Monday, November 24, 2008

DISCUSSION: HOW WILL SNITCHLER (R - THE 50TH) LEGISLATE?

One of arguments against the election of Republican Todd Snitchler by his opponent (Celeste DeHoff) was that he would be looking out for corporate interests as a legislator and not the interest of everyday citizens.

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) thinks it is very likely that DeHoff was correct in her take on Snitchler.

Snitchler has made no secret of his close alliance with the business community. He has been heavily involved with local chambers of commerce (e.g. past president of the Lake Chamber of Commerce) and was an eager solicitor of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce's endorsement in his race.

The Ohio Chamber (through its political arm) defended Snitchler on charges made by DeHoff in her campaign literature that Snitchler is (The Report's words) "a captive of corporate interests" to the detriment of everydays.

A relatively new book out entitled "The Predator State" by economist James K. Galbraith seeks to show how many conservative Republicans have not fought for "smaller government" as they (including Snitchler) have argued, but rather they have legislated for a de facto take over of government by corporations in acting to open the public treasury to be doled out, under the guise of one program or another (examples: charter schools, vouchers, healthcare et cetera), into corporate bank accounts.

Recently, Bill Moyers interviewed Galbraith. Here is an excerpt:
BILL MOYERS: You call your book THE PREDATOR STATE, what do you mean predator?

JAMES GALBRAITH:
What I mean is the people who took over the government were not interested in reducing the government and having a small government, the conservative principle. They were interested in using these great institutions for private benefit, to place them in the control of their friends and to put them to the use of their clients.
The Report will be watching Snitchler's votes and paying close attention to his statements.

With all the mismanagement, fraudulent mangement and the like that we hear about seemingly day after every day in local, state and national media; shouldn't Stark Countians (and 50th District voters, in particular) be very scrutinizing of whose interest Todd Snitchler votes in the Ohio House?

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