Blade Slices

Romney in Cleveland Feb. 16

The Republican presidential nominating contest comes to Ohio. Mitt Romney will address the Cuyahoga County GOP in what we're told will be a private event Feb. 16.

 

Wurzelbacher campaign rents space in Old West End

Even while "Joe the Plumber" continues to live outside the 9th Congressional District, the “Joe” campaign for Congress has moved into the district, renting a house in Toledo’s Old West End.

Campaign Director Roman Schroeder said the house at 2450 Parkwood Ave. is “perfect” for the campaign because it is centrally located in Toledo, is in the middle of a diverse neighborhood, and is near the Toledo Museum of Art’s Glass Pavilion.

Mr. Schroeder said he and two paid staff are living in the house and running the campaign out of it. Mr. Wurzelbacher still lives outside the district, in Springfield Township.

“Most of the time we meet down the street inside the glass museum. There’s such positive energy in this area, especially meeting there because the volunteers love it,” Mr. Schroeder said.

If fund-raising permits, the campaign plans to open an office in Lakewood, a city in Cuyahoga County, and another one in Toledo on Summit Street.

The Parkwood house is being rented from Randi and Dennis McClintock. Mr. Schroeder said they found the house “the old-fashioned way — by driving around.”

Mr. Wurzelbacher is competing with Huron auctioneer Steven Kraus for the Republican nomination for the 9th District on March 6. Running on the Democratic side are two incumbents who have been thrown together in the re-drawn district, Reps. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo and Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland, and Cleveland political newcomer Graham Veysey.

Cuyahoga County GOP backs "Plumber"

CLEVELAND - The Cuyahoga County Republican Party has endorsed Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher for the GOP nomination for the 9th Congressional District.

Mr. Wurzelbacher is facing Huron auctioneer Steven Kraus in the March 6 primary. The winner will go up against the winner of the Democratic nomination, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo, U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland, or businessman Graham Veysey of Cleveland.

The party's central committee met with both Mr. Wurzelbacher and Mr. Kraus before voting Sunday.

Of the endorsement, Mr. Wurzelbacher said: “I am thrilled to have such strong support from the Cuyahoga GOP.  Unlike the Democrats, our party will be leaving the Primary united and prepared to win in November.”

 

Santorum schedules Feb. 18 appearance

COLUMBUS—A belated Iowa caucus win under his belt, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has set what could be his first campaign-season appearance in Ohio.

The Ohio Christian Alliance has announced that the conservative former U.S. senator from neighboring Pennsylvania will appear at its Freedom Luncheon on Feb. 18. It has also invited the other Republican presidential candidates to participate in the noon event at the Hilton Columbus/Polaris.

Both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich made Ohio appearances last year, but so far in 2012 the GOP contenders have had their hands full with early primary battles in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and now Florida.

This is despite the fact that Ohioans will begin to cast absentee and early in-person ballots on Tuesday for the March 6 primary election. It remains to be seen which candidates are still standing at that time, but with a different winner in each of the first three primary contests, the battle could go on for a while.

A late surge for Mr. Santorum in the Iowa caucus turned into a narrow win for him over former Massachusetts Gov. Romney once the dust settled from the official count. But Mr. Santorum followed that with a fifth-place finish in New Hampshire and third place in South Carolina..

-Blade Columbus Bureau Chief Jim Provance

Kucinich wants private money sector out of elections

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich,  candidate for the Toledo-Cleveland 9th Congressional District, on Tuesday called for a Constitutional amendment to publicly fund federal election campaigns and prohibit private contributions.

The resolution was introduced last week in the House and Mr. Kucinich is the only sponsor.

Mr. Kucinich, of Cleveland, is embroiled in a tough contest against U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo, for the 9th District nomination.

Over the weekend, Mr. Kucinich won the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party's endorsement - with the exception of the Lakewood city delegation who backed Miss Kaptur. On Sunday, Miss Kaptur nailed the endorsement of the Democratic officials of Lorain city, a key swing district in the five-county district.

Money is going to be an issue in the campaign that ends with the election March 6. Reports are due on Jan. 31 will shed light on whether he will have the money to run an aggressive television advertising campaign against Miss Kaptur - and vice versa. (The last time they reported, Sept. 30, 2011, Miss Kaptur had more than $600,000 in the bank and Mr. Kucinich had about $90,000.)

