Tag Archives: Ohio

May 10, 2013 · 11:32 AM

10 things you need to know today: May 10, 2013

The Week

Prosecutors consider seeking the death penalty for Cleveland abduction suspect, hackers loot $45 million from ATMs, and more

1. HACKERS LOOT $45 MILLION FROM ATMS
A global gang of cyber thieves stole $45 million from thousands of ATMs in a matter of hours, authorities in New York said Thursday. The thieves allegedly withdrew $2.4 million from 2,904 machines in New York City alone after hackers wiped out withdrawal limits on stolen prepaid debit cards. The details were revealed when federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against eight members of a street crew that allegedly went around the city withdrawing cash and stuffing it into backpacks. [New York Times]

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2. PROSECUTOR MIGHT SEEK DEATH PENALTY FOR ARIEL CASTRO
Cuyahoga County, Ohio, prosecutor Thomas McGinty said Thursday he might seek the death penalty against Ariel Castro, the Cleveland man accused of kidnapping three women, then raping and imprisoning them at his home for a decade. Castro, who’s being held on $8 million bail, could face hundreds of charges — even thousands. McGinty says he might file charges of aggravated murder, a capital offense, because the women say Castro beat them when they were pregnant to force them to have miscarriages. [CBS News]

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3. BOMBING SUSPECT TAMERLAN TSARNAEV BURIED
The body of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed in a shootout with police, has been buried following a lengthy search for a cemetery willing to take his remains. Worcester, Mass., police declined Thursday to disclose the location of the grave, although they said it was not in their city. “A courageous and compassionate individual came forward to provide the assistance to properly bury the deceased,” said Worcester Police Sergeant Kerry Hazelhurst. [Boston Globe]
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4. FEDS YANK ONLINE BLUEPRINT FOR 3D PRINTED GUNS
State Department officials on Thursday ordered Defense Distributed, a Texas nonprofit, to take down online instructions on making its 3D-printed plastic gun, which can evade metal detectors. Government regulators argued that making plans for the pistol available worldwide amounted to illegal weapon exports. Defense Distributed complied — but not before the blueprint for the fully functional firearm, The Liberator, was downloaded more than 100,000 times. [New York Daily News]
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5. MINNESOTA HOUSE PASSES GAY-MARRIAGE BILL
Minnesota’s Democrat-led House of Representatives approved a bill legalizing gay marriage on Thursday. State senators plan a vote on Monday, and supporters of the proposal say they have the votes to pass it. If they succeed, Democratic Governor Mark Dayton has vowed to sign the bill into law. Minnesota would become the 12th state to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples, and the third state to do so this month, after Delaware and Rhode Island. [Reuters]
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6. SURVIVOR FOUND 17 DAYS AFTER BANGLADESH BUILDING COLLAPSE
Rescuers pulled a woman alive from the rubble of a Bangladesh factory building on Friday, 17 days after the structure collapsed. The death toll has climbed to 1,038, and crews are still searching for more bodies. Hundreds of relatives remain camped out around the Rana Plaza complex, which housed four garment factories, awaiting word on workers still missing in the worst industrial accident since India’s 1984 Bhopal disaster. [Associated Press, Reuters]
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7. SEARCH SUSPENDED FOR MISSING AUSTRALIAN CRUISE SHIP PASSENGERS
Rescuers in Australia suspended a search on Friday for two Carnival Australia cruise ship passengers who fell overboard on the last night of a Pacific islands tour on Wednesday. Footage from security cameras reportedly shows the couple — Paul Rossington, 30, and Kristen Schroder, 27 — going over the side of the Carnival Spirit one after the other at 8:50 p.m., although they weren’t discovered missing until the ship docked in Sydney 12 hours later. [The Australian]
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8. NORTH KOREA LASHES OUT AFTER U.S.-SOUTH KOREA SUMMIT
North Korea on Friday resumed its bellicose rhetoric after a brief lull, calling this week’s meeting between President Obama and his South Korean counterpart, Park Geun-hye,”a curtain-raiser to a dangerous war to invade” the North. Pyongyang called Park’s visit to Washington a “despicable sycophantic trip to please her master.” Obama and Park urged Pyongyang to join talks on dismantling its nuclear program, as a nuclear-powered U.S. carrier headed to South Korea for joint naval exercises. [Associated Press]
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9. SAILOR KILLED WHILE PRACTICING FOR AMERICA’S CUP
A 36-year-old British sailor was killed on Thursday when the high-tech catamaran he was on capsized in San Francisco Bay while he was practicing for this summer’s America’s Cup, sailing’s most prestigious trophy. Andrew “Bart” Simpson, an Olympic gold medalist who was serving as race strategist for the Swedish team, was trapped underwater for 10 minutes by the capsized yacht’s platform. One other sailor in the crew of about a dozen suffered minor injuries. [Associated Press]
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10. IDOL‘S LAST ORIGINAL JUDGE SAYS HE’S LEAVING
Randy Jackson, the last original judge remaining on American Idol, says he’s leaving next season. The announcement comes following reports that Fox wants to replace all four judges on the reality singing competition TV show, which suffered a 25 percent ratings drop this season. Jackson, who helped launch the once-hot show on a panel with Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul, says he plans to focus on his record label, Dream Merchant 21, and other projects. “It is time to leave,” he said. [E Online]

