2010 \u2013 sixteen years ago.\u00a0\u00a0That was the last time Democrats controlled one side of the State Legislature, or the Governorship here in Ohio.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, for the past fourteen years, Republicans have held a \u201cveto-proof\u201d majority in the Legislature.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So it\u2019s always kind of a \u201choot\u201d when you hear Republicans blame Democrats for what\u2019s wrong here.\u00a0\u00a0After all, the GOP controls all the levers of power in the state, without check or balance.\u00a0\u00a0Democrats at the State House are down to deciding which \u201ccrazy-right\u201d faction of the Republican Party they would support, in a kind of, \u201cthey\u2019re bad, but the other guys are nuts,\u201d choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here in my little town, Pataskala, our school district went from financial stability to \u201cinstant\u201d crisis.\u00a0\u00a0It wasn\u2019t because they did anything wrong.\u00a0\u00a0The State Legislature has cut funding to schools for the past decade, dropping from 45% of the costs to 37%.\u00a0\u00a0Many schools, including ours, made up for the difference by going to the people and passing property tax levies for operating costs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that wasn\u2019t enough cutting for the folks at the State House.\u00a0\u00a0They mandated a property tax \u201crollback\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0So now the school is pleading to the voters again, asking for an income tax this time, to make up for the more than 10% deficit the state legislature created.\u00a0\u00a0Meanwhile, the taxpayers of Ohio are paying almost $1 billion to send kids to private schools, including religious schools, with vouchers.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s 8% of Ohio\u2019s state education money, public money going to private schools, in what euphemistically is called \u201cschool choice\u201d. Do the math.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a famous quote,\u00a0\u00a0inaccurately attributed to Mark Twain;\u00a0“No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Ohio\u2019s \u201cexperiment\u201d with one-party rule is a great example of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it\u2019s election season, thirty-eight days until the vote is finalized.\u00a0\u00a0And Republicans are faced with a rare crisis of their own.\u00a0\u00a0While incessant gerrymandering will still guarantee a Republican majority in the legislature; the statewide offices, particularly for Governor and the US Senate are up for grabs.\u00a0\u00a0In the most recent polling both Democrat Amy Acton (Governor) and Sherrod Brown (Senate) hold 3% leads over their Republican opponents (although within the polling margin of error).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The biggest campaign issue isn\u2019t the war in Iran, or even the \u201chorrifying specter\u201d of transgendered girls competing in women\u2019s sports.\u00a0\u00a0Ohio is literally a \u201cbread and butter\u201d state, and both are costing a whole lot more than they did just two years ago.\u00a0\u00a0A lot of that\u2019s because both bread and butter, and almost every other commodity, is arriving at the retail store on a truck.\u00a0\u00a0That truck runs on diesel fuel, that used to cost $3.50\/gallon, way back in January.\u00a0\u00a0Today, down at the I-70 interchange, it\u2019s now doubled to $7.04.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gas isn\u2019t much better. After New Year\u2019s it was $2.53\/gallon, today it\u2019s right around $4.50.\u00a0\u00a0Ohioans aren\u2019t dumb.\u00a0\u00a0They know that the costs of oil are driven by events in the Middle East, most of which were caused by President Trump\u2019s\u00a0\u00a0\u201cwar of choice\u201d with Iran.\u00a0\u00a0But knowing that doesn\u2019t make them feel any better, as they hear that giant sucking sound in their wallets, filling the tank one more time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And state Republicans are afraid the voters are going to take those \u201cnegative feelings\u201d out on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton made a suggestion last week.\u00a0\u00a0Ohio charges a $0.38\/gallon tax on gas, and $0.47\/gallon on diesel.\u00a0\u00a0She called for a suspension of the tax for ninety days, allowing Ohioans a little financial breathing room.\u00a0\u00a0The Republican candidate for Governor, Vivek Ramaswamy, thought that was such a great idea, that he called for the state legislature to come back into session and pass it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now Vivek doesn\u2019t hold an office in Ohio; he never has.\u00a0\u00a0His qualifications are that he is a self-made billionaire, who grew up in Cincinnati, and ran for President in 2024, for a minute.\u00a0\u00a0Ohio still has a Republican Governor, Mike DeWine, who expressed grave doubts about the tax suspension.\u00a0\u00a0But Republicans need something to turn this election around, both for Vivek and for John Husted, running against Sherrod Brown.\u00a0\u00a0So the Republican Speaker of the House, Matt Huffman is all-in on Ramaswamy\u2019s suggestion (not, of course, Acton\u2019s).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t be surprised if the Legislature meets in emergency session, and suspends the tax for ninety days.\u00a0\u00a0And don\u2019t be surprised if Mike DeWine gets \u201cover\u201d his doubts, and signs onto the legislation.\u00a0\u00a0The few Democrats in the legislature aren\u2019t fools, they\u2019ll join in too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The question is:\u00a0\u00a0will the \u201csugar high\u201d of gas going down to \u201cjust\u201d $4.00\/gallon be enough to change voter opinions?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like I said before, I don\u2019t think Ohio voters are stupid.\u00a0\u00a0They\u2019ll see this for what it is \u2013 a short-term solution to a much greater long-term problem.\u00a0\u00a0They\u2019ll take the money, but I don\u2019t think it will buy their votes.\u00a0\u00a0Ohioans might even do something they haven\u2019t done in over a decade. They might, \u201cthrow the bums out,” and let the Democrats have a try at making things better.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s hard to see how they could do worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Back in Session<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Sugar High<\/h2>\n\n\n\n