Here's the Kucinich news release on the high cost of running for office:

Washington  D.C. (January 24, 2012) – Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today took the House floor, urging fellow Members of Congress to support a constitutional amendment to rescue American democracy by publicly funding federal elections.

“One of the biggest stumbling blocks to America’s economic recovery is corporations can legally buy elections and then influence policies which move millions of jobs out of America, which escape taxation by off shoring profits, which cash in on wars, which press military industrial spending through the roof.

“While we pledge allegiance to the Red, White, and Blue, corporations, whose only allegiance is to green, are selling out America and they are becoming ever more powerful because of a Supreme Court decision in Citizens United which effectively turns this government into an auction where policies may go to the highest bidder.

“House Joint Resolution 100 is a constitutional amendment which aims at taking all private money out of elections and returning government to the people.

“I urge my colleagues to support H.J.Res. 100 so that we can break the golden shackles which are imprisoning this government right now and get rid of corporate influence once and for all.

“No private money in elections. Support H.J.Res. 100.”

YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzmCmwRLhr4&feature=youtu.be

Veysey first to TV with political ad

 
Democratic 9th District challenger Graham Veysey - a video entrepreneur - appears to be the first of the three Democratic candidates out with a television ad.

Mr. Veysey, of Cleveland, is making his first run for office against two political veterans - Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo and Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland.

Mr. Veysey has said he would be outspent by $1 million, but he seems to be the first to spend money on TV time. The commercial is airing only on Time-Warner cable for now.

Here's the release: 

Graham Veysey, a 29-year-old small business owner and entrepreneur and candidate in the U.S. Congressional race for the new 9^th district released a 30 second commercial that introduces him to voters. 

 

This is the first television spot in the three-way race for the March 6 Democratic Primary for the U.S. House of Representatives in the district that spans the north coast of Lake Erie, from Toledo to the west side neighborhoods of Cleveland. 

 

This is Veysey’s first time running for political office and the campaign promises this spot is just the beginning of his outreach to voters.  Though many consider him a dark horse, Veysey is quickly gaining steam and gathering supporters.  Ultimately, the campaign expects Kucinich and Kaptur to divide the establishment vote while Veysey’s growing support will shock the pundits and lead to a victory on March 6.  

 

The television spot is being played on Time Warner Cable and targeted at Democratic primary voters.

 

“We have an enormous challenge in the next 46 days to introduce Graham to voters.  We think that if voters know that there is alternative to the status quo – two people who have been politicians for a combined 70 years – the voters will prefer to support a fresh face that represents the future as opposed to two people in Congress who represent the past,” says campaign manager Jason Russell. 

 

Veysey is a former grassroots organizer for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential bid. 

 

“Nobody knows me.  I don’t need a poll to tell me that my name recognition is in single digits – if that.  What I do know, though, is that only 9% of people think Congress is doing a good job and if people know that there is someone like me that wants to represent the interests of the new 9^th District more than the interests in Washington, I think I can earn their vote,” says Veysey, who was born the same year Marcy Kaptur was first elected to Congress.    

 

“We are going to be outspent by over one-million dollars.  My opponents collect money from special interest groups and lobbyists.  We can do better.  We have a $15 trillion debt.  Congress is mortgaging my generation’s future.  I was always taught that if you break it, you buy it, you own it.  They’ve broken it and my generation will have to own it so we should have a seat at the table.”

 

####

 

Please find the links to the commercial below. For broadcasting purposes, there is a high-resolution version available for download.

 

LINK (YouTube):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ugb0Oyk8wsg&context=C3f87fa4ADOEgsToPDskIwoM76i6KQ-KbUVz7npMts

 

LINK (Download):

http://wtrns.fr/ovACoONV9oVmM8

 

Kucinich claims victory on prostate health coverage

Ninth Congressional District hopeful Dennis Kucinich says his leadership, along with that of several other members of Congress, has resulted in healthy men having Medicare coverage for a blood test for prostate cancer.

Congressman Kucinich, of Cleveland, is one of three Democrats seeking the nomination for the newly re-drawn 9th District, along with U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo and businessman Graham Veysey of Cleveland. The election is March 6.

Here's the congressman's news release out Friday:

Washington D.C. (January 20, 2012) –After Congressmen Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Dan Burton (R-IN) and Don Young (R-AK) organized a bipartisan group of 44 Members of Congress to object to a recommendation by the United States Preventative Task Force (USPTF) that healthy men should not receive a blood test to screen for prostate cancer, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius agreed to overrule the recommendation.

