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Cleveland
Plain Dealer...
Ohio
Gov. John Kasich steps up push to
pass Issue 2 with rally in Independence
November 6, 2011
INDEPENDENCE,
Ohio -- Ohio Gov. John
Kasich is down in the polls -- and so is his signature overhaul of
collective
bargaining for public workers.
But
rather than shy away from a
potentially bruising referendum battle, Kasich intensified his
salesmanship of
the new law Thursday with a home-stretch swing through Northeast Ohio.
The
Republican governor, along with
Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, attended rallies here and in Akron in support of
Senate
Bill 5, which is on Tuesday’s ballot as Issue 2.
“I’m
not a guy who goes and hides,”
Kasich said in a brief huddle with reporters after his speech at the
Independence Recreation Center. “That’s not the way I was raised.”
A
yes vote on Issue 2 would uphold the
GOP-backed effort to restrict negotiating power of public employees and
set
rules for how much those workers pay toward their health care and
pensions. A
no vote, urged by Democrats and organized labor statewide, would repeal
the
controversial law.
Kasich,
who spoke in Independence
after Taylor and a parade of local Republican leaders, struck
optimistic tones
as he emphasized his commitment to creating jobs. He drew cheers from a
crowd
of several hundred when talking about efforts to keep Cleveland-area
American
Greetings from leaving the state.
He
also acknowledged his unpopular
standing.
“The
easiest thing to do in politics
is tell everyone what they want to hear,” he said before launching into
an
explanation of some of his controversial ideas.
“Let
me tell you what we decided to,”
Kasich said, before a middle-aged woman in the crowd finished his
sentence with
a loud and derisive “Lay off more people!”
Kasich
tried to silence the crowd’s boos
for the heckler. “Calm down,” he said. “Everyone has the right to
speak.”
Security
then escorted the woman out a
side door.
Both
rallies were open to invited
guests only, but that didn’t stop other opponents from gathering
outside the
rec center. More than 100 SB 5 foes waved signs bashing Kasich and
chanted
phrases such as “We will kill the bill.”
Most
had left by the time Kasich was
done speaking, but a few dozen police officers, firefighters and others
booed
loudly as the governor departed in a dark-colored sport utility vehicle.
“We
weren’t trying to send a message
to the governor - we already know how he’s voting,” said Jim Astorino,
head of
the Northern Ohio Fire Fighters. “We were out here so the community
knows that
firefighters want a ‘no’ vote on Issue 2.”
A
Quinnipiac University poll released
last week showed Issue 2 failing by a 25-point margin. The same poll
showed
Kasich’s approval rating at 36 percent, a four-point dip from a
Quinnipiac
survey conducted a month earlier. His disapproval rating stands at 52
percent.
“This
is a tough, uphill fight,” the
governor acknowledged after his Independence remarks. “We’ll see what
happens
Tuesday.”
Kasich’s
visit also coincided with a
considerable flub of Cleveland sports lore and misery.
In
Thursday’s Columbus Dispatch, the
governor was quoted as comparing the labor law’s chances of a comeback
with
what he mistakenly thought was a Browns’ AFC title.
“We
never thought Bernie Kosar would
bring the Browns back and win that big championship game,” said Kasich,
referring to the Boardman native and former quarterback.
Kasich
was speaking of a
double-overtime playoff win against the New York Jets. That victory
came a week
before a crushing loss to the Denver Broncos in the 1986 championship
match.
“The
Drive,” as that game has become
known because of a clutch scoring drive led by Denver’s John Elway, is
the
indelible image of the season -- and it’s one of failure.
Kasich
spokesman Rob Nichols offered a
good-natured apology on behalf of the governor, who grew up near
Pittsburgh and
is on record as being a fan of the rival Steelers.
“Every
once in a while,” Nichols said,
“you hook one wide left.”
Read
this and other stories in the
Cleveland Plain Dealer
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