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Issue 2 Then And Now

A year ago, voters rejected State Issue 2 by a 61.6% to 38.4% margin.  A month ago, voters rejected State Issue 2 by a 63.2% to 36.8% margin.

They were two completely different issues, with almost identical results, and one more thing in common: union special interests were involved in both.  In 2011, Big Labor backed the "No" vote, and ended up with the win.  This year, they were asking for a "Yes" vote, and fell flat on their faces.

So why the huge difference?  Put simply... spending.

Thoughts and Prayers with Newtown, CT

AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Yesterday, tragedy struck at Sandy Hook Elementary. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

The teachers, law enforcement officers and rescue workers are heroes. The stories being shared about the courageous acts of the teachers is nothing short of remarkable. A custodian ran through the halls warning teachers and students, a teacher ushered her students into a bathroom to hide them from the suspect, and Victoria Soto, lost her life shielding her students from the suspect.

This is not the time to discuss politics of gun laws. This individual carried out an intent that appears to be pre-meditated. Some news outlets are stating that the individual responsible was mentally ill or had some form of autism. The conversation that needs to occur is about changing the culture in this country and helping those that are mentally ill.

As a nation, we need to come together and make sure those families affected by this tragedy in Sandy Hook know that they are not alone. Many individuals have started funds to help those affected.  May God Bless the victims, and may he comfort those who are affected.

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Kasich gets good news but also room for improvement in latest poll

Quinnipiac University released an Ohio poll yesterday, so let's take a look at where John Kasich stands with the gubernatorial election still almost two years away.

The poll's top line shows their highest approval rating for Kasich to date, but there is also some more catching up to do in the next couple of years.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has a 42 - 35 percent job approval, the first time since his inauguration in 2011 that registered voters have given him a thumbs-up rating, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Gov. Kasich seems to be benefitting from high levels of satisfaction among Ohio voters with life in the Buckeye State.

But the governor does not deserve a second term, voters tell the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll by an almost identical 43 - 36 percent margin. All voters say 44 - 37 percent that another Republican should challenge the governor for the 2014 nomination. By 45 - 41 percent, self-described Republicans say no other Republican should challenge Kasich.

First off, those reelect numbers are obviously not where the administration wants to be. More on that later. Let's move to the positives in this poll.

Unions: Ending forced unionism is like Pearl Harbor

On December 7th, 1941, the U.S. was attacked by Japan, thrusting us into World War II. That attack devastated our Pacific naval fleet, killed 2,402 people and injured thousands more. The subsequent war with Japan would cost hundreds of thousands more American lives, not to mention millions of Japanese.

Recently, we've been told by Ohio and national Big Labor leaders that an equally horrifying and costly event has taken place.

Witness the horror that is the freedom to choose whether you want to join a union or not. Last week, Media Trackers Ohio reported that the union group "We Are Ohio" compared Right-to-Work legislation in Michigan to Pearl Harbor.

Unions deploy their best argument for forced unionism in Michigan: violence

Alternate title: this is what union thuggery looks like.

As the Michigan legislature finalized plans to make Michigan a right-to-work state, and Governor Rick Snyder prepared to sign it into law, thousands of union protesters gathered in Lansing. They brought their most thought out and reasonable and civil debate points with them, right?

Yeah right. They did what unions usually do when you ask them to explain why they believe workers should be forced to join. They use their fists.

Watch one of them attack conservative comic Steven Crowder. Another brave union thug even comes back, grabs his collar from behind and sucker punches him. Finally, the thugs tear down the AFP tent and collapse it while there are still people in it, including women and children.

Obama Ready To Throw Middle Class Americans Over The Fiscal Cliff

If there's one thing President Barack Obama has made clear in the discussions surrounding the fiscal cliff, it's that he's not budging on increasing taxes on "those making $250,000 or more."  Of course, the problem with that logic is the hundreds of thousands of businesses who are structured as pass-through entities (S-Corp's) that will be drastically affected with such an absurd proposal.  Many S-Corporations are some of the biggest job creators in Ohio and throughout the nation--employing millions of middle class Americans--but apparently Obama doesn't much care if they get hit.

Or, to put it another way, in order to screw "the rich," Obama is willing to throw the middle class over the fiscal cliff.

Just ask his Treasury Secretary:

"If Republicans do not agree to that, is the administration prepared to go over the fiscal cliff?" 

[Geithner] "Absolutely. We see no prospect for an agreement that doesn't involve those rates going up..."

Congressman Tim Ryan arrested for public drunkenness

Congressman Moonbeam is back in the news. Remember this guy? He's the congressman from Ohio who thinks the answer to our problems is to...meditate with raisins.