“This victory preserves the right of doctors to decide, with their patients, whether a PSA test can be used as another indicator of a man’s health.  It is good for the doctor, the patient and families,” said Kucinich.

If accepted, the USPTF recommendation would have eliminated coverage for the blood test for tens of thousands of men over the age of 50 who rely on Medicare coverage.

“One in six men will be diagnosed with the disease during their lifetimes and 30,000 American men still die from it annually. There is substantial evidence which shows that screening helps catch the presence of prostate cancer early,” said Kucinich.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men in the United States, taking over 29,000 lives in 2007. The disease is especially deadly for three groups: African American men, those with a family history of the disease and men over age 65. The prostate specific antigen test, called P.S.A., is one of two commonly-used methods to screen for it, and early-stage treatment is considered the most effective tool in fighting it.

Kucinich was joined in his campaign for men’s health by Representatives Dan Burton (R-IN), Don Young (R-AK), Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Joe Baca (D-CA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Michael Burgess (R-TX), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Andre Carson (D-IN), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Gerald Connolly (D-VA), John Conyers (D-MI), Danny Davis (D-IL), Eliot Engle (D-NY), Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Holden (D-PA), Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D-DC), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), Leonard Lance (R-NJ), Billy Long (R-MO), Michael Michaud (D-ME), James Moran (D-VA), Tim Murphy (R-PA), Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Bill Posey (R-FL), David Price (D-NC), Charlie Rangel (D-NY), Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), Laura Richardson (D-CA), Jon Runyan (R-NJ), Bobby Rush (D-IL), David Scott (D-GA), Adam Smith (D-WA), Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Frank Wolf (R-VA) and John Yarmuth (D-KY).

Victory for Men’s Health; Medicare Will Keep Covering Prostate Cancer Screening

Washington D.C. (January 20, 2012) –After Congressmen Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Dan Burton (R-IN) and Don Young (R-AK) organized a bipartisan group of 44 Members of Congress to object to a recommendation by the United States Preventative Task Force (USPTF) that healthy men should not receive a blood test to screen for prostate cancer, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius agreed to overrule the recommendation. “This victory preserves the right of doctors to decide, with their patients, whether a PSA test can be used as another indicator of a man’s health.  It is good for the doctor, the patient and families,” said Kucinich. If accepted, the USPTF recommendation would have eliminated coverage for the blood test for tens of thousands of men over the age of 50 who rely on Medicare coverage. “One in six men will be diagnosed with the disease during their lifetimes and 30,000 American men still die from it annually. There is substantial evidence which shows that screening helps catch the presence of prostate cancer early,” said Kucinich. According to the Centers for Disease Control, prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men in the United States, taking over 29,000 lives in 2007. The disease is especially deadly for three groups: African American men, those with a family history of the disease and men over age 65. The prostate specific antigen test, called P.S.A., is one of two commonly-used methods to screen for it, and early-stage treatment is considered the most effective tool in fighting it. Kucinich was joined in his campaign for men’s health by Representatives Dan Burton (R-IN), Don Young (R-AK), Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Joe Baca (D-CA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Michael Burgess (R-TX), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Andre Carson (D-IN), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Gerald Connolly (D-VA), John Conyers (D-MI), Danny Davis (D-IL), Eliot Engle (D-NY), Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Holden (D-PA), Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D-DC), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), Leonard Lance (R-NJ), Billy Long (R-MO), Michael Michaud (D-ME), James Moran (D-VA), Tim Murphy (R-PA), Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Bill Posey (R-FL), David Price (D-NC), Charlie Rangel (D-NY), Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), Laura Richardson (D-CA), Jon Runyan (R-NJ), Bobby Rush (D-IL), David Scott (D-GA), Adam Smith (D-WA), Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Frank Wolf (R-VA) and John Yarmuth (D-KY).

Democrats want to see Romney tax returns before primary

UPDATING

The Ohio Democratic Party Wednesday called on GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney to release his income tax returns before the Ohio Primary, which is set for March 6.

Historical footnote: According to our check of the 2008 election campaign, Mr. Obama released his tax returns on March 25,2008, which was 21 days after the Ohio Democratic primary election between him and Hillary Clinton (which she won).

