by on 07.02.2009
Christopher Celeste, a potential candidate in the Democratic primary to replace retiring Senator George Voinovich in 2010, has made it official-- he's not entering the race. Instead, he has thrown his support behind U.S. Senate Candidate Jennifer Brunner and is asking his supporters to do the same. He made his announcement via an e-mail to his and Brunner's supporters and on the Brunner Blog (www.jenniferbrunner.com) on July 1. Brunner is in a highly contested primary race against Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher.
"Two well-regarded and experienced officeholders are now making their case to Democratic primary voters about why they should be the party's nominee in the Fall. They are both formidable politicians who have won statewide and worked long and hard on behalf of Ohioans. And while I respect both Lee and Jennifer for their commitment to public service, after much thought, I have decided to support, invest in and personally work on behalf of Jennifer Brunner in the Democratic Primary for the United States Senate. Jennifer's public leadership demonstrates an impressive mix of creativity, collaboration, and courage," said Celeste in a letter to followers who had been following his interest in the open seat for over 5 months.
Source: Read more
by on 07.02.2009
While President Barack Obama's administration and states across the nation champion health care reform, U.S. Senate Candidate Jennifer Brunner called on Republican and Democratic members of both houses of Congress to join the fight for inclusion of a public insurance option rather than bow to pressure from the powerful insurance lobby to keep all payment for universal health care in the hands of private insurers.
"I strongly urge members of Congress to stand strong in favor of the more than 50 million individuals and families who now lack access to health care, because they have no health insurance of any form,'' Brunner said. "Health care is a basic right, and the choice of a public or private plan ensures all have access to the type of health care they need." . . .
She noted that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rob Portman, who served former President George W. Bush as Director of the Office of Management and Budget, said his party had no position on health care, reaching this conclusion after conversations with Congressional Republicans. Despite Portman’s admission and failure to fill that void with any ideas of his own, Vice President Dick Cheney used a recent radio interview to characterize Portman as a viable GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate.
“Now that Dick Cheney has left office he has chosen to become vocal and to opine on issues of the day, presumably as a standard bearer for the ailing Republican Party. How can he and Rob Portman maintain their oblivion to the tragically large numbers of Americans who are suffering from their previous failure to face the deteriorating circumstances of Americans and their families because of inadequate or no health care?” Brunner said.
Source: Read more
by on 07.02.2009
Christopher Celeste, who had previously explored a possible U.S. Senate run for 2010, has endorsed Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner for the seat over her primary opponent, Lee Fisher.
In his May announcement that he would not seek the seat, Celeste had hinted at his support for Brunner.
[Celeste's full endorsement follows].
Source: ProgressOhio
by on 06.29.2009
When U.S. Senator George Voinovich announced he was not going to seek re-election in 2010, the Democratic powers at be in Ohio lined up one of their own to seek the party’s nomination. Governor Ted Strickland endorsed his Lt. Governor, Lee Fischer pronouncing him as “the most qualified” Democrat. But not so fast, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner saw it as an opportunity to change the course for America.
“When was the last time a woman was viable enough in Ohio to compete for the U.S. Senate?” asked Jennifer Brunner. “If I don’t do this now we don’t know when a woman might have a real chance to win a senate seat.” Brunner boasts an impressive resume and has been a champion for fair and legal elections for nearly 20 years. Brunner is an attorney and has worked both in state government and in private practice with her husband of 30 years. . . .
Some Democrats in
Ohio are so pleased with the work Jennifer Brunner has done as
Secretary of State that they have tried to persuade her not to run for
the U.S. Senate. “I know I can do so much more for our
state in the U.S. Senate,” said Brunner who has a track record of
running steady, consistent campaigns. Brunner raised $1.8 million for her Secretary of State race in 2006. “The way I raise money is steady; I plant a lot of seeds.” . . .
One message Brunner is delivering is that women have to not only talk the talk, they need to walk the walk. “If we tell our daughters they can be anything they want to be, we need to prove it to them.”
Source: Elect Women Magazine
by on 06.24.2009
Columbus - U.S. Senate Candidate Jennifer Brunner called on Republicans to halt their smear campaign against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. “It is time to tell Republican Senators to stop the attacks on Sonia Sotomayor. I am asking Senator Voinovich not to condone obstructionist tactics that are based on gender inequality and underhanded politics,” said Brunner.
Her efforts come on the heels of reports that Republican Senators in Congress have now begun to ratchet up their campaign against Sotomayor by criticizing her for being associated with a Puerto Rican civil rights group and questioning her previous legal decisions couched in language that centers on her gender. “Republicans plan to attack Judge Sotomayor for her ‘empathy.’ This is part of the tired old GOP tactic of using code words to stoke un-American bigotry. ”
Source: Read more
by on 06.19.2009
I have four live blogging sessions set up thru CoveritLive for the conference. They will publish here a few minutes before each plenary starts. I'll still be on the road during the first plenary. … Plenary IV at 1:45 PM EST. Political Institute. Scheduled to speak: Jennifer Brunner & Hon. Gwen Moore.
