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Plunderbund interview with SOTS speech protester Portia Boulger

Joseph — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:59:54 +0000

If you watched Kasich’s State of the State speech on Tuesday you likely noticed, among the references to blue tongued cows and hot wives and wackadoodles from California, a short but loud outbreak of protests when the Governor discussed his plans for the expansion of fracking and fracking-related industry in the state.

While I personally may have chosen a different method for raising awareness of the dangers associated with the explosion of oil and gas exploration in the state, I have to say I did admire the enthusiasm and drive of the protesters, and I was more than a [...]

A Short Lexicon of Ohio Political Speak

Guest Post — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:59:28 +0000

Always wanted to talk like a Columbus political insider? Well now you can!

A friend of the blog recently sent us this lexicon of Ohio political speak. Enjoy…

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William Safire publishes a periodic political dictionary that highlights words and phrases added to the lexicon and inspired by politics.

Watergate – or anything ending in “gate” — has become shorthand for scandal.

Camelot describes the Kennedy administration. Celestials are those brought into politics by Dick Celeste. Blackwellian is reserved for matters of, or pertaining, to the policies promoted by Ken Blackwell, especially illogical attacks on gays and lesbians and nonsensical [...]

Cleveland Mayor’s plan to transform schools demands “exemptions provided to charter schools”

Greg — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:41:44 +0000

Last week, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson collaborated with school district Chief Executive Officer Eric Gordon to submit their plan for “transforming” the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. The report, subtitled “reinventing public education in our city and serving as a model of innovation for the state of Ohio,” was delivered to some high-ranking elected officials:

Ohio Governor, John R. Kasich Ohio Speaker of the House, William G. Batchelder Ohio Senate President, Thomas E. Niehaus Ohio House of Representatives Minority Leader, Armond Budish Ohio Senate Minority Leader, Eric Kearney

The full proposal is worth reading to see how it seems to [...]

In the battle for the Ohio Republican Party: It all begins … with a choice

Joseph — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:20:39 +0000

Yesterday Kasich gave his state of the state speech, delivering his unscripted and often rambling message to members of the General Assembly, his cabinet, invited guests and other local and state officials – many of whom he called out during the nearly hour and twenty minute rant.

Three key Republicans, however, received no such call out and were clearly missing from the audience: Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine, his cousin Attorney General Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Jon Husted.

History is full of epic battles and epic leaders: Grant vs Lee in Virginia, Montgomery and Rommel in [...]

Kasich endorses Obama

ModernEsquire — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:54:46 +0000

Look, if you want a short overview of Kasich’s State of the State address, here it is:

Here’s the long version: The speech was a rambling mess of incomplete thoughts, decrees with no explanation on the plans to address it (while I’m all for ending human trafficking in Ohio, we need a plan, not a Governor to take the time out to point out that 21st century slavery is wrong), and contradictions. Kasich’s aversion to having a speechwriter makes me wonder what a speechwriter could have done to traumatize Kasich to this point.

Kasich chose the Wells Academy to [...]

Gov. Kasich calls bringing in Mexican workers to take manufacturing jobs in Ohio a success story for JobsOhio

ModernEsquire — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:00:09 +0000

This one reference in yesterday’s State of the State should have been a major news story:

(Applause)

Hamilton, Ohio. ThyssenKrupp – big steel people. They were going to move their shock absorbers to Mexico. Not only are they not moving them because we got down there and worked with them–not only are they not moving to Mexico – they are moving people from Mexico to Hamilton, Ohio to make shock absorbers at ThyssenKrupp.

That’s Governor John Kasich calling JobsOhio a success for keeping a plant in Ohio by giving it incentives… to bring in Mexican workers?

Hamilton is in [...]

Transcript of Kasich’s 2012 State of the State speech – now with a word cloud!

Joseph — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:28:52 +0000

In case you missed it today, we have the transcript of Kasich’s State of the State from Steubenville. It’s included at the end of this post. We’ll have more in depth analysis coming soon, but if you feel like watching it, the Ohio Channel has the video online.

Be forewarned, this is not an episode of Will and Grace or Big Bang Theory we’re talking about here. And I say that as guy who regularly watches House hearings on CSPAN and City Council meetings on the local cable access channel.

Even for people like us who follow Ohio [...]

We’ve finally found an Ohio politician with worse poll numbers than John Kasich

ModernEsquire — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:47:53 +0000

PPP seemingly waited until Kasich finished his second State of the State address (more on that after my head clears from having to watch it) to release the remaining results of its most recent Ohio poll.

According to the latest Public Policy Poll, a Democratic pollster that is nonetheless well regarding in the industry as producing very reliable polling (Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight has pointed out that if anything PPP tends to overstate support for Republicans) Governor John Kasich’s approval rating is still a disaster with 33% approving and 53% disapproving. In a rematch with Governor Strickland, Kasich also loses [...]

The “We Are Ohio” Republican candidate: Eric Spicer for the Ohio House-73rd District

ModernEsquire — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:40:20 +0000

Captain Eric Spicer of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office isn’t your typical Republican candidate. He prides himself have both the experience in handling a private sector payroll and also looking after the taxpayers concerning public budgets. A former business owner who felt called to serve his community to become a member of law enforcement, Spicer points out that he’s the only non-politician in the GOP primary race in the 73rd Ohio House District. But that’s not to say that Spicer is a novice when it comes to politics and public policy. He’s served as a the legislative liaison [...]

Kasich delays big road projects for decades, then spends millions on consultants

Joseph — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:26:32 +0000

Kasich’s team at the Ohio Department of Transportation recently announced that only $100 million a year will be available to fund new construction projects approved by Ohio’s Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC). As a result, vital road work around the state is being delayed for years and, in some cases, decades.

As we’ve mentioned before, the previous administration budgeted $317 million in fiscal year 2011 while the Kasich budget appropriates just $60 million in Fiscal 2012 and $123 million in Fiscal 2013 out of a $5.5 billion two-year budget.

Kasich’s strategy is clear: cut the crap out of [...]