Front-line report: Ohio
Okay, I’m not really on the “front lines” of the political war being waged in Ohio; I live here but that doesn’t really place me especially close to the action, as the same war is being fought in states around the country.
Still, it’s worth posting a dispatch, given the latest activity. Right now, we have three big battles in progress, each over some sort of Republican “reform” which will conveniently have the entirely-unintended side effect of kneecapping the Ohio Democratic Party:
First, SB5, our local version of the public employee union-busting legislation introduced to such controversy in Wisconsin. This will be on the ballot in November, as Issue 2, and ad campaigns are already cranking up. Neither side is really endearing themselves to me, based on TV spots; the GOP campaign seems to consist of flimsy and vague “keep taxes low and Ohio economically competitive” selling points, while the Democrat/Union ads are unsurprisingly turning to images of cops, firefighters and nurses and warning that approval of 5/2 will “make it harder for them to do their jobs.” So it goes. I still hope to see this measure rejected, for a number of reasons, and this outcome seems relatively likely so far. Democrats and Union allies have produced an efficient, well-coordinated fightback on this measure, and right now I don’t see the GOP offering any kind of argument that will turn around public opinion in their favor.
But of course, the schemes of the Ohio GOP did not end with SB5, by any means. Perhaps taking a page from the Bush administration’s handbook, they have pursued a similar “shock and awe” strategy of one outrage after another after another. That strategy doesn’t seem to be working quite as well in this case, though, as thus far Ohio Democrats have blocked each new assault; the PD reports that HB 194 will also be subject to a ballot referendum, and in the meantime this “voter suppression” bill will be placed on hold. (more…)
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