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BAD NEWS BERNIE: Moreno Slammed For Supporting National Abortion Ban & “Stiffing [His] Workers”

Columbus, OH – In this first week of the dog days of summer, Moreno continues to be “dogged” by his record “stiffing workers” that “could prove to be a liability.” From supporting a national abortion ban to the “lie after lie” he has told throughout his campaign, Ohioans are learning they cannot trust Moreno to tell them the truth or fight for them.

NEED-TO-KNOW THIS WEEK:

  • The two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade this week was a stark reminder that Bernie Moreno supports a national abortion ban that would overturn the will of Ohioans and opposes protecting access to contraception, including birth control pills.

❌ “100% PRO-LIFE WITH NO EXCEPTIONS”: That’s what Bernie Moreno said when asked where he stands on abortion. Moreno’s support for a national abortion ban “put[s] him out of step with most Ohioans” who just last year voted overwhelmingly to protect abortion rights. Read more from Ohio voters sounding off on Moreno for backing a national abortion ban that would overturn the will of Ohioans.

  • Columbus Resident Anna Birr: “I am concerned that we voted against a statewide abortion ban only to now have Bernie Moreno running for Senator from Ohio.”
  • Stow Resident Angie Charles: “After all the work to get reproductive rights written into our state constitution, we can’t send a fanatic like Bernie to Washington to take it away.”
  • Dr. Kale Turner: “We must defeat out-of-touch candidates like Moreno…who would mute our voices by voting for a national abortion ban.”
  • Dr. Arthur Lavin: “Ohioans overwhelmingly voted to protect reproductive rights last fall, but now Bernie Moreno thinks that he and other politicians should be the ones making Ohio women’s healthcare decisions.”
  • Dr. Catherine Romanos:  “Bernie Moreno says he opposes all exceptions and will vote for a national abortion ban that would put my patients and all Ohio women in jeopardy.”

🚫 BERNIE’S BAN BLASTED: One day before the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs ruling, Ohio mom and Red Wine and Blue founder Katie Paris made it clear that Moreno’s support for a national abortion ban has placed “reproductive rights… on the ballot in Ohio in 2024.” Listen to Katie Paris on WCMH’s The Spectrum here:

  • “Bernie Moreno… believes there should be a national abortion ban…”
  • “So I think people do understand that, once again, reproductive rights [are] on the ballot in Ohio in 2024.”
  • “Just last week, the U.S. Senate had a vote on protecting the right to contraception, and Senator Sherrod Brown voted, of course, in support of the right to birth control. But his opponent, Bernie Moreno… his campaign, said that he would have opposed the right to birth control.”

💰 WHAT’S IN BERNIE’S BAGGAGE? As a recent profile from Mother Jones highlights that Bernie Moreno’s record “stiffing workers” “could prove to be a liability,” Ohioans are slamming Moreno for his “pattern of lying on the campaign trail” and record of putting himself first that has “made it clear he is wrong for Ohioans.”

  • Mahoning Valley Resident Linda Taylor: “Moreno doesn’t respect Ohioans enough to tell us the truth. He’d rather pander to us by lying to our faces… Moreno has made it clear he is wrong for Ohioans…”

 🗞️ WHAT OHIOANS ARE READING THIS WEEK:

  • Ohio Capital Journal: On Dobbs Anniversary, Ohio Democrats warn reproductive rights remains a major issue
  • Mother Jones: He’s a Car Dealer With a Surprising Business Record. He’s Also Running for Senate in Ohio.
  • Dr. Catherine Romanos, WKYC: “[Moreno] wants to insert himself into the deeply personal medical decisions that should only be between a patient and their doctor… Moreno said that he is pro life with no exceptions, for rape, for incest or for life of the mother, all cases that I have seen in Ohio in the last month. The truth is, Moreno’s support for a national abortion ban would strip away Ohioans’ freedom to make their own healthcare choices.”
  • Spectrum News: “Yet Dr. Lavin and other members of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights warned in a recent press call that the state’s protections would be at risk if Congress were to pass a national abortion ban. Lavin said that would become more likely if Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno were to get elected to the Senate.”
  • Dr. Arthur Lavin: “[Moreno is] ​​really working so hard to return us to the days in which doctors in Ohio were prevented from caring for people.”
  • Toledo Blade: “Last year, Mr. Moreno called the Dobbs decision a ‘monumental victory’ on X, formally known as Twitter… Before Issue 1 was on the ballot last November, Mr. Moreno’s auto dealer corporation, M Motors Group Inc., contributed $100,000 to the Protect Women Ohio Fund, an anti-abortion rights group.”
  • American Journal: “Bernie Moreno, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Ohio, said he would oppose a bill protecting access to birth control… Moreno’s stance could put him out of step with most Ohioans who say they support abortion rights.”

