'China Hub' Airpark With 10,000 Jobs May Be Headed To SW Ohio: Cincinnati Gains From Missouri's Turmoil?

                                                   

SW Ohio In Running For Air Hub

UPDATE 11:24 am -- Tom Blumer at Bizzyblog has followed up and raises interesting issues about the use of tax incentives.  He also says Chicago already is being serviced by Chinese airfreight companies.  Blumer questions why the big media organizations  in Ohio have not jumped on this story -- to either confirm or question the project's financial viability, and also examine any potential impact on national security.

UPDATE 9/27 1:01 pm --NextSTL.com. reports a non-stop Shanghai to St. Louis cargoliner has made its first flight to Lambert Field.  But the Chinese say they won't stay in St.unless tax incentives materialize.  Ohio is still in the running for the hub.  The Chinese consul general says they will go where they get the best offer.  The story by Frank DeGraaf contains lots of new information about the project and its potential financial impact.

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican conservative who once said he was "tea party before there was a tea party," might be looking at landing the largest economic development project in recent state history.  And it all seems to be happening because of fellow conservatives in Missouri.  They are balking at approving about $400 million in state tax credits for the "China Hub," a Chinese-St. Louis air cargo corridor that is supposed to terminate at Lambert Airport.  It is envisioned as opening a massive new international trade gateway with the giant Asian economy.  St. Louis business interests and economic development officials were predicting up to 10,000 new jobs, along with warehouses and other spinoffs.  In effect, it would be a port, and it has a grand name: "Aerotropolis."  Not quite the Panama Canal, but a huge trade deal..

Suddenly, the fallout in Missouri has given Ohio an opening to grab it.  Economic development officials in Cincinnati are trying to offer the project a home in Ohio, and they are pointing to Wilmington, where DHL abandoned its giant air cargo airport two years ago.  It is sitting there waiting.  State officials are also in on the action.  The word in Jefferson City, Missouri's capital, is that SW Ohio and Denver have emerged as potential sites for the China Hub.  When The Daily Bellwether called a well-placed Cincinnati City Hall source Thursday, the source said, "We're going after this.  The Kasich people, the Chamber, we're all moving.  Is anything going to happen?  I think some doors are open to us that weren't until a few days ago.  We can give it a home in Wilmington at a place where people want jobs and an airport is empty and waiting.  Will it happen?  It seems to be up to the people in Missouri.  All of a sudden, they seem to hate tax incentives.  It's like the streetcar fight, but on a much bigger scale."

Tight Ohio Race Will Trigger Federal Lawsuit: Democrats Said Prepared For Court Fight Over Provisional Ballots

Al Franken had to lawyer up 

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- If the battle for governor or any other statewide races end up to close to call on election night, the Ohio Democratic Party plans to litigate to make sure all votes are tallied properly.  ODP will fight a legal battle in U.S. District Court -- most likely Cincinnati or Columbus -- to ensure that all 88 counties tabulate provisional ballots uniformly and use the same methods.  Democratic sources confirmed by e-mail within the last hour that the federal voting rights case would be filed in the Southern District of Ohio, which has U.S. judges located in Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton.  Provisional ballots are set aside and counted 10 days after the general election.  Independent statewide polls show Kasich and Strickland in a virtual dead heat.   If the election comes out that close, get ready for the lawyers.  The Columbus Dispatch reported today that the Dems were already seeking a federal court order:

"Yesterday, the Ohio Democratic Party filed a request for a federal court order to require county elections boards to provide voter addresses and other identifying information from provisional-ballot envelopes upon request."

The line appeared in Dispatch reporter Mark Niquette's long story that suggested a close race between Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and Republican John Kasich could become a legal fight. However, if there was such a lawsuit already pending, it was not publicly available in the court clerk's offices Tuesday.  Other elections officials told The Daily Bellwether that the Ohio Democratic Party had written to local boards of elections trying to gain access to addresses and other info from provisional ballot envelopes.  Hamilton County had gotten one of the letters, and apparently turned down the ODP request.  Litigation in close elections is nothing new -- it took months for Minnesota officials to decide if Al Franken won that state's U.S. Senate seat in 2008.  Franken had a 312-vote margin that was recognized by the Minnesota Supreme Court nearly seven months after the election.  And everybody recalls Bush v. Gore and the U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 ruling that said George Bush won the presidency even though he lost the popular vote.

John Kasich's Part-Time Job At Ohio State U. Pays $1,388.88 Per Hour: Average Cincinnatian Earns $21.37 Hourly Holding Down A Full-Time Gig

Wage Data For Cincy Area

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Former Wall Street investment banker John Kasich, the Republican candidate for governor of Ohio, makes more in a year as a part-time lecturer at Ohio State University than most Cincinnatians earn in full-time jobs.  Kasich gets $50,000 for 36 hours of talking -- or $1,388.88 per hour.  He takes money for speaking to college classes, something many prominent Ohioans are glad to do for free.  Former U.S. Sen. John Glenn -- a Marine fighter pilot who became an astronaut and was the first American to orbit the Earth -- comes to OSU gratis.  Comparing paychecks to Kasich's, you will see that a cop in SW Ohio -- which includes the Cincinnati area -- makes $25.21 per hour.  A fast food worker makes $8.58.  A high school teacher earns $39.59 hourly -- that is an average for public, private, parochial and charter school wages (see accompanying chart).  Kasich's pay is 35 times as much per hour as dedicated teachers -- both union and non-union -- who spend their entire days in classrooms trying to prepare Ohio kids for college classes.  Kasich has had the OSU gig for the past seven years, so it is not like he is getting a fat one-time speaker's fee.  This is a part-time position on the state's biggest campus.  Kasich has not opened up his income tax records to public view.  He is the only candidate for Ohio governor since the mid-1980s who has refused to reveal his tax data.  The OSU payments are public record.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks hourly earnings for hundreds of jobs, and 63 pages of data for the Cincinnati metropolitan area is available (pdf) by clicking here. The Cincy metro covers a wide swath of SW Ohio, including Hamilton, Clermont, Butler and Warren counties. Employers rely on the stats to make sure the salaries they are paying their workers are in line with area norms. Payroll data for the Columbus metro area is available in this labor statistics report (pdf).  The per hour earnings reports for Cincinnati and Columbus are from October 2009, and its is the most recent data available.  The Daily Bellwether looked over the Cincinnati numbers for full-time workers and found some examples to compare to Kasich's $1389 an hour part-time gig:

Accountants and auditors -- $27.55 per hour.
Engineers -- $36.79 per hour
High school teachers -- $39.59 per hour
Post secondary teachers -- 36.85 per hour (this post would equate to Kasich's OSU job)
Registered nurse -- $36.61 per hour
Fast food worker -- $8.58 per hour
Janitors -- $11.99 per hour
Plumbers -- $26.83 per hour  
Machinists -- $25.14 per hour
Factory foreperson (supervisor) -- $23.39
School bus driver -- $18.66
Tractor-trailer driver -- $26.30

Across the board, the mean salary for all workers was just over $20 an hour.  For a part-time job, the pay was $12.27 an hour.  The Cincinnati area data covers about 940,800 workers.

