Sherrod Brown campaign dismisses Mandel's military service as only "tactical", says Brown is the "experienced veteran"

It was only a matter of time.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and his campaign have been attacking Josh Mandel's character for months now. One thing they had stayed away from, however, was his military service in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Until now.

At a campaign event held at Ohio Democratic Party headquarters yesterday where reporters heard from "Veterans for Sherrod" co-chairman Retired Army Major General Dennis Laich, a reporter asked Laich about Mandel's military service. Josh Mandel served two tours of duty in Iraq.

The Mandel campaign clearly is pushing his experience in the military as a Marine you know, as a major theme in their campaign and I’m sure, hoping to pull along that block of votes. I guess from your experience in the military – will that work?

Laich's answer is incredible (emphasis mine):

It’s not a matter of it working or not. The fact of the matter is that Josh Mandel has served in the military – we applaud that. As a matter of fact, General Kindred and I would hope that thousands of other young Ohioans would choose to serve in the military.

Huffington Post smears John Kasich with racist misquote

The Huffington Post has long been known as a liberal blog, but they have been trying to rebrand themselves as a legitimate news organization, calling themselves "The Internet Newspaper".

That effort isn't going too well, and a stunt they pulled today showed that they are still a liberal rag who will smear conservatives to fit their political agenda.

Today they hosted an event in Tampa with several personalities. The program was about the nation's job crisis, and Governor Kasich was on the panel. The governor made a comment that we need to promote entrepreneurship to the inner cities to inspire more black Americans. Unfortunately, HuffPo completely misquoted Kasich and made his comment sound racist. Here is what they reported, followed by a screenshot of their article.

A Gun That Progressives Refuse To Ban

Can it be? Scientists have finally discovered a gun that 'Progressives' don't want to ban.  It seems like the closer we get to the election, the more we hear we are racist if we don't agree with President Obama's policies.  Add to that the Hollywood folks that only have two forms of argument... name calling and/or wishing death upon Republicans (read more here).  This gun is the only tool left in their toolbox.

Cross-posted:TobyToons.com (Conservative Political Cartoons)

Governor Kasich knocks it out of the park

In case you missed Governor Kasich's speech at the Republican National Convention tonight, here it is!



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Photos: Ted Strickland's bus tour draws huge crowds

As I'm sure you have seen from the massive traffic jams around the state, Barack Obama has once again asked Ted Strickland to take a bus tour around Ohio. Appropriately enough, Ted's bus is labeled "Wrong for the Middle Class". He is calling this tour his "counter convention", intended to draw attention away from Mitt Romney and the Republican convention. Let's take a look at some of the stops and the crowds Ted Strickland is drawing.

First, we'll check in on his stop in Youngstown. From WKBN

"We want to talk about the impact of a potential Romney-Ryan administration," Strickland told a group of about three dozen supporters outside the Golden Dawn Restaurant in Youngstown.

The Governor, who is a co-chair of the President's Obama For American campaign, downplayed new polling showing both the president and Mitt Romney in a virtual tie in the Buckeye State.

Don't worry, Ted. I'm told it was more like 40 people.

State of the Senate Race

Ohio: Brown vs. Mandel

First let's take a look here at home. We are working hard, both online and off, to help elect U.S. Marine Josh Mandel as Ohio's junior Senator and to defeat borderline socialist Sherrod Brown.

We have said for over a year that this would be a close, hard fought race and not to underestimate Sherrod Brown. I said in June 2011:

Make no mistake, Sherrod Brown is a shrewd politician. Most of us know he is the most liberal, tax-loving, anti-business member of the Senate. But he's done a very good job of crafting his image of someone more populist and mainstream.

And this brings me to one more reason I believe this race will be close, and we have a shot at beating him. He now has a record that will be exposed statewide. And our side will be certain to educate Ohio voters about how far left Sherrod Brown really is.

Ohio Senate races are usually pretty lopsided affairs, but I still believe this one is going to be a dead heat all the way until November. Let's take a look at some recent polling.

Tranquility Base II - The Eagle Has Finally Landed

After NASA, Neil Armstrong taught engineering at the University of Cincinnati, my alma mater. I started in Engineering more than 10 years after he left there, and was not even in the Aerospace Engineering program, but he was still a legend around campus and especially in the hallways of Baldwin Hall.

Everyone I knew in the Engineering school would puff there chest out a little when mentioning that they were engineering students at UC, "where Neil Armstrong used to teach."

Rest In Peace Neil Armstrong.

Cross-posted: TobyToons.com (Conservative Political Cartoons)

Solar firm that donated to Ted Strickland in return for tax dollars now in default

Three months ago, we told you about how WK Solar received millions of Ohio tax dollars from the Strickland administration, even though Strickland knew that the firm was already failing.

Media Trackers Ohio details the findings of a Toledo Blade investigation of possible misuse of millions of dollars loaned to WK Solar by the Strickland administration. Among the most alarming of the revelations that MTO's Jesse Hathaway finds is that the Strickland administration knew as early as 2009 that WK Solar was in financial trouble even after receiving $5 million in state loans. Yet, Strickland continued to give the company another $10 million in state funds.

I'm sure it was a coincidence that Strickland received $25,000 from WK executives for his failed 2010 reelection campaign, right Ted Strickland?

At the time, we reported that WK was late on loan payments that had been extended multiple times. The state has had enough, and has declared WK to be in default. From the Columbus Dispatch:

Ohio Democrat's Press Secretary was fired for plagiarism. UPDATED

We've previously discussed the ridiculous story of a supposed accent that Ohio Democrats accused Josh Mandel of using at an appearance in Beallsville last week. Yes, the ODP and Sherrod Brown were talking about serious issues and pointing their fingers at people, yelling about accents.

Andrew Zucker, the Ohio Democratic Party's press secretary, said Mr. Mandel "was caught shockingly faking a Southern accent." Mr. Zucker said the "odd speech" was Mr. Mandel's "latest attempt to mislead Ohioans."

Well, if there's one thing that Andrew Zucker knows a thing or two about, it would be misleading people and faking things.

Zucker used to write for the Ohio University newspaper. Until they kicked him out for plagiarism.

Obama's "Potatoe" Moment... In The Nation's Most Crucial Swing State

We all remember the infamous Dan Quayle "potato-e" incident...

