Obama Tanks In Ohio: Paging Ted Strickland

The latest effort by Ohio Governor Ted Strickland to hold on to his office so that his liberal ideas can finish bankrupting the state is about as bankrupt as any policy Stickland has advocated. And that's quite a feat.

Let's check some facts before seeing this misguided video, assuming you absolutely must. If nothing else, it might be worth a laugh. For starters, he's discussing a Federal issue, health care reform, that has nothing to do with whether he's re-elected, or not. Why doesn't he just admit he's desperate and wants your email address, but doesn't have anything serious to say because his ideas have failed so miserably for Ohio? But it gets worse.

Here's the latest out of Ohio on Obama and healthcare at AmSpec:

Ohio voters disapprove 53 - 42 percent of the way the President is handling the economy and disapprove 57 - 36 percent of the way he is handling health care. In September, they approved of his handling of the economy 48 - 46 percent and split on his handling of health care 44 - 45 percent....

In the video, Strickland is running for re-election by trying to piggy back on Obama's sinking popularity along with his health care reform ideas. Helloo? Granted, that's an efficient idea given that Strickland's headed down the drain. But is it smart politics? Does he even know there were two Governor's races where Obama got heavily involved and both Corzine and Deeds lost? Forget Ohio, he's way gone from there. Can you say "Earth to Ted"?

How desperate does a guy have to be to grab on to losing ideas and politicians to try and get a boost? Strickland can't even approve a smart ad campaign and he wants to keep running a too long suffering state due to his own liberal ideas?

This has to qualify as the dumbest email grab I've seen in my life. Enter DropDeadTed-at-you.com as he seems to have no serious ideas, or accomplishments to enlist on his behalf. Who knows, he might even feature that email address in his next ad, assuming he wants to top this one for dumb. 

Ohio can't fix health care on its own. We need the right kind of partnership with the federal government - reform at the federal level that will lower costs and expand access to coverage.

As the debate over health care moves from the House to the Senate, Congress needs to know that Ohioans support reform. Sign the petition below to show your commitment to health care reform.

Comments

[edh]

What's the deal with the kids holding the sign that says:

"Strickland is my future"?

And Strickland's quote:

"I believe no child in Ohio needs to be without healthcare."

What does that mean?

[Bill Quick]

Dan, he thinks he has a mandate. After all, the Buckeye State did elect him the last time around. By 60 to 37%!!!

And it went for Obama, too, just a year ago.

Blame the dumb citizens of Ohio for Strickland's dumb act. In this instance, it's a case of dumb...and dumber.

[Ron Ticchi]

Strickland is simply in way over his head. He's a country boy and a preacher by profession. I assume he got elected to the House years ago by sermonizing in his poor rural district.

The 2006 election in Ohio was predetermined to elect Democrats (Sherrod Brown also defeated RINO Mike Dewine for Dewine's Senate seat and the Dems swept the State offices). Ohio's economy is tied heavily to Detroit and while there are (were) many UAW plants in Ohio, there are multiples more of wannabe union supplier plants whose workers have been led to believe that good times are just around the corner and they'll soon also be making $28 per hour versus the $9 - $15 that predominates that market.

So the Dem machine and Strickland found each other and capitalized on the discontent of the shrinking size and wages of Ohio's workforce and found victory. Once elected, Strickland realized he was way short of any experience and natural executive traits to govern a relatively large state with lots of moving parts. It's falling apart for him and I don't think Ohioans will elect another Democrat to replace RINO Voinovich in 2010. All in all, I'm feeling good about Republicans regaining the State House and reclaiming a few House seats lost in 2008.

Ron T
Toledo, Ohio

[Jason]

How soon is Strickland up for re-election?

[John Cunningham]

the election is Nov. 2010. John Kasich has declared his candidacy for the GOP slot, and he is campaigning hard all over the state. kasich should be pretty impressive.

[gus3]

Not soon enough.

[gs]

Bob Taft, and now this Strickland guy. What happened to Ohio's sturdy Midwestern common sense? (Ditto for Illinois.)

[noway]

Maybe Kwame Kilpatrick can come in and help sort this Ohio situation out.

[Ron Ticchi]

Kwame Kil has settled in Texas; maybe he's gonna run for Cattle Flatulance Czar in the Big state.

[Marc Malone]

What happened to Ohio's Midwestern commonsense? It moved to a Red state. Whaddaya think?

[ic]

So the Dem machine and Obama found each other and capitalized on the discontent of the shrinking size and wages of the American workforce and found victory. Once elected, Obama realized he was way short of any experience and natural executive traits to govern a large country with lots of moving parts. It's falling apart for him ... and for us.

[Pablo Pandero]

Ohio's problems did not start with the Democrats, it started with RINOs. In the course of 15 years, 12 of them under RINO Republican control of all branches, the state moved from a moderately business friendly state to trailing only NY and CA for worst place to set up a business. The local Republican parties are corrupt statist crony-backers. I do have a lot of confidence in Kasich making a difference, and am very confident that he will will a Acorn-proof majority, but he will have to be very savvy in picking his powerful people in the statehouse.

[MikeB]

I don't know about Kasich.... I live outside of Cleveland and this region votes consistently Democratic. And the only Republicans who win in this region are Voinovich-style ones. It is easy to see Ohio voting for a moderate Republican who promises to bring jobs and fight corruption, but Cleveland are Columbus have been very cool to more conservative Republicans (see Kenneth Blackwell). Even though things are trending strongly against Strickland at the moment, Strickland is still perceived to be a moderate Democrat who is dealing with a Republican majority in state representatives. Strickland will be able to position himself favorably, if he so chooses.

A lot of it will also depend on Kasich and the issues he makes a priority in the campaign. I think a a straight-forward message of getting tax-rates lowered so people keep more of their money and the state is more attractive to employers would be an attractive and easily understood platform. It is also one area where the contrast will Strickland and the Democrats will be very clear. The likely Democratic argument i nreturn is that some state services will be cut. Frankly, I think a majority of Ohians would not regard this as bad news. Kasich needs to be the guy who will stand apart from much of the entrenched leadership in Ohio, including many local Republican committees which aren't very conservative in a fiscal sense. If Kasich can ocampaign as a real fiscal conservative and can effectively argue this will bring back jobs to Ohio he can win. In Ohio, like many states, it is all about jobs.

[submandave]

Interresting campaign premise:

"I can't do what I was elected to do (i.e. fix economy/health care/etc.), so re-elect me and I will do what the federal government tells me to do to fix our problems."

[CJ]

Yo MikeB,

What happened to Strickland's edict that all state employees would work 8 to 5 Monday to Friday? I'm a long way from Ohio but I remember hearing about that one.

[MikeB]

I am not familiar with that.

[RebeccaH]

I'm going to need the coming year to sift through all the gobbledygook and bushwa that will be floating around from now until then, but I know this: anybody who jumps on the Obamacare band wagon has lost my vote.

[LynnC]

The good people of Ohio will welcome Kasich's common sense leadership like a breath of fresh air after years of gasping from some of the highest taxes, highest unemployment, unbridled bureaucracy and the dust left behind from companies fleeing Ohio. They will look at the resumes and there will be no comparison. Kasich wins, hands down.