Source: Viva La Feminista (blog)
by on 06.19.2009
Why do Americans have so much mistrust for their for-profit insurance companies-- almost as much, in fact, as they mistrust congressional Republicans? Yesterday, after a year long investigation, the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on rescissions of coverage after policyholders become ill. . . . One Senate candidate who gets it is Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. She's very clear that health care reform must include a robust public option.
Source: Down With Tyranny (blog)
by on 06.19.2009
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, running for the United States Senate, yesterday began using the increasingly prevalent and important social media site Twitter.com as an additional means to reach out to Ohio voters. Her Twitter account is found at Twitter.com/JenniferBrunner.
"New technologies used to communicate and to gather information provide innovative ways to reach new voters and better engage and inform them of issues and opportunities of interest to them," Brunner said. "I'm thrilled to join the millions of Twitter users and look forward to being an active participant in this important new social networking medium."
Source: Read more
by on 06.18.2009
U.S.
Senate candidate Jennifer Brunner called for members of both parties to work
together to improve the nation’s health care system, affirming her support for
inclusion of a public option for health insurance. “Having no public option
should not be an option,’’ Brunner said.
Her comments come as Congress debates The Affordable Health Choices Act, which is designed to insure more Americans and give consumers more options for paying for the costs of health care. “Without health insurance coverage, the vast majority of Americans cannot afford to pay for health care. Even many with health care take shortcuts in getting health care for themselves and their families. Those without, go without needed services, or they go bankrupt or lose their homes because of medical bills they can’t pay,” said Brunner.
“All Americans must have access to quality, cost-effective health care, and this should be the guiding principle of any federal legislation,” said Brunner. In Ohio, many job losses have occurred from the collapse of the auto and related industries and from tax incentives to corporations who have outsourced manufacturing jobs to other countries whose governments cover health care expenses.
“Many opponents of a public option blithely confuse the government’s direct payment for health care services with some countries’ governments that actually provide health care services. This is irresponsible,” said Brunner. “Millions of dollars have been spent to run TV ads that scare everyday Americans into thinking that health care reform is the equivalent of socialism. Nothing could be further from the truth,” stated Brunner.
“It is time for Democrats and Republicans alike to step up and give Americans real choices for health care for themselves and their families, and it needs to happen now,” said Brunner. “A public option has existed for years for older Americans through Medicare, which has successfully been providing decent health care to millions. Extending this type of model as a choice of coverage to the more than 46 million Americans without health coverage is not earth shattering—it’s a choice and one we’ve been doing with success for years,” Brunner said.
Source: Read more
by on 06.17.2009
While gay activists across the country are howling in dismay at Barack Obama’s inexplicable timidity and backtracking on gay-rights issues, Jennifer Brunner is confronting the issue head on. Last week, she posted a statement on Huffington Post, expressing complete support for equal rights for all, including marriage. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-brunner/whats-there-to-get-about_...
Now, she has announced that if she is elected to the Senate next year, she will sponsor a bill to repeal the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.
“’Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ has outlived its usefulness,” she says in a statement on her website. “It may have been a first step to inclusiveness in the military, but it has proved to be another ‘separate but equal’ concept used to exclude those who understand that forced silence is demeaning and unacceptable. It’s time to allow people to be free to speak of who they are, to respect them and allow them to be fully a part of the community that will move us forward through the coming social and economic change.”
http://www.jenniferbrunner.com/index.php/news/
Source: Ohio Daily
by on 06.17.2009
Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, states unequivocally that she will sponsor the bill [to eliminate the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy] when she's elected to the Senate next year. Her record on gay equality bears out her promise:
“’Don’t ask, don’t tell,’ has outlived its usefulness. It may have been a first step to inclusiveness in the military, but it has proved to be another ‘separate but equal’ concept that is used to exclude those who understand that forced silence is demeaning and unacceptable. It’s time to allow people to be free to speak of who they are, to respect them and allow them to be fully a part of the community that will move us forward through the coming social and economic change.”
Source: Down With Tyranny!
by on 06.12.2009
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner today called on the U.S. Senate to reject the Obama Administration’s request for $108 billion in bailout funds for the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Many of the European banks made a series of risky and speculative loans in central and eastern Europe that are likely to go into default,” Brunner said. “We are looking conservatively at more than a trillion dollars in bad loans, loans that the United States had no part in, and we simply cannot afford to step in now and bail them out through the IMF. We have too many families and our own institutions struggling here at home who need our help first.