The Democrats Unemployment Fantasy

Good news for Ohioans last week; we aren’t like the rest of America.

If we were, our unemployment rate would have went up the way it did in 44 states and nationally.  Despite the Administration’s best efforts, ours stayed the same at 7.2%. 

It’s worth mentioning that Ohio’s unemployment rate in July 2011 was 8.9%.  We have dropped 1.7% in the past twelve months, a significant shift in the right direction.  The national unemployment rate for the same period dropped from 9.1% to 8.3%, a drop of only .8%.

So why is Ohio greatly outpacing the rest of the country?

Ohio Democrats, in an effort to boost up Obama and soften the Governor for 2014, are going to tell you that it’s their leadership that set Ohio on the right path.  They will argue that the auto bailout and Ted Strickland’s leadership helped Ohio turn the corner well before Governor Kasich took office.

What’s the huge glaring problem with this argument?  Numbers don’t lie. 

We Could All Use Some R&R

America needs some R&R, but there will be no time to rest if we are going to fix the mistakes of the last three and a half years.

cross-post: TobyToons.com (Conservative Political Cartoons)

Sherrod Brown's "Occupy" Cleveland pal: A bigoted racist pedophile.

We've been highlighting Sherrod Brown's admiration of the openly socialist "Occupy" movement for some time now. And we've also highlighted some of the terrific characters you'll find at Ohio's Occupy camps.

Of course, everybody knows about the Occupy Cleveland members who took their Sherrod-like hatred of capitalism to the ultimate extreme and tried to blow up a Cleveland bridge. More on that further down.

Then we showed you a picture of Sherrod Brown posing with an Occupy Columbus leader who posted online exactly how he prefers to advance his politics:

i am a socialist. if they wanna extend bush’s tax cuts, I’m more prone to pistol whipping rich people for their money. in actual fact, i actually prefer it that way.

i will take what i need. i want revolution just [like] the tea baggers its just that when i bring my guns out it will be a different color of crowd.

Great fella, huh? Sherrod Brown went to the length of writing an editorial to denounce peaceful Tea Partiers, but has uttered nothing but praise for the movement that has people like this as its leaders.

Now, meet the latest shining example of Ohio's Occupy crowd: Tim Russo.

Could Obamacare win Ohio for Romney?

Guest post by Jenny Engel

It is no secret that President Obama is struggling with a record to run on. One of his biggest "achievements" is Obamacare, or more commonly known, thanks to SCOTUS, as a really big tax.

However, in 2011, President Obama and his campaign strategists worst nightmare became a reality. Ohio sent a very clear message:

President Obama, keep your hands off our healthcare!

Issue 3, Ohio's Healthcare Freedom amendment, made it apparent that Ohioans will not stand for overreaching government healthcare takeovers. That doesn't bode well for Obama's re-election chances in Ohio.

Voters First: Criminals, not honest workers.

Guest post by Jenny Engel

Kudos to FieldWorks, the canvassing firm used by Voters First Ohio, for hiring this gem. On August 14th, Timothy Zureick was booked on 22 counts of signing false signatures and one count of elections falsification, both fifth degree felonies in Athens County.

Looks like poor Timmy couldn't even get Democrats to sign his petitions. So, he took a page out of the typical Democrat playbook: Laziness. It was much simpler to forge signatures, make up a fake address for himself and collect a paycheck. Nothing like doing the minimum amount required to get by.

If that wasn't enough fun and games, Mr. Zureick thought he was smarter than the Cincinnati Police Department. According to the news article:

The prosecutor said Zureick had two addresses in Cincinnati, and wasn't found at the first one. A neighbor reported he had moved to his father's home, also in Cincinnati.

"His father first denied he was at the home," (Prosecutor Keller) Blackburn said. Cincinnati police found evidence to suggest otherwise – Zureick's car outside, and movement inside – but Zureick refused to answer the door. Zureick's father was then persuaded to come and escort his son out of the home, Blackburn said.

Congratulations Timothy Noel Zureick for thinking you could outsmart the Board of Elections and the Cincinnati PD. Hope those 23 years in jail you are facing make it all worthwhile.

How much longer will the Democrats claim there was no fraudulent activity associated with this petition drive? We've already seen petition workers encouraging citizens to sign for their relatives and worse. Now this. This kind of behavior is unacceptable. This November, we need to show the Democrats that their criminal ways and flawed policies are not what is best for Ohio. Vote No on what is likely to be Issue 2 this November. For more information on how you can help please visit http://www.protectyourvoteohio.com.

Follow @Nick3BP

The Ryan Pick: What It Means & What It Doesn't Mean

This past weekend, Mitt Romney tapped Paul Ryan to be his running mate. And while many will debate the politics of the pick, there's no questioning Ryan's policy expertise. As previously noted on this blog:

The GOP needs to get Paul Ryan in front of the camera talking about the deficit issue as much as they can. He knows it inside and out, can debate it with the other side coherently, and do it without appearing overly partisan.

Personally, the pick was a bit of a surprise. Given the importance of states like Ohio and Virginia, I was almost certain Romney would go with the so-called "safe pick" of either Rob Portman or Bob McDonnell. Even the readers here didn't have Ryan pegged as a top three pick:

AccentGate! Sherrod Brown is scraping the bottom of the barrel

With a new Rasmussen poll out yesterday showing Josh Mandel tied with Sherrod Brown, the incumbent Senator is getting more and more desperate to change the subject.

On Tuesday, Mandel appeared with Mitt Romney to speak to coal miners in Beallsville, which is in Ohio's coal country. The Huffington Post ran with a story accusing Mandel of faking a southern accent.

I have posted the video below. It sounds to me that they are picking on Josh for his pronunciation of the word "out". That's the only word that sounded a bit off to me, and I know there are times when I accidentally and randomly don't use perfect diction when speaking. Nowhere else during his speech do I detect anything different from his normal speaking style.


Video courtesy Marc Kovac of Ohio Capital Blog

Forward... To The Politics of Personal Destruction

And this, from those that promised to change politics in D.C. Hope & Change has given way to Hate & Scare from this point 'Forward.'

