Democrats flocked to Columbus to be with President Obama today, as politicians do whenever a president appears in their state. But missing from the picture was U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, a Republican.Democrats flocked to Columbus to be with President Obama today, as politicians do whenever a president appears in their state, but missing from the picture was U.S. Sen. George Voinovich. (Emphasis added.)
It wasn't as if Voinovich couldn't make it to Columbus. He's there all day, in fact. His schedule includes working out of his district office, meeting with his case-work staff, talking with banks in central and southeast Ohio about the Troubled Assets Relief Program and, later today, joining high schoolers and their families at a reception for those he nominated to attend the nation's military academies.
His "no" to the White House was a matter of principle, his office says. Obama went to Columbus to promote the economic stimulus bill. Voinovich felt the bill, while beneficial in part, was overly loaded with extraneous spending, piling massive debt on top of the existing deficit.
"He's thrilled that the police officers are going to be able to take active duty," Voinovich spokesman Chris Paulitz said, referring to cadets whose future was jeopardized until Obama helped with economic stimulus money. "But he is not going to go promote a bill that is going to burden our children and grandchildren with an enormous amount of debt for years to come."
Republublican Leader, my Congressman and a Great American -- John Boehner:
“This morning, we learned that Ohio’s unemployment rate has again outpaced the nation’s, sitting at a dangerous 8.8 percent of our workers unemployed. Yet instead of developing long-term strategies to put Ohioans back to work and get our economy moving, some leaders are throwing buckets of tax dollars into special-interest projects and other programs that will not create jobs. What’s worse, temporary federal dollars are being used to hire law enforcement officers who are only guaranteed a salary through the end of the year with no plan as to how to continue paying them after Dec. 31.Ohio GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine:
“Ohio’s taxpayers deserve nothing less that complete transparency and accountable as to how their money is being spent and what the long-term plans are to tackle the economic challenges our communities face. Yesterday, I and my Republicans colleagues from Ohio called on Gov. Strickland to set up a bipartisan, independent oversight board to ensure that federal stimulus dollars are being spent appropriately. We look forward to working with the Governor on setting up that panel and tracking spending.
“House Republicans put forth an economic recovery plan that would have created 243,000 jobs in Ohio – 6.2 million nationwide – by the end of 2010 at about half the cost of the trillion-dollar plan signed into law that will not nearly as many jobs. Ohioans want and deserve better solutions from both parties in Washington, and they rightly should expect the federal government to make the same tough budget choices that families face daily.”
"It's great that we're keeping more law enforcement on the streets, but this is a temporary solution to a long-term problem. President Obama is content to borrow money from the next generation to pay the current generation's bills, and someone at some point has to pay for it. I've heard from hundreds of Ohioans in recent weeks who are fed up with the reckless spending in Washington, and they're tired of sticking their kids and grandkids with a mountain of debt.
We can't just borrow, spend, and tax our way out of this crisis. We need tax relief for working families, incentives for small businesses to create jobs, and fiscal discipline that pays today's bills today.
Unfortunately, we heard nothing from President Obama or Gov. Strickland about what they plan to do when these borrowed dollars run out. We want to work together on a long-term solution, but right now the Democrats don't seem to have any vision beyond the next election."
