Ryan: Kasich’s Record Makes Candidacy ‘Unbelievable’

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, the first member of Congress to sign on to the “Ready for Hillary” committee, this morning came out swinging in advance of Gov. John Kasich’s announcement, at 11:30 a.m., that he’s running for president.

“After seeing firsthand how John Kasich has led Ohio over the last five years, it is unbelievable that he thinks he should be president of the United States. Throughout his career as a member of Congress, a Wall Street banker, and Ohio’s governor, John Kasich has proved many times that he will always put the desires of the wealthy and special interests before the needs of the middle class,” Ryan, D-13 Ohio, said in a statement.

Ryan, a close friend of former Gov. Ted Strickland, who Kasich defeated in 2010, accused Kasich of inflating his role is Ohio’s improved economy.

“I am tired of watching John Kasich time and time again take the credit for Ohio’s recovery when he has had very little, if anything, to do with it. And in many measures our state is worse off than it was when he took the top job in Ohio,” he said.

“Yes, our nation went through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression – but what he fails to mention is that, through President Obama’s leadership, our nation continues to be in the midst of the longest streak of private sector job growth on record: 64 consecutive months, and more than 12 million new jobs. Ohio is benefiting from this national economic recovery, especially the rescuing of the American auto industry, which represents one of every eight jobs in Ohio. Kasich opposed helping the auto industry and American manufacturing, and the reality is that John Kasich is lucky enough to ride the economic wave these policies created.”

Ryan wrote a commentary published in today’s edition of The Hill (CLICK HERE) newspaper.

Here is the remainder of Ryan’s statement:

“While our nation was recovering, John Kasich used his position as governor to attack public workers, taking on Ohio police, firefighters and teachers – a move that was so unpopular that the people of Ohio successfully repealed this vindictive law with over 60% of the vote. After that defeat he focused on gutting funding for local governments which put additional stress on small towns and resulted in increased local taxes and fees – all while he signed tax cuts that benefited the top 5% of earners in Ohio.  These are in no way policies that help working class families.

“Now, Ohio roads are covered with pot holes, our bridges are structurally deficient, water and sewage systems pollute clean water, and this past winter many streets never got plowed because local communities couldn’t get old and run down snow plows to work. Governor Kasich has left Ohio eroding from the inside out. On top of this, Kasich slashed $1.8 billion from Ohio’s public schools, while funneling hundreds of millions of tax dollars to private schools that have pathetic over site policies. While private schools get millions, public schools are being forced to cut art and music classes, the very things that can help us be creative as we innovate a new economy.

“From day one, John Kasich has proved himself to be on the side of wealthy special interests, and not for the hardworking middle class families. Why would we want someone like that in the White House?

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.