Candidate for 17th Congressional District......Dan Moadus

[Dan Moadus]

I would abolish the Federal Department of Education, take their entire budget and add it to the current federal spending on education then simply send it to the states and allow them to use it as they see fit.  BTW, it was nice to meet you in person tonight. 

[irishbobcat]

 Dan......seriously, how would you adequately fund education IF IT WERE a federal responsibility??? 

[Dan Moadus]

Primary funding for education in Ohio is a state issue. You might check with JD Williams or Sean O'brien.

[iwasthere]

what is your formula to establish a concise and clear model on your education platform concerning fair and equal funding of education for ohioans?

[Dan Moadus]

If the editors of both the Vindicator and the Tribune ever wonder about why newspaper readership is in decline, and why people are turning to other sources for news and opinion, they needn't look any further than their respective organizations.

As a long time area politician who has run in eleven elections (not fifteen as mistakenly claimed by David Skolnic), I have been both endorsed and passed over by both papers. Possessing nothing more than "standard issue sensitivities", I of course marveled at their insight when endorsed and was appalled at their lack of judgment when passed over, so perhaps the criticism I am about to offer will be just viewed as sour grapes. So be it.

What can not be glossed over however is the fact that both papers displayed a level of parochialism that one would not expect from people who expect their customers (readers) to accept their viewpoints on important national issues. Both papers in the past have railed against "pork" and "earmarks", but issued their endorsements based on how much money Tim Ryan has brought to the district.

After years of writing editorials elevating reckless government spending almost to the level of crime, the vindicator incredibly says that they endorse Ryan without reservation because, "His fingerprints are on just about every project in the 17th District." They omitted the word "spending" before project.

And the Tribune actually had the nerve to endorse Ryan after saying this. "His damaging votes on such important national issues such as the bank bailouts, Cap and Trade, Health care, and the so called Employee Free Choice Act, are out of touch with his constituents, and not in the national interest."

You can draw your own conclusion, but I think the editorial boards of both papers are cowards. They give the appearance that they are endorsing Tim Ryan because they think he will win, and they don't want to risk having less access after the election.

[Dan Moadus]

Actually, I'm kind of stunned that anyone would be stunned at my comment. What good is the department of education?  Why on Earth do we tolerate bureaucrats from Washington telling us how to educate our children?  How would I fund education you ask? How do you fund it now? We could use the same money were using now, and more. After abolishing the Department we could use the money that we are now "wasting" on it.

[iwasthere]

Hey "Iwasthere", youwerethere?

dm iwasthere was in attendance. rr and i were sitting next to each other eating a pizza pie together.  the audience was stunned that you wanted to to eliminate the dept of education thus putting the state's responsibility to provide education to its residents. dm you were unclear with your plans with paying for education in this country. you and all candidates must be clear on your plans with our social woes without being vague. i will see you next monday for the debate at union bapist church. rr and sarge should attend to give you moral support. Elaine would hold her own with the tea baggers at their event.

[Dan Moadus]

It was reported today that General Motors has paid back the $6.7 billion loan given to it by our government, and will pay back the $43 billion balance later this year with a public stock offering. My question is. What will be done with this money? There was never an announcement about any spending being cut to provide the money when it was given to GM, and we know that the country finished last year with a big deficit, so there wasn't any extra money available. The money that was used to bail out the auto company was either printed, or borrowed. Shouldn't it be destroyed if it was printed, or paid back to the lender if borrowed?

[ytowner]

Great read from Robert Henricksen over on MVRed.com:
http://mvred.com/index.php/archives/local/280-coming-together

[Dan Moadus]

Hey "Iwasthere", youwerethere?

[Dan Moadus]

No surprise there. I didn't say I "won" the crowd. Far from it. My comments elicited plenty of moans. Probably would have been "boos" had the good folks there not have been so polite.

I knew going in that my views would not be well recieved. It was a "progressive" crowd. I do believe though, that I did far better than Ryan or Elaine would have done at a Tea Party event.

[iwasthere]

Where were you hiding Dennis? Because you sure didn't have the nerve to say that to my face. I think it was Ryan who was bleeding from both eyes. It was taped Dennis, but I'll bet no one will dare let it be shown.

dan, yes, ryan was bleeding from both eyes but you are not responsible for his bloodshot eyes. elaine was the one making ryan look like a professional politician. if you do remember the applause was the loudest from crowd when elaine was finished speaking. the applause was mute for you and ryan. i would suggest to the bloggers on this blog to watch the entire evening on www.whatshappening.com.

[Dan Moadus]

Like I said Dennis, the forum was taped. So why don't you see if you can have it put on Youtube so everyone can see for themselves. But you won't; and you can be sure that Ryan won't, and you know why, don't you?

Cutting the perks, retirement, and pay of Congress would be just fine with me, but people who make statements like that just show how little comprehension they have of the scope of the problem with the federal government. You could reduce the salaries of all 535 legislators to zero and it wouldn't have much of an impact because the government still employs over 2,000,000 others, not counting the military.

I'll relate the illustration I gave to the assembly last night to give a better idea of just how out of control our government is.
I told them that if you could have stood on a cliff on the day Jesus was born, and threw a twenty dollar bill over the edge every second from that day until today; you would still have another 500 years before you threw the $1.6 trillion dollars deficit our country is projecting for just this year. Keep in mind now, that isn't how much money they will spend this year. That is how much more they will spend than they take in.

Hey Dennis, how'd you like it when they asked me if I would cut Medicare, and I pointed to Ryan and said, "He already did!" In the so called Health Care Reform bill.

Yes Dennis, a good time was had by all. Well, maybe not Ryan.

[irishbobcat]

You mentioned cutting the dept. of education and energy, but I never heard you mention cutting the salary of members of congress or cutting
members health care or pension....I guess you want those perks and pork.....

Please Dan, Ryan made you look like an out-of-touch tea party fanatic.....

[Dan Moadus]

Where were you hiding Dennis? Because you sure didn't have the nerve to say that to my face. I think it was Ryan who was bleeding from both eyes. It was taped Dennis, but I'll bet no one will dare let it be shown.