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Game Changing Ad Released In Ohio Governors Race

scott@pullinsreport.com (Scott Pullins) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:19:00 GMT

In 2009, John Kasich was paid over $100,000.00 in cash and stock to sit on the board of a company located in Northeast Ohio named Invacare . According to public records, that compensation included a $40,000.00 retainer, $8,000.00 for attendance at four board meetings, $1,500.00 for attendance at one governance meeting, $2,000.00 for two conference call meetings of the nominating committee that he chaired, and the rest in stock grants.

That information is certainly annoying of course, but here's the kicker. John Kasich can make that kind of money because he and his fellow board members voted to cut hundreds of jobs here in Ohio and ship them overseas to China. In fact, Invacare's CEO bragged about it here in this 2008 Cleveland Plain Dealer article.

That's why Governor Ted Strickland released a new ad today that highlights this issue. I think its going to be a game changer. Check it out and let me know what you think:

Strickland Campaign Responds Quick to RGA MILF Ad

scott@pullinsreport.com (Scott Pullins) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:09:00 GMT

And its pretty good.

In His Zeal to Attack Teachers Unions, NJ Governor Loses Out on $400 Million, Fires Ed Commisioner

scott@pullinsreport.com (Scott Pullins) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:51:00 GMT

I'll admit to being a little biased here. I've met Bret Schundler a few times and supported some of his political efforts. He's one of those few rare conservative Republicans who can reach across the aisle and build common ground with the Democrats, especially on education issues. That's usually a necessity when you live and work in a state like New Jersey, dominated by Democrats and Unions.

This morning NJ Governor Chris Christie fired Schundler after accusing him of lying about what happened in an interview with the Federal Race To the Top awards panel. Apparently, there was a clerical error made in the lengthy application which cost NJ 4.8 points. As a result, NJ lost out to Ohio by three points for funding.

But here's the real story on why this mistake came about:

Bret Schundler and the New Jersey Teachers Association had worked out a compromise on several key points. As a result of that compromise, the union endorsed the proposal, a key requirement of the Obama administration. But when Christie heard about this compromise, he threw a hissy fit, took Schundler to the woodshed and forced his staff to rewrite the 1,000 page application over a weekend.

The original application had the correct numbers, the new application did not. Governor Christie was in such a time crunch that only one person was used to proofread the voluminous application. In fact, because of the last minute change, a staffer had to drive the application to Washington, DC.

The problem with some of these hard charging GOP politicians is that they don't know when its time to stop campaigning and start governing. I predict this will be just the first of many Chris Christie gaffes.

The RGA's Smoking Hot Trophy Wife MILF Ad.

scott@pullinsreport.com (Scott Pullins) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:07:00 GMT

The only thing even remotely interesting or eye catching about the latest ad from the Republican Governors Association for Ohio is the white hot smoking actress who plays the old geezer's trophy wife. I mean look at her. A perfectly done breast job, not too big, not too small. Model thin arms, but not heroin thin. Shaved down nose, but with a little character still left in it.

Come on, even Matt Naugle doesn't believe she's supposed to be the old fart's daughter. Here's what he had to say about it:

The woman is perhaps too old to be the man’s daughter, so who is he? Obviously, he’s a businessman who became successful later in life and thus dumped the older, ugly first wife for a younger, more attractive #2. And unlike the old battle-axe, this one likes to cook!

But more importantly, the new RGA ad violates the cardinal rule of debate. Never, and I mean never, concede the premises of your opponent's argument. Nonetheless, the RGA ad did just that by agreeing with Democrats that these free trade agreements led to Ohio jobs being outsourced to China.

Really, how dumb can a political consultant get? When Ohio bloggers on both the right and left agree that the move is dumb, then the move is probably dumb. Here's what they had to say:

...the issue isn't the trade with China. It's hardly part of the Republican platform to want to STOP the inflow of cheap consumer goods to America. The ad is off message.

Read more here at RightOhio.

In making this ad, the RGA is conceding that support for policies that lead to outsourcing are wrong… from a Republican perspective. That means the tax law changes that Senate candidate Rob Portman supported, the “free trade” deals that he pushed through Congress, and the repeated trade deals he and Kasich supported in Congress, like NAFTA, are “job killers.”

Read more here at Plunderbund.

Watch the ad for yourself and let me know what you all think:

http://www.tedfailedohio.com

A Real Policy Proposal for John Kasich - Part 1

scott@pullinsreport.com (Scott Pullins) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:33:00 GMT

I admit that I've been having a lot of fun with John Kasich's lousy policy proposals. Nonetheless, I thought I'd give him some help since his current policy director has fallen so far down on the job.

