Research Briefing

Another GOP Governor Leads By Example While Across The Country Obama Democrats Obstruct With Hot Air And False Claims

“[A] New Republican Governor With Hefty GOP Majorities In The General Assembly Is Poised To Seize The Moment, Determined To Transform State Government Into A Smaller, Less-Expensive And, He Assures, More-Efficient Entity." (Joe Hallett, "Statehouse Lobbyists Seem To Get Kasich's Message," The Columbus Dispatch, 2/7/11)

GOV. JOHN KASICH IS LEADING THE FIGHT TO REFORM OHIO’S

OUT OF CONTROL STATE BUDGET

Ohio Gov. John Kasich Is Setting An Example Of Political Courage That Should Reverberate In Statehouses And Washington. “As Mr. Kasich's public-union restructuring inches toward reality, the lesson for Mr. Walker and House Republicans in Washington is that the greatest political risk is a loss of nerve in the face of the predictable cold water of opinion polls. Traumatic as it can be trying to reform government, it is lethal to try and fail.” (Editorial, “The Buckeye Union Lesson,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/3/11)

Ohio Republicans Are “Shattering The Inertia Of The Status Quo.” “Ohio Republicans were smart when they invited this hostility, avoiding the mistake of temporary budget bandages. Instead, they're shattering the inertia of the status quo by pursuing major structural changes that will control the drivers of ever-more spending and higher taxes. The GOP will take political blows either way, but history shows that the fiscal problems always return unless government incentives change.” (Editorial, “The Buckeye Union Lesson,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/3/11)

The Columbus Dispatch: “The Basic Intent Of Senate Bill 5 Is To Restore To The Taxpayers And Their Elected Representatives The Right To Manage The Public's Business.” (Editorial, “False Claim,” The Columbus Dispatch, 2/23/11)

Gov. Kasich’s Planned Reforms Would Have Saved “Ohio At Least $216 Million In 2010 And Some $1.1 Billion For Local Governments.” “Workers will need to pay 20% of their health benefits, below the Ohio average of 23% in the private economy but above the 9% that now prevails in government. Mr. Kasich's budgeteers estimate that the bill would have saved Ohio at least $216 million in 2010 and some $1.1 billion for local governments, where most of the state's collective bargaining contracts are negotiated.” (Editorial, “The Buckeye Union Lesson,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/3/11)

YET IN OHIO, AS IN WISCONSIN AND EVEN D.C. DEMOCRATS ARE RESORTING TO “DISINGENUOUS” CLAIMS AND OVERHEATED RHETORIC

The Washington Post’s Fact-Checker Says That Democrat’s Claim That They Are Meeting Republicans Halfway On Spending Is “Disingenuous.” “We take no position on whether it makes sense to make these cuts at this time. But Democrats are being disingenuous by suggesting they have already worked hard to reduce spending or to reach out to Republicans.” (Glenn Kessler, “Democrats Keep Misleading On Claimed Budget ‘Cuts’,” The Washington Post’s “The Fact Checker” Blog, 3/4/11)

The Democrats’ Proposed Cuts Are “Like Saying You Are Running A 100-Yard Dash, But Starting On The 50-Yard Line.” “When Democrats say they are meeting Republicans halfway, they are talking about ‘cuts’ from Obama's never-enacted 2011 budget. By the White House's math, they have proposed $41 billion in cuts from the 2011 budget, plus $4 billion in the latest stopgap measure, plus $6.5 billion in unspecified cuts announced Thursday, for a total of $51 billion. But there was no heavy lifting involved, and certainly little discrete examination of which programs to preserve and which ones to cut. It's lot like saying you are running a 100-yard dash, but starting on the 50-yard line.” (Glenn Kessler, “Democrats Keep Misleading On Claimed Budget ‘Cuts’,” The Washington Post’s “The Fact Checker” Blog, 3/4/11)