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March 18, 2013 · 4:24 PM

Missing the Point…

Randi Rhodes

This weekend two high school football players in Steubenville, Ohio were convicted in a high-profile rape case. It was a tragic story, though to some people the tragic part was evidently more the judgment than the crime…

Reaction to the judgment was predictable. Given the way football players are treated in a town like this, the crime itself was predictable. The CNN report when the verdict was announced seemed more concerned about the fate of the rapists than the girl who was raped. CNN, we know you’re hurting for ratings, but Steubenville is a very small town. Poppy Harlow, the CNN reporter on the story, described the rapists as young men with “promising futures, star football players, very promising students.” If you didn’t know that a rape conviction was being reported, you would think these kids were in a car wreck.

If CNN was callous, Breitbart.com was crass, as you would expect. CNN lost track of what the real story was. It’s Breitbart’s job to obscure what the real story is. Breitbart blamed the media for the verdict. You know who is usually most to blame for a verdict? The perpetrators. Breitbart bemoaned “the impact on the residents of Steubenville.” The impact of the rape on the rapists… the impact of the rape on the town… eventually will someone consider the impact of the rape on the rape victim?

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January 21, 2013 · 6:33 AM

‘Gun Appreciation Day’ marred by accidental shootings

Define irony…

The Week

Just days after President Obama unveiled the most ambitious gun control proposal in decades, the first national Gun Appreciation Day was held on Saturday. It was organized by a Republican consulting firm urging gun owners to stand firm against the proposed new curbs.

But based on news reports of the last 24 hours, it didn’t go very well.

The Raleigh News & Observer reports that three people were shot when a loaded shotgun accidentally discharged at the Dixie Gun and Knife Show at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that one man was left wounded after an accidental shooting at the Medina Gun Show in Medina, Ohio.

The Indianapolis Star reports a man was injured as he was leaving the 1500 Gun & Knife Show at the Indiana State Fairgrounds when his gun accidentally discharged.

And gun shows accidents weren’t the only ones yesterday. There were many more:

UPI reports a Dallas man was arrested when a gun discharged in his pocket while he was shopping at Walmart, injuring two other people.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports a six-year-old girl shot herself in the face while handling her father’s gun.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports a 14-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 15-year-old brother with his mother’s handgun.

A Google search pulls up dozens of similar stories.

Gun enthusiasts rightfully note that these were accidents and that many people are also killed in car accidents every single day.

That’s very true. But as Congress mulls new gun laws, perhaps lawmakers could weigh whether guns and their owners should at least be regulated to the same degree that we regulate cars and their drivers.

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January 9, 2013 · 8:14 AM

Fiscal Cliff Polling Shows Little Support For John Boehner, Wider Approval For Obama

Fiscal Cliff Polling

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) received only 31 percent approval in a recent poll for his handling of fiscal cliff negotiations, with only 38 percent of his own party giving their approval.

The American People prefer real leadership, not a really poor attempt at showmanship and constant capitulation to the most extreme segments of the Republican Party…

The Huffington Post

Americans are largely split in their reaction to the “fiscal cliff” agreement, but united in their dislike for the role played by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), according to a Washington Post/ABC poll released Tuesday.