According to this study, marijuana arrests cost Ohio taxpayers over $400 million per year. That's a lot of money and a lot of time wasted by our police officers who could be out catching real criminals. Ohio already has some pretty lax enforcement on marijuana possession. For small amounts, a person is fined and gets no jail time. But why not go all the way and legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana?

But even better, why not legalize the possession and sale of marijuana in Ohio and tax it like California wants to do? In California, officials estimate that legislation could bring in over $1.4 billion in new tax dollars per year.

Gee, $1.4 billion dollars could go a long way in solving our state budget problems. Maybe we could turn some of these old abandoned manufacturing facilities into grow houses or distribution centers?

John Kasich's New Policy Proposals Are A Fraud On Voters

scott@pullinsreport.com (Scott Pullins) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:17:00 GMT

The problem with John Kasich's policy proposals is that they are as fraudulent as Lehman Brothers' exotic investment products. Everything he is proposing is either illegal, unworkable or has been enacted into law already. For example:

Proposal: Kasich wants to cut Ohio's income taxes to spur the economy. Fact: Legislative Republicans and Governor Strickland cut state income taxes by 17% over a number of years.

Proposal: Kasich wants to cut Ohio's regulations and red tape to spur the economy: Fact: Governor Ted Strickland long ago issued an executive order that eliminated 208 rules and revised over 2,000 rules to make Ohio more business friendly.

Proposal: Kasich wants to enact tort reform in Ohio. Fact: Ohio Republicans enacted comprehensive tort reform in Ohio in 2004. The U.S. Chamber called the legislation landmark.

Proposal: Kasich wants to eliminate the Ohio Department of Development and replace it with a nonprofit group. Fact: Experts say the proposal won't help existing businesses and might even be illegal. See story here.

This isn't a new day or a new way. This is just old, fat, and lazy.

Governor Campaigns On the Air with Dueling Ads

scott@pullinsreport.com (Scott Pullins) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:38:00 GMT

First up was the Kasich campaign with a new positive spot shot in what looks like a diner. Its got a nice soft edge that is attempting to send the message that Ohioans can trust John Kasich to fix Ohio's economy. No specifics other than talking about cutting taxes. It's not that bad, just not that good.

Here it is:

Next up is a new negative spot from the Strickland campaign. Its specific and hard-hitting and smacks Kasich for leaving Congress to make money on Wall Street.

Here it is:

In my opinion, this race will come down to these issues. Can John Kasich overcome the fact that he worked on Wall Street in a year when Wall Street is viewed as what broke the economy? Can Ted Strickland overcome the fact that he is a Democrat in a year when Democrats are viewed as spending the country toward bankruptcy?

My Friend and Former Client Tim Russo Kicks Butt In Candidate Debate

scott@pullinsreport.com (Scott Pullins) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:54:00 GMT

Space and Boccieri Making It Worse. New Spots Up In CD's 16 & 18.

scott@pullinsreport.com (Scott Pullins) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:08:00 GMT

A secretive political group called the Committee for Truth in Politics is up with a new ad campaign in Ohio Congressional Districts 16 and 18. Here's the John Boccieri ad:

And here's the similar ad concerning Zack Space:

National Review reports that the buy is around 1,000 points.

Kasich's JobsOhio Plan Likely Violates A Whole Bunch of Laws & Regulations

scott@pullinsreport.com (Scott Pullins) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:41:00 GMT

John Kasich may want to touch base with his lawyer before he makes another statement along the lines of the one yesterday. In the press gaggle after the announcement of his Jobs Ohio plan , Kasich said that he would be paying big bonuses to the new nonprofit employees based upon performance. Watch the video:

But here comes the real kicker. Kasich says that he won't disclose these nonprofit employee salaries or bonuses.

WRONG ANSWER JOHN. Watch this video:

I've got news, once again for the brain trusts over at the John Kasich train-wreck of a campaign. Nonprofit organizations, especially those that receive a lot of government funds, have to report their top salaries and bonuses publicly and to the Internal Revenue Service. Even more, there are a whole bunch of restrictions on paying nonprofit executives big bonuses and perk packages.

Guidestar has a good article on some of the new IRS requirements here. Kasich might want to check out the Ohio Supreme Court's decision in this case too. It looks like Jobs Ohio will clearly meet the test requiring the nonprofit to be subject to the open records act.

In making that determination, a trial court must apply the following four factors:

(1) whether the entity performs a governmental function,

(2) the level of government funding,

(3) the extent of government involvement or regulation, and

(4) whether the entity was created by the government or to avoid the requirements of the Public Records Act.

HT to OhioCapitalBlog and Plunderbund.