I keep hearing from Ohio GOP Big Tenters how easy of a race Mike DeWine is going to have. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you GOP Chairman Ken Mehlman:"No matter what happens, Ohio is going to be a competitive state," Mehlman said.The first step is diagnosis. And I agree with Mehlman on the problem. I think it is time for a secon opinion on the presecription though:
"How do we expand this party? This party needs to be a big-tent party," Mehlman said.This has been part of the problem, not the solution. In Ohio, the tent is as big as it is going to get. The Ohio GOP has shifted as far left as it possibly can while still maintaining the base on the right.
The Ohio GOP needs to get serious about advancing an agenda with Reaganesque values and principles. Under the Ohio GOP, Ohio has managed to secure itself a position pretty close to the bottom in business climate. This needs to be fixed. You can't do that while raising taxes and ignoring the issues that matter to conservatives.
The problem with the big tent talk is that it emphasizes the center-left. These people are in the minority. I'm not saying we should end outreach efforts. I am saying that Republicans can't win without the conservative base. If the Ohio GOP wants to try, they can feel free...but a LOT of people are going to sit at home if they do.
The answer is to establish an agenda that will bring Ohio back to life. It will require that all of Ohio's GOP politicans/candidates get on board. Those that don't, shouldn't be supported. After a decade of Ohio GOP "leadership", we should be in much better shape than we are...
It is also time for the Ohio GOP to clean house. Those who are touched by the scandals need to go. We're going to lose some innocents, but if we really want to secure the tent, we ought to be looking at who we're running.
The only thing the Ohio GOP has going for them is that the Ohio Democrats are in even worse shape.