🐤 TWEET OF THE WEEK:

🎶 CODA: “Ohioans have made their voices loud and clear, but Moreno does not respect Ohioans enough to listen. This is why he is wrong for Ohio.”

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Bernie Moreno’s Record “Could Prove To Be A Liability”

Mother Jones: “Bernie Moreno Built An Empire Selling Luxury Vehicles—And Stiffing Workers.”

Columbus, OH –  A recent profile from Mother Jones showcases Bernie Moreno’s record “stiffing workers” “could prove to be a liability.” From the many lawsuits clouding his campaign to his taxpayer-funded luxury car joyride, it is clear Moreno only looks out for himself.

Mother Jones: He’s a Car Dealer With a Surprising Business Record. He’s Also Running for Senate in Ohio.
Abby Vesoulis
June 20, 2024

  • But on a sunny day in November 2015, Bernie Moreno took a shiny new cherry-red Vulcan… for a spin outside Cleveland. At least three police cars escorted Moreno down usually busy suburban streets.
  • Moreno’s campaign did not respond to questions about the legality of the joyride. Public records from North Olmsted, the suburb Moreno spun through, provide no indication Moreno ever paid it or its police for the escort or road closures.
  • But Moreno’s record as a boss could prove to be a liability.
  • “For him to come out now and say that he’s this champion of working-class people—he’s a liar, and we call out liars,” says Tony Totty, president of UAW Local 14, which represents about 1,400 General Motors employees in northwest Ohio.
  • In November 2022, a judge ordered [former employee Omar Adem] and another employee be paid [by Moreno] $416,160 in damages after a jury found both the dealership and Moreno individually liable for shorting pay.
  • In court, Moreno initially defended the pay practices, saying he acted in good faith and “committed no violation of law.” But during the trial, he was forced to admit to shredding overtime-­payment records—documents the judge ruled he had been “required to preserve” and that he and his lawyers “knew or should have known [were] relevant.”
  • Before launching his 2024 run, Moreno settled more than a dozen other Massachusetts wage theft cases, all for undisclosed amounts.
  • “When you’re stiffing workers out of their well-earned overtime pay, you’re a fraud,” says Totty.
  • While his campaign asserts that, “as a proud minority businessman,” Moreno has “always been committed to giving opportunities to all of his workers, regardless of race, color, gender, or creed,” several of his Ohio employees have alleged workplace bias and mistreatment.
  • Cara Wilson, an Akron-area mother, sued Moreno for gender discrimination and wrongful termination… Moreno told her she was “a bad leader but a better mother,” Wilson alleged, and another time angrily told her to “put your kids in fucking daycare.”
  • In June 2017, Ronell Thompson sued Moreno’s companies alleging “racially discriminatory pay practices” at an Infiniti dealership…
  • Born into a politically powerful Bogotá family with what Cleveland.com called “lavish generational wealth,”
  • Public filings show he’s currently worth between $25 million and $100 million, including a stake in Dryver, a chauffeuring app.
  • As for the Vulcan, Moreno’s Aston Martin dealership put it up for sale in 2016 for $3.4 million—90 times what the average Ohio worker makes each year.

