Making the world safe for Bernie Madoff, Carl Lindner and Harry Yeaggy, but not the rest of us..
Unless you've lived the past 50 years under a rock, you already know that Carl Linder is one of the richest and most influential men in the country let alone Cincinnati and the tristate. He owns United Dairy Farmers, American Financial Group and at one time owned Chiquita Banana and part of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Mr. Lindner is known for his political generosity. He sprinkles his money on all sides of the political fence to gain maximum bang for his buck. Every politico around here is beholden to Uncle Carl regardless of party affiliation.
Everybody knows Bernie, but you might not be too familiar with Cincinnatian Harry Yeaggy. He owns a small classic car museum and last night bought the James Bond 1965 Goldfinger Aston Martin for 4.1 million dollars.
Cincinnati is just full of both infamous and anonymous rich people who quietly live here among the buckeye and walnut trees in neighborhoods like Indian Hill or Hyde Park or Madeira. At one point in this nation's recent past, there were more millionaires per capita living in Cincinnati than anywhere else in America.
And the Tea Party/GOP is working hard to keep these guys and others in their tax bracket happy and content. So much so, that they're even willing to spite the rest of us just to keep these guys swimming in greenbacks.
But I didn't mention these two men to knock them or to bad mouth them. I actually like the idea that a Cincinnatian went all the way to Europe with a pocket full of money and bought the Goldfinger car and is bringing it back to Ohio.
Carl Lindner is one of the good guys. He does a lot for this area. Never talks. Just lets his money do the walking. I'm not mad at him. I respect him.
My beef is with the Tea Party/GOP which claims to represent the American people, but is going above and beyond the call of duty to protect people who don't need protecting
while ignoring those who do.
The Cincinnnati Enquirer has endorsed these hybrid teabag-republicans, namely Jean Scmidt in the Second Congressional District, Steve Chabot in the First Congressional District, and John Boehner in the 8th District.
Schmidt is running for a third term. Yet if you listen to her campaign commercials, you'd be hard pressed to understand that she is actually one of the Washington insiders that she is running against. She's been there for two terms already.
She voted for the Bush tax cuts, which will increase the deficit by 3 trillion dollars if allowed to go forward. She voted against the CHIP program which gives health care to indigent children.
She voted in favor of the two illegal wars. She voted for the 2006 Military Commissions Act which for the first time ever in the history of America, stations American troops
on American soil to be used against American citizens at the whim of the President. Think about that for a minute...
She supports FISA which allows the government to spy on American citizens at will. I'll Give ya another minute on that one, too.
She voted against health care reform and wall street financial reform. She wants to deregulate banking.
She recently made headlines for lecturing six year olds at school, without parents present, about abortion.
Six Year Olds?! WTF!
Schmidt votes the GOP/teabag line 95% of the time, so it would be safe to assume that girlfriend will vote to cut social security, repeal health care, gut medicare and defund
medicaid, since those are the current party stances.
It is also safe to say that Steve Chabot is also in support of these measures, if he is returned to Congress. He lost two years ago after seven terms, having ridden in with Newt Gingrich and the Contract on America, for the first time back in 1994. He lost primarily because he is an ineffective representative, known more for his comb-over sartorial splendor than generating substantive legislation for his district.
Despite his dismal record, the Enquirer issued its endorsement by stating that his record is better than it reads on paper. Really?! I mean really?! What changed besides him getting booted out of office?
Chabot votes just like Schmidt. In other words, whatever the party bosses tell him to do, he will do it. He favors privatizing social security, cutting off medicare and medicaid, repealing health care...supports two illegal wars and funding for such.
Chabot's campaign ads are full of vague unsubstantiated allegations and talking points with no basis in fact and no solutions for problems. And again, he wants you to believe
that he is a “newby” when actually he was part of team "Screw America."
Chabot is a multi- term Congressman, a professional politican, whose votes helped take down this country, yet he wants to duck complicity in the Big fail, like every other GOP/teabagger running for office.
And then, there is the Boss. No, not Bruce, John Boehner, he who would be Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Enquirer endorses him because it says “we” the people need to see what he can do in a leadership role.
NO WE DON'T! I don't need to feel the fire to know it burns. I don't need to jump off a cliff to know that my fat ass won't bounce when I hit bottom. I don't need to stand in front of a 357 magnum and have a stupid friend pull the trigger to understand that getting shot, gets me dead.
John Boehner wants to be Dean Martin. He apparently likes the idea of being a leader with all the trappings...it's that work thingey that trips him up.
The West Chester Congressman is on record about what he intends to do, if he should win re election again. Here is another of the major players in the near destruction of America. Here is a man who was complicit in destroying the Ohio middle class, shipping jobs overseas and favoring tax breaks for the very corporations who are hurting this country.
Boehner is their bag man passing out the bucks to buy their votes on the very floor of Congress.
Even while endorsing him the Enquirer slapped him for ignoring his constituents in favor of national interests. Question....If he is screwing up now in his representation...what's gonna happen to the shrinking West Chester middle class, if he is given the national role.
What's he gonna say...”Oh wait...gotta see what my folks back O hy O think about this first..” Please!
Vote on November 2nd to keep our country going forward.
These guys deserve your vote...
Surya Yalamanchili in the 2nd District
Steve Driehaus in the 1st District
Justin Coussoule in the 8th District
