Kasich: Both Parties To Blame For Ohio's Woes
In 2006, Ted Strickland (D) cruised to the governor's office in Ohio after scandals had crippled the state Republican Party, which controlled the office for 16 years. So it was interesting to hear John Kasich criticize both parties as he launched his campaign today.
"We have to face facts: we've drifted in Ohio, and it hasn't just been one political party," the former Congressman and Fox News Channel host said at a rally in his home town of Westerville, which was streamed live on the Internet.
Specifically, he said that the state hasn't seen new jobs created since 2001 - a period which includes not just Strickland's term, but that of former Gov. Bob Taft (R), who was indicted in the Tom Noe "coingate" scandal that rocked the Ohio GOP.
"Folks: we've been stuck in the past. Where have the visionaries been? Where have the leaders been to say we have to prepare our state for the 21st century?" Kasich asked. "We wake up today and find more auto plants closing. What are we going to do, just sit there and take the hammering?"
Polls show Strickland is still popular in the Buckeye State, and he's considered a slight favorite at this point. Kasich aimed to paint his potential foe as a nice guy but merely a "caretaker" who is ill-equipped to turn the state around.
"If you have a house on the river and the flood's coming, he's gonna show up Saturday morning with a box of donuts and a pot of coffee. You'll sing kumbaya, hold hands, and watch your house float down the river," Kasich said.
More seriously, Kasich said he has "had it with Ted blaming everybody and refusing to accept personal responsibility" for the state's ills.
"We have a governor go on his hands and his knees with a tin cup begging Washington to bail us out of our problems instead of us fixing them themselves. I've had enough of it, have you?"
State Sen. Kevin Coughlin is also seeking the Republican nomination. He welcomed Kasich to the race and said he "would provide far better leadership for Ohio than Ted Strickland," but said his campaign "is about the future," a dig at Kasich's tenure in the party.
Ohio Democrats, meanwhile, slammed Kasich by tying him to the defunct Lehman Brothers, where he worked after leaving Congress. "In the race for Governor, Ohioans have a choice between someone who was Managing Director at a Wall Street firm whose collapse led to our economic crisis and someone who has worked to turn our economy around, create jobs and invest in our future," state Democratic chairman Chris Redfern said.