In Columbus, the hourly pay data shows that post-secondary (college level) teachers earn $59.64 an hour.  But if the wage rates are examined closely, they show $35.33 an hour for college level instructors in the arts, humanities and communications.  Kasich has a political science contract, which is a comparable position.  He made nearly 40 times the average in the Columbus wage market.

Ohio Daily is wondering today if Kasich got a sweetheart deal. Ohio Daily has gotten info from an e-mail circulating recently among faculty members on the Ohio State University campus:

"In an Oct. 19th email, Gunther said he and other faculty members were pressured to keep inviting Kasich back, and said he called Kasich’s salary 'obscene,' especially when compared to other part-time faculty. From the email:

"Let's look at this from another perspective. According to his own official report, Kasich was paid an average of $1,389 per hour for these occasional lectures. Instructors at OSU who are simply hired to teach a course (i.e., they are not regular faculty, but they often included Emeritus faculty) were paid between $2,500 and $5,000 for an entire 10-week course. That works out to something ranging from $63 to $125 per hour of lecture time, and that does not include the additional time required for grading and holding office hours with students. Even a full professor making $100,000 per year would be paid only about $200 for a 2-hour lecture (when research, grading and office hour requirements are factored in). Kasich’s pay, which averaged about  $2,778 per lecture, is simply obscene."

Fake Ohio Hunter Pictured In John Kasich Mailer: Buckeye Firearms Association Shoots Down Fraudulent Photo

Kasich Hunts For Votes With Fake Ohio Hunter

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The pro-gun Buckeye Firearms Association says John Kasich, Republican candidate for Ohio governor, has stooped to using a photo of a fake Ohio hunter in his campaign literature. It calls him a gun-rights phony.  Or, as Ken Hanson, the group's legislative chair put it today, "Kasich is finding religion like a nervous whore in church on Sunday."  Hanson said the picture of a hunter in a recent mailer wasn't from Ohio -- the hunter depicted is aiming a scoped rifle.  But hunting with such weapons is illegal in Ohio.  Rifle slugs can travel too far from open fields and stray into populated areas.  So the scene was staged.  Or it was purloined from some other state.  Either way, it proves that Kasich knows nearly nothing about hunting or guns.  In other ads this year, Kasich has used a fake steelworker and a fake journalist. Here's Hanson on the latest Kasich scam:

"Fast-forward to late October, when the race is a statistical dead heat, and all of a sudden Kasich is finding religion like a whore in church on Sunday.  Exhibit A is a recent mailing targeting gun owners.   Note the picture on page 2 of the mailer.  A hunter in blaze orange in the middle of a field with a medium bore, scoped rifle.  Tell us, Sportsman Kasich, what is this sportsrman hunting in Ohio, since rifle hunting of that sort is not legal here?"

Kasich is firmly opposed by pro-gun groups from the NRA on down.  They frequently back Republicans, but this year are enthusiastic for Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, who hails from rural Ohio (Scioto County) and has been a gun rights supporter all his life.  Strickland talks about the days when his family had to hunt for food when times were hard.  The Buckeye Firearms Association says Kasich's mailer has another distortion -- it claims Kasich has NRA support.  Hanson said the endorsement was moldy, from 20 years ago in a Congressional race, ancient and not pertinent to the 2010 race for governor of Ohio.  Does Hanson have cred on pro-gun issues?  Check out his bio:

"Ken Hanson is a gun rights attorney in Ohio. He serves as the Legislative Chair for Buckeye Firearms Association, and is the attorney of record for Buckeye Firearms Foundation, which filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the Heller and McDonald Supreme Court cases. The National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) has awarded him with its 2008 Defender of Justice Award and 2009 Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award. He is the author of The Ohio Guide to Firearm Laws, a certified firearms instructor and holds a Type 01 Federal Firearms License."

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources hunting regulations (online here) are clear that rifles are not a among the types of firearms allowed for deer hunting. Shotguns and muzzleloaders and some handguns can be used -- but none of them would need a scope gunsight to put a deer in the crosshairs.

UPDATE: 2:10 pm -- At Ohio Daily Blog, which has linked to The Daily Bellwether, Kasich's hunter photo is being compared to a golfer teeing off with a putter.  Only idiots would try to play like that.  And only the Kasich campaign would try to fool sportsmen with an idiotic photo.  Says Ohio Daily:  "There are numerous reasons why Ohio sportsmen reject John Kasich. First, is his F rating from the NRA. That's right. I said it. F! F! F! The Ohio Elections Commission today dismissed Kasich's claim that somehow he didn't receive an F. He did. And we're repeating it in case you skimmed over it. F!  Second, Kasich forgets that many of Ohio's sportsmen and sportswomen are hard-working, blue collar, union-workers. And John Kasich just called those people 'thugs' earlier in the week.  Third, Kasich forgets that many of Ohio's sportsmen and sportswomen are residents of rural areas. They don't go hunting as part of some junket paid for by some lobbyist that starts with mimosas & eggs benedict and ends with strippers & cigars. They go hunting to provide for their families. And John Kasich's campaign mocked those same Ohioans, with humble, rural roots, in a statement a few months ago."

My senses tell me that Kasich's problems with accuracy in his campaign literature date back to his stint on Wall Street as managing director of Lehman Brothers, the bankrupt investment house.  Truth is, the Wall Streeters bent information to meet their purposes.  Lehman said it was solid.  Fact is, it was hollow.  The Wall Steeters would pump stocks, pump bonds, pump mortgage markets and derivatives.  Numbers would be strung together.  In that culture, two minus  two could come out equaling 4,000,000,000 plus.  Carnival barkers and Bigfoot hunters had as much credibility as Lehman's balance sheet. Kasich lapped it up like mimosas and eggs benedict.  Hand 'em a putter so he can tee off.  Fore.  

