How disgusting and vile are the charges from Sen. George Voinovich that Sen. Barack Obama is a “Socialist.” It tells me that Voinovich would be a staunch McCarthyism advocate if this were the 1950s. What's so ironic and laughable is the Voinovich record of being a Socialist mayor to the Rich of Cleveland. His record is replete with massive give-aways to Cleveland corporate interest. It isn’t for nothing that he once bragged to the New York Times that he loved “Fat Cats,” meaning wealthy corporate types. Voinovich said the other day, “He’s left of Teddy Kennedy. With all due respect the man is a Socialist.” He was speaking of Barack Obama. With very little respect, Sen. Voinovich, you have been the benefactor to just about every rich corporate moocher in Cleveland. Wasn’t it you as Mayor of Cleveland that gave Dick Jacobs access the 530-acres of Cleveland-owned land in Chagrin Highland? Wasn’t it you as Governor of Ohio that gave $138-million to give Jacobs’s Chagrin Highland total access to I-271? Wasn’t it your old law firm that was intimately involved in the Chagrin Highland robbery? Wasn’t it you as mayor who gave $3.5-million in a low-interest, 20 year loan to Jacobs at the Galleria? Wasn’t it you as mayor who gave $10-million to Jacobs in interest free loans and 20-year free taxes to Jacobs at the Marriott and Key Center buildings? What do you call these give-aways? I call them socialism for the rich. Wasn’t it you who gave the Ritz Carlton a 20-year tax free ride along with a $10 million no interest loans for 20 years? That was a gift to Sam Miller & the Ratners who also got tens of millions for Tower City from Voinovich. What do you call that? Capitalism? Wasn’t it you that supported the hundreds of millions of tax dollars that went into Gateway for Dick Jacobs and the billionaire Gund Brothers, George and Gordon? This is just off the top of my head. There were many other gifts you bestowed on your fellow elites during terms as mayor, governor and senator. Christ, Senator, do you have any honesty left? When President Ronald Reagan cutback on social programs, Mayor Voinovich as mayor decided he had to help poor people of Cleveland. Did he setup programs to give them money? Hell, no. Voinovich asked his city employees to bring in cans of food. You know, bring in cans of beans and corn. Before he distributed the closet full of goods he had gathered from his employees, did he immediately distribute the food to the poor? Hell, no. He called in every news source – TV, radio, newspapers – to City Hall, called in some religious leaders and held a press conference. He didn’t do that to say he was giving millions of dollars in tax money to his rich buddies. So, in essence, he used the poor to burnish his reputation as a “good guy.” What a phony. George loves to see himself as a selfless, God-fearing good man. He’s not. He’s a hypocrite as shown by his statement about Obama. A Republican stooge who is willing to sink low with a Rove-like attack. If there’s anyone who should be retired, Voinovich is the man