Rooster in Review: It ain't lookin' good for Issue 1

Nothing is for certain, but all signs are pointing towards a Republican loss on the issue.

A few weeks ago, I would have put the passage of Issue 1 at a 50/50 chance, which is about as good an environment as can be expected in a state that would probably elect Ronald Reagan’s corpse to the presidency by eight points if given the chance.

But recently, I’ve grown more confident in its failure.

There is certainly no guarantee that Issue 1 will go down in flames in an election that will be lucky to generate a 15 percent turnout among voters. I admit that much.

But it’s not just left-leaning voters saying Issue 1 will likely fail, that is unless you consider Ohio Chamber of Commerce president Steve Stivers to be a Marxist.

From Brent Larkin of cleveland.com:

Stivers also said he told members, “This thing is more likely to fail than pass.” In other words, “Ignore the good government lipstick. This thing’s a pig.”

And yes, state legislature hobgoblins are holding events featuring 10-20 grandparents who will certainly vote, but behind the scenes, even Republican strategists admit it’s a losing issue if argued on the facts.

From Andrew J. Tobias of cleveland.com:

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The campaign working to pass State Issue 1 summoned a group of high-end Columbus lobbyists on Wednesday to lay out their strategy for the upcoming ballot measure that will be decided in August.

Their plan? Avoid directly describing how the measure’s passage likely would tank an expected abortion-rights ballot issue in November that prompted Republican lawmakers to fast-track the measure in the first place.

“You don’t say abortion. You don’t say 60%. You don’t bring up social issues that divide even Republicans. The focus will be on protecting the constitution from special interests,” said one person with knowledge of the event, describing the presentation.

Arkansas, never confused as a communist utopia, rejected a similar threshold question last November.

Issue 1 will undoubtedly be supported by Republican officials and operatives. But unfortunately for them, they don’t control the hog voters in their party.

Ohio voters easily passed a Constitutional Amendment that would theoretically have banned gerrymandering, which went against Republican interests. The Republican Party also had to make Supreme Court races partisan because their voters kept sending Democrats to the Supreme Court due to their candidates not having the beloved (R) next to their names.

GOP hog voters, for better or worse, don’t take their marching orders from the types of Republicans that are pushing Issue 1. When you throw them into the mix with Democrats and Independents, well, you start to wonder if it’s Republican operatives that will be living in a bubble.

The Center of Christian Virtue and Ohio Right to Life aren’t used to campaigning. They are used to snapping their fingers and seeing the gerrymandered State Legislature bend to their will.

They know their views on abortion are wildly out of sync even in a red state like Ohio, which is why they’re doing their damnedest to make this election about nonsensical notions like “parental rights” and “protecting the Second Amendment”—as if a state that elected Donald Trump twice will start voting like California Democrats overnight.

Maybe I’m wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time. But from my admittedly biased viewpoint, the case for Issue 1 going down in flames is much stronger than it sailing to passage.

Ohio is a red state, but power grabs by coat-rack politicians like Frank LaRose are still wildly unpopular.

This week in Ohio Man…

Florida is known as the Europe of Ohio. And for good reason, we Ohioans tend to treat it as an international land of mystery where normal rules don’t apply to us.

But they do apply to us. And Shawn Levan became the latest Ohio man to find that out the hard way.

From Nicole Linsalata of wsvn.com:

FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - An Ohio man was charged with battery and was escorted off a flight at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport.

Shawn Levan, 48, was accused of being a problem passenger on a United Airlines flight to South Florida.

He was charged with two counts of simple battery, given a $1,000 bond and is not allowed to travel on any flight until a court order.

On Tuesday, Levan paid his bond and was released from jail

According to the report, Levan grabbed another passenger’s leg and “refused to let go.”

Listen, folks, if you’re going to get added to TSA’s no-fly list for the rest of your life, do something worthy of getting banned instead of grabbing someone’s leg because you were (likely) intoxicated off your ass and didn’t want your vacation to end.

Other people forget. TSA does not. And being on the no-fly list can fuck up your life in ways you wouldn’t imagine.

This week in The Rooster…

• The case for voting harder one more time. Please vote against Issue 1; it’s easily the most important vote we’ll have in Ohio in a long, long time. This dispatch is free for all.

• Never apologize, never resign. State Rep. Bob Young (R-Green) is the latest politician to take a page out of Donald Trump’s notebook.

• The zealot never sleeps. After securing universal school choice vouchers, State Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima), a domestic terrorist, is already scheming on ways to siphon more public money to private schools.

As always, be sure to follow The Rooster on Twitter and TikTok.

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