With the November elections only a few months away, let’s take a look back at what our current leadership has done for this great state. Keeping in mind local Representative Pat Tiberi (OH-12) has voted with President Bush 85% of the time, and Representative Deborah Pryce (OH-15) has voted with Bush 88% of the time.
Did You Know?
- Only 33% of Ohioans approve of President Bush’s job performance, while 65% disapprove.
- Republican Governor Bob Taft ‘s approval rating is stuck at 17%, lower than any other governor in the country, with 78% saying they disapprove of his job performance.
Republican Leadership’s Effect on Ohio
- Since President Bush took office, Ohio has lost 190,400 manufacturing jobs since 2000, and family income has dropped by $4,171.
- There are 1,282,000 people without health insurance in Ohio, an increase of 34,000 since President Bush took office. For the lucky ones with insurance, premiums have jumped $1,070, a 73% increase.
- Because Republicans have failed to provide promised funding for education reforms, 115,613 Ohio schoolchildren have gone without help in reading and math, while programs to assist children with disabilities have been shortchanged by more than $244 million.
- Budget cuts have pushed 8,069 Ohio veterans out of the VA health care system.
- The Bush Congress’s refusal to end the Disabled Veterans Tax has undermined retirement security for 7,368 veterans in Ohio.
- Number of criminal counts Republican Governor Bob Taft guilty of: 4.
- Amount of campaign contributions Republican Fundraiser and Bush Pioneer Tom Noe illegally steered to the President’s reelection campaign: $45,400.
- Republican Congressman Bob Ney’s pseudonym in the Jack Abramoff indictment: “Representative No. 1.”
- Amount missing from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation fund: $13 million.
- Number of hours some voters were forced to wait in 2004 because of Ken Blackwell’s failed leadership of the Secretary of State’s office: up to 10.
Source: US Newswire.
Not to mention the 123 U.S. soldiers Ohio has lost in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ohio needs change.
Yes, we’ve had some awful leadership with dismal consequences for Ohio. But don’t give up, there are alternatives. Instead of Tiberi, you’ve got Shamansky. Instead of Pryce, try some Kilroy. Instead of Blackwell, there’s Fitrakis or Strickland.
Just remember to do your part and freakin’ VOTE!
