Today's Thoughts on Dave Yost

As Facebook followers will know, I had a phone conversation with Dave Yost early this afternoon. I will not get in to the details and specifics of the discussion, but I will address a few impressions and answer a few questions that have come up along the way...

Dave Yost is a strong conservative thinker and he has worked hard for our cause. He is a principled guy and no matter what he decides to do, I know he will do it because he thinks it is the right thing to do.

Here is the thing: Our team is already gambling the apportionment board on Kasich-Taylor (which is NOT a sure thing) and Jon Husted (which SHOULDN'T be a sure thing but probably is). The AG slot is not an apportionment board seat. I do think that Yost has the better chance of lining up a statewide network of activists and fund raisers in a significantly shorter time. I am not willing to risk a decade of Democrat-gerrymandered districts, if we can avoid it (any chance we could get Taylor to run for it again?).

On the other hand: I don't think the Ohio GOP has done enough to warrant thinking about considerations like this when the best they have to offer for Attorney General (once/if Yost is out) is Mike DeWine. This primary season should be about the Republican Party, not the Democrats or the apportionment board. Are we putting our best people forward? Are we offering the most qualified candidates for the job? These are what should be driving our decision process, not politics as usual.

With that, I will take your questions...

Is Dave Yost going to run for Auditor? My gut says that he will be running for Auditor. He says that he has not made the decision yet, but I have too much other behind-the-scenes information from sources I also trust that I think my instinct is on right on target...and not just about this. Whatever Dave ends up doing, he has his reasons and they are good reasons. Will it be enough? We shall see...I certainly hope not.

@camdenmike asks:

Are you putting all blame on ORP or does Yost have some culpability here?

I blame the ORP for not showing leadership. I blame Dave Yost for giving in. I blame Mike DeWine for being a despicable politician. I blame Kevin DeWine for not showing leadership. I blame the State Central Committee for being cowards. I blame John Kasich for not saying 'NO' to Mary Taylor. I blame Mary Taylor for putting us in this situation in the first place. Lastly, but certainly not least, I blame myself for not doing enough.

NOTE: I wrote this post at about 2:30 PM but forgot to hit the PUBLISH button...

UPDATE: Dave Yost has a post up that covers some important ground. Let me give you the Reader's Digest version here:

Figure out the right thing, and do it. The rest doesn’t matter.