The case for voting harder one more time

And the gossip surrounding the downfall of Rep. Bob Young!

One of my most liberal-coded behaviors is that I vote in every election, which is ironic considering I’ve been disenfranchised at the federal and state levels by the Republican junta that runs Ohio but also at the local level by the well-oiled political machine that is the Franklin County Democratic Party.

That means my vote is effectively worthless most of the time unless it involves a judgeship in a local election. Still, I believe in the ethos of “never logging off,” and that trickles down to me showing up to my precinct, punching a couple of boxes and writing in candidates like “Senator Meow” for mayor.

I don’t shame anyone for not voting. I disagree with the tactic, but I understand it.

Voting every couple of years should be the least effective tool of resistance against the powerful interests that have corrupted our government. It’s a politician’s job to inspire you to vote, and lord knows it gets tiring being told to vote “because elections have consequences” only for a Marxist Muslim like Obama to turn into George W. Bush when he had a supermajority in both chambers of the legislature.

From David Alexander of reuters.com in April 2009:

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he favored abortion rights for women but that passing a law guaranteeing those rights was not his top priority, trying to avoid inflaming divisions over the issue.

“I believe that women should have the right to choose,” Obama told a news conference marking his first 100 days in office. “But I think that the most important thing we can do to tamp down some of the anger surrounding this issue is to focus on those areas that we can agree on.”

Noting that the number of U.S. teen pregnancies had begun to spike upward after a decline, Obama said he had started a task force within his Domestic Policy Council that is working with groups both supporting abortion rights and opposing abortion to seek a consensus on how to deal with the issue.

Classic Obungler! Trying to negotiate and make peace with people that hate him and equate abortion with murder as if their furor over the issue would ever dissipate. He couldn’t even say the word abortion, instead opting for the Democratic consultant parlance of a “woman’s right to choose,” which furthers the stigmatization of a simple medical procedure.

Nobody reading the most demented political newsletter in Ohio needs a history lesson on what happened next.

But the same thing happened under Biden. Improbably, Democrats retook the Senate. They still couldn’t pass any of the sweeping, big-idea legislation we needed because two centrist Senators, a coal baron like Joe Manchin and a socially stunted troll like Kyrsten Sinema, enjoy the attention and money from fossil fuel industries and private equity gremlins.

Their wealth and social status will insulate them and their loved ones from the ramifications of their policy decisions. It sucks! And it makes it understandable when working-class people check out of the system entirely since they feel like their voice no longer matters.

Who wants to come home from a job where they’re overworked and underpaid and get mad about politics? It’s a losing proposition, and I say that as somebody who has professionalized his mental illness.

But all of that defeatism needs to go out of the window to defeat Issue 1. I will be badgering my non-political friends just the same as those that have checked out of electoral politics as an agent for addressing the needs of the working class. I advise anyone reading this far to do the same.

If you care about things like abortion rights, legal marijuana, a $15 minimum wage or even the holy grail of ending gerrymandering in Ohio, then you have to vote against Issue 1 on August 8th.

Because yes, all of those things could theoretically still pass in Ohio with 60% of the vote. That’s how unpopular the conservative agenda is. But Issue 1 would also change the signature requirements to place initiatives and Constitutional Amendments on the ballot, requiring them to come from all 88 counties in a way that only massively monied campaigns could buy.

And because this is an August Special Election, low turnout is almost guaranteed. Given the money both sides are sinking into this election, your vote will never matter more in the scheme of things than it will on August 8th or early voting, which starts tomorrow.

Again, if you’re reading this far, you know how the Ohio Republican Party has leveraged its power over the years that culminated with them shitting on a Constitutional Amendment against gerrymandering because there was no enforcement mechanism written into the law.

State Senate President Matt Huffman openly bragged about Republican power in a glowing newspaper profile.

From Anna Starver of dispatch.com in May 2022 (emphasis mine):

There are eight Democratic and 25 Republican state senators. That's a supermajority, and the same dynamic exists in the Ohio House where the divide is 64 to 35. 

"We can kind of do what we want," Huffman said.  

And while he listens to his caucus on most bills, the Senate president has the final word on what happens with priority issues like abortion. 

Huffman was "steeped in the pro-life" culture growing up. 

We can’t beat Huffman at the ballot box. Voters in Lima clearly can’t get enough of the guy since he’s already lining up a return to the House and attempt to take the Speaker’s gavel from Rep. Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill). We can’t do anything in that battle, either.

But we have the chance, for the first time in a while, to defeat an obvious Republican power grab at the polls. And when we do that, we can enshrine abortion rights into the Constitution and make Huffman have to live with that happening on his watch for the rest of his life.

Please vote against Issue 1, even if you haven’t voted in decades. I promise that your vote matters. Today is the deadline to register to vote or update your registration.

You can do that online with the Secretary of State. Early voting starts tomorrow.

The downfall of Rep. Bob Young (R-Green)

Sad news over the weekend as the “Days without an embarrassing scandal in the Ohio House Representatives” sign went back to zero.

From Doug Livingston of AkronBeaconJournal.com:

Young was charged in Barberton Municipal Court with two misdemeanor counts of first-degree domestic violence and a fourth-degree felony charge of disrupting public service at his home in Green.

The 42-year-old lawmaker appeared with his attorney in court Saturday. A $5,000 bond was set by Judge Todd McKenney. Young paid $520, or 10% plus fees, to secure his release.

A Summit County grand jury will determine whether to indict the two-term state representative on the felony disrupting public service charge, which stems from an alleged domestic violence incident at his home.

Words of wisdom to aspiring state legislators: It’s an easy way to lose your $68,000 salary to work 50 days a year when you commit several crimes after a fundraiser involving your boss, high-powered lobbyists and party policymakers like Rep. Young did:

According to two Statehouse sources granted anonymity for obvious reasons, Young got into a heated dispute with his brother about Speaker Stephen’s election over Rep. Derek Merrin (R-Monclova Twp.)

Young’s wife, whom he lists as “his high school sweetheart” in his official biography, intervened. Young slapped her for her troubles.

According to those sources and The Akron Beacon Journal, Young tossed his wife’s phone in the pool in front of partygoers, thus earning the M4 felony of disrupting public service.

Young fled the scene but returned to a relative’s house around 9 a.m. Friday, and assaulted his wife again before fleeing the scene. A well-known former prosecutor, who was in attendance at the fundraiser, had to talk Young into turning himself in.

Speaker Stephens, in a statement to the Akron Beacon Journal, claimed to have left the party before the domestic violence situation:

"I was disappointed and shocked to hear what allegedly transpired sometime after I had left the Young house," Stephens said of the allegations of domestic violence. "Although I believe that people are innocent until proven guilty, I asked Bob for his resignation as state representative so he can focus on his family at this time."

Whether he was there or not, other Republican power players witnessed the first assault. Hence Stephens asked for the resignation before it played out in court. Given that Young’s wife was granted a temporary protection order, she’s going through with the charges.

If Young indeed resigns, which he has yet to do, Stephens will assuredly look to appoint another loyalist to the seat to maintain his grip on power, with Senator Huffman’s return to the House looming over the entire chamber.

Either way, it’s a major black eye for Stephens that this all happened at what was supposed to be an event that solidified his hold on the House. Say what you want about Larry Householder, and I’ve said a lot, but he at least kept his underlings in line in front of the corporate lobbyists who actually run the Statehouse.

THOSE WMDs. Your car’s tires are swirling donuts of pollution… The perils and promise of penis-enlargement surgery… Video: Comedian Tom Segura on living next to Senator Ted Cruz… HGTV is making our homes boring and sad… The rich are crazier than you and me.