Americans were divided on the fiscal cliff agreement, with 45 percent approving and 38 percent disapproving, although far more strongly disapproved than strongly approved. Democrats were more than twice as likely as Republicans to approve of the deal.

Women, minorities and those with lower incomes were likely to support the deal, while other groups were more divided, according to ABC.

President Barack Obama won a majority of support for his handling of the crisis, as 52 percent of Americans approved of his approach, while 37 percent disapproved.

John Boehner, by contrast, saw a 20-point net negative rating, with 31 percent approving and 51 percent disapproving of his handling of the deal.

The fiscal cliff’s resolution gave a bump of several points to both politicians over their performances in a previous ABC/Post poll from December.

As a Pew poll released Monday also showed, Boehner’s low ratings come in large part from Republican unhappiness with his leadership. While Obama has broad support from Democratic voters, just 38 percent of Republican voters approved of Boehner’s work on the negotiations.

Both Boehner and Obama actually picked up points among their opposing parties during the debate, The Fix notes:

Just 8 percent of Republican voters approved of the way Obama was handling negotiations in a December Post-ABC survey, while in the new poll roughly one in four (23 percent) said he had done a good job. Democrats jumped from 14 to 27 percent in approving of Boehner’s handling of the issue.

The ABC/Post poll surveyed 1,000 adults between Jan. 2 and Jan. 6, with a 4 percent margin of error.

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January 3, 2013 · 3:25 AM

The 112th Congress: A farewell list

Daily Kos

Per the 20th Amendment, the terms of the members of the 112th Congress expire at noon on Thursday, ready or not. As I did two years ago, it’s worth taking a moment to say farewell, thank you, and in some cases good riddance to those members of Congress who now depart the institution.  Via Roll Call:

Defeated in General Election – (27 House: 10D, 17R; 1 Senate: 1R)
House
Joe Baca, D-Calif., 65, 6 terms
Roscoe G. Bartlett, R-Md., 86, 10 terms
Charles Bass, R-N.H., 60, 1 term
Howard L. Berman, D-Calif., 71, 15 terms
Judy Biggert, R-Ill., 75, 7 terms
Brian P. Bilbray, R-Calif., 61, 3 terms
Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., 51, 7 terms
Leonard L. Boswell, D-Iowa, 78, 8 terms
Ann Marie Buerkle, R-N.Y., 61, 1 term
Francisco “Quico” Canseco, R-Texas, 63, 1 term
Ben Chandler, D-Ky., 53, 4 terms
Chip Cravaack, R-Minn., 52, 1 term
Mark Critz, D-Pa., 50, 1 term
Robert Dold, R-Ill., 43, 1 term
Frank Guinta, R-N.H., 42, 1 term
Nan Hayworth, R-N.Y., 53, 1 term
Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., 54, 1 term
Larry Kissell, D-N.C., 61, 2 terms
Jeff Landry, R-La., 42, 1 term
Dan Lungren, R-Calif., 66, 4 terms
Laura Richardson, D-Calif., 50, 2 terms
David Rivera, R-Fla., 47, 1 term
Bobby Schilling, R-Ill., 48, 1 term
Pete Stark, D-Calif., 81, 20 terms
Betty Sutton, D-Ohio, 49, 3 terms
Joe Walsh, R-Ill., 51, 1 term
Allen B. West, R-Fla., 51, 1 termSenate
Scott P. Brown, R-Mass., 53, 1 term

Defeated for Other Office – (6 House: 1D, 5R)
Todd Akin, R-Mo., 65, 6 terms
Rick Berg, R-N.D., 53, 1 term
Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., 61, 7 terms
Connie Mack, R-Fla., 45, 4 terms
Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., 57, 6 terms
Bob Turner, R-N.Y., 71, 1 term