John Kasich's Top Advisers Include Lehman Brothers Lobbyist: Failed Wall Street Firm's Fingerprints All Over Ohio Campaign

Lehman Brothers Lobbyist Form

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- A lobbyist who represented Lehman Brothers is a key figure in Republican candidate for Ohio governor John Kasich's campaign.  Robert F. Klaffky worked for the failed Wall Street investment bank as a registered "legislative agent" in Columbus between 2000 and 2008.  Those years coincide with Kasich's time as Lehman Brothers managing director.  Klaffky's lobbyist registration form shows he reported to a Lehman Brothers office on the 11th floor of a building at 399 Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan.  For a time, that address gilded the most expensive office building in the world.  It was purchased for $1.06 billion in 2002.  399 Park Avenue is a 41-story office building that houses the world headquarters of Citigroup.  Lehman Brothers collapsed in bankruptcy in late 2008 -- it demise worsened the Great Recession and waves of woe are still washing over the U.S. economy.  Klaffky stopped lobbying for Lehman Brothers in December 2008 when the firm went belly up. 

Klaffky's Ohio lobbyist registration documents can be found by searching here, which takes you to the portal of the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee. The Daily Bellwether has posted a 2008 form filed by Klaffky that discloses his affiliation with Lehman Brothers. Klaffky said he was engaged to handle "all issues pertaining to the client."   Kasich has tried to minimize his Wall Street connections during the campaign for governor.  For example, the Republican candidate's official biography posted on his campaign website does not mention that he was a Lehman Brothers executive.

Four months ago, Columbus Dispatch reporters Joe Hallett and Mark Niquette wrote a story naming the insiders in the campaigns of Republican Kasich and Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland. Lehman Brothers lobbyist Klaffky was lumped in the group that Kasich called his key aides.  But the story did not mention the identify of Klaffky's lobbying clients.  You can read the excerpt below: exeHneidentify the firm say w:

"Kasich described his campaign as "kind of like getting the band back together." It is a mix of longtime trusted aides from his years in Congress, such as Wayne Struble, Don Thibaut and Ben Kanzeg, and newcomers such as Hansen and communications director Scott Milburn.
Kasich gushes accolades when discussing campaign staffers and volunteers individually, saying, 'A better team, in my opinion, has never been assembled since I've lived in this state. I will live and die with them.'

"Along with paid staffers, an assortment of former co-workers, unofficial advisers and old friends can be found on any given day at Kasich's Downtown headquarters. Among them: former Lehman Brothers colleague and right-hand man Jai Chabria, who Kasich said is "like a member of my family"; Franklin County GOP Chairman Doug Preisse; lobbyist Robert F. Klaffky; and longtime personal friend Ron Hartman, a member of Kasich's Bible study group."

John Kasich's New Ad Features 'Journalist' Who REALLY Screwed Up: Misused Nazi Phrase Emblazoned Over The Gates Of Auschwitz

Mytheos Holt Admitted He Was A Dolt

 CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The star of Republican John Kasich's latest television ad apologized to his entire college campus for comparing the extermination camp's "Arbeit Macht Frei" -- the phrase millions passed while being herded to the gas chambers -- to Obama's "Yes we can."

Mytheos Holt publicly had to retract his words, which appeared in a column in the Wesleyan Argus not quite two years ago.  Now Holt -- who openly admitted he was a dolt -- is going to pop up in a John Kasich TV spot that attacks Gov. Ted Strickland for false and misleading ads.  Holt claimed in his apology that he wrongly thought "Arbeit Macht Frei" was simply a German campaign slogan.  His knowledge gap proved offensive and disgusting -- it's a phrase forever associated with murder, starvation, slave labor, brutal experiments on children, and ovens, those awful ovens, the soul stealers.  The Daily Bellwether has the apology here:

Holt apologizes

By Mytheos Holt

"A few hours after my column ran this Tuesday (“Mytheology: Wesleyan Viewed from the Right: It's a Brand New Day,” Nov. 11, 2008, Volume CXLIV, Number 19) I received an angry e-mail from a friend about my usage of the slogan “Arbeit Macht Frei.”

I was under the impression that he was reacting against my implied comparison between two arguably totalitarian slogans, so I replied back snappishly, but he then informed me that it had been written over the gates at Auschwitz. I was shocked and horrified to learn this, and so I apologize for using that phrase. I had intended it merely as a reference to what I thought was an oft-used campaign slogan in Nazi Germany, NOT to imply that Obama was on the verge of committing genocide.

I realize that I was wrong not to research the phrase. If anyone should have done so, it would be a half-Jewish student whose mother's side of the family was fortunate enough to escape Europe before Hitler could get to them.  This was an extreme comparison, and I am deeply sorry to anyone who was offended by the column.

Anthony Fossacecca at Ohio Daily Blog says Holt is a rookie partisan Hack who has been in journalism only since the Spring. Fossacecca didn't know about the death camp furor, which The Daily Bellwether discovered after reading Holt's columns in a campus newspaper.  Here's Fossacecca:

"Republican Gubernatorial Candidate John Kasich is about to launch a new ad later today attacking Governor Ted Strickland for running false and misleading ads. In the spot, the Kasich campaign cites one source for their attack on Strickland : National Review blogger Mytheos Holt. And Holt is hardly a credible source. Until last spring, the poor kid was writing for The Wesleyan Argus in an ultra-conservative column called "Mytheology" before he graduated and grabbed a desk at NRO. He's also grabbed coffee for folks at Accuracy in Media and shadowy Bush group, Freedom's Watch.
With a crack resume like that, it's no wonder Team Kasich swooped in to use him as the only credible journalist willing to shill for the team.
In the spot, he's quoted calling Ted's spots "blatant misrepresentation of the truth.... ridiculous... not one sentence in context."
With youthful exaggerations like that, perhaps he should have run for State Treasurer."

University of Cincinnati's Latest Ohio Poll: Kasich's Lead Is Overwhelming IN SW Ohio

Kasich Behind In Central Ohio, Up in SW Ohio

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Today's Ohio Poll shows Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland trailing GOP nominee John Kasich statewide, with 51% of likely voters picking Kasich. The poll puts Strickland at 43% statewide with less than three weeks to Election Day. But when the numbers are broken down by geographic region, Kasich is only winning big in one section of the state, the Cincinnati area. According to the University of Cincinnati pollsters, Kasich holds a gigantic 29-point edge in the Cincinnati area -- Strickland is at 33% and Kasich 62%.  Other than that, the contest appears tight across other chunks of Ohio.

