In case you missed it, Senator Rob Portman appeared on Spectrum News 1, where he expressed disappointment over Republicans in Congress and the U.S. Senate primary for opposing his targeted infrastructure bill on a purely political basis.
When asked by Spectrum News 1’s Taylor Popielarz why he thinks so many Republicans, including those in the Senate primary, are criticizing his targeted infrastructure bill, Portman perfectly summed up the dynamics of the U.S. Senate race in Ohio.
“Well, you have to ask them – I don’t speak for them. But I do think that the politics these days tends to overshadow the substance. And when you look at the substance of the legislation, it’s not only great for Ohio and great for the country’s economy, it shows that on a bipartisan basis we can get things done that actually help the people we represent. So, if you’re in Ohio sitting in a traffic jam in Columbus or can’t get over the bridge in Cincinnati or find that a bunch of the rail cars up in Cleveland are off track because they need maintenance and don’t have the money for it, you understand what this is about. If you are in Southeast Ohio and you can’t get Internet, and certainly not high-speed internet, and you can’t start a business, you can’t do your telehealth, you can’t do your telelearning, you know what this is about. If you are up in the Lake Erie area and you’re worried about the harmful algal blooms and the warming the water and the rising lake level, because we address those issues and natural disasters, you know what this is about. So, it’s about people. It’s about helping people and, unfortunately some have decided on a political basis that they can’t support it, but they’re not talking about the substance.”
-U.S. Senator Rob Portman, October 5, 2021
According to The Cleveland Plain Dealer, “the leading candidates in Ohio’s Republican U.S. Senate primary…all issued statements trashing the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill that Portman spent months negotiating and which passed the Senate earlier in the day in a 69-30 vote, including support from 19 Republicans.”
Matt Dolan is the only Republican to come out in support of Senator Portman’s targeted infrastructure bill. Shortly after announcing his campaign for U.S. Senate, Dolan echoed Portman’s sentiment on those playing politics with such an important package that would clearly generate Ohio jobs and commonsense investments to modernize local roads, bridges, broadband, ports and energy infrastructure.
Dolan’s support of Portman’s infrastructure plan earned him praise by The Cleveland Plain DealerEditorial Board. Just hours after he announced hid candidacy for U.S. Senate, the editorial board explained, “more than a month ago, Dolan was already calling out the five leading GOP Senate candidates for letting down Ohioans through their unreasoning opposition to a bipartisan infrastructure deal that Ohio so clearly needs.”
Learn more about Dolan’s campaign for U.S. Senate at www.dolanforohio.com.
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