Some have argued that the money is necessary to help provide a global stimulus and to help people in poverty in countries with poorer and less sophisticated economies. But the actual amount of money that will go to assist these countries is indirect and minute. Most of the money would aid struggling European banks that are facing potential losses in the hundreds of billions of dollars. That money would be sent via the IMF, which, unlike TARP funds, would not be subject to any semblance of oversight of or accountability to the U.S. Congress.
Source: Read more
by on 06.12.2009
By Tahlib Disney-Britton - Jennifer Brunner is the Ohio Secretary of State and has been a strong advocate for individual rights for decades.
On June 10, 2009, she wrote an Op-ed voicing her longtime support for marriage equality: “In 1988, I applied for an appointment to the City Council of Columbus, Ohio. I was not chosen, but I chuckle when I think of the calls I received to vet me for the post. One of them was from the leader of a very conservative sect of our local Democratic party. He wanted to know if I supported legislation being considered by city council to allow domestic partnership benefits. I told him that if same-sex couples were permitted to be married, we wouldn't need such special legislation, and that I would prefer to see that. I don't think that was the answer he was looking for or expected.”
Jennifer was elected Ohio’s first woman Secretary of State in 2006, in the wake of Ohio's troubled 2004 election process, pledging elections that were free, fair, open and honest. During the contentious 2008 presidential election in which Ohio was a key battleground state, Jennifer defended Ohioans' voting rights in numerous cases in both state and federal court, eventually winning in the United States Supreme Court to protect voters and their ballots from being targeted for election challenges by partisan operatives. Her achievement in reforming Ohio's election system earned her a Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
As an Ohioan, I am proud to claim Jennifer Brunner as a Voice for Equality!
Source: Straight Talk on Marriage (blog)
by on 06.11.2009
Here's a useful explanation from Ohio Senate candidate Jennifer Brunner about why the House should reject the administration's request for a bailout for the IMF in the emergency supplemental.
COLUMBUS -- Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner today called on the U.S. Senate to reject the Obama Administration’s request for $108 billion in bailout funds for the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Many of the European banks made a series of risky and speculative loans in central and eastern Europe that are likely to go into default,” Brunner said. “We are looking conservatively at more than a trillion dollars in bad loans, loans that the United States had no part in, and we simply cannot afford to step in now and bail them out through the IMF. “ We have too many families and our own institutions struggling here at home who need our help first.”
Some have argued that the money is necessary to help provide a global stimulus and to help people in poverty in countries with poorer and less sophisticated economies. But the actual amount of money that will go to assist these countries is indirect and minute. Most of the money would aid struggling European banks that are facing potential losses in the hundreds of billions of dollars. That money would be sent via the IMF, which, unlike TARP funds, would not be subject to any semblance of oversight of or accountability to the U.S. Congress.
Source: Digby's Hullabaloo Blog
by on 06.11.2009
Perhaps you've never heard of the Ohio-based company, Cobasys.
But it's where the rubber meets the road when progressives talk about
the emerging green-blue coalition that using environmental friendly
technology to create jobs for the 21st century. Cobasys' plant is in
Springboro, just south of Dayton, Ohio and they're a big supplier of
advanced nickel metal hydride energy solutions, including batteries for
hybrid electric cars, a technology that is gaining widespread
acceptance "due to its excellent performance, high energy, reliability,
low cost of ownership and long life." In January, Cobasys was forced to
layoff over 100 workers due to decreased automotive orders.
That's bad; very bad. These are the kinds of jobs we're supposed to be creating,
not losing. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, the progressive
running for the open Senate seat, met this morning with Cobasys
officials and IUE-CWA Local 755 members who work at the plant. With
unemployment continuing to soar in the state, there are plenty of
reasons for concern and Brunner is largely basing her campaign on jobs,
jobs, jobs:
“It is crucial that Ohio identify and support new types of manufacturing jobs that will sustain our communities and our state. Manufacturing that promotes energy independence and honors the environment and the health of our communities is a sure way to achieve these goals. State and federal governments must work together to assist employers such as Cobasys to survive the impending changes to the auto industry, including the effects of the current economic downturn to move Ohio ahead toward the kind of manufacturing that makes our state’s and country’s economies stronger... Manufacturing and industrial businesses must be integrated with and grounded in sound environmental policies to sustain the renewal and growth of our communities. Manufacturing supplies jobs to our communities and self-sufficiency to our country. We must be multifaceted in improving workforce development. The green industrial revolution is here, and Ohio is poised to renew its manufacturing vigor with the help of state and federal legislators and officials who understand the need to work with each other, with the business community and with other active citizens to co-invest in environmentally based businesses that will support a sustainable, long-term economic boon."
Source: Down With Tyranny