SW Ohio traditionally has been a Republican bastion and if the poll numbers are accurate it could be the region whose votes give Ohio a Republican governor over the next four years.  There is another interesting geographic wrinkle in today's Ohio Poll -- Kasich trails Strickland by an ever so tiny margin in the Columbus (Central Ohio) region. Kasich served as a Congressman from the Columbus area, and he is a well known politician there.  Kasich was also a state senator. Central Ohio is Kasich's political base, yet Strickland leads there , 49% to 48%.  Strickland's lead is razor-thin and within the poll's margin of error.  Logically, Kasich ought  be blowing Strickland out in Central Ohio because that is his backyard. But the poll suggests that Ohioans who know Kasich best -- he served as an officeholder in Central Ohio for a long time in the 1980s and 1990s -- aren't thrilled about his comeback, nor are they supporting him in droves.

Here's the geographic breakdown as reported by the Ohio Poll, which has a 3.7% margin of error. (The poll says the geographic data could fall outside the margin):

Northeast Ohio -- Strickland 47%; Kasich 49%; Don't Know 4%.
Northwest Ohio -- Strickland 39%; Kasich 45%; Don't Know 12%; Other 4%.
Central Ohio -- Strickland 49%; Kasich 48%; Don't Know, 3%.
Southeast Ohio -- Strickland 47%; Kasich 45%; Don't Know 8%.
Southwest Ohio -- Strickland 33%; Kasich 62%; Don't Know 5%

Strickland, who is from Scioto County on the Ohio River in Southeast Ohio, holds a slight lead in what is traditionally known as the Appalachian portion of the state. But the pollsters cautioned that their sample of likely voters was not large enough to ensure the results are reliable for the region.  Strickland represented the area in Congress before his election as governor in 2006. Still, it should give some comfort to Dems that the poll suggests the governor holds a slight lead in his backyard and that he also holds a slight lead on Kasich's home turf in Central Ohio.

UPDATE: 1:03 pm -- Strickland campaign manager Aaron Pickrell says the Ohio Poll has a solid reputation, but takes issue with a few of its underlying assumptions today:

"In this poll - Governor Strickland and Congressman Kasich each get 86% of their respective party's vote and Governor Strickland is winning independent voters by 1%, yet Congressman Kasich has an 8% advantage overall.  This is based on a sample that is 49% Republican, 42% Democratic and 9% Independent.  The poll conducted in September had a sample of 45% Republican, 42% Democratic and 12% Independent.  We strongly dispute a 7% Republican advantage in the turnout of this election.  If you did an apples to apples comparison of the sample used in September and the percentage of the vote each candidate receives - it would be Kasich 48% to Strickland 46%.

"Yet, even those polling numbers belie what we are seeing in early voting. Despite the so-called "enthusiasm gap," Ohio Democrats are turning out in greater numbers than Republicans. The investments that we have made in recent years in the Ohio Democratic Party have resulted in the creation of one of the strongest state parties in the nation. While the Republicans have virtually no turnout operation, the Ohio Democratic Party has a truly statewide get-out-the-vote operation that is identifying and turning out our supporters weeks before the November 2nd election.

"No one pretends this is going to be an easy election - but today's Ohio Poll does not offer an accurate snapshot of the race.  Governor Strickland is ahead by a couple of points in this race and with the superior early vote and GOTV operation - there is no question he will be successful on Election Day."

Ohio BWC Lost $56.4 Million In Lehman Bros. Investments: State Fund For Injured Workers Netted Two Pennies Per Dollar

BWC Report Shows Lehman Bros. Hit

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The failure of Lehman Bros., the Wall Street investment bank that employed John Kasich, the GOP candidate for governor, was a financial calamity for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation.  Records dug up this week by The Daily Bellwether show BWC managed to recover just $1.54 million of $57.9 million invested in Lehman stock and bonds.  Kasich was a managing director at Lehman -- though he now tries to downplay his role at the bankrupt Wall Street firm.  A BWC investment committee report shows the Lehman holdings were liquidated two years ago as Wall Street collapsed in the worst financial mess since the Great Depression.  $10.5 million in Lehman stock was sold for $35,000.  That's right, $35,000.  $47.3 million in Lehman bonds was sold for $1.5 million.

 BWC also lost lesser amounts in AIG, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae -- in all $94.6 million vanished as the bubble burst.  The Oct. 14, 2008 investment committee report said:  "The bulk of these losses were attributable to holdings in four troubled prominent financial services organizations whose financial conditions deteriorated rapidly due to each firms large exposure to troubled and illiquid mortgage-related assets."

BWC is a state insurance pool that is funded by businesses in Ohio who pay premiums.  If BWC's investments earn money, the premiums remain stable, or drop.  If it loses money, they go up.  Wall Street's reckless practices hurt the fund, of this there is no doubt.  Here is what the investment committee reported:

"Lehman Brothers, a large investment banking firm, was force to file for bankruptcy protection on September 15 [2008] as sit incurred a liquidity crisis precipitated by a rapidly growing lack of investor and institutional counterparty confidence resulting from its weak and deteriorating mortgage and real estate portfolios."

Kasich has contended on the campaign trail this year that he was not a wheel at Lehman Bros.  Instead, he portrays himself as a minor cog.  But there are proxy records showing he was more of a Wall Street insider than he now lets on.  Kasich was on the board of Instinet, an electronic stock trading operation in Manhattan that was a major Wall Street player and helped pioneer 24-hour trading. Instinet was bought by the NASDAQ stock exchange in 2005. There is more about the history of Instinet here. The company's proxy discloses Kasich's responsibilities at Lehman Bros., which seem to be far more extensive than his current claim that he headed a tiny two-person office in suburban Columbus. From the Instinet proxy:

John Kasich. Mr. Kasich, age 52, has been a Managing Director in the Investment Banking Group at Lehman Brothers since January 2001, where he has responsibilities across a range of industry groups, including health care, power and utilities, technology, retail and financial institutions. Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Kasich was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Ohio’s 12th Congressional District, from 1983 to 2000, and served as Chairman of the House Budget Committee from 1995 to 2000. Prior to serving in the U.S. Congress, Mr. Kasich was an Ohio State Senator for four years. Mr. Kasich also currently serves as a director of Invacare Corporation and Worthington Industries, Inc., and is the host of the program “Heartland with John Kasich” on the Fox News Channel. Mr. Kasich is a graduate of the Ohio State University. Mr. Kasich has been a director of Instinet since June 2001.