Asked why Mr. Romney should be asked to do something that wasn't asked of Mr. Obama four years ago, ODP spokesman Andrew Zucker said, “President Obama was a sitting U.S. Senator in 2008 and the source of his income was not in question. He also filed yearly financial disclosures required of a U.S. Senator. On the other hand, Mitt Romney hasn't had a day job since he was Massachusetts Governor. He's worth something around a quarter-billion dollars, but no one knows exactly where his income comes from because he refuses to disclose it.”

Here's the text of the Ohio Democratic Party statement:

COLUMBUS – During this week’s Republican presidential debate in South Carolina, Mitt Romney doubled down on his refusal to commit to releasing his tax returns like every other Republican presidential candidate has done. “Time will tell,” Romney ambiguously declared, adding, “I’ll keep that open.” It wasn’t his first refusal either – just a month earlier he told NBC News reporter Chuck Todd, “I don’t intend to release the tax returns. I don’t.” Really Mitt?
 
For decades, presidents from both political parties have made their tax returns public so that voters know where they obtain their income and what they pay back. During President Obama’s 2008 presidential run, he released eight years’ worth of tax returns, and he has already released his complete tax return for 2010. So why then, won’t Mitt Romney release his? What is he trying to hide?
 

Maybe it’s that, according to Romney himself, he pays only “closer to the 15 percent” tax rate. Why? Unlike the typical family, which pays a far higher tax rate, Romney's income comes from – in Romney’s own words – “investments,” not “ordinary” income. Governor Romney became rich as a corporate buyout specialist at Bain Capital, putting profits over people and bankrupting companies, closing plants and outsourcing jobs so that he could line his own pockets.
 
And Romney’s commitment to secrecy and refusal to release his tax returns breaks more than just a presidential tradition of transparency – it breaks a long-held Ohio tradition, too. With the exception of Governor Kasich and Ken Blackwell, Ohio gubernatorial candidates from both parties have released their tax returns for decades.
 
“Mitt Romney doesn’t want middle-class Ohioans to see his tax returns because then they will know for sure that he pays a much lower tax rate than they do,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern. “If quarter-billionaire Mitt Romney is unfairly gaming the tax system in his favor, Ohioans have the right to know about it before our March primary. But even though leaders in both parties are pressuring Mitt Romney to follow a longtime precedent of presidential candidates in releasing his tax returns, we still haven’t gotten a straight answer from him."
 
Redfern continued, "How much money did he make, what effective tax rate does he pay, and why is he withholding this information? It’s time for Mitt Romney to reject the failed Governor-Kasich-model of ‘transparency,’ come clean with hardworking Ohioans and hold himself to the same standard that his father and every Republican and Democratic presidential nominee have set for decades.”
 

Romney compares Bain with GM/Chrysler bailout

Been wondering how Mitt Romney would explain his opposition to the 2008-2009 federal bailouts that saved General Motors and Chrysler from a devastating bankruptcy?

Last week the frontrunning Republican presidential contender compared his work at Bain Capital, a venture capital fund, with that of President Obama in offering federal taxpayer assistance to two domestic automakers. Mr. Romney in a 2008 guest editorial had opposed a taxpayer-funded bailout for GM and Chrysler, a position that is expected to create problems for him in places like northern Ohio with a lot of auto company employees if he wins the GOP nomination.

Here's The Los Angeles Times's take:

This week, in an interview on CBS, Romney defended himself against critics of his work at Bain Capital by equating what he did as a corporate restructuring specialist with Obama’s temporary takeover of General Motors and Chrysler in 2009. “In the general election,” Romney said, “I’ll be pointing out that the president took the reins at General Motors and Chrysler – closed factories, closed dealerships, laid off thousands and thousands of workers – he did it to try to save the business.”

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-rush-freaks-20120112,0,16119.story

Kucinich raises cash at California event

As predicted by political observers in The Blade (http://www.toledoblade.com/Politics/2012/01/08/Tough-fight-awaits-Kaptur-Kucinich.html), U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich has turned to Hollywood to help finance his campaign for the 9th District.

Supporters Stanley and Betty Sheinbaum, along with soap opera star Deidre Hall, author Gore Vidal, and left-wing activist Jodie Evans were among the sponsors of a “Re-election Reception” for Mr. Kucinich at the Sheinbaum residence in Los Angeles Saturday.

Mr. Sheinbaum is chairman of the ACLU of Southern California, publishes a quarterly journal, and contributes to  liberal causes.

Ticket prices ranged from a modest $100 to $2,500 to be a co-sponsor.

