his California-based venture capital firm by the end of this summer.

We know that Kvamme first worked on Kasich’s ‘00 Presidential campaign as a “Senior Internet Strategist.” We know that for years John Kasich was able to keep his oldest and closest congressional aides paid by keeping them on the payroll of his federal PAC, New Century, which did little but… keep [...]

Take three? House GOP takes another crack at State budget.

ModernEsquire — Tue, 03 May 2011 14:14:20 +0000

Yesterday, the Columbus Dispatch reported that the House Republicans were set to consider some 200 amendments submitted in response to the Substitute House Bill they introduced for the State’s budget Thursday afternoon. Now the fate of these amendments are far from certain, but among the things the House GOP is being urged to change are:

Their new provision that would give county commissioners authority to privatize county jails. It’s getting to the point where Ohio’s criminals may never actually be punished by the State, but out-of-state corporations hired to mete out punishment for profits. Some Cincinnati-area lawmakers want to [...]

[Exclusive:] John Kasich secretly loves ObamaCare (and claims credit for Medicaid reforms Strickland and Obama enacted)

ModernEsquire — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:32:30 +0000

Stop me if you've heard this before: John Kasich takes credit for something that turns out was not his idea, but something that was a labor of love of the Strickland Administration. On top of that, Kasich is touting the achievement while hiding that it's being entirely funded by "one time" federal stimulus money. Or did you hear the one about how Governor Kasich approached U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown about seeking another extension of a federal stimulus program for Medicaid? Or how John Kasich's budget relies on a Washington bailout that doesn't even appear to be in the works? Or how it also relies on cost savings to the States provided by "ObamaCare?"

Kasich: Let’s start passing provisions of SB 5 in the State budget; GOP Speaker: Sounds like a great idea

ModernEsquire — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:05:06 +0000

HB 153, Kasich’s biennium budget bill, already contains in it a number of provisions regarding teacher pay that seems similar, if not identical, provisions to the “merit pay” provisions in SB 5 for teachers. Presently, HB 153 would:

Supersede any provision in any collective bargaining agreement entered into on or after the effective date of the budget; Start during the 2011-2012 school year; Mandates that districts and ESC create separate salary schedules for: Teachers with a resident educator or alternative resident educator license; Teachers with a professional educator’s license; Senior professional educator’s license; Lead [...]

Kasich: “If the jobs come in ’13, then God bless them.”

ModernEsquire — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 03:48:17 +0000

(HT: Clips & Comment)

Senate Bill 5 isn’t about creating jobs in Ohio.

Want proof? Here’s Governor Kasich in Newsweek:

The most that Kasich would say was that “timing may be an issue” and that unemployment may remain high through the next election. “We have a long way to run,” Kasich confessed. “If the jobs come in ’13, then God bless them.” (emphasis added.)

In other words, give Kasich every policy he wants, and he still believes that it’ll take divine intervention for Ohio to gain jobs before he’s up for re-election in 2014.

SB 5, [...]

Ohio Chamber of Commerce denies that it is a “tool of the Ohio Republican Party” (from the ORP’s State HQ)

ModernEsquire — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:41:39 +0000

From Marc Kovac at Ohio Capital Blog

Notice the plaque in the back. This was filmed at the ORP’s State HQ, after the Chamber’s representative leant his title as a political prop for the Kasich campaign at a press event held at the Ohio Republican Party’s State Headquarters. Irony surrenders.