A Plain Dealer article from Saturday goes into more detail, but the idea of staring at a raisin comes from one of the first exercises behind this way of thinking. A student gazes at a raisin and holds it to their lips without eating it then they squeeze the raisin to hear its sound. By the time they actually eat the raisin they are aware of all of the sensory urges that it elicits. Apparently the awareness is the lesson.

Today, the Washington Post reported that Tim Ryan was arrested in Virginia in August for stumbling around in public in a state of apparent intoxication.

Green activist who wants you to live like a caveman visits Columbus

The following is a guest-submitted post.

On Tuesday, Columbus hosted one of the most prominent green activists today, Bill McKibben, on his nationwide “Do The Math” tour. For most of his career, McKibben has acknowledged the widespread deprivation his agenda would cause and tried to put a happy spin on it, but that’s not the message he brought to the Capitol Theater.

McKibben is on the attack full-time now, and his argument, on its face, is that it would be risky to use even a fraction of the world’s known fossil fuel reserves, so we should divest from fossil fuel companies.

But does his plan even make sense?

The top 10 companies with the largest oil and gas reserves in the world, with 71 percent of proven reserves, are all owned by governments like Iran and Venezuela. Divestment from investor-owned American companies wouldn’t solve more than a tiny fraction of the problem, it would just give foreign state-owned industries the upper hand.

As Ohioans know, those American companies are investing heavily in production of natural gas, the use of which is a substantial part of the reason U.S. emissions have been dropping.

Bob Costas: Anti-gun idiot

Unless you live under a rock, you know about this idiotic anti-2nd amendment editorial that Bob Costas chose to deliver during halftime of the Eagles/Cowgirls game last night:


There are so many things wrong with this.

The first of which is...it's a football game, Bob! Nobody is tuning in to hear political arguments. Your comments belong on the Sunday morning talk shows, not Sunday Night Football. Bob Costas took advantage of his position to air his liberal views to a captive audience. If NBC and the NFL knew about this ahead of time, shame on them as well.

Ohio's left twists the truth to attack Kasich

The Plunderpals are at it again. Twisting the facts of even the most minor of news stories to turn it into an attack. This time they focused on a story from the San Francisco Chronicle about comments Governor Kasich made at a meeting of the Executive Workforce Board.

Let's take a look at their analysis of the story.

On Monday, Kasich helped kick off the first meeting of Ohio’s Executive Workforce Board – a 25-member panel that appears to be charged with accomplishing the same exact tasks Frederick failed to accomplish.

Remember when John Kasich, the supposed small government conservative, promised to eliminate red tape, simplify the way state government operates and help get Ohio moving at the “speed of business”?

Plunderbund intentionally makes it sound like Kasich replaced one man with a panel of 25, thus betraying small government conservatives.

As usual, however, they aren't telling you the whole story.

The Obama Plan: Tax Your Way to Prosperity

Perhaps the reason President Barack Obama does not understand how job creation works is because he's never created a job. President Obama has never understood what it takes for a small business to make payroll each week, refinance a line of credit, or even prepare a set of financial statements. But somehow, he has managed to become the CEO of the largest business in the world, the United States of America.

The delusional reality that President Obama lives in is one of the most perplexing situations. He thinks you can simply tax the rich and it will not affect the middle class. What he seems to forget is that "the rich" are the job creators and small business owners. When these business owners have less money in their companies, they create fewer jobs.

Now, it's pretty common knowledge that President Obama is only good at campaigning. Even today, he was campaigning to sell his tax hikes. His public pitch, from the White House, was made with "a backdrop of hand-picked, middle-class voters".

Sherrod Brown wants to extend unemployment benefits beyond 99 weeks

Elections have consequences.

Our consequence is that we are stuck with Sherrod Brown, arguably the Senate's most left-wing member, for another six years. And he's already exhibiting why he is a textbook liberal extremist.

Sherrod Brown says paying a person not to work for almost 2 years just isn't enough. We have to pay them not to work for even longer.

The Columbus Dispatch reports workers who used up six months of state payments could get 73 more weeks of aid under a federal benefits program extended several times. Some advocates want Congress to extend it again.

Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown wants an extension included if Congress makes a deal to avoid the automatic tax increases and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff." His spokeswoman says too many Ohioans are still looking for work.

Not matter what the issue, Sherrod Brown's solution is always "more government spending."

Setting The Record Straight On The Judicial Name Game

Much has been made about the races for Ohio Supreme Court this past election, with a lot of focus paid to Name ID over substance.  This past weekend, Ohio newspaper editorialists jumped into the fray.

From the Columbus Dispatch’s Joe Hallett:

Cupp and McGee Brown received “highly recommended” ratings from the Ohio State Bar Association. They are members of arguably the best Supreme Court Ohio has had in the past 30 years.

