August 8th

August 8th

If you’re reading this blog, I’m sure you are well aware of the upcoming August 8th special election in Ohio where residents will vote on Issue 1. It’s the ultimate goal of the Ohio GOP to turn Ohio into the Alabama of the north, voters be damned. The gist of this special election is this: the Ohio Republican Party wants to make it so in order to amend the state’s constitution via the “initiative” method, the initiative must receive 60% of the vote by Ohio residents. The 60% threshold is a very intentional number because other Republican leaning states have successfully passed liberal minded ballot initiatives using the 51% method which is currently how Ohio operates. This power-grab by Republicans is primarily about abortion, but also about marijuana legalization and raising the state’s pitiful $10.10 minimum wage.

 Abortion

In August of 2022, voters in Kansas rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have effectively banned all abortions in the state. The measure was defeated by a margin of 59% to 41%. This resounding defeat of the Pro-Life agenda caught the attention of Democrats in red-leaning states. The Ohio Democratic Party led the effort to enshrine abortion into Ohio’s state constitution and the weirdos over at the Ohio Republican Party are livid. Let’s check in on State Representative Brian Stewart, a man who somehow got elected to Ohio’s House of Representatives, despite having the personality and charisma of a wet dish cloth.

You’ll be hard pressed to find a bigger Republican cry baby on Twitter. Despite the fact that he gets ratio’d every single time he tweets, the man just keeps tweeting through the pain. His logic here is comically bad because he’s essentially arguing that Democrats should support this amendment to protect themselves from radical right-wing agendas. But in Ohio, our state became extremely gerrymandered beginning in 2010 once Republicans saw the Obama wave in 2008. Ohioans voting for a black man for president broke the brains of the leaders at the Ohio GOP. Of course, many of the Republicans in urban and suburban areas (like our dear old friend Steve Chabot) had to take 2 years off from Congress because the massive Democratic wave left some of these Republicans out of jobs. So, the Republicans at the State House gerrymandered everything they possibly could and never looked back. Rep. Stewart’s argument is just gaslighting and here’s why: Republicans would never need to put anything through via the initiative process because they have a super-majority in both the State Senate and State House. Hence, why the only option Democrats have to create any sort of meaningful change in this state is through the initiative process. The radical Republican agenda is already here and their agenda is being pumped out via our State Legislature and all the wonderful lobbyist that operate up in Columbus.

And here’s what really drives me crazy about the majority of politicians, both Democrat and Republican, I’ve met over the years. Many of them view politics as a “game,” a word Rep. Stewart used in his tweet. The entire political system is a game of power and influence to many of our elected officials and that’s all it boils down to. A broken system of “group think” and power grabs by very underwhelming people. Believe me when I tell you this, there are plenty of politicians who I’ve met and worked with that are not impressive people. They’ve essentially gotten to their positions of power through bullying and having wealth; not because they possess any good or intellectual qualities. Rep. Stewart is a prime example of that, along with so many others operating within Ohio’s Legislature. Looking at governing as a game doesn’t actually lead to any meaningful change for everyday citizens and it just kicks the status quo can down the road. At its worst, the elected officials who view governing as a game fail to see that their actions actually negatively affect people’s lives. At its best, this line of thinking neglects pushing forth any sort of meaningful positive change for everyday citizens of this state.

Marijuana

Mike DeWine, Ohio’s 76-year-old Governor, has come out repeatedly against legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes. Despite all of the financial windfalls that accompany marijuana legalization, DeWine thinks legalizing marijuana would create “additional problems” for Ohioans such a driving under the influence. Until DeWine exits the governorship, Ohio has no real chance of passing recreational marijuana legalization. Hence why there is a ballot initiative that will most likely be appearing on our ballots in November 2023 to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes.  Again, we currently would only need 51% of voters to approve of this constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana. However, if the Ohio GOP gets their way on August 8th, that threshold would increase to 60%. Some have told me they don’t think Ohioans are ready to legalize marijuana. The state has been trending red since 2016 and has never historically been a hotbed of liberal ideas. However, what gives me hope is that 15 states have legalized recreational marijuana use via the initiative or referral process. Even historically conservative states like Alaska, Arizona and Missouri have all approved marijuana legalization when they put it to a vote by their citizens. Missouri and Alaska passed it with 53% support while Arizona, a state that has been trending blue in recent years, passed it with 60% voter approval. Ohio tried this once before in 2015, but the bill was characterized as a “monopoly” for wealthy people like Oscar Robertson and Nick Lachey. It’s been 8 years and I’d like to think this new initiative is better crafted and Ohioan’s have become more comfortable with marijuana due to the massive amounts of tax revenue that can be generated from it. States like Colorado are using tax revenue from marijuana sales to help their residents pay for college. Unrelated to marijuana, Minnesota also just passed a bill out of their state legislature to provide free college tuition at public universities for anyone whose family earns less than $80,000 annually. While other state’s make their communities more livable and attractive, Ohio remains stagnant. These are the types of ideas that are driving people out of Ohio while also causing people to not have any interest in moving here. Our state government has made Ohio extremely unattractive to both residents and potential residents alike. The only way to reduce the state legislature’s negative impact is via the initiative process.

Minimum Wage

It’s been almost two years since I wrote a blog post, so forgive me for this post being lengthy. But if you’re still with me, I appreciate it. The last pillar the Ohio Republican Party wants to stop is raising Ohio’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. The Ohio Chamber of Commerce, some bizarre collection of out of touch business lobbyists, support Issue 1 because they do not believe workers deserve to be paid a livable wage. As we are all aware, inflation is through the roof and a $15 minimum wage would help working class people immensely. I would even argue $15 an hour isn’t good enough. In 2006 when I was 16, I started out working in the fast-food industry where I made $5.15 an hour ($7.90 in 2023 money). Many Republicans will tell you these types of jobs are intended for young people but that is a total lie. Minors and college aged students can typically only work during non-school hours (evenings and weekends) which leaves working class adults to run and manage these places most of the time. Paying someone $10.10 an hour in 2023 is an absolute joke and some business leaders actually came out against Issue 1. They know that Issue 1 will inhibit growth in the state and continue down the path of population loss or stagnant population growth. So, with all of that being said, plan on voting on August 8th because it is essential in stopping our state’s backslide that we’ve witnessed since 2010. The Republicans in the state legislature hate the fact that citizens have the ability to override them and Issue 1 is nothing more than an attempt to curtail democracy in our state and keep the power in the hands of religious and corporate lobbyists who operate at our state’s legislature.