John Kasich Refuses Federal Disaster Relief For Tornado-Ravaged Ohio

Tea Party-backed Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich declined to request millions of dollars in federal emergency relief in the wake of tornadoes ravaging much of his state this weekend, raising eyebrows and earning him some jeers from local Democrats for playing politics with a natural disaster.

Elected in the GOP wave of 2010, Kasich took hard-right positions on almost every explosive national issue, including a push for the elimination of collective bargaining rights for public employees that was overturned by angry voters this past November.

So it comes as something of a surprise that he would double down on Tea Party economics after such a recent rebuke. After all, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels in Indiana and Democrat Steve Beshear in Kentucky both gratefully accepted funds.

“Thanks for the involvement that everybody in the federal government is having with us,” Beshear said. “It is really making a difference here on an hourly basis, so we appreciate it.”

Kasich, for his part, insisted on Saturday Ohio was just fine, thank you very much.

“I believe that we can handle this,” Kasich said while visiting a shelter for storm victims. “We’ll have down here all the assets of the state.”

Assets that under his leadership have shrunk considerably, Kasich having determined to make deep cuts in the state budget in a frenzied push for austerity.

Advertising

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

Judge In Trump Georgia Case Says Willis Can Continue Prosecution
Fani Willis , right, in Fulton County courtroom

March 15 (Reuters) - The Georgia judge overseeing Donald Trump's trial on charges of trying to overturn his election defeat in the U.S. state said that lead prosecutor Fani Willis can remain on the case, so long as she removes a deputy she had a personal relationship with.

Keep reading...Show less
Russian Witness Against Biden Received $600K From 'Trump Associates'

Alexander Smirnov, center, leaving courthouse in Las Vegas on February 20, 2024

Photo by Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal

I’ll bet you didn’t know that it is possible in this great big world of ours to live a comfortable life being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for doing basically nothing. Well, not nothing, exactly, but the money you get is unattached to normal stuff we are all familiar with like a job, complete with job-related duties and office hours and a W-2 and maybe even a job title. The money can thus be described by what it is not, which is aboveboard and visible. Instead, this kind of money often ends up in the kinds of accounts said to be “controlled” by you or others, which is to say, accounts which may not, and often do not, have your name on them.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}