We’ve all heard the axiom, “as goes Ohio, so goes the nation”. In fact, no Republican has ever won the Presidency without winning Ohio. And for this year’s GOP presidential primary, Ohio is the top prize in what is turning out to be a critical Super Tuesday on March 6th.

In fact, just yesterday analyst Sean Trende of Real Clear Politics identified Ohio as the key state between a Romney runaway and the possibility of a brokered convention.

So the viability of a three-way split probably comes down to Ohio, which has a fair number of evangelicals, though not to the degree that Tennessee, Oklahoma and Georgia do. Santorum has some strengths he can draw on in the Buckeye State, as his blue-collar message could play well even among Republicans there. If he wins, it means that we probably do have a deeply divided GOP, with Gingrich taking the anti-Romney vote in the South, and Santorum taking the anti-Romney vote in the Midwest.

So with Ohio holding such incredible importance to Mitt Romney’s hopes of becoming President, why is he betraying the very Ohio conservatives he needs to assure victory?

Let me explain.

As many of you may have read already, Ohio Republicans are currently in the midst of a major power struggle between moderate Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine and Governor John Kasich, Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder, and other conservative elected officials.

Conservatives are up in arms against DeWine for a number of offenses, such as actively working against Governor Kasich in the mainstream media, by working to divert fundraisers away from Kasich near the end of his close battle against incumbent Gov. Strickland in 2010, lying to contributors, outright shunning members of the Tea Party in Ohio, and most recently, blatantly abusing and violating the Party’s own bylaws in order to prevent Tea Party candidates from getting seated on the State Central Committee.

So how does this all connect to Romney?

Brett Buerck, widely known among Ohio political activists for his scandal plagued career, is now back as one of Mitt Romney’s point men in organizing Ohio. Buerck is also known as ORP Chairman DeWine’s closest consultant on Party politics. Finally, Romney’s sole appearance in Ohio during this entire campaign season was months ago when he appeared arm-in-arm with DeWine in southeast Ohio and proceeded to flip flop against Kasich’s government union reform bill, all at the recommendation of DeWine.

In other words, Romney is counting on Buerck and DeWine to lead him to victory in Ohio.

Make no mistake. Conservatives and Tea Party members are actively engaged in Ohio state politics. With such an intense focus on Ohio’s GOP primary, there is no doubt they’ll play a huge part in who ends up with Ohio’s massive number of delegates on Super Tuesday.

By working with Buerck and DeWine , Romney is making it crystal clear where he stands when it comes to wooing Ohio’s conservative base. In fact, by allowing Buerck and DeWine to lead his Ohio effort, Romney is effectively aligning himself against the very people he needs if he wants to win the nomination and the general election in November.

Ohio is well known among national political strategists as being the home of a bevy of quality political hacks. There are throngs of men and women with a strong history of leading congressional and statewide candidates to victory. In other words, Romney has no requirement to rely so heavily on state organizers with such sordid stories as DeWine and Buerck. He can easily look elsewhere and avoid the danger of giving the middle finger to Ohio conservatives and Tea Party members.

If he wants to win the Presidency, that is…

Cross-posted at Third Base Politics

Follow @Bytor3BP

I live in Oregon… but today I stand with the Ohio Tea Party.

Ladies and Gentlement of the Ohio Tea Party, aka Patriots of the highest order.

Your establishment seeks to choke the lifeblood from our movement.

So as a concerned activist of Conservative causes I seek to help restore your strength.

I need.. no that is wrong… OHIO needs 30 volunteers to step up. I would prefer 3000 to send a message, but 30 will do.

You need to walk/drive/ski/fly/crawl/surf or whatever to your elections office and you need to sign up to run as a Precinct Committee Person.

This position in many States requires 3 votes to win. Yes 3!

Then you attend the vote for leadership of your State Party.

Send a clear message.

Then just try being involved in your Party. Be a force for change we can believe in!

Show them the Buckeye Spirit and clean house on them!

For Ohio Governor John Kasich, Tuesday’s annual State of the State address offered an important venue to talk up his administration’s achievements and goals. Kasich gave this year’s speech at Wells Academy, a school in Steubenville, instead of the traditional Statehouse venue.

The Ohio Democratic Party is led by Chris “Tea Party F***ers” Redfern, best known for a profane 2010 outburst against Obamacare opponents. Based on their behavior in Steubenville, even November’s Big Labor victory against fiscal reality hasn’t improved the attitudes of Ohio leftists!

State Rep. Bob Hagan (D – Youngstown), a Progressive kook’s Progressive kook, bused in 35 protestors for the event. Worse, Hagan handed out several tickets for Kasich’s speech to Occupy protestors ranting outside.

