Blackwell answers questions

On Open Mike at Clevelan.com Ken Blackwell answers a couple of questions from a local blogger Jill at Writes Like She Talks, but, as usual he fudges a little on the facts.

Jill asks:{only partial quote}

1. Could you please explain how it is that you chose to become and now remain a Republican?

He answers:{only partial quote, follow the link to learn more}

Early in my political, career it became clear to me that big government is not only inefficient, insensitive and intrusive- but it is also a big opening to big corruption.

Mr. Blackwell is Ohio’s Secretary of State and has proven over and over that he really does like big government. Afterall, he did interfere with the 2004 elections, doing everything in his power to make voting as painful as possible for as many Democrats as possible. Now, of course, we have our oh-so-big government laws saying that if you think there’s been corruption in the vote counts, well, tough luck. You aren’t allowed to challenge the powers that be. And make sure you bring proper ID to the voting booth with you or you’ll be turned away. By the way, don’t think you can register to vote online anymore. You can’t afford the paper to print your voter registration card.

Since I am truly the â€œanti-Taftâ€ Republican candidate for Governor, it must now irritate Governor Taft that I owe my first political victory to his family.

Well, here he is distancing himself from our criminal governor. But Mr.Blackwell doesn’t distance himself from our criminal president (or our soon to be indicted Congressman). In fact, Mr. Blackwell promised GWB Ohio in the last election and did everything he could to deliver. Congrats, Ken.

Now onto the next question.

2. Could you please explain your plan for how to educate, through Ohio’s public school system, elementary and secondary school students so that they are prepared for the future and will want to stay in Ohio and enrich Ohio with the fruits of the best education possible?

Before we go into Blackwell’s explanation let me say that Ohio’s public schools rank far below the national average and that colleges, since the tuition cap has been lifted, have been increasing their tuition by at least 10% every year for the last four years. The GOP budget cuts are leaving local school districts’ after-school programs dark. And instead of rewarding academics, the GOP (and Mr. Blackwell by extension)are forcing schools to “teach to the test”. My own 14-year-old daughter has taken either a practice profiecency test or the actual test every single year since she was in the third grade. And since that test is in the spring, most of the school year is dedicated to learning only what is on that test. How does that benefit my child or anyone else’s?

How does cutting funds to public libraries benefit Ohio’s children? When they go to the local library and have to reserve a book they’d like to read, instead of being able to simply take it home that day, how is that providing a service for them? I remember spending hours in a library surrounded by books, learning about things that I could never experience directly. Because of funding cuts, that is a lot harder for my children. I resent that.

My plan for Ohioâ€™s public schools is to mandate that 65 cents out of every dollar earmarked for education goes into the classroom to be spent on teacher salaries and students. According to a June 2005 report by the National Center for Educational Statistics, the Federal clearing house of education research, Ohio ranks a dismal 47th nationally, with only 57.4% of education money reaching Ohioâ€™s classrooms. There is evidence that the best schools have 65% of their funding directed to the classroom.

And yet so much money is directed to the “No Child Left Behind” requirements. Once again “teaching to the test”. Why has the Ohio Supreme Court found Ohio’s school funding to be unconstitutional, and yet the GOP has done nothing to remedy that? Why did 618 school districts go to the voters for new levys- many of them for the first time ever? Empty words during campaign time mean nothing when past records come to light. As a member of Ohio’s current administration, Ken Blackwell is equally guilty of culpability, in my opinion.

And here’s the clincher, for me.

And I wonâ€™t just campaign like Ronald Reagan, I will also govern like Ronald Reagan.

I don’t want to speak ill of the dead, but Ronald Reagan was not the epitomy of a good president. I was still young during his administration, but I remember “reagan-omics”. I’d rather not live through that again, in Ohio.

I’ve had my fill of the Corrupt Ohio Club. Please send us someone different.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Sphere: Related Content