It’s a busy news day for Ohio’s governor, even if he wishes news didn’t exist.
John Kasich will deliver the highly anticipated budget for the state tomorrow, but he doesn’t want anyone to watch it. Kasich’s camp announced no TV cameras will be allowed to film the speech. Reporters will be allowed only pen, paper, and recorders, but only for the sake of accuracy, not to be broadcast. No confirmation that this was a compromise, and that initially he told reporters to, “Just try and remember stuff.”
Sound familiar? Like the inauguration incident where Kasich at first said reporters wouldn’t be permitted to attend the official swearing-in, only to double back later on? As the Dayton Daily News points out, Kasich thinks of government transparency like the crew from Jersey Shore thinks about condoms.
“He has said open records laws dissuade good candidates from applying for government jobs; and he reorganized the state’s job development functions to be run by a private, non-profit organization that will not be subject to the same open meetings and public records laws,” the paper writes.
Sound strategy for a guy sitting with a brand spanking new 40% job approval rating.
This article appears in Mar 9-15, 2011.
He is practicing damage control; does not want a chance the video could viral and people actually pay attention to what he is doing.
All about…I Never Said that!
No reporter worth a bucket of warm spit would go along with this. Indeed, they should bring camera crews to document them getting tossed out for covering the people’s business.
Doesn’t Ohio have open meeting laws???
Not sure voters really thought through what Republican governors’ vow to “cut the deficit” really means:
– privatize as much as you can get away with (taxpayers pay to build prisons; then the governor sells them to a for-profit enterprise… don’t think prison care costs will go down under THAT scenario; “for” profit says it all);
– sell public utilities under “no-bid” contracts (public oversight: none)
– lower taxes on their corporate spons… um, donors;
– cut programs that are in the social safety net for seniors, children, disabled, dirt poor;
– cut education funding;
– take away the human right to collective bargaining by demonizing public-sector workers, such as teachers (private sector workers, next);
– reject any Federal funds for high-speed rail, wireless capacity…………. etc.
They had thought that Republicans, styling themselves “free marketers” and business-oriented, would CREATE JOBS. Not lay off tens of thousands of people FROM jobs to cut their state budgets. Not cut the only sources of income for people who would have spent every penny at local businesses in their neighborhood, city, and state.
They believed, because they’ve been told this for the past 30 years, that giving Big Business tax breaks made sense because billionaires are the only ones who can create “jobs” (regardless of the fact that SMALL businesses create the vast majority of jobs in the US.)Remember trickle-down? How’s that working out for YOUR hometown?
They’d also been told, for 30 years, that Democrats are “tax and spend” Big Government people; they had no money to spare for new taxes themselves, and certainly didn’t want more paperwork, so they believed it. They didn’t realize that billionaires would be paying so much less than they under the new “shared pain” reality… and taking their financial incentives offshore as they outsource jobs, “lean off” workers, or pay taxes in OTHER states or countries (or not at all).
They didn’t realize that Big Business, without all those Government regulations, would cut corners and skip inspections, and wouldn’t have a disaster plan ready when disaster struck…. and left them dependent on Government subsidies which fell woefully short, having been gutted during those 30 years of privatization and shrinking down.
They trusted Republicans because the Republicans told them Democrats would tax them until they couldn’t afford their homes, their college educations, their retirement, a little breathing room. Republicans said healthcare reform wasn’t needed; those not covered had emergency rooms! (Except that a lot of hospitals have now gone under, having become victims of corporate “leaning off” workers and underutilized facilities to boost profits.)
They didn’t think it through the first time around. Now they have the facts.
this jerk is a total dictator, just his body of work with FOX news says it all…fair and balanced…RIGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHTTTTTTTTT…not worthy of further comment…
our 2 previous governors, Taft and Strickland were pretty much like a BLOCK OF WOOD, coming off looking dumber than a box of rocks….this guy though is a TOTAL MANIAC that thinks he can arbitrarily just boss people around like they’re garbage because he’s in charge NOW !!! we HAVE TO impeach this guy !!! NOW