Retiring – (25 House: 14D, 11R; 10 Senate: 6D, 1I, 3R)
House
Gary L. Ackerman, D-N.Y., 70, 14 terms
Steve Austria, R-Ohio, 54, 2 terms
Dan Boren, D-Okla., 39, 4 terms
Dan Burton, R-Ind., 74, 15 terms
Jerry F. Costello, D-Ill., 63, 12 terms
Norm Dicks, D-Wash., 72, 18 terms
David Dreier, R-Calif., 60, 16 terms
Barney Frank, D-Mass., 72, 16 terms
Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., 68, 13 terms
Charlie Gonzalez, D-Texas, 67, 7 terms
Wally Herger, R-Calif., 67, 13 terms
Maurice D. Hinchey, D-N.Y., 74, 10 terms
Timothy V. Johnson, R-Ill., 66, 6 terms
Dale E. Kildee, D-Mich., 83, 18 terms
Steven C. LaTourette, R-Ohio, 58, 9 terms
Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., 78, 17 terms
Brad Miller, D-N.C., 59, 5 terms
Sue Myrick, R-N.C., 71, 9 terms
John W. Olver, D-Mass., 76, 10 terms
Ron Paul, R-Texas, 77, 8 terms
Todd R. Platts, R-Pa., 50, 6 terms
Mike Ross, D-Ark., 51, 6 terms
Heath Shuler, D-N.C., 40, 3 terms
Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., 78, 15 terms
Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., 75, 10 termsSenate
Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii, 88, 3 terms
Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., 69, 5 terms
Kent Conrad, D-N.D., 64, 4 terms
Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, 69, 3 terms
Herb Kohl, D-Wis., 77, 4 terms
Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., 70, 3 terms
Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn., 70, 4 terms
Ben Nelson, D-Neb., 71, 2 terms
Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, 65, 3 terms
Jim Webb, D-Va., 66, 1 term

Defeated in Primary – (13 House: 7D, 6R; 1 Senate: 1R)
House
Sandy Adams, R-Fla., 56, 1 term
Jason Altmire, D-Pa., 44, 3 terms
Russ Carnahan D-Mo., 54, 4 terms
Hansen Clarke, D-Mich., 55, 1 term
Tim Holden, D-Pa., 55, 10 terms
Dennis J. Kucinich, D-Ohio, 66, 8 terms
Donald Manzullo, R-Ill., 68, 10 terms
Ben Quayle, R-Ariz., 36, 1 term
Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, 68, 8 terms
Steven R. Rothman, D-N.J., 60, 8 terms
Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, 61, 3 terms
Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., 71, 12 terms
John Sullivan, R-Okla., 47, 5 termsSenate
Richard G. Lugar, R-Ind., 80, 6 terms

In addition, several members have resigned before the end of their terms. Remember these names?

Resigned – (11 House: 8D, 3R; 1 Senate: 2R)
House
Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif., 53, 5 terms
Geoff Davis, R-Ky., 54, 4 terms
Bob Filner, D-Calif., 70, 10 terms
Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., 42, 3 terms
Jane Harman, D-Calif., 67, 6 terms
Jay Inslee, D-Wash., 61, 8 terms
Jesse L. Jackson Jr., D-Ill., 47, 8 terms
Christopher Lee, R-N.Y., 48, 2 terms
Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., 47, 5 terms
Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., 48, 7 terms
David Wu, D-Ore., 57, 7 termsSenate
John Ensign, R-Nev., 54, 2 terms
Jim DeMint, R-S.C., 61, 2 terms

While several House members will be switching chambers on Thursday (Baldwin, Donnelly, Flake, Heinrich, Hirono, and C. Murphy), only one will be leaving for state office—Gov.-elect Mike Pence, Indiana.

Finally, Rep. Donald Payne and Sen. Daniel Inouye died before the end of this Congress.

As with many here, I’ve got a special place in my heart for North Carolina’s Rep. Brad Miller, who elected not to engage Rep. David Price in a bruising primary when his district had been destroyed by Republican gerrymandering. No member of Congress has been a truer friend to the Netroots, on policy issues and just … as a friend, coming to Netroots Nation year after year, and conferring with us is so many other ways. No one on the Hill understood housing and consumer banking issues better, and a Congress without Brad Miller will be a less interesting place. Here’s hoping Brad, and the other departing members, continue to find ways to serve their communities, and the public at large.

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November 22, 2012 · 12:43 PM

Thom Hartmann: Why it’s not crazy to think Anonymous stopped Karl Rove From Stealing the Election P2

This is the only political article that I’ll post today.   I believe it’s important to ponder the historical evidence of the contents of this video and draw your own conclusions.  I also believe it might be a good conversation piece around the dinner table today.

