For some reason, rather than focusing on issues that matter to Ohioans, they think they can win by making sure Ohioans learn John Kasich used to work for Lehman Brothers. Their reasoning? Jon Corzine lost!
Like Mr. Strickland, Mr. Redfern drew parallels between Mr. Corzine and Mr. Kasich.So, Corzine lost because of his connection to Wall Street, eh?"There is a disconnect between John Kasich and the voters," Mr. Redfern said. "He can run from his Lehman Brothers past, but as Jon Corzine just showed, he can't hide."
Ok, then. You want to compare New Jersey to Ohio? Fine. Let's look at the Garden State's exit polls.
Nearly a third of the voters heading to the polls in this off-year election pitting Democratic Gov. John Corzine against Republican Chris Christie, 31 percent, said the economy was the most important issue, while 26 percent said property taxes, 20 percent indicated corruption and 18 percent identified health care.Anything about Wall Street or personal issues with Corzine? Nope. Nothing. Instead, what do we see? An electorate focused on the state of their state.
So, where does Ohio stand on the issues that actually were of importance to New Jersey?
- Economy. During Strickland's time in office, Ohio's unemployment rate doubled.
- Taxes. Ohio suffers from the 4th worst business tax climate in the country and the State/Local tax burden is currently 7th worst.
- Corruption. Strickland's Administration has suffered from at least ten staff members being fired for criminal, ethical, or other misdeeds in office.
- Health Care. Strickland's only positive talking point includes increased coverage for children.
[sigh]
Sometimes I wonder if the Ohio Democrats are trying to throw this election.
Be careful how you allow Redfern and Strickland to frame the message. This is your blog, not one that should, even in the slightest way, be controlled by Chris, Ted and their secret society communication team.
ReplyDeleteWhen you repeat the "Lehman Brothers" theme in this blog, you are unintentionally helping their limited message to stay on life support.
If you refuse to react, based on their terms, their message will go away and die.
A fair point.
ReplyDeleteI started this blog with the intention of it simply being a release of my thoughts on politics and political analysis.
Since then it has grown far beyond what I envisioned it - somehow influencing the debate in some way or another.
With that being said, I find it unlikely that my analysis of the issue will substantively change the debate. The Ohio Democrats have nothing else to attack, and will continue to use Lehman as their focus. And if that continues to be their focus, all the better. It highlights to Ohioans how out of touch the incumbent Party is from reality.
It's my hope that the Kasich campaign will take each attack as an opportunity to deflect onto the real issue plaguing Ohioans - the jobs crisis.
Thanks for your feedback.