 

Republicans Dig Up Dirt On Phony Steelworker In John Kasich's Latest Campaign Ad: Florida Actor With Interesting History

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Even Republican are aghast at John Kasich's latest campaign ad that uses a Florida actor to pose as an Ohio steelworker. They've noticed that the actor, Chip Redden, has a colorful [ed. note: I'm using a polite description] past. Right Ohio, the GOP leaning Ohio blog operated by Matt Naugle, a conservative who worked in Ken Blackwell's 2004 campaign, is taking Kasich apart today. Kasich's GOP campaign has promised to put Ohioans to work.  It seems he's delivering paychecks to Florida offenders.  Here's what Naugle has learned:

"Poor Chip… a local actor making a few bucks on the side and now he becomes a target of the Ohio Democrat Party machine.
I’m surprised they didn’t point out he has a MySpace page, with this being my favorite picture of Chip:

And although he is an Ohio-based actor, he has lived in other states where he has committed crimes. Here are all the ones I could match to his addresses, including a 1996 charge in Florida for battery!

Offender information
Name: REDDEN III, EUGENE V
Address: 225 CHADWORTH DR
KISSIMMEE, FL 34758-3041
OSCEOLA COUNTY
Case Number: CM 9500MM 003428
Case Filing Date: 01/02/1996
County: Osceola
Race: White
Sex: Male
Offenses
Case Filing Date: 01/02/1996
Court Case Number: CM 9500MM 003428
Court Offense: BATTERY
Court Disposition Date: 01/02/1996

And lots of traffic violations. Here are a few examples:

Offenses
Case Filing Date: 11/15/1995
Court Case Number: C 9500TC 037940
Court Offense: ATTACH LICENS PLATE NOT ASSIGN
Court Level/Degree: Traffic Criminal
Case Filing Date: 05/11/1995
Court Case Number: C 9500TT 017335
Court Offense: 51/35 SPEED: POSTED ZONE (MUNI
Court Disposition: VOLUNTARY PAYMENT – ADMIT GUIL
Court Disposition Date: 06/08/1995
Court Level/Degree: Traffic Citation

And at various times in Alaksa, he committed forgery, theft, driving without a drivers license, and driving drunk:

Offender information
Name: REDDEN III, EUGENE V
Address: AK
Case Number: 4FA-93-00439CR
Case Filing Date: 02/22/1993
DOB: 02/1969
Offenses
Case Filing Date: 02/22/1993
Court Description: Fourth District – Fairbanks
Court Case Number: 4FA-93-00439CR
Court Statute: FORGERY II
Court Disposition: No Contest Plea
Court Disposition Date: 10/12/1993
Court Level/Degree: Felony
Offenses
Case Filing Date: 11/12/1999
Court Description: Fourth District – Fairbanks
Court Case Number: 4FA-99-03631CR
Court Statute: NO VALID OL
Court Disposition: No Contest Plea
Court Disposition Date: 12/16/1999
Court Level/Degree: Misdemeanor
Offenses
Case Filing Date: 10/20/1988
Court Description: Fourth District – Fairbanks
Court Case Number: 4FA-88-02951CR
Court Statute: THEFT/FRAUD
Court Disposition: No Contest Plea
Court Disposition Date: 07/17/1989
Court Level/Degree: Misdemeanor
Offenses
Case Filing Date: 03/13/1989
Court Description: Fourth District – Fairbanks
Court Case Number: 4FA-89-00627CR
Court Statute: ALCOHOL
Court Disposition: No Contest Plea
Court Disposition Date: 07/17/1989
Court Level/Degree: Misdemeanor

There are a few other issue minor infractions he committed, but the point is he doesn’t have a clean record and in this tough political environment the Kasich campaign has opened themselves up to this attack.
And before you feel like starring in a political TV ad, prepare yourself to be embarrassed."

Here's more from Plunderbund, which wonders why Kasich couldn't find an Ohio steelworker to wear and hardhat for the ad attacking Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland.

Ohio Gov. Candidate John Kasich Says He Brought Google To Wall Street: Maybe He Was a 'Little Shriveled Walnut' On the IPO

Walnuts or Wall Street?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- GOP candidate John Kasich holds a shriveling lead in the race for Ohio governor, and he also may lead in giving himself a pat on the back for putting Google on the NASDAQ stock market.  But a former Google exec who oversaw the company's initial public offering calls the big Wall Street firms where Kasich worked "little shriveled walnuts"  who didn't truly comprehend the technology industry.  She contends Wall Street's hunger for fees and profits left growth companies SOL.  Google became a public company in August 2004.  A team of 21 investment banks, including now defunct Lehman Bros., where Kasich worked as a managing director, helped prepare Google's initial public offering.  Although Kasich does not mention his Wall Street ties in his official campaign biography, Kasich did say in the Sept. 14 debate with Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland that he had a hand in Google's success.  A link to a tape of the debate is available here. The Daily Bellwether found Kasich talking about Google at the 21:48 mark:

"I was part of the team that took Google public. We know what Google means."

Yes, we all know what Google means.  What we don't  know is what Kasich means.  Does he mean he was an important investment banker at Lehman Bros., the Wall Street company whose collapse in September 2008 helped pull down the U.S. economy?  Did he mean he was a player?  There is just not much information available about Kasich's role.  We do know that Lise Buyer was the investment banking guru at Google who was charged with taking the company public. She would have known Lehman Bros. and Kasich's role. I've not been able to contact her, but I do know she has a low opinion of the investment banks, and said firms like Lehman "emulated Audrey, the man-eating plant from 'Little Shop of Horrors,' demanding ever larger revenues to sustain their mass . . ."

Here's what Lise Buyer said about the investment banks on Feb. 9, 2009 in a column for All Things Digital:

"2. The demise of investment banks is good for IPOs. Today, we lambast investment banks because they earned it. Formerly sure-footed firms ran full speed into a bog they didn’t understand. Those whom Tom Wolfe once christened “Masters of the Universe” and “BSDs” have morphed into LSWs (little shriveled walnuts).

"How does this help the IPO market? In the heyday, technology IPOs were shepherded by boutique investment banks focused on, and economically aligned with emerging growth companies. Those banks didn’t invent, sell or swap CDOs or SIVs. Rather, in the 1990s, following the wisdom of the day, they sold out to diversified, theoretically better-capitalized, larger banks. Those acquiring banks emulated Audrey, the man-eating plant from “Little Shop of Horrors,” demanding ever larger revenues to sustain their mass, leaving new issuers who generate small fees with little IPOs, an acronym of their own; SOL.

