Small World Politics

Note: this essay was edited to correct that the marijuana initiative is a “statute” initiative rather than a Constitutional Amendment.

New Game

I have a new game.  I watch the political cable channels, and I do a countdown.  When I flip on MSNBC, how long does it take until they are talking about Donald Trump?  Then, very (very) briefly, I switch over to Fox News.  How long does it take them to mention Hunter Biden?  It’s kind of fun.  That’s “large world” politics today, balancing the Left’s fear of Trump against the Right’s attack on Biden’s son and perceived weakness. (And what about finding cocaine in the West Wing: two plus two must equal…Hunter!!!). 

But here in Ohio we have a “small world”.  What should be national scandals are just “the way it is”.  The former Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, Larry Householder, was just sentenced to twenty years in Federal prison.  He “only” took a $60 million bribe, one that the First Energy Corporation admitted to giving him (they paid a $230 million fine).  Householder took the bribe and got the State Legislature to bail out First Energy, saddling Ohio citizens with the cost of two aging nuclear plants. He even fended off a State Constitutional initiative to reverse the Legislature’s plan. (Ohioans might remember the commercial, “Chinese Communists are knocking on your door to take over your energy”).   And he did some personal home improvements as well (worth hundreds of thousands of dollars). 

The former Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party was also found guilty in the case, getting five years. But while it was a “Federal Case”, here in Ohio there was limited publicity.  And nationwide, it got a quick whitewash in the news (Left or Right). 

Last Recourse

Householder’s crimes were done in plain view of the Ohio voters.  Opponents of “bailing out” First Energy even turned to a statewide “initiative” to try to stop the now-criminal acts.  It was the only choice left; use a process written into the State Constitution in 1912 to counter the overwhelming influence of corporate money in the legislative process (Republican or Democratic, it really didn’t matter).  

“Initiative and Referendum” is relatively simple.  By getting signatures statewide, “regular” citizens take the “initiative” and put a proposal up for a vote of the entire state.  What could have been a “regular” law (statute) or Constitutional amendment proposed in the State Legislature, instead is put up for a vote of the citizens. (The Legislature can also “refer” a proposal, a referendum. More about that later).

It’s a final “check and balance”, the last “recourse” for voters over the whole state legislative process.  It’s also a way for the Legislature to deal with difficult issues and “pass the buck” to the state’s voters.  It’s not a sure thing.  Over more than a century, Ohioans “initiated” or the State Legislature “referred” 227 Constitutional Amendments or laws.  126 passed, 101 were rejected (Ballotpedia).  But the initiative to stop the First Energy bailout never made it on the ballot.  The proponents couldn’t get enough signatures:  those “Chinese Communists weren’t getting our energy, darn-it and tar-nation”.

Magic Number!!!

Recently, the Ohio state legislators saw the results of women’s health referendums in Kansas and Michigan.  In both those states, around 58% of the voters agreed that women should have the right to control their own health care, including whether to have abortions or not.  The Ohio Legislature was faced with the prospect of a similar initiative here. They risked losing control of the abortion issue.

The State House is against abortion rights, and I’m sure there are some legislators with close-held believes about abortion.  But for many others, it’s about re-election.  Gerrymandering has made Ohio an extremely right-leaning legislature.  Legislators worry not so much about the general elections, but the primaries, where they might be out-flanked to the right, out “pro-life’d” by some opponent.  

But it’s not just abortion.  There is a second ballot initiative circulating, creating a law (not an Amendment) that would make recreational marijuana legal, joining twenty-three other states.  Polling shows that close to 60% (there’s that “magic” number again) of Ohio voters are in favor of it.  But for the legislature, recreational marijuana use is an issue fraught with difficulties.  It’s not about the pot:  it’s about the money, lots of money; billions of dollars in taxes and fees money.  The legislature is afraid of losing control of that as well.

It’s about money, it’s about politics, it’s about beliefs.

Raise the Bar

So the State Legislature looked for a way to keep control of both abortion and dope.  One idea was to “raise the bar” on amendment initiatives.  Instead of majority rule, 50% plus one, they want to raise the “pass” level to 60% (hey, that’s the “magic number” of support for both abortion rights and recreational marijuana).  It would require a super-majority of the voters to pass any Constitutional initiative or referendum.  Or, to put it another way, a minority of Ohioans, 40%, would control what the state does.

Since changing the Ohio Constitution requires a Constitutional Amendment, the legislature “referred” the issue to a statewide vote, which now only needs to pass by 50%.  And they decided to do it in a rare (and recently banned) August statewide vote.  Why vote in August?  Turnout in August elections are always extremely low (why they were banned).  The Legislature hopes they can control who votes so their referendum wins.  But second, and more important, if they can pass the Amendment in August, it then controls the Women’s Rights Amendment scheduled to be on the November ballot.  Passage of Issue One by 50%, would require 60% voting for that amendment to pass. And while Marijuana is a statute initiative (not a Constitutional Amendment), the legislature vows to decimate it in the January session.

Absolute Power

Governor DeWine, Lieutenant Governor Husted, Secretary of State LaRose, the Republican state legislators, the Chamber of Commerce, all support raising the bar.  Former Governors Kasich and Taft (both Republican), Democrats in the state legislators (the few, the proud), and all the expected interest groups are against it.  But Ohio’s August Issue One, the “raising the bar” Amendment, isn’t just about abortions.  

It’s about power, the power of the state legislature.  And it’s about the American concept of checks and balances.  The current Ohio legislature doesn’t want to be checked by anyone.  They already have the votes to overrule the Governor’s veto, and they have literally ignored past orders of the Ohio State Supreme Court.  The only “check” left is this process of initiative.  

There’s an old saying:  “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.  The Ohio legislature is already down the “corruption road” – ask Federal Prisoner Larry Householder.  Ohioans need to keep their check to balance the state legislative power.  They need to break the “norm” and show up on August 8^th.  

They need to defeat Issue One.