Cross-posted: TobyToons.com (Conservative Political Cartoons)

Michelle Malkin attending "Occupy the Truth" Rally in Cleveland

If you live in Northeast Ohio, you may want to head to downtown Cleveland this Saturday. There's going to be a Tea Party themed rally at the former site of Occupy Cleveland, the movement that spawned 5 would-be domestic terrorists who attempted to blow up a highly trafficked bridge.

Notable conservative personalities will be there, including Michelle Malkin, Dana Loesch, and Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit.From Media Trackers Ohio:

In a background document posted online, Occupy the Truth organizers explain that the event is motivated by the failure of national media outlets including USA Today and CBS News to report extensive ties between Occupy Cleveland and the five alleged terrorists arrested in an April 30 FBI sting.

Additionally, Associated Press reporting – carried in newspapers across Ohio and the country – buried the Occupy Cleveland connection and presented without question an Occupy Cleveland denial that the alleged bombers represented the group’s beliefs.

The Ohio Democratic Party is full of hypocrites. Repeat ad nauseam.

You may have heard today that the Ohio Democratic Party is suing the governor's office as part of a records request. They are demanding to see Governor Kasich's schedule, because they believe that he is improperly using his office to campaign for Mitt Romney. Here's the story from the Columbus Dispatch:

“In light of the governor’s questionable use of his office to support Romney, and news the Republican nominee has asked other governors to utilize their official offices to support his campaign, Democrats insist on release of Kasich’s public schedules to help determine whether any wrongdoing has occurred in Ohio,” the party said in a release today.

I heard this on the radio this morning, and thought "Are they serious?". This is just more politics from ODP Chairman Chris Redfern. How many times did we see Ted Strickland traveling around the state with Barack Obama? For a newspaper that liberals in the state claim is pro-Kasich, the Dispatch sure left out this important piece of context.

Lorain County Commissioners Kalo and Kokoski ignored needed repairs but upgraded their own offices

Many of the county buildings in Lorain County are in serious need of repair. Take the Board of Elections building, for instance. From the Lorain Morning Journal:

Due to budget constraints, maintenance has not been given much attention, [Commissioner Lori Kokoski (D)] said. She looked at the Board of Elections building the other day and said it’s ridiculous how many different colors of patches and shingles are on the roof and it has a major roofing problem.

“We have to do preventative fixes, so we don’t have leaky roofs,” Kokoski said.

Elections Director Paul Adams said various parts of the roof have had problems. “I don’t know a department that doesn’t have buckets for water,” Adams said. “It is bad.”

The roof has been an issue since 2004, but he understands that there have been budget constraints.

Legal Maneuver Gets JobsOhio Back On Track

In a bit of legal genius (that may have been overshadowed by other news over the weekend), the Kasich administration is going all in on demonstrating the constitutionality of JobsOhio. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

One state agency head sued another on Friday at the Ohio Supreme Court in an effort to move Gov. John Kasich's private economic development program forward.

But this doesn't mean there is dissension among the Republican governor's top brass. Instead, this was done as a legal maneuver to get the high court to decide once and for all whether JobsOhio -- the private economic development agency created in February 2011 -- is even legal.

Instead of letting the liberals at ProgressOhio further delay the implementation of Ohio’s signature jobs program—which was approved with bipartisan support—the Kasich administration is moving up the timetable. From a policy standpoint, this is great news as JobsOhio will be up and running sooner, helping to create more jobs for Ohioans.

The MSM Welcomes Paul Ryan

Romney goes with Paul Ryan

It's never been a secret that we are huge fans of Paul Ryan here at Third Base Politics. Former 3BPer Jon said this:

It's hard to make national headlines as Chairman of the Budget Committee, but Paul Ryan is making his mark.

And hopefully this is someone that can find a way to more senior office. I'd love to see how he would do as Governor of Wisconsin, but Republican wunderkind Scott Walker just won that job.

Senator, perhaps? Herb Kohl is up in 2012 and considering his age, 75, he may decide to retire.

Let's hope Paul Ryan gets the chance he deserves to raise his profile.

And a few months ago, I praised Ryan for these remarks he made in an excellent video.

"Let me ask you a question: what if your President, your Senator and your Congressman knew it was coming? What if they knew when it was going to happen, why it was going to happen and more importantly, what if they knew what they needed to do to stop it from happening and they had the time to stop it?

Obama's War on Coal costs him the miners union endorsement

We have told you several times about the Barack Obama/Sherrod Brown War on Coal and the damage it is doing in coal country.

Despite ridiculous efforts by his minions to convince us otherwise, Obama's policies are destroying jobs. Just last week, another 239 Ohioans were laid off because of Obama's determination to bankrupt the coal industry.

"This is a sad day for all of us, and particularly Mr. Robert E. Murray, the Founder of OhioAmerican," said Mr. Piasecki. "He is so distraught that he came to the Mine and personally announced the layoffs to each of the employees," he added.

"Mr. Murray created OhioAmerican, and our production began in May, 2007," said Mr. Piasecki. The Mine was intended to last for at least ten (10) years. Now we have been forced by our own Country's President and his followers and supporters to permanently close the operation," added Mr. Piasecki.

Ohioan to Obama: Take my business out of your ad!

Remember this ridiculous ad from President Downgrade, where he tried to tell us that he really said that we have to stand behind small business?



Besides the obvious lie about what he said, the owner of a specialty deli in Cincinnati saw something familiar: her own business. And she isn't happy about it. She wants the footage of her deli removed. From the Cincinnati Enquirer:

"Voters First" Puts Ohioans Last

Earlier this week, Ohio Secretary of State, Jon Husted, certified for the November ballot a constitutional amendment aimed at reforming Ohio's redistricting process.  By now, many folks have heard a little about the proposal, backed by a group calling themselves "Voters First."  Unfortunately, the name is incredibly misleading, seeing as how the group is backed almost entirely by liberal groups and union interests.

Even the Cleveland Plain Dealer has called them out on it:

...Voters First's veneer of nonpartisanship has been shredded. And to think that some of its most visible advocates are individuals and groups associated -- for years -- with calls for transparency in campaign finance. Letting themselves be used by the kind of political insiders they decry will make their high-minded talk harder to take seriously.

Obama Playing Politics With Military Voters

Politicians are aiming to disenfranchise voters. They’re setting policy and filing suits to ensure that some Ohioans shouldn’t have flexibility in voting, and limiting the chances that these voters have to cast their ballots.

