Voinovich, Modell in spat over Browns departure

[Algorem]

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15973365&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6

JEFF SCHUDEL, Morning Journal Writer

01/21/2006


...For years, Modell has said he was encouraged by a ''high-ranking'' political figure to move the team, but he always refused to name the official, saying he wanted to remain friends with him. During the Trivisonno interview, Modell indirectly named that official as Sen. George Voinovich, who in 1995 was the Ohio governor, by referring to ''Janet,'' the name of Voinovich's wife...

Modell's remarks on WTAM drew a heated response from Voinovich. He called WTAM later Thursday and said Modell is trying to ''rewrite history.''

''Modell was a liar then, and he's a liar now,'' Voinovich said. ''The thing that bothers me is, all during the time we were talking back and forth, he had already cut a deal to take the team to Baltimore.

''If you want to know a reason why a lot of the businesspeople in (Cleveland) have nothing more to do with Art Modell and why he's not welcome here it's because he wasn't forthright and honest with us.''...("us".He's been a Republican politician forever but he refers to himself as a 'businessperson'.Now THAT is a slip.What was in it for Ohio Governor Voinovich to convince Modell to move his Ohio business to another state?Bribed by Baltimore 'businesspeople'?)

[Captain Hilts]

1. The whole thing was blasphemous right up to the deal MD gave Modell.

It's a beautiful, taxpayer-paid stadium that is used about 12 times a year.

The ultimate welfare for the wealthy.

[rodeodance]

2. OHIO--it keeps popping up and up

[Algorem]

3. & they ended up doing same thing,building stadium,here.Doubled the $$$

for them all I guess.

[WCGreen]

4. Voinovich was the business community in Cleveland...

He was Mayor when the Indians were getting ready to move... He was also hand picked by the Business folks to be mayor so that he could shovel as much tax payer money as possible away from the poor city dwellers and into the pockets of the rich white suburbanites....

He is a pig...

Always will be a pig...


Another big recipient of Modells cash was Bob Taft... When Taft first ran for Gov, I discovered that he had taken big bucks from Modell.... I approached the Fisher campaign for gov with an idea... I wanted to print up Baltimore Ravens schedules and on the back put Taft an Modell's pics pass them out at Indian games... But guess what... The Fisher folks thought it was too nasty....

Who has been sitting in the Gov chair for the last 7 plus years.....

Is it any wonder the Dem's have been in the wilderness for so long here in Ohio....

[Algorem]

5. reminded me of GD post-"dems have virtually NO attack machinery, why

not?"

[Captain Hilts]

7. Hagen seemed like a good guy, why didn't he do better? nt

[WCGreen]

8. He's the county commissioner....

I ran against him in a primary for a congressional seat back in 1992...

He is a good guy....

[Doremus]

6. Voinovich's brother is a non-union real estate developer multi-millionaire

I listened to the interview and the way Modell slipped, it was obviously genuine.

Which means Voinovich is lying through his teeth. Whatta surprise.

Now why would a governor tell an NFL owner to take his team OUT of the state?

He probably had multiple objectives. 1) It would reflect badly on the Democratic Cleveland mayor, who was working feverishly to keep the team in town, 2) It freed up potential opportunities for more 'friendly' investors (i.e. more generous donors).

So long as Modell stayed quiet, Voinovich could play the heroic, tireless public servant working to fix what local Democratic leadership had screwed up.

He's a duplicitous scoundrel who lies with the same ease and has the same motives as all neocons: MONEY AND POWER. And don't you forget it.