By Bertram de Souza (Contact)
In the words of the patron saint of the Republican Party, Ronald Reagan, “There you go again” — Governor John Kasich.
In 1980, Reagan, the Republican nominee for president, used that phrase numerous times in his debates with Democratic President Jimmy Carter. It was a strategy designed to disarm Carter whenever the president tried to point out his challenger’s shortcomings.
Today, the phrase is being applied to Republican Kasich in a similar effort: To disarm him in his continuing attempt to denigrate his predecessor, Democrat Ted Strickland, with regard to the auto industry in Ohio.
Last week, in announcing that Chrysler Corp. will invest $365 million in the expansion of its Toledo Assembly complex and that Republic Steel will shell out $85 million to upgrade its manufacturing plant in Lorain, the first-year governor couldn’t help himself.
“I went up to Detroit after the election and I had one of the big car executives shaking his finger at me about how Ohio is failing, Ford is going to invest a billion in Ohio, $2 billion in Michigan. Everybody else is beneath us.
“Chrysler is going to have more things to say. Stay tuned. And General Motors, they like their plant. They upgraded it. Advanced manufacturing may be alive and well in the state of Ohio. We need to focus on it, and we need to bring it back.”
Kasich’s comments appeared in a story by Jim Provance, chief of the Toledo Blade’s Columbus bureau.
Thus, the reaction from this writer, “There you go again” Mr. Kasich.
Ex-governor speaks
Nine months ago in this space, Strickland all but called his successor a liar for saying that top executives of General Motors, Chrysler and Ford told him they weren’t happy with the way they were treated by the previous administration.
“I heard words like noncompetitive,” the governor said in January after his meeting in Detroit with officials of the three companies. “I heard words like non-cooperative. I heard words like created a bad attitude and a bad impression. We are not viewed in that community as the most forward-looking state.”
Asked to respond, Strickland, who lost his bid for second four-year term in November 2010, didn’t hold back.
“I question his honesty in the way he’s presenting this. I just think it’s so inconsistent with my experience, my personal relationship I had with these individuals.”
And as was pointed out in the column of Jan. 30, the facts on the ground in the Mahoning Valley certainly don’t back up Kasich’s claim about the auto industry’s negative impression of Ohio.
During Strickland’s tenure, General Motors chose its Lordstown assembly plant over several around the country to manufacture the Chevrolet Cruze, its latest offering in the highly competitive compact car market. The company spent more than $350 million upgrading the plant. This, after it had invested $1 billion several years ago to prepare the plant for the highly successful Chevrolet Cobalt and the Pontiac G5.
The decision to build the Cruze in the Valley has paid off handsomely for General Motors. It is the top selling compact car in the nation, and the auto maker is so confident of the continued performance of the plant that it has decided to build the diesel version of the Cruze in the Valley.
Major investment
Likewise, during Strickland’s tenure, the French multinational corporation, Vallourec, announced a $650 million investment in the Valley for a state-of-the-art steel pipe-making facility adjacent to its V&M Star plant in Youngstown.
The brand spanking new manufacturing plant along Route 422 certainly challenges the governor’s notion that nothing good was going on in Ohio before he took office in January.
Kasich, like other Republican politicians in Ohio and in Washington, opposed the federal government’s financial investment in General Motors and Chrysler to prevent them from total collapse.
It’s time for the governor and his GOP cohorts, at least in Ohio, to admit that they were wrong about the bailout.
As for the car company executives who gave Ohio such a negative review — pre-Kasich, of course — he should man up and identify them.
Comments
Although I agree with your comments, you really don't expect to hear John Kasich say he was wrong do you? The man is incapable of saying he is wrong about anything and that goes to the heart of who John Kasich really is to begin with. An arrogant, self centered egotist who is only interested in his own ambitions. And that is why we need to change control of the state legislature. We need to marginalize John Kasich and make him irrelevant before he causes any more damage to the state. Then vote him out in 2014.
GM,Ford,Chrysler,Delphi have closed a multitude of plants in Ohio. This article is pure hogwash.
GM chose Lordstown ONLY because it gave up concessions, esp new jobs and new hourly wages. Most of the Cruze is built ourside of Lordstown. Wake up.
Government or Strickland had absolutely nothing to do with V&M. Your stretched implication comes closer to being a falsehood..
The Automotive Industry has spent BILLIONS upon BILLIONS in both updated and completing new and massive facilities in the United States, but not in OHIO.
To this writer, I can only say, "There you go again"
Nice try, Bertram. There's no value for Kasich or any politician of any party to identify something, like this, from the past. It only satisfies you and the Vindy's desire to get a story to fall on your lap (again). Let's focus on the present and his current ventures, like Kasich's pitch to lure Sears to relocate their corporate offices from Chicago to Ohio. Austin, TX is pursuing the same opportunity. Weak column...very weak.
Government Motors! And what are they building? A Diesel Cruze. Doesn't anyone read the front page headlines? NatGas is in abundance, some say enough here for all of our energy needs for the next 50 to 100 years, and they're building a DIESEL! Check the prices,diesel vs NatGas. Check the environmental impact, diesel vs NatGas, check your intelligence at the door or raise your voice for awareness of the future. Wake 'em up, Kasich.
Kasich and the word "man" do not belong in the same title. Newsmaker1 please provide links that show us that automakers have spent "billions and billions" of dollars outside of ohio? GM just upgraded the site in Lordstown and spent 350 million in Ohio so how do you get that they spent nothing in Ohio?
highpoint put your money where your mouth is and build a natural gas, gas station. and 50-100 years does not solve the energy issue and will only quickly use up that source of energy.
(a spinoff from Jim Mora)
Do Not Blame the Dems and Union workers...in my opinion the team
"-----"!
"....man up!...are you kidding me?! What are you talking about?
....man up?...are you kidding me? "
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oSFYx...
To:Tbornraised:
Read my comment, Gave the reason Lordstown plant is still open.
Billions upon Billions of dollars have been spent by the entire Automotive Industry and not in Ohio.
Kasich, much to your disbelief was and is correct.