People in opposition of U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno’s campaign hold up signs as Moreno’s tour bus leaves the Allen County Republican Victory Center, 927 N. Cable Road, Lima, on Saturday.
Charlotte Caldwell | The Lima News
LIMA — U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno stopped at the Allen County Republican Victory Center on Saturday as part of his statewide bus tour called Defend America, discussing topics such as immigrants and inflation.
Joining Moreno was Morgan Ortagus, the founder of Polaris National Security and former State Department spokesperson; Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou and Ohio Auditor Keith Faber.
“We’re so lucky to have him,” Ortagus said about Moreno before he spoke. “I can’t wait to have him in the Senate because it’s going to be so crucial to enacting President Trump’s day one agenda to have a seat, which is blue, flip it red and have Bernie, somebody who understands national security, who understands our economy and who understands our southern border.”
Faber criticized incumbent U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown’s “progressive” views and how they don’t reflect what Ohio voters think.
“I’m not against somebody who has done diligent, long-term service if they’re still working for the people of Ohio. But I’m not sure Sherrod Brown represents Ohio very well. He would represent Massachusetts or California pretty well,” Faber said.
“As somebody from western Ohio, I can tell you I’ve seen Bernie Moreno more than I’ve seen a lot of leaders in my time in politics have ever come to western Ohio. He is no stranger. He understands our values, he understands our communities, he understands that the Second Amendment isn’t just a suggestion,” Faber continued.
Moreno first talked about the conditions in Venezuela and how that relates to the United States.
“The people who took over that country are filthy rich today. Now the ordinary people of Venezuela are destitutely poor. And that’s our direction that we’re going in now,” Moreno said.
On the topic of immigration, Moreno said, “We take better care of illegals in this country than our veterans” because “if you come into this country illegally, unlawfully, you get a check for $2,200 a month for nine months.” He also said these immigrants get “free phones, free clothes, free healthcare” and “zero deductible, zero copay if you’re an illegal. No appointment necessary, just walk right into the emergency room.”
Moreno said immigrants should adapt to the United States culture.
“You learn English and you assimilate. And you come to America, not to lower wages, not to take government benefits — shouldn’t even be allowed to take benefits of any kind for at least 10 years — and then we invite you. Period,” Moreno said.
“This idea that we even allow voting in a different language is insane,” Moreno said.
Another major topic was inflation.
“What’s caused these high prices? Government spending, and Sherrod Brown is a tie-breaking vote on many of these things. And didn’t get his way. If it were up to him, there would be even more government spending,” Moreno said.
Katie Froman, of Cincinnati, attended the event. She said she is registered as an independent.
“I really like him. I like what he stands for. I think his values are very Ohio values, like he has strong family values,” Froman said about Moreno.
“He’s talking about a lot of things that make a lot of sense,” she said. “He’s talking about the economy and everything and bringing inflation under control because that is a big issue within families. I’ve got a big family, and that’s a big concern for me is inflation.
“He’s aligned with Trump, and I think Trump’s positions make a lot of sense for the country going forward.”
“Those are my issues are the economy, war and abortion. I gotta go with these guys,” Froman said.
Throughout Moreno’s bus tour, protesters and United Auto Worker leaders have been following him on his stops with a Fat Cat inflatable, a symbol commonly used by workers to draw attention to greedy bosses, according to the Ohio Democratic Party.
Local United Auto Workers President Jeff Adams was part of the protest and said, “If he was really for the people, people wouldn’t have to sue him to get their overtime pay. I want to hear him talk about how he didn’t pay his employees overtime. How he sold the Chinese car when he said he didn’t sell it. If he didn’t pay his employees, how is he going to care about the American people.”
Adams said he thinks inflation stems more from corporate greed than government spending.
“What I want to hear him (Moreno) say, instead of the fear tactics, is how is he going to fix that inflation he’s talking about. What’s his plan? There is no plan, all his plan is is to talk bad about Sherrod, how Sherrod doesn’t do this or that,” Adams said.
George Jeffries, the chairperson of the United Auto Workers Lima Troy Area Community Action Program Council, also attended the protest and called inflation “greedflation” because “the companies are making record profits and handing big bonuses to their executives for it.”
As for the immigrant debate, Jeffries said, “The fact that they say illegal immigrants are voting, that doesn’t happen. Most of the voter fraud that’s happened in my lifetime has been elected party officials.
“An immigrant can’t afford to get caught and sent out of the country, they’re going to abide by the rules,” Jeffries said.
Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451.
