Sherrod Brown Calls Bush Speech Hollow Rhetoric

[OzarkDem]

Rep. Sherrod Brown's response to Bush's speech at the Cleveland City Club yesterday. I'm posting in its entirety since its a press release...


AMHERST--At a Cleveland City Club event today, President George W. Bush attempted to reverse failing support for the war in Iraq. The event was not attended by Ohio Republican Senators Mike DeWine, George Voinovich, Republican Congressman Robert LaTourette, or Republican Ohio Governor Bob Taft.

Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain County)--who is running against Senator Mike DeWine for the U.S. Senate seat--has been traveling around Ohio in recent months talking about national security, job creation, education, and health care. Brown said the overwhelming message echoed across the state is a call for change in 2006.

"I'm not surprised by the absence of Republican leadership at the president's event today," Brown said. "They know what the rest of us in Ohio know--the Bush/DeWine policies hurt Ohio families."



Ohio has lost more than 175,000 manufacturing jobs since 2001 (Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services)
Ohio has lost 49,866 jobs due to NAFTA (Economic Policy Institute)
Ohio has lost 58,000 jobs to China between 1989 and 2003 (Economic Policy Institute)
As of January of this year, home heating costs were expected to increase by 74 percent throughout the Midwest, with gas prices increasing 33 percent in Ohio since May of 2004 (Energy Information Administration - U.S. Department of Energy)
229,000 Ohioans have lost their employer-sponsored insurance since 2000 (Kaiser Family Foundation)
An estimated 674,792 of Ohio's Medicare beneficiaries still lacked suffic
ient prescription drug coverage as of mid-February, with only two months until the enrollment deadline (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Ohio college tuition increased nearly 70% since the 2000-2001 school year (Ohio Board of Regents)
Ohioans have spent more than $9 billion dollars on the war in Iraq (National Priorities Project)
Ohio local law enforcement has suffered $11,879,471 in funding cuts under the Bush administration (DHS)
The Bush administration wants to cut 25 % for first responders in FY 2007 (White House Budget Proposal)

http://www.sherrodbrown.com/story/2006/3/20/161411/146

[OzarkDem]

1. kick

[Beaverhausen]

2. How is Brown doing in the polls? n/t

[OzarkDem]

3. Very well

None have been taken since Hackett dropped out of the race, but he was polling 20 points ahead of Hackett in the last poll and was within the margin of error against DeWine.

DeWine is going to be tough to beat. All the senate races Dems are in against GOP incumbents are very tight in the polls (e.g. Claire McKaskill in MO).

The GOP is going to use every dirty trick in the book to make sure Dems don't take back the majority in the Senate, including circulating information about phony polls, so be careful what you believe. IIRC, its anticipated the GOP is also working overtime this month to make sure Brown's poll numbers against DeWine decline. Again, not a problem, its a long time til election day.