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Blade - Strickland critical...
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Blade - Strickland critical of 'shameful' GOP
Sunday, May 14, 2006
(The Toledo Blade)In Toledo, Strickland calls GOP
'shameful'
By JOSHUA
BOAK
BLADE STAFF WRITER
For
Ted Strickland, Republican leaders have
squandered Ohio's natural resources, its
universities, and the talents of its 11 million
residents, "just about everything a state would
want to be successful."
"These people are absolutely
shameful," the Democratic candidate for
governor said yesterday at the Firefighters
Local 92 union hall in Toledo. "Those of us who
care about this state have been wandering in
the wilderness for quite a while."
A U.S. congressman from
Lucasville, Ohio, and a former Methodist
pastor, Mr. Strickland blamed the GOP leaders
in charge of state government during the last
decade for Ohio's economic problems, noting the
absence of new companies to replace the
vanishing manufacturing base and the
increasingly steep price of a college
education. Ohio has lost almost 200,000 jobs in
the last seven years, as America has gained 3.5
million jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics.
"It's a sad fact for Ohio
that people are starting to lose confidence in
their futures," Mr. Strickland said to the
crowd of about 100.
Mr. Strickland said an
increased minimum wage, more funding for
education, and state assistance for developing
alternative fuel sources would help reverse the
outflow of jobs.
Jim Martin, president of
Local 92, liked "pretty much everything" about
Mr. Strickland. "He understands where laborers'
families come from," he said.
Tina Skeldon Wozniak, a
Democrat who is president of the Lucas County
commissioners, said it is crucial for Mr.
Strickland to continue visiting the Toledo area
as the Novem-
ber election approaches.
"We need constant reminders
from our candidate to show that he's the
hands-on, grass roots, change-agent that we're
looking for," Ms. Wozniak said.
Because the Democratic
congressman leads Republican Secretary of State
Kenneth Blackwell in early polls, Mr.
Strickland speculated that GOP strategist Karl
Rove is plotting in Washington with Vice
President Dick Cheney and President Bush about
a way to beat him.
"They're going to try to
'swift boat' Ted Strickland," the congressman
said, referring to the TV ads in the 2004
presidential election that attacked John
Kerry's Vietnam War record.
"John Kerry did not know how
to fight politically. I grew up with four
brothers and four sisters. I know how to
fight."
After a bitter primary,
Republicans brought Mr. Blackwell and his
opponent, Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro,
together with a "victory discussion" yesterday,
said party spokesman John McClelland. Mr. Petro
will now head a task force on reorganizing
government for Mr. Blackwell.
In primary television ads,
Mr. Blackwell called Mr. Petro "asleep at the
switch" during statewide investment scandals.
Mr. Petro dubbed Mr. Blackwell a "hypocrite"
for taking anti-gambling and anti-abortion
rights stances but owning stock in firms that
make slot machines and an abortion drug.
"I want to give them the
benefit of the doubt," Mr. Strickland said. "I
think both of them were right."
Contact Joshua Boak
at:
jboak@theblade.com
or
419-724-6728.