Once again, Happy Thanksgiving and I hope you enjoy learning the following information as much as I did…

Did Anonymous Save the Election from Karl Rove? (Part 1)

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November 18, 2012 · 2:04 AM

Anonymous claims it stopped Karl Rove from hacking the vote

Now before you say this is simply not possible, think about a few things:

Also, listen to Thom Hartmann explain:

H/t: Freak Out Nation

Daily Kos

The hacktivist group Anonymous is claiming credit for Mitt Romney’s loss, alleging that ORCA, Karl Rove’s GOTV ubercomputer, was actually a vote tabulation manipulation software.

We began following the digital traffic of one Karl Rove, a disrespecter of the Rule of Law, knowing that he claimed to be Kingmaker while grifting vast wealth from barons who gladly handed him gold to anoint another king while looking the other way.After a rather short time, we identified the digital structure of Karl’s operation and even that of his ORCA. This was an easy task in that barn doors were left open and his wind swept us inside.

Before the election Anonymous sent out a warning to Mr. Rove.  In my mind what I had imagined transpiring was that after the election, Anonymous would release two spreadsheets, the former being the precinct-correct tally, and the second being the post-manipulation tally.  An audit would discover that the “official” tally did not match the pre tabulation numbers, and to no one’s surprise the audit would reveal that the actual vote count matched the precinct-correct tally on Anonymous’ spreadsheet.

But that would have allowed the damage to be done, in order to catch the criminals.  Mitt Romney would have already been declared president, and it would take months of court proceedings to reverse the election, amid cries of “stealing the election!” from both sides.

Had it been effective, it would have ruined the Republican brand forever, or at least the next two years, whichever voters remember longer.  Given that they were so ready to forget the failures of George W. Bush, I don’t have faith in the permanence of that notion.

So the better route was to “close the barn doors” and prevent the manipulation from happening.

We coded and created, what we call The Great Oz. A targeted password protected firewall that we tested and refined over the past weeks. We placed this code on more than one of the digital tunnels and their destination that Karl’s not so smart worker bees planned to use on election night. We noticed that these tunnels were strategically placed to allow tunnel rats to race to the server sewers from three different states.  Ah yes, Karl tried to make it look like there were more than three but we quickly saw the folly of his ploy.

We watched as Karl’s weak corrupters repeatedly tried to penetrate The Great Oz.  These children of his were at a loss-how many times and how many passwords did they try-exactly 105.

The skeptics among us might be quick to dismiss this story, but I say not so fast.  We do know that Anonymous exists, and they have been adept at penetrating servers.  They have revealed gaping security holes, disabled websites in the name of a free and open internet, and even launched cyber attacks against the Pentagon. They stole NYPD surveillance video of OWS protesters. Though unconfirmed, they claim to have stolen one million Apple UDIDs from an FBI laptop.  There is no doubt that Anonymous, however ambiguous or loosely affiliated it may be, is real. And frankly they have proven themselves to be less bullshit prone than our politicians and broadcast media outlets.

Do you remember the hubris with which Karl Rove entered the election? How he was devastated and apoplectic at the Fox News brain trust for having called Ohio for Obama?  Mitt Romney didn’t even have a concession speech prepared, and while it’s easy to chalk that up to yet another inept step in his stumbling campaign, it’s easier to believe that it was a concrete example of his entitlement in action.

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November 8, 2012 · 1:17 PM

DEATH OF A SALESMAN

The Huffington Post

Karl Rove, American Crossroads Desperately Try To Explain How They Blew $300 Million On A Losing Campaign

No one lost as much on election night as Karl Rove.

Although he wasn’t running for office, his Crossroads organizations spent more than$300 million on Republican candidates in the 2012 election, with some of the biggest spenders in the conservative movement putting their hopes — and dollars — in the care of Rove. Combined, his groups were the largest single outside force of the 2012 election.

The results were bleak. According to the Sunlight Foundation, American Crossroads, Rove’s super PAC, saw just a 1 percent return on its investments. Crossroads GPS, the political nonprofit arm, saw a 14 percent return.