Republicans pushing for HB 194?  Nope.

Obama for American and the Democratic National Committee filed suit last month in order to ensure that some Ohioans aren’t able to cast their votes; and not just any Ohioans—our men and women in uniform.

The campaign argues that military voters and their families have presented no good reason to have special flexibility in voting. In fact, they Obama campaign has called it “arbitrary” and unconstitutional.

Wasn’t it just a few months ago that these same Democrats were arguing that uniform regulation of elections across all of Ohio’s counties disenfranchised voters? Wasn’t it just a few months ago that these same Democrats cried foul that the Ohio legislature limit—uniformly mind you—absentee voting from 35 days to 21 days.

And yet, Democrats now want to limit voting access to military families. Where’s the consistency of message?

I’m sure it has nothing to do with military support for Mitt Romney at nearly 60% while Obama flounders at 35%. Democrats wouldn’t let politics get in the way of ensuring that every American has the right to vote, would they?

Given this lawsuit, that’s exactly what Obama is doing—playing politics with the votes of those who protect our country.

The fact of the matter is, military voters, especially those stationed overseas, face limitations that can make it difficult to vote. The Ohio legislature recognized that when granting them special flexibility in making their voices heard.

Oh, and it was approved unanimously by the House and Senate.

Every Democrat in the Ohio legislature agreed with these provisions last year, making this move by the Obama campaign nothing more than petty politics, all at the expense of the men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our country.

Proving once again that Obama cares only about his reelection, America be damned.

Cross-posted at GOHP Blog.

National Unemployment Rate Ticks Up Yet Again

The national unemployment rate is on the rise yet again under President Obama, with the rate rising from 8.2% in June to 8.3% in July.  Not that you'd know it from the lame-stream media:

To be honest, the economy did create jobs at a higher pace than anticipated, and the highest total in several months.  But even MSNBC had to admit the obvious:

But the economy still is far from creating enough jobs to do much for the 12.8 million Americans who are out of work. And the unemployment rate edged up to 8.3 percent from 8.2 percent in June, signaling that more Americans may have given up looking for work.

Liberals used Ohio school shooting to trick people into joining anti-gun list

Right to left: ProgressOhio Executive Director Brian Rothenberg, New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg, and Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman

Remember our post about ProgressOhio and Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns back in March? Within hours of the tragic school shooting in Chardon, we reported that they had created a condolence website where people could send prayers and well wishes to the victims and their families. But it was really a scam to trick people into joining anti-gun progressive email lists.

As you can see, rememberingchardon.com has been shut down. Did MAIG act alone in this charade? No. Research on the domain reveals that it was registered by the moonbats over at ProgressOhio. How much cooperation was there between the two groups will probably never be known, but MAIG is still running the same scam in other locations. The email of the person who registered the domain is bret@progressohio.org. Maybe you should send him an email and ask him why they thought it was OK to use a tragedy to further their political agenda.

I started receiving the unsolicited emails from MAIG and knew it was because I used the rememberingchardon.com website. I had proof that ProgressOhio created the phony site, and I suspected that MAIG was in on the disgusting scam, but couldn't find direct proof.

Analyzing the 8/1 Quinny poll: Dems oversampled, great news for Kasich.

Yesterday, Quinnipiac University released a poll of Ohio voters. Ohio Democrats are celebrating the results of the presidential questions. We'll take a look at that first, then we'll move on to the excellent news for Governor Kasich second.

This poll has liberals excited for a couple of reasons. First, it shows President Downgrade Obama beating Mitt Romney by six points. Second, Obama hits the 50% support level, which is key for an incumbent to feel safe.

But, if there's one thing about polling that I can't repeat often enough, it's to look at the partisan weighting. How many Democrats did they include versus Republicans? And how many indies?

For this poll, the D/R/I sampling was 35/27/32 for a Dem +8 advantage.

Obama's return visit to Ohio will land at air base he is closing. Does he even know?

Barack Obama returns to Ohio again tomorrow for a visit to Akron. In an effort to distract from the complete failure of his jobs agenda, he will land at an Ohio National Guard base in Mansfield. Unfortunately, 750 airmen at the base are scheduled to lose their jobs as a result of Obama' defense cuts. Per the Mansfield News Journal:

The 179th Airlift Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard base where Air Force One will land Wednesday morning remains threatened by President Barack Obama's proposed cuts to the military budget.

The C-27Js will be positioned at the base so Obama sees them when Air Force One taxis in, Col. Michael Howard, 179th Airlift Wing vice commander, said Monday.

This is an issue that both Senators Brown and Portman have been bending the President's ear about. Yesterday, Portman said,

Baby Formula Now On The Banned Wagon

Background Info: Bloomberg to New Mothers: You Really Should Be Breastfeeding, You Know - Katie Pavlich (Townhall.com).

Don't you all feel safer knowing that a politician is making your decisions for you? He must be a modern day superman to be able to know so much about everyone's well being. Well, maybe just another Barney Fife, but with lots of money.

Cross-posted: TobyToons.com

New Romney Ad Features Ohio Business Owner

Ohio small-business owner Dennis Sollmann is the subject of a new Romney ad being featured here in the Buckeye State, and it's another hard-hitting video:

Sollmann, a Sidney, Ohio native, is a true success story.  I had the pleasure of working with him in my earlier years, and though the president might think others "made that happen," I can personally say Sollmann worked his tail off to build his small business. It's about time we had a president who's also willing to work his tail off to help small-business owners, rather than insult them for having the audacity to put their blood, sweat and tears into creating jobs.

 UPDATE (Nick): A local business in Lorain County has a message for Obama:

Refocusing Our Attention

In recent days there has been some dissension among the authors and readers here at 3BP in regards to Governor Kasich's proposal to modernize the severance tax (yes, updating a 40 year old law is modernization—it's not just a talking point). To be sure, there can be legitimate disagreement as to the details of the plan, just like almost every other piece of legislation.

Honestly, I myself wasn't entirely sold on the plan at first. But upon further examination, it makes sense and deserved GOHP's full support. I've previously highlighted the finer points as to the why. 

Unfortunately, however, sometimes strong opinions can cloud judgment, and thus the conservative dissension over the new "Opportunity Ohio" poll, which is clearly a push poll, as pointed out by Nick3BP.

