Stark County: Boccieri Gets Counter-Protested

This just in...

(Canton) – Youngstown State Sen. John Boccieri tied himself to the failed Washington establishment today at a Canton media stunt at a local gas station. Boccieri offered vague promises and empty rhetoric, but little in the way of a real plan that will help out consumers at the pump.

“This is nothing but a traveling road show by out-of-town entertainers who have nothing more to offer than a gas station publicity stunt,” said Stark County Republican Party Chairman Jeff Matthews. “We’re about to celebrate Independence Day, but unfortunately that doesn’t include energy independence.”

Later tonight Sen. Boccieri will be having a fundraiser with Illinois Representative Rahm Emanuel in Akron. As the fourth ranking member of the Democratic caucus, Rep. Emanuel’s tenure in the House of Representatives points toward the failure of Democrat leadership on energy policy.

• Emanuel has twice voted AGAINST authorizing new refineries in the United States to help ease the supply bottleneck of domestic refining capacity (HR 3893; Oct. 7 2005, HR 5254; June 7 2006).

• He also voted to END subsidies that encourage domestic oil and natural gas exploration (HR 6; Jan 18 2007).

• Rep. Emanuel voted AGAINST offshore oil exploration and drilling (HR 4761, June 29 2006). A recent Zogby International poll found that 74% of Americans support drilling into the Outer Continental shelf (Zogby International, Thursday, June 26, 2008).

“Voters can expect more of the same if John Boccieri is elected to Congress,” said Chairman Matthews. “This stunt today is a classic example of a Democratic Congress that’s out of touch on the real issues impacting our district. Instead of promoting a real plan to cut our dependence on foreign oil, all the Democrats have to offer lately is snake oil. Washington is broken, and today’s road show is another sad confirmation of that.”

Here are some pictures from the event that I don't think John Boccieri particularly appreciated...



If John Wanted to Save $ on Gas, He Should Have Stayed in Youngstown.



Boccieri may be sensative about the price of gas...but only when he has to drive in to the 16th district.



UPDATE: Statement from ORP Chairman Bob Bennett:

"Boccieri and his benefactors can pull gas station stunts from now until election day, but they are just drawing attention to how little the Democrats in Congress have done to address this pocketbook issue. Democrats have stood against every effort to tap our domestic resources for energy independence, but they continue to blame high gas prices on everyone but themselves. Ohioans can't afford to send another say anything, do nothing Democrat to Washington."

UPDATE 2: A very nice write-up in the Canton Repository...will we see this on PolitickerOH tomorrow? I'm not holding my breath.

UPDATE 3 (7/2/08): Video is available on YouTube. I'll embed it here when I get the chance to do so...