There’s a clear choice in the Senate race here in Ohio. I am running because I know we need a new direction. Ohio is suffering from record unemployment and continues to fall behind. Everything Washington is doing – from the higher taxes and more regulations to higher energy and health care costs and record deficits – makes it harder for Ohio to get on its feet.

My opponent, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, likes what he sees in Washington. He is in lock step with the Pelosi/Reid/Obama agenda and would be a reliable vote for policies that will dig an even deeper hole for Ohio. He was a champion for the $800 billion “stimulus” bill, and to hear him tell it, the Washington big government healthcare bill didn’t go far enough; he wanted a strong government option.

The choice is clear, and I hope you agree, it’s time for new leadership and new ideas to turn things around and chart a path to prosperity for Ohio and our nation. If elected to serve the people of Ohio, I will stand with the people of Ohio to oppose these wrong-headed policies, but also to advocate for common-sense policies to get Ohio back to work as we suffer through the worst economic recession since the Great Depression.

Lt. Gov. Fisher brings a failed record to the race. Since the Strickland-Fisher Administration took office in January 2007, and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher became Ohio’s Jobs Czar, Ohio has lost more than 430,000 jobs and our unemployment rate has more than doubled. Even for those who are working, paychecks are not stretching as far as they used to, and the value of homes and retirement accounts have declined, putting more pressure on working families.

As Ohio continues to fall behind the rest of the country, the policies and lack of leadership in
Washington and Columbus are making things worse. I have traveled to every corner of our state, meeting with workers and small business owners in all of Ohio’s 88 counties. Everywhere I go I meet Ohioans who are frustrated by the lack of focus on jobs by our elected officials and who are looking for a new direction and real leadership to help Ohio’s economy grow.

Our path forward starts by recognizing that the private sector, not government, creates jobs. As an example, since the government-focused stimulus was enacted more than a year ago, Ohio has lost nearly 200,000 private sector jobs while the government sector has grown.

Ohioans are hurting, and if elected, I will bring a laser-like focus on jobs and Ohio’s economy. I believe we are at a moment of truth for Ohio and that’s why I am running for the U.S. Senate. The fundamental question is whether we will leave to our kids and grandkids a better world, or whether we will continue to let Ohio fall behind? Will we continue to see businesses and young people leave our state or will we help develop solutions to renew our state and our country? Now is the time for bold action and decisions to turn things around.

Government does have a very important role to play: to create and foster an environment that leads to job creation and economic growth. Unfortunately, the policies and proposals coming out of Columbus and Washington right now have the exact opposite effect. Rather than unleash the private sector to encourage Ohioans to innovate and invest in new technologies and workers, government is instead saddling Ohio businesses with higher taxes, more burdensome regulations, and costly legislation. It goes without saying, the more costly it becomes to operate and grow a business here in Ohio, the more businesses we will see leaving the state and the more families we will see losing their jobs.

This does not have to be Ohio’s future. Let’s work together to chart a new course for Ohio families and businesses. Government must create the climate for success, rather than what we see now, which is government promoting irrational job-killing policies, more burdensome regulations and higher taxes.

It is possible to get things moving again, but it will require changing the way Columbus and Washington do business. Ohio needs and deserves effective new leadership to get our economy back on track during these tough times.

– In order to win I need your support. Please take a moment to Download my Plan to Create Ohio Jobs. Read it and let me know what you think; and send it to your friends and family.
– Visit RobPortman.com and sign up to get involved in the campaign.
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I know that working together we can create the environment for job growth again and put Ohio and America back on track for our children and grandchildren.