Stepping Back

A week ago today a friend sent me a link to a Third Base Politics post which announced, while discussing Governor Kasich's plan to pay for an income tax cut by raising oil & gas severance taxes, "that's exactly why we at GOHP & 3BP wholeheartedly support this proposal." Given that my name is still in the author list here at Third Base Politics and I no-heartedly support the governor's severance tax proposal, I felt compelled to write a brief response.
 
This week I agreed (happily, I might add) not to post anything further about the severance tax issue here. Then I saw that I was being quoted and subsequently ridiculed for reporting on what the governor's office is characterizing as a "push poll" because it demonstrates broad opposition to the logic the severance tax plan is built on.



In lieu of some entertainingly epic meltdown, I will simply link to a recent Third Base Politics story endorsing a huge tax hike in Cleveland.


Considering that I cover nearly everything I'm interested in writing about in my work for Media Trackers Ohio, I've decided there is little upside in continuing to write intermittent posts for Third Base Politics. You can find me on Twitter at @jasonahart, and I'll continue submitting the occasional story to Breitbart.com in my free time so long as they keep publishing 'em.


Thanks for reading!

Shale plan opponents spiking the football over a push poll

If you've been following the back and forth over Governor Kasich's proposal to cut income taxes via increased oil and gas severance taxes, you sure saw a lot of news on the internets yesterday about a new poll. So let's take a look at what is being called "deep disagreement".

However, when asking, “Do you agree or disagree with Governor Kasich’s plan?” the poll found 23% agreement with the severance tax proposal versus 44% disagreement. Intensity points to further problems for the governor’s plan, as 29% responded they strongly disagree with the plan and only 15% said they strongly agree.

Wait a minute. How could this be? Just two months ago, the plan was approved by 60% of Ohioans, and opposed by only 32%, in a poll performed by Quinnipiac University. It went from +28 to -21 in two months? How in the world did that happen?

Because this latest poll is a push poll, that's how.

For those who aren't familiar, a push poll is one where the questions are worded and ordered in a specific manner to intentionally get the results that are desired. Look how they set up the questions:

Obama's First Children's Book

Cross-posted: TobyToons.com

Barack Obama tries, and fails, to deny the insult he delivered to small businesses

Maybe Barack Obama took a clue from Sherrod Brown, who famously denied comparing Republicans to Hitler and Stalin, after he made a speech on the Senate floor comparing Republicans to Hitler and Stalin.

After his now infamous declaration to small business owners that government that "You didn't build that! Somebody else made that happen!", he came out with this ad, trying to tell people that what he REALLY said is that we've got to stand behind business owners. Yes, really.



Is he serious!? Does he think this ad is going to work?

Kasich's fracking driven income tax cut endorsed by the Wall Street Journal

Don't look now, but the liberals over at The Wall Street Journal think that Governor Kasich's plan to improve Ohio's income tax climate by tapping into the vast shale reserves we have is an excellent plan. (Hint: for the slow among you, I'm using sarcasm. The WSJ is of course known as a conservative newspaper.)

Note that they agree with us on several points:

• Our oil and gas tax policy is extremely outdated, because Ohio has never been a big producer.
• Taking advantage of our energy reserves to lower income taxes is successful in other states.
• Using this policy to reduce taxes on income and capital will fuel economic growth

For some reason, the link above is not loading the entire article. I don't usually like to quote entire articles, but since it isn't working, I have done so below. Emphasis is mine.

News OF Another Shooting

Cross-posted:TobyToons.com

Fallacies in the conservative case against Kasich's shale plan

As you have seen on our very own pages, there is a difference of opinion among Ohio's conservatives regarding Governor Kasich's severance tax proposal. Below, we take issue with some of the main arguments against the proposal.

The current severance tax will already result in $433 million for the state to use to cut income taxes.

This is a claim made by the Ohio Liberty Coalition in their press release.

“What Governor Kasich is proposing is unnecessary and unwise. Under the current rules, the severance tax on oil and gas produced $11 million in state taxes in 2009, and by 2014 it is projected by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce to increase to $433 million per year. If the Governor wants to cut personal income taxes he can use that new money to do so. It is unnecessary to raise taxes when this industry is already on track to dramatically increase tax revenue. It is also unwise to throw roadblocks in front of an industry that is critical to the economic future of our state. Some companies are already leaving Ohio. That is not what we want.”

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

The Sherrod Brown/Barack Obama war on coal causes more layoffs

We've spoken previously about how Barack Obama is waging a war against the coal industry. Even though Candidate Obama openly told us that he aimed to bankrupt the industry, he has his toadie, former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, traveling around the state making a fool of himself by insisting that Obama is actually a friend to the coal industry.

Recently, ultra-liberal Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined Obama in attacking the energy source that provides 86% of Ohio's electricity. Brown had a chance to join other Senators, including other Democrats, in getting rid of the EPA's new Utility MACT rule, which is the centerpiece of the Obama's administration's self-declared goal of bankrupting coal plants and making electricity prices "necessarily skyrocket."

Sherrod Brown talks a big game about standing with miners. He even boasts about the coal miner's canary pin that he wears instead of a flag pin. But when it came time to cast a vote to protect the livelihoods of thousands of Ohio coal workers, he kicked them to the curb and voted to keep Obama's extreme new coal regulations. Sherrod Brown jumped into the foxhole, and eagerly became a soldier against his own state in Obama's war on coal.

Severance Tax Counterpoints

A conservative in Ohio has no shortage of union-funded foes, so I try to avoid arguments with friends. But I want to note that I still think the governor's severance tax proposal is a bad idea.

For the legion of 3BP readers who have been marching outside 3BP Global Headquarters chanting "WHERE IS JASON?" and for the benefit of anyone just discovering the site, I've been critical of the governor's plan in work for my day job at Media Trackers Ohio. Lest anyone think this is a case of me trying to draw some silly line in the sand, keep in mind the proposal is also opposed by AFP Ohio, the Ohio Liberty Coalition, and the National Taxpayers Union.

Several weeks of researching this topic have hardly made me an expert on the oil & gas industry, so let's just look at the logic here: the governor is proposing we raise taxes on a specific industry to fund an income tax cut statewide. That's the absolute bottom line, when you distill the issue. Is this something conservatives ought to support?

