With the spin and grin, Rob Portman has been passing on his virtues and accomplishments in an endless stream of commercials. This costs huge amounts of money of which he seems to have an endless supply. One may ask where the money is coming from. Much is coming from his billionaire contributors like David and Charles Koch. What are these non-Ohioans doing investing their money in Sen. Portman’s campaign? Are they doing it because they believe the senator will be tough on trade issues like China as his commercials indicate? This can be far from the truth as they are for open and free market trading or trade deals that seemly sell America and its workers short.
So you may think oil and water mix from Portman ads, but his record resembles more of his chief contributor’s trade policies rather than what the commercials would have you believe. As a congressman, U.S. trade representative for the Bush administration, and as senator of Ohio, he has supported trade deals that have taken Ohio jobs to low paying countries with little or no safety, environmental or workers rights being implemented. He has supported the TTP trade deal. A deal that only replicates past deals with America and its workers taking a back seat.
He voted against raising the minimum wage and against equal pay for equal work for women. He has supported privatizing social security and cutting Medicare. His commercials say little of what has supported. That’s the spin and grin of it all. As Yogi Berra once said “It’s déjà-vu all over again.”
For me it’s voting for Ted Strickland Nov. 8th.
Sheila Frueh, Lima