Rove remained in denial about GOP misfortunes on election night. Even after the networks had called Ohio for President Barack Obama, Rove continued to insist onFox News that Republicans could win the state.

Rove was back on Fox News Wednesday morning after his election night meltdown. He didn’t address his reaction to the Ohio call or Crossroads’ failures but instead argued that Republicans need to do a better job in reaching out to the Latino community.

“Obama kept the coalition that he had in 2008, only it was a little bit smaller,” he said. “This will be the first president reelected sent to second term with a smaller percentage of the vote than he got the first term. In fact, there are only two states — two states in the union — where he got a higher percentage of the vote this time around than he got the first time. One is Mississippi, by one quarter of 1 percent, and Hawaii by less than one fifth of 1 percent. Otherwise, he basically held together that coalition, which means if we’re going to win in the future, Republicans need to do better among Latinos and they need to do better among women — particularly single women.”

Continue reading here…

 

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November 6, 2012 · 8:04 AM

GOP Senate candidate’s in-laws take out ad ripping his anti-gay positions

Ohio Republican candidate Josh Mandel

This is different.  I’ve watched this guy on TV and he reminds me of a robot who spouts what he has been programmed say and nothing more…

The Raw Story

With days to go before the 2012 elections, Ohio Senate hopeful Josh Mandel is taking heat from an unexpected source: his in-laws.

On Monday, Mandel’s wife’s cousins took out an ad in the Cleveland Jewish News blasting Mandel for his anti-gay policies. Nine cousins signed the open letter, including members of the Ratner family, a prominent Jewish family in Cleveland that Mandel married into, according to Salon.

In the letter, Mandel’s relatives criticize his opposition to same-sex marriage and his stated belief that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the military policy overturned by Obama that prevented gays from serving openly in the military, should be reinstated. On both points, the letter turns personal, noting how Mandel’s anti-gay policies would directly affect members of his family.

“Your cousins, Ellen Ratner and Cholene Espinoza, are among the many wonderful couples whose rights you do not recognize,” the letter reads. “Their wedding, like yours, was a beautiful and happy occasion for all of us in our family. It hurts us that you would embrace discrimination against them and countless other loving couples in Ohio and around the country.

”

Mandel, the state Treasurer in Ohio, is running to unseat Sherrod Brown (D) in a high-profile race. Republicans had viewed Brown as highly vulnerable heading into the election cycle, though polls have consistently showed Brown posting strong leads over his rival.

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November 4, 2012 · 1:42 PM

Cantor won’t defend Romney’s deceptive Jeep ad

MSNBC

Rep. Eric Cantor certainly isn’t rushing to defend Mitt Romney’s infamous and misleading Jeep attack ad.

The Virginia lawmaker and House GOP number 2 said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press that he’d “not seen the ad,” which has been running in Ohio and which drew a sharp rebuke from the CEO of Chrysler for its false suggestion that the company is shipping American jobs to China.

“I think the point of that ad is that we need a president who is actually going to focus on increasing the competitiveness of America,” Cantor said.

But asked directly by host David Gregory whether he thought the ad was “deceptive,” Cantor was evasive. “I’ve not seen the ad, I’ve just heard it now,” he said. “Apparently they’re not running it in Virginia.”

Cantor’s comments were quickly tweeted out by Obama campaign press secretary Lis Smith, who noted:

Even @EricCantor passes on defending @MittRomney’s deceptive auto ads.

In one version of the ad, an announcer declares:

Barack Obama says he saved the auto industry. But for who? Ohio or China? There now comes word that Chrysler plans to start making Jeeps in – you guessed it – China. Mitt Romney. He’ll stand up for the auto industry. In Ohio, not China.

In fact, Chrysler is mulling opening a production plant in China to serve the Chinese market. American jobs would not be affected, as the company’s CEO Sergio Marchionne made clear this week in an unusual note to employees.

The Obama campaign has hit also hit back hard, releasing its own ad calling the Romney charge “dishonest.” And even Fox News’s Chris Wallace on Sunday called the ad “misleading.”

Still, another Romney surrogate took a different approach from Cantor.  Asked Sunday by Candy Crowley of CNN why the Romney campaign had not taken the ad down, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio declared: ”the ad is accurate.”

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