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QUICK CLIP: Moreno Opposes Protecting Access To Birth Control

American Journal: “Moreno’s Stance Could Put Him Out Of Step With Most Ohioans Who Say They Support Abortion Rights”

Columbus, OH –  Bernie Moreno continues to face scrutiny for opposing protecting access to contraception, including birth control pills, and for supporting a national abortion ban “that most Ohioans don’t want.” Moreno has said he is “100% pro-life with no exceptions” and has claimed that women don’t need access to abortion, “just someone to lift heavy things such as strollers for them.”

American Journal: Report: Ohio Republican Bernie Moreno opposes bill protecting birth control access
Jesse Valentine
June 24, 2024

  • Bernie Moreno, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Ohio, said he would oppose a bill protecting access to birth control.
  • On June 5, the [Senate] voted on the Right to Contraception Act, a bill that would federally protect an individual’s right to obtain and use birth control. The legislation, which required 60 votes to pass, was near-unanimously blocked by Republican lawmakers.
  • A spokesperson for Moreno’s campaign told the Columbus Dispatch that Moreno would have joined in that blockade… Moreno’s opponent, incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, supported the legislation.
  • This is not Moreno’s first time taking a stand against birth control. In November 2023, Ohioans voted overwhelmingly in support of Issue 1, a ballot initiative that added abortion rights and contraception protections to the Ohio state constitution. Moreno opposed Issue 1 and bragged about donating $100,000 to a group that tried to defeat it.
  • “​​I’m the only one on the stage that’s actually written a check from their own bank account,” Moreno said during a Feb. 19 candidate forum. “You know, career politicians love to write checks from our bank accounts, I wrote a check from my own bank account for pro life causes. And when you take that action you’re spending your own money, that tells you what you actually believe in that cause.”
  • Abortion, birth control, and reproductive health are expected to be major issues in the 2024 elections. Moreno’s stance could put him out of step with most Ohioans who say they support abortion rights.
  • Moreno stirred controversy last February when he answered a question about abortion access during a candidate forum by suggesting that women don’t need abortion rights as long as kind strangers are willing to help them with mundane tasks, like lifting strollers into overhead compartments on airplanes.

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WHAT OHIOANS ARE SAYING: Moreno’s “Lie After Lie” Shows “He Is Wrong For Ohioans”

Mahoning Valley Resident Linda Taylor: “By Lying To Us Time And Time Again, Moreno Has Made It Clear He Is Wrong For Ohioans And Can’t Be Trusted To Represent Us.”

Columbus, OH – Ohioans are sounding off on Bernie Moreno’s “pattern of lying on the campaign trail” that has “made it clear he is wrong for Ohioans.” Moreno continues to face criticism from Ohioans for the “dubious claims” and the “questions about his biography and business background” that are “dogg[ing] his campaign.”

Tribune Chronicle: Pants on fire: GOP Senate candidate Moreno bad for Ohio
Linda Taylor
June 22, 2024

  • On the campaign trail, Bernie Moreno has been caught in lie after lie that makes it crystal clear he is only out for himself, not Ohioans.
  • Moreno lies about selling the Chinese-made Buick Envision. But the truth is, as a car salesman, Moreno sold the Buick Envision, a car that was always made in China and not the United States. While the Lordstown plant was shutting down here in the Valley, Bernie was lining his own pockets, selling a car made in China.
  • Moreno has shown a pattern of lying on the campaign trail, whether it’s lying about escaping socialism, shutting down Cleveland State’s Confucius Institute, building his car dealership business all on his own, or his phony “rags-to-riches” story that he grew up “lower middle class” and “came here with absolutely nothing.”
  • The truth is Bernie “Pants-On-Fire” Moreno has lied over and over in a calculated attempt to reinvent himself to fool us into giving him our vote.
  • Moreno doesn’t respect Ohioans enough to tell us the truth. He’d rather pander to us by lying to our faces. He will say whatever he thinks he needs to say to win, with no regard for the truth.
  • By lying to us time and time again, Moreno has made it clear he is wrong for Ohioans and can’t be trusted to represent us.