Big Oil, with Ohio taxpayers innocuously along for the ride

The governor has alluded to the many aspects of Ohio's government that remain broken, so why double down on the severance tax proposal when it faces broad opposition? Why not use the power of the bully pulpit to drive repairs to one of those other innumerable broken things?

Stampede!

Cross-posted:TobyToons.com

Severance Tax Modernization: One More Step In The Right Direction

Governor Kasich's proposed income tax reduction, set off by a modernization of Ohio's severance tax on the oil & gas industry, has gotten a lot of attention. Whether from the press, other elected officials, or whomever, there's no lack of opinions on the matter.

But there's one certainty in the debate: Ohio's tax climate is unfriendly to business and needs reform.

A study by the Tax Foundation found that, in 2012, Ohio ranked 39th overall in the nation for our business tax climate. The most significant driver of that ranking? Individual income tax. Ohio ranks an abysmally low 42nd in the nation for the burden state and local governments put on families via the individual income tax.

But it doesn't end there.  Such a heavy income tax burden discourages small-business owners from growing jobs and investing in this state.  Since many small businesses are pass-through entities (sole proprietorships, limited liability companies and partnerships, S-corps, etc.), these companies pay their taxes at income tax rates.

And with small businesses creating two out of every three jobs, employing 48% of Ohio's workforce and making up more than 98% of Ohio businesses, that's a demographic Ohio cannot afford to alienate.

Like it or not, that's the framework for the debate on Ohio's severance tax.  And that's exactly why we at GOHP & 3BP wholeheartedly support this proposal.

White House: Obama "too busy" to focus on jobs, but had time for over 100 fundraisers

In an election year that is almost entirely focused on unemployment and how to get more Americans back to work, Barack Obama hasn't met with his own "Jobs Council", comprised of corporate and labor leaders from around the country, for six months now. Politico reports:

President Barack Obama’s Jobs Council hasn’t met publicly for six months, even as the issue of job creation dominates the 2012 election.

When asked why Obama hasn't been more focused on meeting with the council he created and following their recommendations, White House spokesman Jay Carney replied that he is just too busy.

"There’s no specific reason, except the president has obviously got a lot on his plate," Carney said during the daily White House briefing. "But he continues to solicit and receive advice from numerous folks outside the administration about the economy about ideas that he can act on with Congress or administratively to help the economy grow and help create jobs."

Really? Let's take a look at what Obama has had on his plate in the last six months.

Unions trying to manipulate redistricting in Ohio like they did in California

You may have heard of another signature gathering campaign going on in Ohio called "Voters First". On their website, they claim to be "led by a coalition of nonpartisan groups and people from across Ohio." This is such a lie, it's laughable.

In fact, you already know who Voter's First is, by the name We Are Ohio. It is an organization led by Occupy Wall Street supporters such as the SEIU, OEA, AFL-CIO and AFSCME. Quite a set of "non-partisan" groups there, eh?

They are proposing a constitutional amendment that will change Ohio's redistricting process to one they claim is non-partisan. What they don't tell you, is that its almost a carbon copy of a system that was put in place in California. Democrats manipulated and controlled the system in California to ensure that the "non-partisan" citizens' commission contained a majority of extremely liberal Democrats.

Back in December, Pro Publica blew the lid off the how California Democrats gamed the process from the beginning.

Time to Panic in Chicago

For weeks now, Obama 2012 has been throwing everything in sight at Mitt Romney in the desperate hope that these efforts could effectively destroy Romney's viability.  From debunked pro-Obama media charges of rampant outsourcing, to invented outrage over tax returns, and even baseless and reckless cries of 'Felon!', the Chicago smear machine has been working in overdrive.

But today, we received a glimpse into just what it gained for them: Absolutely Nothing.

The Reality Of Sherrod Brown's FOP Endorsement

So a union endorses a Democrat and somehow that’s making headline news? Even the liberal blogs are making it a big deal:

Of course, that statement sounds more impressive than it factually is. Just take a look at the U.S. Senate races in Ohio since 1988. The FOP endorsed candidate is in BOLD:

POLL: Which VP Pick Gives Romney The Edge?

With the news coming out that Mitt Romney might be revealing his pick for VP as early as this week, we wanted to get your opinion on the matter.  So, we ask you not who do you want to see as Romney's vice president, but rather which pick gives the GOP nominee the biggest advantage in this election?


We've compiled our Top 10 list for you to choose from; however, these are certainly not the only possible picks.  If you have someone else in mind, please feel free to leave his or her name in the comments below.

And rest assured there are no wrong answers... Except for maybe this guy:

Sherrod Brown: WITLESS

LeBron James doesn't have too many friends in the Buckeye State. After he smacked Cleveland in the face two years ago, blindsiding the Cavaliers organization and weakening the surrounding economy by an estimated $200 million, it's easy to see why the man isn't so well liked.

Yep, it's easy to say that, in Ohio, there are few men more despised than LeBron James.

Unless, of course, you're a do-nothing career politician bent on killing Ohio jobs.

Plunderbund gets it wrong again

Plunderbund is the major left-wing blog in Ohio. And they have a burning hatred for Governor Kasich, the man who prevented their beloved Ted Strickland from winning a second term as governor. In their obsession to demonize all things Kasich, they often end making fools of themselves.

Today, they did it again. They published a "fact check" of the Kasich administration's cost estimates of the increased burden of Medicaid spending on the state budget in the wake of the Obamacare decision. And they blew it. Big time.

"Paging Dr. Freud: the White House is on Line 1"

According to Sigmund Freud, projection is a psychological defense mechanism whereby one "projects" one's own undesirable thoughts, motivations, desires, and feelings onto someone else. Nowhere do we see a better example of projection than in our own president.

Barack Obama seems to have gotten to a point where he is willing to try anything to smear Mitt Romney, including and especially outright lying. But I guess that’s what happens when you have no record to run on. Or more accurately, when your record is composed mainly of broken promises.

But even as he continues his dishonesty about Mitt Romney’s record, he cannot escape one critical fact: Obama is actually the one who is responsible for massive amounts of outsourcing.

From the Washington Post:

According to a study by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, large American companies in 2010 barely added any workers in the United States, increasing their numbers by 0.1 percent, while they expanded their foreign workforce by 1.5 percent.