Rep. Bob Hagan (second from left) and Rep. Dennis Murray (second from right) are thanked by Occupy protestors for Hagan’s tickets to the State of the State address

Why would Hagan give tickets for a taxpayer-funded speech to obnoxious Occupy protestors? From The Columbus Dispatch‘s live coverage of the speech, shuffled into chronological order:

2:36 [...] Cat calls and chants have started from the balcony from protestors.

2:38 [...] People have been removed from the auditorium, but more calls coming from the balcony. [...]

2:39 One particularly loud woman has just been led out…”John Kasich is selling out Ohio!” she yelled as she was led out the back. Now a male voice can be heard.

2:40 [...] Meanwhile, man is led out of the room. Things seem to have quieted down now.

Rep. Hagan, too pathetic to face the derision that comes with disrupting a state event, sent in Occupy protestors to attack Governor Kasich. Wonder if he’s any relation to the “Hagan” who rallied protestors before Kasich’s speech?

“Governor Kasich has crossed the line many times,” Hagan said to the crowd.

Yep. Same guy. No matter how low the Ohio Republican Party sinks, there will always be Ohio Democrats like Bob Hagan waiting to out-sink them!

The Dispatch has video of an anti-fracking protestor screeching, “We can capture the air! We can capture the sun!” after being escorted out of the event (watch for the obligatory Occupy mic-check). The same protestor is shown exiting a bus – Hagan’s? – in an earlier Dispatch video which features perpetual union shill Bruce Bostick. Funny thing about Bruce Bostick: he’s a Communist.

When Big Labor, environmental activists, Democrats, and Communists are all equally enraged by your governor, it’s likely your state is on the right track!

For more from Ohio, follow me on Twitter: @jasonahart

Kevin DeWine is going to go down in history as the most corrupt chairman of the Ohio Republican Party ever. And he doesn’t seem to care. The more people that turn against him and call for him to resign, the more desperate and brazen he seems to become.

As a brief recap, remember that just a couple of weeks ago, in an attempt to save his chairmanship and disqualify people running to defeat him, he and his allies proposed an amendment to change the rules of who can be seated on the State Central Committee, even though candidates had already filed for the election weeks ago. On Friday, the committee met and voted on several issues, including the rule change.

The committee consists of 66 members, and a majority of them, 34 or more, is required to make such a rule change. However, DeWine declared a victory for the rule change with a 29-28 vote, claiming a majority of members present. This is clearly a violation of the party bylaws, and is bound to be challenged in court.

We now have some new information about Friday’s events. Most votes of the committee, and even most of the votes on Friday, are conducted in the open. However, for the proposed rule change, they used a secret ballot. So, it appears that to protect their seats from a fair election, DeWine and his allies are willing to:

1. Change the rules after candidates have already filed, and early voting has already begun,
2. Violate the party bylaws in order to enact their rule change, and now…
3. Hide behind a secret ballot so voters can’t hold them responsible.

Unbelievable, despicable and very, very cowardly. I spoke with a SCC member on Sunday, who informed me that in his 8 years on the committee, it was only the 2nd time he could recall a secret ballot being used.

We, and some tea party affiliated groups are doing what we can to identify the members and who voted how. Right now, our advice to Ohio conservatives is to call your committee members and ask them how they voted, and also to ask them if they stand by Kevin DeWine or not. If they voted for the rule change or indicate they support keeping DeWine as chairman, then obviously you need to vote for their opponent on March 6. Then, tell every Republican primary voter you know to do the same. Every State Senate district is represented by one man and one woman on the committee. Find out what Senate district you live in, and then go here to identify who represents you.

If you do get an answer from your committee people, please email me with your report at bytor3bp @ gmail.com. (remove the spaces)

Finally, don’t be fooled by any mailers you receive from the Ohio Republican Party. Once again, Kevin DeWine is spending party resources to protect his and his allies’ own seats, and using tea party type logos on them to trick people. These two were received last week. Just like 4 years ago, they are attempting to thwart the tea party while pretending to have “tea party values” and pretending to support Governor Kasich.  Let’s not let them get away with it.  Help us vote out the traitors, keep the good people who belong on the committee and take back our state party.

Cross-posted on Third Base Politics, an Ohio-based political blog.

Follow @Bytor3BP

This week the Ohio Attorney General approved ballot language for a Right-to-Work amendment to the Ohio constitution. I agree with fellow Third Base Politics writer Bytor, who covered the issue a couple months ago: a Right-to-Work amendment in November 2012 is a terrible idea.