"Now, with large investment banks hanging with the pterodactyls, there’s an opportunity for boutiques to rise again, a turn that could be very good for the IPO market."

Chinese Imports Worrying John Kasich's Invacare: Fighting Shanghai Knockoffs To Save U.S. Jobs In Florida

  

Invacare complaint to save Florida jobs

  CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Documents filed with the International Trade Commission in DC suggest John Kasich backs the fight to save an Invacare factory in Florida threatened by Chinese knockoffs.  The documents were prepared by Invacare's lawyers last month.  Ohio's  Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland has been hammering GOP challenger Kasich for serving on the board of directors of Invacare, a Cleveland-area company that moved more than 200 Ohio manufacturing jobs to China.  The loss of those jobs -- and Kasich's role in sending them overseas -- has been a hot issue in a state where globalization and imports have hit the factory economy hard.  The Daily Bellwether learned that Invacare is singing the unfair trade blues, claiming it's being victimized by patent-infringing Chinese imports.  Kasich has been a proponent of foreign trade agreements.  But trade deals can haunt U.S. companies, and Invacare is now fighting [see accompanying document] a legal battle to save 240 jobs at its factory in Sanford, Fla.  A Chinese government owned manufacturer is among the foes.  Inquiring minds might wonder:  Has Kasich fought harder to save jobs in Florida than Ohio?

In early August, Invacare filed a formal complaint with the International Trade Commission against Shanghai Shunglong Physical Therapy Equipment Co., Ltd.  Invacare contends the Chinese are making knockoffs of adjustable height beds used for home health care.  It says the beds are being illegally imported and sold in the U.S.   Here is some language from Invacare's complaint against the Chinese:

"Invacare has made significant investment in plant, tools and equipment devoted to developing, manufacturing and testing the Invacare beds.  Invacare manufactures the Invacare beds at a manufacturing plant that it owns in Sanford, Florida ('Florida Plant') and has been doing so ever since the Invacare Beds were first produced in 2003.  Invacare purchased the Florida Plant in 1994, most of which is designated for manufacturing.  The Florida plant is divided into two different spaces, one dedicated to beds, and the other dedicated to respiratory products.  The Invacare Beds make up a large portion of the beds manufactured in the Florida Plant."

The complaint also states:  "Shunglong manufactures abroad and, directly and through authorized agents, sells for importation and/or imports the Accused Products into the United States.  Invacares's employees have purchased the Accused Products in the United States after importation."

Invacare says the Chinese manufacturer sells to a New York based importer, who then offers the products to dealers and medical providers across the nation.  It said a knockoff bed from China was purchased in Cincinnati at the Queen City Medical Mart on Reading Road.

Earlier this month, the ITC voted to investigate Invacare's complaint.  The full text of the 42-page Invacare unfair trade complaint is available here (pdf). An International Trade Commission press release announcing it would investigate the Chinese beds is available here.

Ohio Dem Polling Gives Kasich 'Important' Edge: Voters Think GOP Candidate Can Create New Jobs

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Democratic Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland is underwater in all polls, including his own. His pollster, Diane Feldman of The Feldman Group Inc., warned in an internal memo late last week [see document] that the race appears to be turning on Ohioans' views about who can create jobs. At the moment, Republican John Kasich has the edge on that score. Feldman wrote: "Virtually the only positive trait where Kasich leads is an important one -- that he will create jobs. The Strickland campaign must close that gap."

With Ohio's unemployment rate near 10 percent, with foreclosures battering all 88 counties, with recent college grads moving back in with their parents, with all the grim economic news, it is hard to see how Strickland can overturn the current perception that Kasich might be able to solve the state's job woes. Is it time for Ohio Democrats who work in the Strickland administration to have separation anxiety about their owns jobs? If Kasich wins, they'll be looking for work. Feldman isn't all gloom and doom -- she says Ohioans consider him honest and trustworthy and think he has the best interests of the middle class at heart. That is something to work with. And she offered some potential tactical guidance to Strickland's campaign: Tell voters more about companies that are adding jobs in Ohio, get the word out. Feldman said: "Voters who have heard about companies in their area expanding in the last six months support Strickland by 58 percent to 36 percent; those who have not heard of new or expanding industries in their area give Kasich a majority. We are not there year, but have a clear path to victory."

To help out, The Daily Bellwether is going to reprint this press release about a $5 million plant expansion now taking place in Cincinnati. An Italian company is adding jobs:

"Eurostampa North America (Eurostampa N.A.) will begin construction of a new, 70,000 sf modern commercial printing facility on a 6.8 acre site at 1440 Seymour Avenue in the Roselawn neighborhood. Eurostampa is a family-owned Italian printer of high quality labels for major and international companies in the following sectors: spirits, wine, chocolate, foodstuffs, beer, and water. The new facility will be the company’s North American headquarters and will serve their customers throughout the US, Mexico, and Canada. A few of their clients include names such as: Bacardi, Nutella, Bertolli, and Guinness.Eurostampa has a current employment of 49 and the company is projecting to employ a total of 79 people by the end of 2014. The company plans to invest approximately $5 million into the new facility.The company’s existing facilities are also in the Roselawn neighborhood. The new location will allow Eurostampa to centralize 3 existing leased facilities and remain in a familiar neighborhood for their employees and customers. The site also offers the company future opportunities for expansion by an additional 40,000 to 50,000 sf.Eurostampa purchased the site from the City of Cincinnati. The City had acquired the land from the Ohio Department of Mental Health for the purpose of business development. The company has received a Job Creation Tax Credit and a LEED CRA on the building from the City and the Ohio Department of Development as incentives to remain and grow their business within the City."