The Cleveland School overhaul deserves our support, including the levy

This summer, we saw a very encouraging example of true bipartisanship in Cleveland.

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District is in very serious trouble. Cleveland's population has declined, while expenses have soared. The district ranks 608 out of 611 statewide in academic performance, and was looking at a $60 million shortfall.

Mayor Frank Jackson, a Democrat, knew that bold action was required, and came up with an aggressive plan to save the schools for the city's kids. He immediately found an ally in Governor Kasich, who worked with the state legislature to make it happen. Democrats, Republicans and even the teachers union came together to hammer out a plan that seemed unlikely.

Governor Kasich and Democrat State Senator Nina Turner (Plain Dealer Photo - Joshua Gunter)

Ted Strickland stars in new Romney commercial

Because he certainly can't run on his own failed, pathetic record, Barack Obama has been outright lying about Mitt Romney outsourcing jobs while at Bain Capital. Today, Romney responded with a new ad that shows how multiple media outlets have investigated and called out the Obama campaign for the dishonest ads.

In part of the ad, Hillary Clinton scolds Obama for lying about her during their 2008 primary. And our old pal Ted is standing right behind her nodding enthusiastically while she yells "Shame on you, Barack Obama!" Watch.



Poor Ted Strickland. First he makes a fool of himself by telling Ohioans that Obama isn't trying to kill coal, and now he lands himself in a Romney commercial.

Follow @Nick3BP

Voter ID: Mexico's electoral system is superior to America's

To some people, the idea that any part of Mexico's political system is superior to the United States is crazy. However, when it comes to our different methods of conducting elections, it's very true.

The Mexican electoral system is perhaps the most fraud proof in the world. America's, by comparison, is a mess. Our system is different from state to state, and is open to all kinds of fraud.

It wasn't always this way. In fact, Mexico's system used to be a corrupt mess. The 1988 presidential election in Mexico was plagued with scandal and widespread corruption. Not wanting to put the country through another ordeal, the major parties agreed to create a non-partisan and non-governmental electoral commission that would conduct the voting process, and ensure honest and fair elections. In 1990, the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) was created, and the first presidential election was held under the new rules in 2000.

David Arredondo is Vice-Chairman of the Lorain County Republican Party, and is himself the son of Mexican immigrants. In May, he testified before a committee held in Cleveland that included Senator Sherrod Brown. The following is an excerpt of his testimony to the panel.

The electoral system created by IFE is open and transparent. Every eligible Mexican citizen has a tamper-proof photo-ID card with a thumbprint and an embossed hologram. All voters are required to vote in their neighborhoods and in 2005, the law was amended to allow for ”external,” or out of country absentee voting. There is no such thing as a provisional ballot. All elections are held on Sundays. Mexico is a relatively poor country yet does not lower standards to allow for the poor to register and vote as is done in America. No excuses are made while setting a high standard for all with no discernible drop in voter participation.

FACT: Local Governments Are Adding Jobs Under The Kasich Budget

Yep. You read that right. Since Governor John Kasich’s budget took effect, local governments have added 5,600 jobs. Incidentally, they lost 31,300 during his predecessor’s tenure.

Of course, Democrats choose to see it another way:

“Despite this growing revenue and all these new policy changes in the mid-biennium review, nothing is being done to curb the growing financial crisis for schools and local communities that was brought on by last year’s historically deep state budget cuts,” said House Minority Leader Armond Budish, D-Beachwood.

“Continuing to starve schools and local communities hurts middle-class families and undercuts our economic recovery.”

Of course, the Columbus Dispatch highlighted this flawed liberal logic when they excoriated legislative Democrats for wanting to spend every bit of our rainy day fund for the second straight biennium:

Keeping Up With Our Favorite Pirate

We got some exciting news yesterday when our favorite pirate sent us a direct message asking us to follow him on Twitter!

Unfortunately, Mr. Redfern must have forgotten that he has blocked us. 

Not to mention, the "direct message" is nothing more than a faked email from Twitter, stealing their copyrighted logo and formats.

But what would you expect from a pirate if not to cheat and steal?

Did Democrats stage a fake fight at Ohio GOP rally?

Last Thursday, there was a rally in Parma, Ohio for the Romney campaign. The event was headlined by speeches from former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

Richard Brysac puts a water bottle in the mouth Al Neal (right) (Photo credit: Scott Shaw/The Plain Dealer)

The event was interrupted by several union and Democrat protestors who began chanting "Pawlenty go home!" during Pawlenty's speech. These classy folks showed up disguised as supporters, carrying Romney signs and even wearing Romney garb. They deliberately started this interruption in front of media cameras.

What happened next was reported by the Cleveland Plain Dealer and instantly went viral among the moonbat left blogosphere. A physical confrontation started as a result of the chanting.

Democrats Have A Callous Disregard For The Facts

Ohio's rainy day fund is growing thanks to the fiscal responsibility and restraint of the Kasich administration.

The state ended fiscal year 2012 with $235 million in its pocket, and the governor is socking it away for a rainy day.

Healthy tax-revenue growth and under-spending in Medicaid left the state with a surplus when the books closed on June 30. The state rainy-day fund, which had just 89 cents in January 2011, now has $482 mil-lion — 1.8 percent of the general revenue fund.

Of course, the 89 cents the State had in their to begin with was generously left by Kasich's predecessor, the disgraced, failed and all-around unsuccessful Ted Strickland, after he raided the fund to "balance" his last budget in 2009 (read, kick the can down the road).

But ever since reports started to come out that Ohio might end the year in the black--something liberals apparently aren't too keen on--Democrats have been begging that the governor spend any and all dollars they might have:

Another Stark Reminder of Ted Strickland’s Failings

As if his already numerous failings weren’t enough, this weekend saw further news of former Governor Ted Strickland’s legacy: 1 in 5 Ohioans saw their income drop in 2010, Strickland's last year in office, by 25% or more.

A record 1.8 million Ohioans saw their household incomes decrease by 25 percent or more in 2010, according to a new report... 

What’s worse, nearly half of Ohioans lack any financial cushion when unexpected difficulties arise:

In Ohio, about 27.3 percent of households have little to no financial cushion to protect against unemployment or other financial emergencies, according to the Corporation for Enterprise Development. This was up from 22.6 percent in 2009.

