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Monday, June 1, 2009
Kasich blasts Strickand as “caretaker”; enters race for governor
WESTERVILLE - Blasting incumbent Democrat Ted Strickland as a “caretaker” who held out a “tin cup” for help from Washington, D.C., Republican John Kasich on Monday, June 1, launched his campaign for governor with a pledge to, over time, wipe out Ohio’s income tax.
Kasich, 57, a former U.S. House member for 18 years, drew loud applause from a crowd his aides estimated at about 2,000. They gathered outside the Everal Barn and Homestead in the first rally of his campaign.
Democrats earlier Monday already started trashing Kasich as a tool of Wall Street. He served as a managing director of Lehman Brothers, the investment banking firm that went bankrupt in 2008, after leaving Congress.
“Ohio does not need a governor from Wall Street,” said Chris Redfern, Ohio Democratic chairman.
Ohio, however, needs Kasich, said Braden Black of Vandalia, CEO of Skilled Trade, a company that provides skilled trade workers to companies. He had never met Kasich but attended the rally and liked the speech.
“It was very good,” said Black.
State Sen. Kevin Coughlin, R-Cuyahoga Falls, also is seeking the GOP nomination for governor.
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Kasich’s fans include South Lebanon’s Carbo
Sherri Carbo of South Lebanon in Warren County has known John Kasich since she was 17 years old. She helped Kasich win his first race to the Ohio Senate in 1978.
Now 47, Carbo, a village councilwoman, was on hand Monday, June 1, at the Everal Barn and Homestead in Westerville to hear Republican Kasich officially launch his campaign for governor.
“Any one who can balance the budget for the country can only have good things in store for Ohio,” said Carbo, chair of a “Kasich for Governor” leadership group in Warren County.
Kasich led efforts to balance the budget while serving as U.S. House Budget Committee chairman in the 1990s.
Hundreds of Kasich backers gathered on a slightly muggy day to await Kasich’s appearance, set for about 6 p.m.
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Senators on GM
Sens. Sherrod Brown and George Voinovich both send out statements today expressing their sympathy for Ohio workers whose livelihoods are at risk because of GM’s bankruptcy filing.
Here’s Brown, D-Ohio: “A bankruptcy filing by General Motors will test our nation’s resolve in rebuilding our manufacturing base. GM is a crucial part of our nation’s economy. As we work to help GM through bankruptcy, we must also work to rebuild a thriving domestic manufacturing industry.”
He said the federal government must ensure that taxpayer dollars go to build cars at home, not abroad, and promised to work toward rebuilding the nation’s manufacturing base.
“We need to ensure that GM emerges as a stronger company that utilizes Ohio’s talented auto workers and suppliers to build the fuel-efficient vehicles of the 21st century,” he said. “More government assistance to GM is about supporting domestic manufacturing, rather than just upholding a brand.”
And, as he called for with DHL, Brown called for a “timely,” “targeted” coordinated federal response.
Voinovich, R-Ohio, meanwhile, expressed sadness that three Ohio facilities - in Mansfield, Groveport and Parma - were targetedd for closing, and promise to work with his fellow senators and the administration to get displaced auto workers assistance.
“I am hopeful that this bankruptcy process will result in a strong, viable General Motors that contributes to the communities in which it operates,” he said.
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Dems, GOP battle as Kasich enters race for governor
Ohio Democrats and Republicans warmed up for Republican John Kasich’s entry into the 2010 governor’s race on Monday, June 1, by bashing each others’ candidates.
Hours before Kasich was to formally enter the race with an announcement in Westerville, the Ohio Democratic Party released a web video trashing Kasich for serving as a managing director for Lehman Brothers after Kasich left the U.S. House in 2001. Lehman Brothers, the investment banking firm, went bankrupt in 2008.
“Ohio does not need a governor from Wall Street,” Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern said at a press conference.
Meanwhile, GOP state chairman Kevin DeWine fired back in a press release, noting that since Democrat Ted Strickland became governor in 2007 that Ohio has lost about 300,000 jobs.
“The only Ohioan who deserves to lose a job in this economy is the guy who promised to turn it around and failed miserably,” DeWine said in the press release.
Kasich invited Ohioans to watch his announcement in Westerville live on his campaign Web site about 5:30 p.m. on www.KasichforOhio.com.
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Congressmen weigh in on GM
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan responded to the GM bankruptcy filing today, June 1, with concern specifically about a Richland County stamping plant set to close in June 2010.
Jordan, R-Urbana, expressing concern about a stamping plant in Ontario, Ohio, which is just west of Mansfield, called the plant “a top-notch facility with recent capital investment, and its employees are among the best workers in the nation.”
He said the decision reinforced his opposition to President Barack Obama’s handling of the Big Three’s problems, saying Obama was “trying to micromanage the American auto industry from the White House.”
“This industry, like any other, is best run by those who know it best - not the federal government,” he said.
He demanded the administration, which has been touring Midwest auto facilities, visit Ontario’s plant, “to tour the facility and look our workers in the eyes to tell them why they chose to close their plant.” And he also called for a a five-year moratorium on the newly-proposed CAFE standards, more incentive for Americans to buy trucks and SUVs and an end to the push for “cap and trade” programs aimed at curbing global warming.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, also pooh-poohed GM’S decision to file for bankruptcy.
“This agreement may buy some time, but does nothing to ensure GM’s success,” he said. “The only thing it makes clear is that the government is firmly in the business of running companies using taxpayer dollars. Does anyone really believe that politicians and bureaucrats in Washington can successfully steer a multinational corporation to economic viability?”
Like Jordan, he criticized the administration for vowing to work to keep GM afloat while increasing CAFE standards that toughened requirements on auto emissions.
