1. The Ohio Tea Party Groups are not ready for prime time. Look, if turnout was only in the low 20s percentage, which I hear it was, then there are two explanations for why Seth Morgan did not fare better. A) the tea partiers maintained independence and just cast a primary vote on the issues; or B)the tea party movement in Ohio is not as strong as advertised or feared by the Chairman and his capos. In all likelihood, it is option B. It is not enough to show up to a rally and hang out. You have to choose a side and vote on it.
2. Endorsements by county parties don't matter unless you get out and work it with your constituencies. You cannot produce slate cards with every candidate and just put a star next to the endorsed one. You have to get out and tell why you are supporting someone.
3. The ORP can never again claim to be fiscally conservative. The sheer amount of money spent on State Central Committee candidates should infuriate anyone. I mean, we are talking about state central committee, for heaven's sake! Kay Reynolds alone sent my household six different mailers with her featured dominantly. Which begs the question...where was my John Becker mailer? Guess the ORP doesn't like him very much.
4. There is no conservative party in the state of Ohio anymore. In Ohio, Glenn Beck is right. There is little difference in the arrogant attitudes of those in power in the state parties.
5. Me--yep, I won my race for central committee in my county. And you better believe Hell's comin' with me!
OK, so now we pick some winners and losers:
Winners:
1. Kevin DeWine, Jason Mauk, et. al.--These shlubs who alienated the hardest working people in the party get to keep their jobs. Of course, they spent your hard earned money to do it.
2. Mike DeWine--His type of political expediency wins the day.
Losers:
1. Conservative voters in Ohio--you don't really have a choice anymore. You get slightly unethical or full goose bozo. Take your pick. Also, you need to quit talking the talk and walk the walk. Don't be afraid of the bozos in Columbus. They work for you, darnit!
2. The Ohio Republican Party--You spent craploads of cash in a PRIMARY! For State Central Committee People! And for an Auditor Candidate! Nice Job, Kev! Don't expect the voters to be willing to pony up for more cashola come the fall and the fun from Cordray and Co. Also, all those hardworking people who were fired up, now don't care a damn about you. Also, you grabbed alienation from the jaws of a winning coalition. You have alienated the tea partiers, who while not ready for prime time, at least they work very hard. Good luck getting small donors to give to your coffers. Better hope Cousin Mikey has very deep pockets.
3. John Kasich, Mary Taylor, Josh Mandel--These folks have to live with sponge spines like Yost and Husted on the ticket, as well as the gun grabber in NRA clothing, Mike DeWine. They also have to live with not a whole lot of help from the party, because the party spent all its cash protecting its rubber stamp central committee (John Becker excluded). If I were Kasich, Taylor, or Mandel, I would be p.o.ed about the spending the party levied in this past primary.
4. Me--I actually have to try and defend the nonsense the morons in Columbus have done recently and encourage, make that beg, people to trust the Republican party in Ohio again. Well, at least we have a good and honorable group in Brown County, for the most part.
So, Where Do We Go From Here?
Well, let me remind the ORP of something. The minutemen and tea partiers of another era did not win the initial victories in battle either. However, who won the war? Like Washington and the Continentals, we must stand firm and continue to defend and push back against the nuanced b.s. garbage of Kevin and Co., and continue to defend our values and take back our party.
I congratulate Dave Yost on his victory. I hope Dave realizes it was never personal in the sense I didn't think Dave wouldn't do a good job. It was personal in the sense that he sold out the voters for the mover and shakers, and the harumphers in the party.
So, you ask, what am I going to do? Well, let me first clarify that there is a difference between voting for someone and supporting them, in my opinion. Support to me means more because it is going out and working the phones, polls, walking the miles, etc. So, with that in mind:
I will support John Kasich and Mary Taylor.
I will support Rob Portman.
I will support Jean Schmidt.
I will support Danny Bubp.
I will support Josh Mandel (oh you better believe I will!)
I will support Rick Eagan.
I will support Doug Green.
I will vote for Dave Yost. I might have to send him a support brace for his spine, but I will vote for him.
I will vote for Jon Husted. I will get nauseated and throw up from the stench, but I will vote for him.
I will....for Mike DeWine. Yeah, not so sure about that one right now, I must say.
Last night was a battle for the heart and soul of the Ohio Republican Party. Unfortunately, the angels didn't win. Unfortunately, the country club blue bloods won and the working conservatives lost. However, as Rome wasn't built in a day, as Britain wasn't beaten in one battle, so too it goes for the state of things in Ohio.