Ohio Republican Party Wrecks Kasich's Qualifying Day: Presser Surfaces Blasting 'Ties To Lehman Brothers'

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- In November 2008, one didn't have to work for Lehman Brothers to be considered unfit for government service in a high office. According to the Ohio Republican Party, one just had to have "ties to Lehman Brothers," the bankrupt Wall Street investment house. John Kasich, a former Lehman Brothers managing director (2001-2008), qualified today as the GOP candidate for governor of Ohio. Wall Street is in his past, and so is his own party's criticism Wall Street executives. Today, The Daily Bellwether links to this Nov. 24, 2008 Ohio Republican Party press release that first raised the Lehman Brothers fitness issue. The state GOP targeted Lawrence Summers -- an Obama economic adviser -- with a headline that said "Summers Is A Managing Director Of A Hedge Fund With Ties To Lehman Brothers." It turns out that Lehman bought a 20% stake in the D.E. Shaw hedge fund in March 2007. By that time, Kasich had been a managing director for six years -- he was full time with Lehman Brothers. Below is the actual text of the Ohio GOP's concerns about Lehman Brothers:

"Summers Is A Managing Director Of A Hedge Fund With Ties To Lehman Brothers:
"[Summers] Is A Managing Director Of A Hedge Fund, D.E. Shaw Group, At A Time Of Distrust Of Wall Street." (Deborah Solomon and Michael M. Phillips, "The Obama Transition: Summers And Geithner, Two Contenders For Treasury Job, Have Close Career Ties," The Wall Street Journal, 11/8/08)
Summers Took On The Role Of Managing Director In October 2006. "In October [2006] Lawrence Summers, former Harvard University president and U.S. Treasury Secretary under the Clinton administration, was named managing director at D.E. Shaw; Mr. Summers also is known for his role in the bailout of Long-Term Capital Management in 1998." (Jacob Bunge, "Lehman Brothers Buys Into D.E. Shaw," [New York] Daily News, 3/13/07)
In March 2007, Lehman Brothers Bought A 20 Percent Stake In D.E. Shaw Group. "Lehman has also heavily expanded its investment banking capacities in Europe and Asia, and has built up its asset management capabilities. Its business trading and arranging financing for hedge funds have also picked up just this week Lehman took a 20 percent stake in D.E. Shaw Group, one of the world's largest hedge fund managers." (Joe Bel Bruno, "Lehman Brothers 1Q Profit Up 5.6 Pct.," The Associated Press, 3/15/07)
D.E. Shaw Founder David Shaw Said "We're Very Pleased To Be Associated With Lehman Brothers." David Shaw: "We're very pleased to be associated with Lehman Brothers. ... Lehman has demonstrated a strong commitment to investment management, and will be a valuable resource to us as we continue our efforts to innovate within both the absolute-return and benchmark-relative asset management areas." (Jacob Bunge, "Lehman Brothers Buys Into D.E. Shaw," [New York] Daily News, 3/13/07)"

GOP's John Kasich: He Owns 45,000 Shares ($1.2 Million) Of Corp. Praising Ohio's Tax Climate 'As Better Than Ever'

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- John Kasich, the Republican candidate for governor of Ohio, serves on Invacare Corporation's board of directors and owns 45,000 shares of stock in the Elyria-based medical products manufacturer. (See the April 2009 proxy statement above.) Kasich's company -- which has made him rich -- loves the state. And while Kasich is campaigning on a theme that Ohio's tax climate is miserable for business growth and entrepreneurs, Invacare is taking part in a national advertising campaign that says "Ohio's business climate is better than ever." While Kasich claims Gov. Ted Strickland's administration has been chasing jobs out of the state, Kasich's company sees Oho as "an ideal location." Indeed Invacare's (IVC:NYSE) version of Ohio is poles apart from Kasich:

"From its early beginnings in 1885, Invacare has called Oho home. Here, they've found an ideal location, a skilled workforce, an excellent transportation infrastructure and government leaders will to work as partners with industry . . . And now Ohio business climate is better than ever. Major tax reforms have shifted policy from taxing capital investment , profits and wealth creation to taxing gross receipts. The result is greater incentives to invest in innovation and productivity and more support for entrepreneurial activity."

All that is from an advertisement that goes on to quote A. Malachai Mixon III, Invacare's Chairman and CEO, as saying Ohio has been a great location for his company: "From our headquarters in Ohio, Invacare has become a world leader in home medical products. The state's new tax laws will help us continue to grow."

Kasich has been on Invacare's board of directors since 2001. The latest proxy statement shows him with 45,018 shares. Just after noon today, those shares were worth $26.46 each -- or $1,1919,762. Kasich seems to have done well financially in a state whose tax and business climate he is ripping on the campaign trail. His Invacare holdings have made him wealthy. You can find the a link to the Invacare ad here and a brochure(pdf) that lists Invacare among several corporations that are effusive about their Ohio business locations.

CNBC's Larry Kudlow's Absurd Political Acrobatics: Kudlow Has Donated $31,827 To GOP Candidates

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Sham journalism has gotten a foothold in Ohio politics, and it arrived via national television. Cable TV economist Larry Kudlow -- who writes checks to Republican candidates -- interviewed the Ohio GOP's candidate for governor during his CNBC show Thursday. Their sit down now appears more about political theater than substantive business news, which is supposed to be CNBC's stock in trade. There were no sparring words. By today the interview has become a means for John Kasich to produce a political advertisement without spending any campaign cash -- the interview tape is on Kasich's official website. What's really shameful about the incident is that Kudlow has his money riding on the Republican party; he's actually a donor posing as a business journalist. It is not likely that he would frame his inteview with challenging questions, or fire anything tough squarely at his fellow Republican. Kudlow threw softballs at John Kasich, who posted the tape of his CNBC appearance on his campaign website late last night. Thus, the Kudlow interview had the tone of a political advertisement from the start -- and that is what it has become. Kasich delivered his stump speech -- he never strayed from being on message -- and Kudlow pretended it was news. Kudlow should have forcefully mentioned that he's an active Republican who has written checks for dozens of his political party's candidates. As recently as last May, Federal Election Commission records show Kudlow gave $1,000 to Connecticut's Christopher Shays, who used the money to pay off debts left over from his 2006 loss. Worse for Kudlow is that Shays in on the board of CIT, a financial giant that specializes in business loans. CIT filed for bankruptcy last year and is seen as part of the Wall Street mess.

Kudlow is a former Bear Stearns economist; Kasich is a former Lehman Bros. managing director. Newsmeat has a list of Kudlow's political donations over the years. The interview/ad is making the rounds of political websites in Ohio including Kasich for Ohio. Matt Naugle has a copy of the tape at RightOhio. There is a clip at American Conservative Values.

Plunderbund, a Democratic blog also has the tape and notes that Kasich's appearance echoes much of what Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has been saying about rebuilding the state's economy. Kudlow seems not to have noticed. The take at the Daily Bellwether is that Kudlow and CNBC owe equal time to Strickland. Kudlow is a Republican activist -- and there are Federal Election Commission records to prove it.