When homes and cars are excluded as assets — which is sensible because they are not easily converted into cash — about 43.6 percent of Ohio households lack a financial safety net, the group said.

Little more need be said to explain just how badly Strickland failed Ohioans during his tenure as Governor. From irresponsible budgeting to the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, failed government programs to destroying Ohioans’ financial security, there’s almost nothing in the Buckeye State that Strickland didn’t negatively affect.

You know, other than editorial board material.

Cross-posted at GOHP Blog.

We Are All Witnesses

Speaking at a recent fundraiser in Florida, Barack Obama extended his congratulations to the city of Miami for having the world champion Miami..."Heats". Mascot confusion aside, his affinity for Miami and its players shouldn’t come as a surprise.

After all, four years ago, LeBron James urged Ohioans to vote for Obama, saying, “I think all of us want to see a change. And in order for us to see a change, we have to get out and vote.” He then added, “Thank you Cleveland. Of course you all know I love you all of course. I love Ohio and I ain’t going nowhere.”

Of course we know that . . .

President Obama has a similar track record when it comes to keeping his promises. He promised, for example, that the stimulus would keep unemployment below 8 percent. But today, we’ve seen over 40 straight months of unemployment at or above that rate.

A Step In The Right Direction?

Today in Ohio, President Obama addressed a jobs report that Reuters called “dismal.” His verdict?

The jobs report was a “step in the right direction.”

Really? Let’s take a look at the numbers.

The economy requires 125,000 jobs a month just to keep up with population growth. Anything less, and the economy is going backwards. Today’s job numbers? 80,000 jobs created, even less than projected.

144,000 more African Americans went without a job in June, raising the unemployment rate of the black community to 14.4 percent.

Hispanic unemployment is at 11 percent.

The so-called U-6 number—the unemployment rate that includes those workers that are so discouraged they’ve given up looking for work—rose to 14.9 percent.

Millions of Americans remain out of work, and the economy shows signs of slowing. These are not steps in the right direction. The economy is not “doing fine.” If the President cannot see that here in Ohio, he doesn’t deserve a second term in office.

Dispatch: Kasich Was Right About The 3C Rail

In what is becoming a recurring theme, former Governor Ted Strickland’s policies were once again proven misguided, as the Dispatch commented today on the disaster currently happening with California’s “high speed rail” project:

Remember when Gov. John Kasich took a heap of grief for killing Ohio’s 3C passenger-rail project, sending back $385 million in federal stimulus funds? A fiasco in California shows Kasich made the right call: Hopping aboard the federal gravy train would have derailed Ohio’s newly recovering budget.

 

The Golden State grabbed the lion’s share of Ohio’s returned federal dollars for its fast-rail system, only to now realize it is swamped with debt. Voters there have a serious case of buyer’s remorse.

 

As Kasich predicted, costs skyrocketed and ridership is unlikely to support the investment. A new poll shows that if a bullet train ever does run between Los Angeles and San Francisco — somewhat doubtful — most people say they would use it rarely or never. A ticket would cost $123 each way; travel websites were offering round-trip airline tickets this week for $174.

The editorial goes on to describe that California is now looking to spend more than double its original projection, and that California residents would overwhelmingly support doing away with the project altogether.

 

Thanks to Governor Kasich’s foresight, it looks like Ohio dodged a financial bullet. But that was a shot Strickland would have gladly taken. He campaigned on keeping the 3C rail, even amid reports that the train would have cost Ohioans millions.

 

But that’s not exactly a surprise coming from a governor who passed one of the most fiscally irresponsible budgets in Ohio history, stealing nearly a billion dollars from the rainy day fund, stalling a much needed income tax reduction, and even after news that such fiscal recklessness would set the state up for an $8 billion deficit just two years later.

 

A deficit Governor Kasich closed without raising taxes.

 

And that’s been one of the themes of Governor Kasich’s tenure: fixing what Strickland wrecked.

• After losing 400,000 jobs in 4 years under Governor Strickland, Ohio has created over 150,000 in 19 months under Governor Kasich.
• After creating an $8 billion budget deficit under Governor Strickland, Ohio has a balanced budget.
• After committing to a financially unstable and incredibly slow 3C rail under Governor Strickland, Ohio is replenishing its rainy day fund under Governor Kasich.

These are just some of the failed policies promoted by the disaster that was Ted Strickland, who’s not-so-quietly considering a rematch in 2014. And with his record, we’re not-so-quietly hoping for it.

 

Cross-posted at GOHP Blog.

Why is this even a story?

News many liberal wackos latched onto over the Independence Day holiday finds U.S. Senate candidate and current Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel being goofy in high school, cross dressing for a school photo opportunity.  You can look it up; it doesn't warrant a link from us.

But why is this even a story?

It was 1996 and Mandel was in high school.  What 16 year old didn't do a few goofy things back in the old days?  Hell, I dressed up as a cheerleader for "spirit day" for a perennially awful football team.  At least Mandel's school managed to win a few games.

You know what else was going on in 1996?  Sherrod Brown was entering his 22nd year as a career politician.  That was 16 years ago.

And Brown thinks he deserves another 6 years representing Ohioans in Washington, D.C.  Yet during Brown's 38 years in government, Ohio's population has stagnated, adding less than 900,000 people in the last 40 years.  Meanwhile, the United States has grown by nearly 110 million.

Since the 1970's Ohio has had many problems.  And if Sherrod Brown was the answer, they'd be solved by now.

Josh Mandel has been and continues to be an effective leader for Ohioans.  He'll continue that effectiveness as Ohio's next U.S. Senator, even if he had a goofy streak back in high school.

Of course, not every politician can be the perfect role model...

Happy Independence Day... Sort Of

236 years ago, some of the most visionary men in world history declared American independence from government tyranny that had enveloped every aspect of their lives.

At the time, excessive taxation had crippled many American families and government interference in the lives of each individual was intolerable.  These brave men took action vowing to never again allow their government to invade the lives of its citizenry, and to hold accountable those that lead this nation.


Oh, how far we've strayed...

So, with the President's healthcare plan invading the lives of every American and in the midst of a congressional investigation with which the President's Attorney General refuses to comply, just how far have we come as a nation on this, America's 236th birthday?

Well, Happy Independence Day anyway... sort of.