Something Has Got to Give

by Bill O'Neill

I couldn’t be more pleased with how our event at the pumps went yesterday. It was extremely well received by everyone I talked to: from teenagers to seniors, from hardworking moms and dads to retired veterans. I was moved by the sense of resolve I saw in the eyes of the people I talked to as they put their hard earned dollars into another $75 tank of gas. Something has got to give.

People are smart. They know that giving them back $1.13, while a welcome discount off a tank of gas, was not the whole message we were sending yesterday. What voters saw was a candidate for Congress who will stand up for their interests, not the special interests in Washington. Unlike my opponent who has funded his campaigns with their help for a decade, I have never taken a dime from Big Oil and Big Energy.

Now my opponent has already shot back, disputing the amount of money OpenSecrets.org reports that he has taken from Big Oil and Big Energy,while admitting he actually gets a whole lot more from other special interests.

I guess it’s this simple: There is one person in this race who takes thousands upon thousands of campaign contributions from Big Oil, and one who will never take a dime.

It comes down to whose side you’re on.

And my opponent has been very clear about whose side he’s on. He wants to use the same-old playbook and look for new places the oil companies can drill. I think it’s time we invested in new ideas. In Northeast Ohio we have enormous potential to make these critical investments – from wind, solar and geothermal energy to non-food-based ethanol to light rail.

My opponent had the opportunity to take back the tax breaks for Big Oil and invest them in alternative energy right here in Northeast Ohio. He said no.

I say that these are not just energy solutions; these are job solutions. Yesterday, we sent a message loud and clear: Send me to Congress, and there will never be any question about whose side Bill O’Neill is on.