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On the 61st Anniversary of Medicaid & Medicare, Reminder That Vivek Ramaswamy Called Them “Mistakes”

Columbus, Ohio—Today marks the 61st anniversary of Medicaid and Medicare being signed into law. These programs help millions of Ohioans afford care; however, Vivek Ramaswamy has said he believes they were “mistakes.”

Medicaid and Medicare are the backbone of Ohio’s healthcare system. More than three million Ohioans enrolled in Medicaid and 2.5 million Ohioans on Medicare, and rural hospitals in particular rely heavily on Medicaid reimbursements to keep their doors open. A reduction in coverage would disproportionately affect rural hospitals and nursing homes, forcing Ohioans in rural communities to travel farther for routine appointments and emergency care. 

“The real mistake here is Vivek Ramaswamy flippantly dismissing critical healthcare programs that keep costs down for Ohioans,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Ramaswamy’s policy scams would slash healthcare and raise costs for patients across the state, including children, seniors, and veterans. Ohio patients can’t afford Vivek Ramaswamy.”

WATCH THE CLIP BELOW

READ MORE on the programs Vivek Ramaswamy called “mistakes”: 

  • 40% of all births in the United States are covered by Medicaid, and a reduction in coverage would create even more struggles for mothers and infants in Ohio, where the infant mortality rate is one of the worst in the country. 

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WHAT OHIOANS ARE READING: ‘Claims Jon Husted protected sexual abusers date back more than 20 years’

COLUMBUS, OHIO — New bombshell reporting reveals that Jon Husted’s record of protecting pedophiles and predators dates back more than twenty years, when, as Ohio Speaker of the House, he gutted legislation to help survivors of sexual abuse hold their abusers accountable.

The new revelation is the latest in a disturbing pattern of Jon Husted surrounding himself with predators and protecting abusers: 

  • Jon Husted’s campaign chair in Ohio’s largest county was forced to resign after it was revealed he served jail time for committing sexual misconduct with a minor.
  • Jon Husted is still proudly touting the endorsement of State Representative Rodney Creech, who has been accused of sexual misconduct involving a minor relative, while his current Sandusky County campaign chair also came under fire for talking to young girls about their sex lives.
  • Jon Husted has been under fire for taking more than $116,000 directly from Epstein co-conspirator Les Wexner, including a maximum donation just a few weeks before he voted to block the release of the Epstein files.

Read more:

American Journal News: Claims Jon Husted protected sexual abusers date back more than 20 years

  • In 2006, when he was leading the Ohio House of Representatives, Husted, who is now running for reelection to the U.S. Senate, has come under fire recently for accepting donations from a Jeffrey Epstein associate and having a county campaign chair who served jail time for alleged misconduct with a minor. Each of these stories has fueled a narrative that Husted is tolerant and even protective of sexual abusers.
  • The Ohio Senate passed SB 17, known as the clergy abuse bill, in March 2006. The legislation was led by Democratic state Sen. Teresa Fedor as a response to the Catholic clergy abuse scandal. It sought to enact several reforms, including requiring clergy (of all religions) to report child abuse committed by their colleagues, expanding the legal definition of sexual battery to cover clergy who sexually exploit minors in their congregations, and creating a one-year civil window for victims to seek damages for offenses that happened outside the 35-year statute of limitations.
  • The Catholic Conference of Ohio, which represents the state’s bishops, lobbied the state House to water down the bill. The group specifically took issue with the one-year civil window provision, arguing that the church could not reasonably defend itself against older allegations.
  • Husted, who is a Roman Catholic, was serving as House speaker at the time. He oversaw a process by which the civil window provision was stripped from the bill and replaced with a plan to create an online registry of clergy members found liable of sexual abuse in civil court.
  • Barbara Blaine, who started an advocacy group for survivors of priest abuse, told the Columbus Dispatch that she felt betrayed by Husted and accused him of caving to pressure from the Catholic Conference of Ohio.
  • On the day the House voted on the weakened SB 17, survivors lined the halls of the state Capitol, each one holding an image of themselves at the age when they were abused. Several Republican lawmakers reportedly entered the chamber through side doors to avoid confronting the angry victims.
  • This was not the first time Husted used his position to limit the ability of abuse survivors to seek justice. In 2004, he voted for a tort reform law that capped noneconomic damages for sexual abuse plaintiffs at $250,000.
  • The Ohio Capital Journal wrote 2021 that the law had the effect of “stripping child rape victims of millions of dollars in legal damages.”

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NEW REPORT: Jon Husted Took A ‘Leading Role’ In Attracting Data Centers To Ohio

COLUMBUS, OHIO — New reporting from Spectrum News shows that Jon Husted led the charge to bring a record number of “power-hungry” data centers to Ohio that have sent utility rates skyrocketing. Now, three months before an election, Husted is pretending he cares about protecting families from higher electricity bills.

WATCH:

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“Jon Husted is shamelessly running away from his record of jacking up Ohioans’ utility rates and delivering billions in sweetheart tax deals to out-of-state corporations building data centers in the state. It won’t work because Ohioans know the truth, and they will hold him accountable in November.”