• “‘Halfway’ is an appealing concept, but thus far Democrats have done little to match the cost-cutting drive launched by Republicans. Repeating the same talking point over and over again does not make it correct.” (Glenn Kessler, “Democrats Keep Misleading On Claimed Budget ‘Cuts’,” The Washington Post’s “The Fact Checker” Blog, 3/4/11)

Ohio Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown Compared Efforts By GOP Governors To Rein In Union Excesses To Hitler, Stalin and Mubarak. “Ohio's Sherrod Brown created buzz this afternoon by going on the U.S. Senate floor to decry efforts in Ohio and Wisconsin to bust public union bargaining rights -- and noting tyrants in the last century who also fought the unions. That would include Hitler. And Stalin. And more recently, Mubarak in Egypt. Ohio's Democratic senator cited all three, adding, ‘These autocrats in history don't want independent unions.’" (Stephen Koff, “Hitler, Stalin, Ohio Union Busting…Not That Sherrod Brown Is Comparing Them All,” The Cleveland Plain-Dealer, 3/3/11)

• CLICK HERE To Watch.

President Obama Called Efforts In Wisconsin An “Assault On Unions.” "Some Of What I've Heard Coming Out Of Wisconsin, Where You're Just Making It Harder For Public Employees To Collectively Bargain Generally, Seems Like An Assault On Unions." (Matt DeLong, “Obama: Wisconsin Budget Fight Seems Like 'An Assault On Unions,'” The Washington Post, 2/17/11)

Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA) Told Protesters Sometimes They Need To Get A Little Bloody When Necessary.” Capuano: “I’m proud to be here with people who understand that it’s more than just sending an email to get you going. Every once and awhile you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody when necessary.” (Matt Murphy, “Congressmen Stir Up Union Rally On Beacon Hill,” Dorchester Reporter, 2/22/11)

MAYBE BECAUSE DEMOCRATS DON’T HAVE ANY PLANS OF THEIR OWN

When Given The Chance To Show Leadership With His Own Budget, Obama "Chose Instead To Duck" Behind "The Sort Of Budgetary Gimmicks He Once Derided." "Having been given the chance, the cover and the push by the fiscal commission he created to take bold steps to raise revenue and curb entitlement spending, President Obama, in his fiscal 2012 budget proposal, chose instead to duck. To duck, and to mask some of the ducking with the sort of budgetary gimmicks he once derided."  (Editorial, "President Obama's Budget Kicks The Hard Choices Further Down The Road," The Washington Post, 2/15/11)

The President's Budget "Would Do Little To Improve The Immediate Budget Outlook." "Obama's deficit-reduction strategies would do little to improve the immediate budget outlook. Obama projects that the deficit will hit a record $1.6 trillion this year - which, at nearly 11 percent of the economy, would be the largest since World War II." (Lori Montgomery, "Obama To Offer $3.7 Trillion Budget Blueprint; Deficit To Hit $1.6 Trillion This Year," The Washington Post, 2/14/11)

• "Obama's Budget Makes Clear That He Will Not Take The Lead In That Debate: It Contains No Specific Recommendations For Tax Or Entitlement Reform." (Lori Montgomery, "Obama To Offer $3.7 Trillion Budget Blueprint; Deficit To Hit $1.6 Trillion This Year," The Washington Post, 2/14/11)

 The Washington Post's Dana Milbank: "In His New Budget, Obama Kicks The Can One More Time" (Dana Milbank, Op-Ed, "In His New Budget, Obama Kicks The Can One More Time," The Washington Post, 2/15/11)

The Democrats Have “Shown No Ability To Rally Behind A Long-Term Budget Proposal.” “Perhaps most worrisome for Obama and his party is that they’ve shown no ability to rally behind a long-term budget proposal — even though the White House pitched its first offer Thursday evening.” (Richard E. Cohen, “Democrats Struggle To Unify On Budget,” Politico, 3/4/11)