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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2009 > July > 23
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Senators, Senate candidates spar on health care reform
Sen. George Voinovich admitted on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Wednesday, July 22, that Republicans’ resistance to health care was about half about scoring political points against President Obama and half about concerns that the Democrats’ proposal was too costly and too flawed.
Democrats leapt on that comment, particularly the part about scoring points against Obama.
Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, a Democrat who’s running to replace the soon-to-retire Voinovich, sent out an e-mail to supporters capitalizing on those comments and urging supporters to contact Republican Voinovich to tell him to “ask his Republican colleagues to stop playing political games and pass health care reform legislation without delay!”
The email also criticized Republicans, saying they have no plans to reform health care. “Their only plan is to distort and delay the debate on reform until their special interest allies are able to concoct ways to block this critically important expansion of care,” Fisher wrote.
This email chafed Voinovich, who said he was “extremely disappointed” that Fisher “is politicizing our nation’s health care debate.”
He said he seeks a bipartisan solution to the nation’s health care crisis that would not create a long-term fiscal crisis.
Republican Rob Portman, who is also running for the U.S. Senate also weighed in, calling the Democrats’ health care plan a “job-killing” proposal and urging Fisher not to support it.
“The status quo is unacceptable, and reforms are needed to reduce costs and expand access,” he said. “Unfortunately, the big government approach Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher has now endorsed will increase costs, cause many Ohio working families to lose their current coverage, raise taxes and lead to more job losses in Ohio.”
UPDATE:
Now Fisher’s firing back - at Portman.
“Rob Portman, who spent two decades in Washington and helped kill the last health care reform effort, now says the status quo on health care is unacceptable. This from the man who, as George Bush’s budget director and lead trade negotiator, led us into the deepest economic crisis since the Great Depression,” Fisher said. “He criticizes those of us working to fix what he broke, and refuses to put forward an alternative proposal of any kind.”
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Voinovich’s commission bill gets a little White House love - sort of
Sen. George Voinovich is claiming his victories where he can, and in this case, he’s claiming one on his idea of creating a commission aimed at examining how the federal government spends its money. After all, Voinovich has been flogging this idea since 2006. He brought it up again earlier this week on CNBC. After his appearance, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made positive comments about the idea . Then, came today’s Washington Post, which included an interview with President Obama endorsing the commission.
Well, sort of. Obama told the Post that he would endorse a commission where “everything is going to have to be on (the) table” when it comes to examining our tax and entitlement systems and presenting long-term solutions to place the United States on a fiscally sustainable course.
Voinovich wants to create a commission which would bring together the best minds on budget and economic policies to examine the long-term fiscal challenges facing the United States and recommend reforms. He’s been introducing the bill regularly since 2006, with no movement.
He envisions an 18-member commission akin to the Base Closure and Realignment Commission, one that would make recommendations that Congress would have to approve on an up- or down-vote. The commission would gather information through public town hall meetings around the country for a year.
Voinovich takes Obama’s comments as as a positive sign.
“America’s elected leaders know we face a fiscal train-wreck, but are choosing to ignore our economic reality as they push forward with trillion dollar health care proposals,” Voinovich said. “I thank President Obama for being honest with the American people about our nation’s unsustainable course. Americans are paying attention and asking how in the world we can continue to spend and borrow, taking on new health care responsibilities, at a time when we can’t handle the responsibilities we already have.”
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Former Ohio treasurer joins Girl Scouts in Wisconsin
Republican Jennette Bradley left politics behind for the greener pastures of the Girl Scouts Badgerland Wisconsin Council in Madison, Wisconsin.
Bradley, a Republican, took over as chief executive of the newly merged council in January. She operates a council in 21 counties across three states, serving 14,000 girls.
“It’s really neat. It’s a great opportunity. The whole focus is to develop leadership opportunities for young women,” Bradley said.
Bradley served as a Columbus City Council member, Ohio lieutenant governor, and state treasurer but says now, “I don’t see myself going back into elected office…There is life beyond politics.”
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Voinovich hobnobs with astronauts
Here’s one perk of the U.S. Senate gig: Sen. George Voinovich this week met with four of the astronauts of the STS-125. You’ll remember they recently conducted a 13-day mission aboard the space shuttle Atlantis in May to service the 19-year-old Hubble Space Telescope.
During that mission, they also conducted five spacewalks to extend the life of the observatory, installed two new instruments and repaired two others. Their work extended the operational lifespan of the Hubble Space Telescope until at least 2014 when the Hubble’s successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, is expected to launch.

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DC paper criticizes Turner’s campaign for taking PMA money
The Washington Examiner Wednesday, July 22, spotlighted U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, for accepting $6,000 from the PMA Group, a defense lobbying group that is now the focus of multiple investigations. Turner’s campaign received $2,000 from PMA in the 2008 election cycle and $4,000 in the 2006 cycle. Before the lobbying group shut down earlier this year, they gave members of congress $3.4 million between 1989 and 2008. Seventy-nine percent of that went to Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Here’s Turner’s response to the article:
“My campaign receives contributions from many companies and groups who support efforts to strengthen our national security and to grow the Dayton region’s military and defense industry jobs. The PMA Group, which represented the Dayton Development Coalition, was no different. Reportedly, the campaigns of over 100 House and Senate members have received contributions from the PMA Group. These contributions were received by my campaign in 2008 and in prior years and do not reflect the current campaign cycle.”
Since 1989, Ohioans including Sens. Sherrod Brown and George Voinovich, and U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan, D-Niles, Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek and Charlie Wilson, D-Bridgeport, have also received PMA contributions, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
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Democrat Todd Book to challenge U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt
State Rep. Todd Book, D-McDermott, on Thursday, July 23, announced that he’s running for the U.S. House in 2010 to challenge U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, in the 2nd District.
The district includes parts of Warren, Scioto and Hamilton counties as well as all of Pike, Adams, Brown and Clermont Counties.
“In these tough times, the people of southwest Ohio deserve a representative who will be independent, work with both parties to solve problems and stand up for Ohio values in Washington,” Book said in a press release.
In the recent state budget deliberations, Book was a prime mover behind successful efforts to put video slot machines at Ohio racetracks. A lawyer, he has served in the Ohio House since 2003.
Republicans appeared ready for the challenge.
“It’s hard to argue that a hand-picked candidate of Nancy Pelosi and a promoter of Ted Strickland’s reckless spending agenda will be any more successful than the Democrats’ other failed challengers in this seat,” Paul Lindsay, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a press release.