That didn’t matter. On Nov. 6, Ohio voters replaced them with two candidates blessed with Irish names. McGee Brown was defeated by Sharon Kennedy, a Republican domestic-relations judge who was rated “not recommended” by the state bar. Cupp was beaten by Democrat William O’Neill, a former state appellate judge who had been working as an emergency-room nurse.

And the Plain Dealer’s Brent Larkin:

Republican Justice Robert Cupp was beaten by a Democrat with a far better ballot name: former appellate Judge William O'Neill. And Justice Yvette McGee Brown, a Democrat, failed to keep her seat as the high court's first black woman, losing to Butler County Common Pleas Judge Sharon Kennedy, a Republican.

Looking Ahead To 2014: Kasich Leads Weak Field Of Democrats

Election Day 2012 was just two weeks ago, and it seems like all everyone is talking about is Election Day 2014.  The voting machines have yet to cool down, but speculation on who Democrats will run against Governor John Kasich is all over the news.

From the bumbling failure that is Ted Strickland and that laughable Congressman Moonbeam Tim Ryan, to the angry man continuing the corrupt politics of Cuyahoga County, Ed Fitzgerald, Democrats have an array of dreadful prospects to challenge Governor Kasich.

But that hasn't stopped Democrat Chairman Chris "I Don't Live In My House District" Redfern from touting a liberal polling firm's assessment that Democrats are just one point behind Kasich in a hypothetical 2014 matchup.

It was just great to see PolitiFact Ohio, the intellectually dishonest "fact checker," report on the poll, with their hack-job analysis proving their either incompetent or actually advancing Democrat talking points.

Maybe both.

Ohio Unemployment Falls, Continues To Outpace National Rate

The October unemployment rate for the Buckeye State was released this morning, and it comes in a full 1% lower than the national rate:

Ohio's unemployment rate was 6.9 percent in October, down from 7.1 percent in September, according to data released this morning by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). Ohio's nonfarm wage and salary employment increased 13,900 over the month...

The U.S. unemployment rate for October was 7.9 percent, up from 7.8 percent in September... [Emphasis mine]

Ohio's rate has continued to outpace the national rate ever since voters replaced failed Governor Strickland back in November 2010.  And with last Tuesday's election results, it's crucial now more than ever to have strong state leadership. 

When Obama's policies start costing jobs right and left, it's those leaders that will keep Ohio's economy moving.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Your Newest Ohio Supreme Court Justice

It's one thing to lose a distinguished, experienced and knowledgeable  jurist like Justice Robert Cupp.  It's another completely to not only lose him, but have him replaced by an unqualified, ill-equipped former judge turned nurse.

But that's who you elected, Ohio.  Ladies and Gentlemen, Ohio Supreme Court Justice-elect Bill O'Neill.

Stay Classy, Democrats

In the aftermath of Governor Mitt Romney's loss on Tuesday, there's been numerous things said about the now-failed GOP presidential candidate, with many supporters of the President finally admitting that Romney is a pretty "classy" guy.  The President himself even said so:

There were just four people in the room when Obama received the call from Romney: the president, campaign manager Jim Messina and senior advisers David Axelrod and David Plouffe. 

The President expressed satisfaction that it was a “very classy” gesture in terms of how Romney handled the call.

It sure is nice that Democrats think Romney's a nice guy, now that the elections are over.  But where was that civility during the campaign?

Ohio Election Wrap-up

The results out of the election were bad, but not completely so. Here are some good things for Ohio Republicans to take out of 2012:

- Republicans still hold a large majority in the Ohio House, 60-39. ODP Chairman Chris Redfern will return to his seat representing the 89th district, even though he doesn't live there. He is expected to be the minority leader, and a small minority it will be.

- Republicans also still maintain a super-majority in the Ohio Senate, outnumbering Democrats 23-10.

- The Ohio delegation to Congress is 12 Republicans to 4 Democrats. Come 2013, Betty Sutton and Dennis Kucinich will no longer represent Ohioans in the U.S. House of Representatives.

This One Was On Us

Whether we like it or not, Ohio went blue yesterday.  President Barack Obama will get another four years in the Oval Office.  The result left many wondering what went wrong, so that Romney would not only lose, but lose by a significant electoral college margin.  So what happened?

We didn't show up.  That's right, this one was on us. And the sad part is, we had a path to victory, and just didn't take it.

Democrats even lent us a hand.  In the 16 counties won by President Obama, turnout was down a whopping 210,000 from the overall turnout in those counties in 2008.  That alone should have been enough to erase any Obama lead.

But we didn't take advantage of it, as turnout was down almost 125,000 from 2008 in counties won by Romney.  Democrats spotted us 85,000 votes... and we did diddly-squat with it.  And while Democrats will tout that their turnout advantage--another historical high on top of their 2008 high-water mark--it wouldn't have held if we'd had just shown up to the polls.