SEE ALSO: NEW: NYT Report Details Bernie Moreno’s Phony “Rags-To-Riches Tale” & Lies About “Bootstraps Story” As Part Of “Calculated Process of Self-Creation”; Bernie Moreno “Sold Out American Workers” With “Serious Lie” About Selling Chinese-Made Cars; NEW: Moreno Lying About Getting Rid of Confucius Institute; NEW: Bernie Moreno Caught Lying About “Escaping” Socialism; Questions Bernie Moreno Must Answer After New Report Exposes He’s Been Lying About How He Started His First Dealership

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Ohio’s Unique Abortion Rights Landscape is Creating a Vulnerability for Senate Candidate Bernie Moreno

MEMORANDUM

TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Ohio Democratic Party Press
RE: Ohio’s Unique Abortion Rights Landscape is Creating a Vulnerability for Senate Candidate Bernie Moreno 

OVERVIEW: Despite 57% of Ohioans voting to pass Issue 1 and protect reproductive freedom last year, Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno has said he would overturn the will of voters by supporting a national abortion ban that would supersede Ohio law. Moreno’s support of a national abortion ban with no exceptions puts him out-of-step with the majority of Ohio voters and is a major liability as he attempts to win Ohioans’ votes.

MORENO WOULD OVERTURN THE WILL OF OHIOANS WITH A NATIONAL ABORTION BAN: Ohioans made it clear that women’s healthcare decisions should be between them and their doctors – but Bernie Moreno wants to overturn the will of the voters by passing a national abortion ban.

  • Cleveland.com: “While competing for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, Bernie Moreno argued for national legislation banning abortion…and previously has described himself as “100% pro-life without exceptions.”
  • Cleveland.com: “[Moreno] celebrated Supreme Court returning abortion to states. Then Ohioans passed abortion rights…Moreno, as he has throughout his current Senate campaign, called for federal legislation banning abortion.’”

MORENO OPPOSES ABORTION “WITH NO EXCEPTIONS:” Moreno has described himself as “100% pro-life with no exceptions” and “absolute pro-life, no exceptions,” even in cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother.

MORENO IS ON THE WRONG SIDE OF OHIOANS: Moreno voted to uphold Ohio’s abortion ban without exceptions for rape or incest, voted against protecting contraception and fertility treatments, donated $100,000 of his personal fortune to the campaign to defeat Issue 1.

  • Moreno also opposes guaranteeing a woman’s right to access contraception, including birth control pills, and opposes federal protections for IVF. Moreno called protecting IVF a “non-issue” a week after the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that prompted clinics to halt IVF treatments.
  • Moreno: “I’ve given hundreds of thousands of dollars of my own money to pro life causes…I’m 100% pro-life myself, unapologetically pro-life.”
  • NBC: “Moreno was also visible in the fight and donated money to the campaign to defeat the ballot measure, known as Issue 1.”

OHIOANS HAVE SPOKEN OUT ABOUT MORENO’S PLAN TO PASS A NATIONAL ABORTION BAN: Across the state, Ohioans have made clear that Moreno’s plan to overrule voters and pass a national abortion ban is disqualifying.

  • Anna Birr, Columbus, OH: “I am concerned that we voted against a statewide abortion ban only to now have Bernie Moreno running for Senator from Ohio.”
  • Angie Charles, Stow, OH: “After all the work to get reproductive rights written into our state constitution, we can’t send a fanatic like Bernie to Washington to take it away.”
  • Dr. Kale Turner, Columbus, OH: “We must defeat out-of-touch candidates like Moreno…who would mute our voices by voting for a national abortion ban.”
  • Dr. Arthur Lavin, Cleveland, OH: “Ohioans overwhelmingly voted to protect reproductive rights last fall, but now Bernie Moreno thinks that he and other politicians should be the ones making Ohio women’s healthcare decisions.”
  • Dr. Catherine Romanos, Dayton, OH:  “Bernie Moreno says he opposes all exceptions and will vote for a national abortion ban that would put my patients and all Ohio women in jeopardy.”

THE BOTTOM LINE: Moreno has made it clear he will not respect the will of Ohio voters and will pass an abortion ban that is out-of-step with the position the majority of Ohioans hold. Ohioans will not forget that Moreno wants to overturn their will by voting for a national abortion ban and has said himself he is “100% pro-life with no exceptions.” 

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