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Thursday, March 25, 2010
Sen. Voinovich blasts violence in health care protests
U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, on Thursday, March 25, issued a statement sharply criticizing violence associated with protests against the new health care overhaul signed into law by Democratic President Barack Obama.
Here is the statement from Voinovich, Ohio’s senior senator, who is retiring at the end of this year:
“The national debate on health care has been at times frustrating, heated and tense.
“While I am absolutely opposed to what the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats have done - on both the policy and process - I cannot condone any action of violence or threat of violence against anyone who holds views different from my own.
“Our country is looked upon around the world as the beacon for fair and free elections; a democracy unparalleled in history. Voters spoke in 2008 and this is a clear illustration that elections have significant consequences.
“For those who have concerns, I would urge them to circle November 2, 2010, on their calendars - the day their voices can and will be heard the loudest and clearest. That is the way Americans express their dissatisfaction with elected officials whose decisions they disagree with. Violence against any person in public office or their family is reprehensible and shall not stand.”
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TweetRomney takes early 2012 lead in Ohio
It’s a long way off but former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has taken a narrow lead among Republican primary voters in Ohio for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination in a poll released on Thursday, March 25.
In the survey from Public Policy Polling of Raleigh, N.C., Romney got 32 percent support, compared to 28 percent for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and 26 percent for Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate.
Romney also led Huckabee and Palin in a similar poll in Wisconsin, where he got 32 percent compared to 27 percent for Palin and 23 percent for Huckabee.
“It’s far too early to declare someone the leading candidate for the 2012 Republican nomination,” Dean Debnam, PPP president, said in a press release. “But it’s certainly not bad news for Mitt Romney that we find him leading in state after state after state.”
The poll surveyed 400 GOP primary voters in both Ohio and Wisconsin on Saturday, March 20, and Sunday, March 21, and each survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.
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TweetDemocratic county chairman thinks some protests going too far
This entry comes from Steve Bennish, staff writer:
Someone threw a heavy rock at a picture window fronting the Hamilton County Democratic Headquarters on Sunday night, an act suspected of being connected to the contentious health care vote in Congress.
The four-foot by eight-foot window at the party’s headquarters in Cincinnati’s Pleasant Ridge neighborhood will have to be replaced.
Caleb Faux, executive director of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, said Wednesday, March 24, that the attack comes amid hateful telephone calls to the office and other abuse heaped on Democratic political offices elsewhere.
The calls have been about the health care debate in Congress, he said. The window vandalism is the first in the three years the party has occupied its office there.
“Suddenly, in the heat of all of that (debate), somebody is throwing rocks at our windows. It’s hard to not think it’s connected.” He added: “When people call me and are angry, I always try to talk to them.
“If they are remotely able to engage in discussion, we can talk. I spent an hour on the phone talking to one woman. But other people call me. One woman was convinced that (White House Chief of Staff) Rahm Emanuel is Iranian and gay, and that Barack Obama is a Muslim. It’s just nuts.”
Faux said that Congressman Steve Driehaus, D-Cincinnati, has gotten death threats. There’s talk of organizing protests at his home.
“In the past few weeks we’ve gotten many, many calls” Faux said.
The rhetoric has tipped over into murderous rants.
One furious caller advocated taking Democrats to “concentration camps” for extermination by means a lethal gas used by the Nazi regime, Faux said.
“This is not how we engage in political discussion in this country,” Faux said.
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TweetStrickland, Kasich both back plan to move casino
Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and former U.S. Rep. John Kasich, Strickland’s Republican challenger for re-election, have endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment that would permit moving a proposed Columbus casino from the city’s upscale Arena District to a closed GM plant on the west side.
Both the Ohio Republican Party and Ohio Democratic Party also have endorsed State Issue 2 on the May 4 ballot, according to a press release from the campaign for the amendment.
“The Ohio legislature’s strong bipartisan support for this ballot proposal speaks volumes.” Strickland said in a prepared statement.
” … While this initiative asks Ohioans to support an address change for the planned Columbus casino development, it will in fact mean the revitalization of a former GM Delphi auto-parts plant that has been vacant for years on Columbus’ West Side.”
Kasich, from suburban Columbus, in his statement, said:
“I support Issue 2, which will give Columbus local control in determining the location of its casino and in determining the future course of economic development plans for its downtown.”
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TweetPoll: Opposition to health care overhaul dropping
American voters still mostly disapprove of the overhaul of the health care system but opposition is dropping, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday, March 25.
The poll also finds that President Barack Obama gets a small positive bounce from passage of his priority legislation but that his approval grades still are low.
In the survey, voters disapproved of the health care overhaul, 49-40 percent, compared to 54-36 percent disapproval before the vote.
Also, 45 percent of the voters in the poll on Monday, March 22, and Tuesday, March 23, approved Obama’s performance after passage of the health care bill, compared to 46 percent who approved his performance and 49 percent who disapproved it in a survey that concluded on Sunday, March 21, when the House gave final passage to the bill.
Still, voters trusted Obama more than Republicans in Congress to handle health care, 45-35 percent, compared to a 42-42 percent split before the House vote.
Also, voters said 51-40 percent that action proposed by several state attorneys general to block the health care plan is a “bad idea.”
A vote for the bill, however, could affect lawmakers’ re-election chances. Just 25 percent of voters said they’d be more likely to vote for a member of Congress who voted for the bill compared to 38 percent who said they’d be less likely to vote for a supporter.
“The White House believes that now that the legislation has been signed into law they can sell it to the American people,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Polling Institute, said in a press release.
“Approval of health care reform is growing - or disapproval is shrinking - but the president still has his work cut out for him.”
From March 16 to Sunday, March 21, the poll surveyed 1,907 registered voters nationwide with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
From Monday, March 22 to Tuesday, March 23, the poll talked to 1,552 registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
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TweetKeyes to guest at tea party event
Former presidential candidate and conservative commentator Alan Keyes will be the keynote speaker at the Dayton Tea Party’s April 13 rally.
The event, dubbed a “Freedom Rally”, will be held at the Ervin J. Nutter Center at 7 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m.
According to the group, other speakers include U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, former U.S. Rep. Bob McEwen, Greg McAfee, president and owner of McAfee Heating and Air, Apostle Claver Kamau-Imani, founder and chairman of RagingElephants.org, author William Federer, talk show host C.L. Bryant and Steve Curtis, Ohio Director of Fairtax.
The Dayton Tea Party is partnering with the Homemakers for America in hosting the rally. The event is free but special seating is available for $15.
For more information visit www.daytonlibertyweek.com.
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