See for yourself: 

Spectrum News: As voters turn on data centers, Husted pushes new ratepayer protections

  • After taking a leading role in trying to attract data centers to Ohio, Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, has introduced legislation to protect ratepayers from the higher electric rates that data centers can cause.
  • As Ohio’s Lieutenant Gov. from 2019 to 2025, Husted had championed new data centers to power artificial intelligence.
  • In 2019, for example, he pushed for a deal giving Google $43.5 million in state tax incentives and a 15-year abatement on local property taxes in exchange for the tech company building a $600 million data center in central Ohio.
  • At the time Husted argued the economic returns would outweigh the cost, writing in a statement: “Ohio is establishing itself as a premier destination for technology investment, and it further strengthens our case that Ohio is becoming the tech capital of the Midwest.”
  • Ohio currently has 240 data centers, tying with Illinois for the fifth most in the country.
  • However, that growth has come with a cost. Data centers have contributed to a 175% increase in Ohio’s residential electricity rates since 2005, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, rising about 1.8 times faster than the national rate and 2.5 times faster than inflation.
  • Widespread anger over soaring electric bills has fueled a backlash to Ohio’s data center boom.

Read more about how Jon Husted led the charge to bring data centers to Ohio: 

  • When he was Lt. Governor, Husted led the charge to give billions in out-of-control tax breaks to out-of-state corporations building data centers in Ohio. 
  • According to the Plain Dealer, Husted was “a data center’s best friend” and “spent years rolling out the red carpet” for these massive corporations to come to Ohio. 
  • Now, three months away from an election, Husted is “suddenly positioning himself as the guy who’s going to rein them in.”

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Economists Slam Vivek Ramaswamy’s College Closure Scam

Columbus, Ohio- Independent economists slammed Vivek Ramaswamy’s extreme proposal to close Ohio public colleges and universities in the Ohio Capital Journal. The economists surveyed largely agreed that Ramaswamy’s college closure scam would slash economic output and drive college graduates away from Ohio.

Their analysis comes after numerous Republicans including Gov. Mike DeWine and Sen. Jerry Cirino also panned the plan. DeWine said he was “not in favor” of the plan, while Cirino slammed Ramaswamy, saying: “I don’t know how much he knows about how higher ed works.”

READ: Ohio governor candidate suggested consolidating universities. Economists think it’s a bad idea.

  • Republican nominee for governor Vivek Ramaswamy in March said that consolidating Ohio’s public universities would make higher education better and more affordable.
  • The strong consensus of economists surveyed on the topic this month said such a move would reduce the number of graduates in Ohio and reduce economic output. They split on whether it would even save any money.
  • A panel of Ohio economists surveyed by Scioto Analysis wasn’t sold on the argument. None believed it would help the Ohio economy in the long run.
  • Asked whether they agreed that, “Reducing the number of universities in Ohio would reduce long-term economic output in the state of Ohio,” 11 agreed and 4 were uncertain.
  • None said they thought cutting the number of public universities would increase economic output.
  • The Ohio economists overwhelmingly agreed that getting rid of public universities would cut the portion of Ohioans who get college degrees. 12 said it would and 2 were uncertain.
  • While Ramaswamy said his college-consolidation plan would save Ohioans money, the economists didn’t seem to believe the matter was so clear-cut.
  • Six said it would save money, six said it wouldn’t and two were uncertain.
  • Even some of the economists who said consolidation would save money questioned the wisdom of doing so.
  • “It would save money for the state in the short run but would be penny wise and pound foolish in the long run,” said Bob Gitter of Ohio Wesleyan University. “Education is one of the primary functions of government.”

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NEW INTERVIEW: Jon Husted Blames Ohioans For Hundreds Of Data Centers That He Brought To Ohio

Husted was called “The Face Of Data Centers” and led the charge to hand out billions in tax breaks

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In a shocking new interview, Jon Husted blamed hardworking Ohioans for utility rate increases caused by the record number of data centers that he brought to Ohio.

WATCH:

Transcript:

Jon Husted: But we just have to realize, you know, we’re in this world in which we-we’ve created the demand. We, the people, have created the demand for these data centers because we use all of these digital products that it processes, and if we don’t want them, then don’t use them. I mean, you can go back to the bunny ear antenna on your TV — you don’t need a data center. But if you’re connected to a wire, you’re using the data center. So, understand, like, when we look in the mirror, we are the problem.

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“It’s absolutely disgraceful that Jon Husted is blaming hardworking Ohioans for their skyrocketing electricity bills caused by the record number of data centers that he helped bring to the state. Jon Husted could not be more out of touch with the people of Ohio, and they will hold him accountable in November.” 

Read more about how Jon Husted led the charge to bring data centers to Ohio: 

  • When he was Lt. Governor, Husted led the charge to give billions in out-of-control tax breaks to out-of-state corporations building data centers in Ohio. 
  • According to the Plain Dealer, Husted was “a data center’s best friend” and “spent years rolling out the red carpet” for these massive corporations to come to Ohio. 
  • Now, three months away from an election, Husted is “suddenly positioning himself as the guy who’s going to rein them in.”

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