State of the Union

Boehner labels Obama's tax hikes 'disastrous'

From House Republican Leader John Boehner:

“Increasing taxes during a recession would be disastrous for the economy.  Herbert Hoover tried it, and we all know where that led.  While some may spin this as higher taxes for ‘the rich,’ the fact is, it will hit everyone – from small businesses and family farms to retirees and anyone who turns on a light switch.  It will also deliver a sharp blow to charities at a time when they are hurting during the economic downturn.  This will kill more American jobs and lead to an even longer, deeper recession.”

Shocker: Strickland accused of 'politics as usual'

Some are questioning whether Gov. Ted Strickland is breaking his promise to avoid politics in picking judges after his latest round of judicial appointments this week:

Laurel Beatty, 34, and Kim Cocroft, 35, the two new Franklin County judges, have limited experience in civil cases and no criminal-trial experience. Both are Democrats, as is Strickland. ...

Strickland passed over more experienced lawyers, such as Mark A. Serrott, Frank Macke and Mike Rankin, for the job, which pays $121,350 annually. Serrott, for example, has been practicing law for 29 years in Franklin County. Macke, a lawyer for 36 years, ran unsuccessfully for Common Pleas Court in 2006.  (The Columbus Dispatch, 2/26/09)

Strickland continues to use bogus math

The Columbus Dispatch reports on a miscalculation in Gov. Ted Strickland's school funding plan that could have a "huge impact on the money needed" to fund it.  Strickland apparently lowballed the average teacher salary by $3,000 to $5,000:

If those kinds of numbers are plugged into Strickland's formula instead, his plan could come up hundreds of millions of dollars short.

Strickland's latest round of fuzzy math comes just a week after he was caught "overstating the need" for federal stimulus money.  

At least London gets it

From the Times of London:

Barack Obama is a gifted orator, but barely a month into his Administration there are worrying doubts about whether his governing style is as eloquent. 

Obama is no Ronald Reagan

For the Obama gang who dared to compare their boss to Ronald Reagan, here's a little refresher on the difference between a conservative and a liberal:

Ronald Reagan, 1981: 

"Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."

Barack Obama, 2009: 

"I reject the view that says our problems will simply take care of themselves, that says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity."

Here we go with the "shared prosperity" again.  

We need some spending sanity

This is what's called overreaching...

From Pacific Business News:

U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye said Tuesday the federal government may have to jolt the economy with a second stimulus package. ... Inouye said it is becoming increasingly clear that a second blast of federal spending may be needed to jar the economy out of recession.

“That’s discussion item No. 1 now in Washington,” Inouye told reporters. “Some people are calling this bill the stimulus No. 1.”

Statement from House Republican Leader John Boehner

Washington, Feb 17 - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today issued the following statement regarding the trillion-dollar “stimulus” spending legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled Congress, which President Obama is expected to sign into law today in Denver, Colorado:

“Our nation is in recession, and responsible action is required to help our economy protect and create jobs.  This isn’t it.

“The flawed bill the President will sign today is a missed opportunity, one for which our children and grandchildren will pay a hefty price.  It’s a raw deal for American families, providing just $1.10 per day in relief for workers while saddling every family with $9,400 in added debt to pay for special-interest programs and pork-barrel projects.  It will do little to create jobs, and will do more harm than good to middle-class families and our economy.

“In response to the President’s request for input, Republicans offered a better solution that would create twice as many jobs at half the cost.  Instead of delivering a responsible, transparent, bipartisan bill to create ‘jobs, jobs, jobs,’ the Democratic Congress produced a trillion-dollar, special-interest pork-laden, partisan backroom deal that will do little to get our economy back on track. 

“Upon his election, President Obama expressed a desire to govern from the center and to be a President for all Americans.  I have cautioned that the President’s party would not always make it easy for him to meet this goal.  Sadly, this proved to be the case with the economic recovery legislation.  Despite this missed opportunity, Republicans stand ready to work with the President for better solutions to the challenges facing our country.  We can do better, and we must.”

NOTE: A Rasmussen poll released today shows a majority of Americans – 53 percent – believe the trillion-dollar spending bill “will hurt” or “have little impact” on the economy.

Statement on Fisher, Brunner Senate candidacies

(Columbus) - Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine issued the following statement today regarding the announced U.S. Senate candidacies of Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner:

"I can't think of two more unimpressive candidates than Lee Fisher and Jennifer Brunner.  Mr. Fisher brings to the table a dismal record of accomplishment as Ohio's lieutenant governor.  He was hired with the sole responsibility of creating jobs and helping to turn around Ohio's economy, yet in two short years he's managed to preside over the state's largest economic downturn in a generation.  

Jennifer Brunner offers nothing more than a widely criticized record of rabid partisanship and poor judgment.  She represents the kind of politics that her own party's standard bearer promised to change in Washington.  It's fitting that she wants to go to Capitol Hill just as her Democratic colleagues are preparing to shower millions of taxpayer dollars on her election fraud cronies at ACORN.  Brunner's excessive waste of taxpayer dollars to fund the radical agenda of a far-left band of election conspiracy theorists should fit right in with a Senate that knows no excess.

Ohioans want a leader who's respected on both sides of the political aisle and who offers a record of leadership on the economic issues impacting our state every day.  They want a senator with experience who understands our greatest economic challenges and knows what needs to be done to meet them head on.  Neither Lee Fisher nor Jennifer Brunner can offer those skills, but I'm confident that we will provide a candidate in November of 2010 who can."

$3.27 trillion (with a T)

From the Heritage Foundation:

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) asked the Congressional Budget Office to estimate the impact of permanently extending the 20 most popular provisions of the stimulus bill. What did the CBO find? As you can see from the table below, the true 10 year cost of the stimulus bill $2.527 trillion in in spending with another $744 billion cost in debt servicing. Total bill for the Generational Theft Act: $3.27 trillion.