GOP's Candidate For Ohio Governor John Kasich: His County Property Tax Records Reveal Odd Numbers

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- John Kasich acquired 10 acres of land in one of Ohio's fastest growing counties in April 1996 for less than courthouse property tax records show the land was worth. Delaware County appraised the property at an average of $17,250 per acre, but after Kasich bought it the land value dropped to $10,500 per acre. In other words, the tax value of the 10 acres fell from $172,500 to $105,000. Kasich's tract is next to a private country club outside Westerville in Central Ohio, and he built a 4,387-square foot home on the site. At the time, Republican Kasich was one of the nation's most influential congresssmen as chairman of the House Budget Committee. The Delaware County purchase allowed him to build on a secluded homesite in an exclusive area. Kasich's compound -- including the land and home -- is currently valued at $759,500 on county tax records. Kasich quit Congress after a failed presidential campaign in 2000. He became a FOX News commentator and worked at Wall Street investment bank Lehman Bros., as a managing director until the firm's collapse.

Kasich's property tax records are available online at the Delware County Auditor's Office. The Daily Bellwether looked them up earlier this week. Other records in the courthouse seem to indicate that Kasich purchased the property out of an estate. The estate may have been controlled or administered by a campaign aide or partner. That suggests the land transaction may not have been an arm's length deal. Or it may be that Kasich heard about a good buy on the real estate market and pounced. Either way, there is a possibility of insider trading. At some point in the campaign against Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, Kasich may have to answer questions about his real estate dealing in Delaware County.

The county property tax records show that several years passed before Kasich's 10-acre tract of land was reappraised in excess of its 1996 valuation.

Strickland Gets Big Win on Jobs Front: 1,339 Averaging $70,192 Moving To Cincinnati

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Kentucky got shut out, and Ohio gets a new corporate headquarters for its growing medical research industry. An incentive package that locks Medpace Inc.'s corporate headquarters into Ohio was approved Monday by the state Controlling Board. Medpace, founded in 1992, is an expanding pharmaceutical research company that plans to have 1,339 employees on its new corporate campus in Cincinnati by 2014. It will be adding more than 800 new jobs to its workforce. Public records available in Columbus show the company considered moving into Kentucky. But incentives from from Ohio and Cincinnati cut its estimated tax load by about $7.5 million over the next 8 years. Officials estimate $41.7 million in corporate and income taxes will be generated for Cincinnati and the state. Gov. Ted Strickland's administration helped nail down the deal. His GOP opponent, John Kasich, spent Tuesday claiming Ohio was killing jobs with red tape, high taxes and an unfriendly business climate. Kasich didn't mention Medpace, and may not even know about the state's efforts to snag the corporate headquarters from Kentucky.

Medpace's new campus will be on 29 acres that had been the site of Nutone Inc., a manufacturing company that closed and left the property. The state's aid package includes $3 million in Clean Ohio funds for remediation. The packet submitted to the Controlling Board for approval Jan. 11 shows:

"Upon completion of remediation, the currently vacant 29.14-acre site will be turned into the development at Red Bank and Madison [a major intersection on Cincinnati's east side]. Medpace, a drug research company, will relocate and expand its operations on the project property. The redevelopment will result in the creation of 800 new jobs and retention of 535 existing jobs by 2014. The development plan also includes 430,000 square feet of mixed use space, 50,000 square feet of retail space, and eight to 10 towhhomes. The project plans are in alignment with the GO Cincinnati plan. The development partner, RBM Development Company LLC, will contributed $6, 543,686 in matching dollars for prior expenses, acquisition and remediation activities."

Jeb Bush In SW Ohio Campaigning for Kasich: Hey, Isn't Bush On The Board Of Giant Hospital Chain?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The chain's CEO has been hailing Washington's health care reform efforts as "a step in the right direction." Yes, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush sits on the board of directors of Tenet HealthCare, a multi-billion corporation that owns and operates about 50 for-profit hospitals nationwide. The company's CEO, Trevor Fetter, supports federal healthcare reform, particularly the measure known as America's Healthy Future's Act. It's largely the Senate version. Bush, of course, says publicly that he does not support anything that is going through the Democratically controlled Congress. He's hewing to the Republican Party line while serving on the board of a corporation that has been very public in stating that health care reform would benefit both its business model and customers.

Last October, Tenet CEO Fetter was on the PBS business show Nightly Business Report and said the Senate legislation was a positive movement on the health care reform front:

"It certainly is a step in the right direction. As you know, hospitals across America are the places where the uninsured are treated, generally in our emergency rooms. Even people with insurance have a hard time paying for the services that we offer them. So it is certainly a step in the right direction to cover more Americans that are covered today. We'd just like to see more covered under this legislation."

Fetter is talking about Democratic legislation. The Republicans took a hike. Bush is decamped with his party. This morning, Bush is in downtown Cincinnati for a invitation-only breakfast reception at the private Queen City Club. Then he joins GOP candidate for governor John Kasich at a forum in suburban Mason, then its back to the Queen City Club for a Kasich fundraiser.

None of the money being raised today is going to help the uninsured. Is there not irony in the fact that Bush collects a director's fee from a large corporation that supports healthcare reform? He takes the money, but disparages the reform measures his company sees as beneficial.

Ohio Governor's Race: Is Ted Strickland Writing John Kasich's Stuff?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The Republican candidate for governor of Ohio has diagnosed the mental condition of his own political party. John Kasich says it has an insane batch of officeholders. His actual words are "some Republicans lost their minds." He pinpointed the insanity bout as starting in 2002. He did not offer any names of those afflicted, but said those who lost their minds wrecked the economy. Kasich rendered his opinion in November during a campaign swing in Marietta, and liked it so much he has posted it on his blog. This is the link: http://blog.kasichforohio.com/?p=1024 In case it disappears, the Bellwether will print the verbatim text:

Kasich pointed to his service as chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee in the mid-1990s as an example of the fiscal leadership he has provided.
“We balanced the budget in 1995 (Fiscal 1996), with a large surplus,” he said. “And between 1995 and 2002, before some Republicans lost their minds, the country was pretty prosperous, people had money to spend.”
He said that changed when politicians began spending the surplus monies on pet projects for their own districts.

Kasich's flub was to blame the Republicans for the fact that the country isn't prosperous these days, and that the party's fiscal insanity is the true reason for the economic mess Ohio and the nation are facing. As he runs for Ohio governor in the months ahead, how can Kasich possibly pin responsibility on Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, who was elected in 2006? Kasich says he knows the cause -- Republicans who lost their minds. He should start revealing the names. One is led to wonder: Could Rob Portman be among them? Portman is running for the GOP U.S. Senate nomination in Ohio, and served in the House until 2005 representing OH-02 near Cincinnati. Portman gave up the OH-02 seat to join the George W. Bush Administration as trade rep and budget director.