Mr. Kucinich, of West Cleveland, has been matched in a newly drawn — and heavily Democratic — 9th Congressional District with U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo. Both are seeking the Democratic nomination on March 6, along with Cleveland entrepreneur Grahan Veysey, to run in the general election.

The race is being hotly contested because there are more registered Democrats in the Cuyahoga County portion of the district than there are in the other four counties put together.

The Republicans will choose between Steven Kraus of Huron and Samuel “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher of Springfield Township as their nominee.

The invitation to the Kucinich fund-raiser, which was emailed to potential supporters by Mr. Kucinich’s wife, Elizabeth Kucinich, said he has been “outraised 9-1” in the March 6 primary election campaign.

Steve Fought, who has taken a leave from his position as spokesman in Miss Kaptur’s congressional office to manage her re-election campaign, said, “We  knew he was going to go out to Hollywood and raise a bunch of money.”

He rejected Elizabeth Kucinich’s claim that Mr. Kucinich was being outraised 9-1, at least if she was referring to Miss Kaptur.

“Candidates often paint the worst-case scenario when they’re trying to raise money. I wish we had nine times as much money as he did, especially when he’s getting all this money from movie stars,” Mr. Fought said.

The most recent reports on file with the Federal Elections Commission date to Sept. 30, and they show at that time Miss Kaptur had $604,917 in her campaign account, compared with Mr. Kucinich’s $99,440.

Mr. Kucinich — who was in Toledo Monday for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. memorial event at the University of Toledo with his wife — confirmed that the event took place but did not know how much money was raised.

Asked what interests contributors living in Los Angeles would have in the 9th Congressional District, Mr. Kucinich said, “They support peace and civil liberties and human rights and they don’t ask for anything in return, which sets them apart from a number of interest groups who contribute to candidates.”

Mr. Kucinich developed a national network of contributors during his campaigns for president in 2004 and 2008.

Mr. Kucinich said he found the MLK event inspiring and said he met with some people in Toledo before heading to Lorain for a 2 p.m. appointment.

"It was very spirited and people have a great sense of community and commitment. Also I appreciate the way I was welcomed by people in Toledo, which is not my hometown," Mr. Kucinich said.

Miss Kaptur was also at UT's MLK birthday ceremony.

According to the fund-raising invitation from Mrs. Kucinich, “We need Dennis’ voice representing ours in Congress.” As an example of his voice, the invitation included a link the an online video of him “grilling the former CEO of Bank of America.”

In the video clip, Mr. Kucinich is seen questioning Ken Lewis about Bank of America's takeover of ailing Merrill Lynch & Co. during the 2008 credit crisis. Mr. Kucinich pressed Mr. Lewis over whether he was trying to blame the federal government for his support of that takeover, which outraged shareholders. Bank of America received a $45 billion taxpayer bailout, which it repaid.

Mr. Kucinich also got a plug from author Gore Vidal on Mr. Vidal’s Web site http://www.gorevidalnow.com/2012/01/gore-for-dennis-join-dennis-and-elizabeth-kucinich-and-gore-vidal-for-a-re-election-reception/.

Here’s a taste from the famous writer:

Over the past eight terms of Congressional service, and through two presidential campaigns, Dennis Kucinich has been a leader of Democrats, challenging wrongful, illegal wars and misadventures abroad; working for nuclear disarmament; attempting to defeat and repeal the Patriot Act; proposing the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney for leading America into a war based on lies; standing up for universal single payer health care. While holding the chair of the Government Oversight Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, he forced Wall Street bankers to an accounting and exposed their machinations which led to the subprime loan meltdown.

Dennis Kucinich has been a leader to protect ecologically sensitive areas from drilling, opposing fracking, the Keystone Pipeline, and working for nuclear safety and accountability.

He has shown the connection between peace and prosperity and has proposed a cabinet level Department of Peace, to create a new structure in our government which works from principles of non-violent conflict resolution. And, at a time when a woman’s right to privacy on reproductive decisions is under attack, he has taken a strong stand for choice.

As America continues to take steps towards a national security state, he is prepared to defend democratic principles and to protect basic Constitutional guarantees in the Bill of Rights.

His willingness to stand up and speak out, regardless of the issue, or the odds, has been made possible by contributors everywhere who recognize the value of having someone in Congress who cannot be bought or bossed and who has the integrity and willingness to take a stand.