Ohio Republicans accuse Obama of ‘strangling’ economic policies

Hours before President Obama was scheduled to visit a federally funded jobs-training program in Ohio, Republicans argued Wednesday morning that his policies are “strangling” the state’s economy and have cost Ohioans tens of thousands of jobs since he took office.

“We’ve had economic slowdowns before in the past. This has been different in that we’ve seen wholesale reductions in manufacturing, the loss of automotive manufacturing in the Dayton, Ohio, area that this president has no policies or plans to try to replace,” Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio) told reporters on a conference call.

But federal labor statistics show that the state’s unemployment – 7.6% in February – is lower now than when Obama took office, when it was 8.6%. The state’s Republican governor on Wednesday morning pointed to the state’s recovery on Twitter.

“POTUS’ 20th OH visit today,” Gov. John Kasich tweeted. “While the US lags, OH leads in new jobs. Please take our formula nationwide -- restrain spending & cut taxes.”

Obama will be visiting a federally funded training program at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio. The White House said such programs are threatened by a budget proposed by House Republicans.

The campaign of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney organized the conference call to argue that the former Massachusetts governor has the skills and understanding to speed the nation’s economic recovery.

“Gov. Romney brings to the table an understanding of how this economy works,” said former Ohio Atty. Gen. Betty Montgomery. “He believes in an opportunity society and, frankly, as I’ve watched President Obama, his response seems to be, his world view is that he wants a government-first society -- one that solutions to our economic problem is we go to government first rather than allow our free market to work as well as it has worked over the last several hundred years.”

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Original source: Ohio Republicans accuse Obama of ‘strangling’ economic policies