The Senate Bill 5 campaign proved Ohio voters remain too receptive to union rhetoric. Trying to rehash the same arguments during a presidential campaign already focused on Progressive class warfare would be a nightmare.

Class: During a 2010 strike, Ohio Education Association staff hung a banner telling the OEA boss to kill himself.

The ridiculousness of public unions prompted me to start writing and researching with a purpose beyond, “here’s what annoys me today, and I know my friends wouldn’t want to hear this rant.” I wish I were more effective at making the case for union reform! If you could find another sap who spent more free time than I did over the past year arguing for the need to reform Ohio’s government union law, I would be amazed. On this subject, Ohio conservatives have a lot of work left to do.

Big Labor’s pockets are deep, and any attempt at union reform means attacking the strength of people who get rich pushing class warfare for a living.

LaborUnionReport, in a terrific summary of Right-to-Work, had this to say about the proposed amendment to Ohio’s constitution:

This brings us back to Ohio.Ron Paul supporter and Tea Party consultant Chris Littleton is spearheading an effort to put Right-to-Work on Ohio’s November ballot. If successful in getting enough signatures to have the initiative placed on the ballot, Littleton and his compadres will likely do nothing more than ensure an Obama victory in Ohio.

With unions collecting more than $8 billion per year in union dues, no amount of money Littleton can raise will be enough to outspend the unions on the issue Right-to-Work—as evidenced by the recent fight over SB5 (Issue 2) in November.

In fact, union bosses and Democrats are likely hoping for Littleton to get enough signatures to put Right-to-Work on the ballot. [Don't be too surprised if unions, either directly or indirectly through third-party operatives, quietly encourage people to sign the petitions.] Once Right-to-Work is on the ballot, unions can turn Ohio into World War IV (again).

Regardless of the amount of money Littleton and his associates may make from putting Right-to-Work on Ohio’s ballot, his efforts put the rest of the nation at risk of seeing Barack Obama win Ohio and, as a result, likely re-election. This is something that, hopefully, even Littleton’s presidential pick, Ron Paul, would see the practical ramifications of avoiding if it meant putting Obama back in the White House for four more years.

• Even though Ron Paul has been cagey on stating he would not run as a third-party candidate, his son, Rand Paul, has stated that it would be impractical, knowing that it would ensure an Obama victory. Hopefully, his Ohio supporters are as practical in that regard when it comes to placing Right-to-Work on November’s Ohio ballot.

As the saying goes: “Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.” Or, in the case of Ohio, another way to put this is: Forego the battle for now, if it helps you win the war later.

With the nation nearing $16 trillion in debt and owing $117 trillion in unfunded liabilities, despite the legislature in Indiana winning Right to Work, putting a Right-to-Work initiative in Ohio is not worth the risk. Not now. Not this year.

I’ve got no beef with Chris Littleton. The 1851 Center and the Ohio Liberty Council do good work, as brilliantly demonstrated by the success of the Ohio Healthcare Freedom Amendment last November. I don’t expect many people to care about my opinion, but I will not be signing a petition to get Right-to-Work on the 2012 ballot.

Before telling me what a spineless pushover I am, take a few minutes to review my work for Senate Bill 5.

Follow me on Twitter: @jasonahart

Cross-posted at that hero and Third Base Politics.

Newt Gingrich has been strutting across town with an over-sized ego ever since his rise in the polls in December. He had declared himself the definite winner of  the GOP primary and the only one who can defeat Obama before the primaries had even begun! Despite having come in fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire, Newt Gingrich and his team have demanded conservatives to unite around his campaign since he was the only one who could beat Romney and Obama. This was prior to having won a single victory!

Here’s the question for Newt Gingrich; if he would truly want to promote conservatism, why hasn’t he acted upon his words after the first two states had voted, in which he came in below Santorum?

Hot Air has done a great job highlight the hollowness and falsehood of Gingrich for pretending to seek a united front for the sake of conservatism when he’s obviously demanding it solely to benefit himself:

Oddly, Gingrich didn’t appear as principled on the subject of conservative consolidation when Santorum won Iowa and Gingrich finished fourth, nor when Santorum narrowly edged Gingrich for fourth place in New Hampshire.  If he was concerned about a conservative sacrificing to make sure a conservative alternative had the strength to beat Mitt Romney at that time, Gingrich didn’t pull a muscle leaping out of his chair to volunteer.  Needless to say, neither has Santorum, who told Gingrich in response to run his own campaign.

After his desperately-needed victory in South Carolina, Newt sharply increased his descending tone to Rick Santorum despite Santorum having also won an equal number of states so far; 1. He then floated into Florida after his South Carolina victory promising a “final knockout.” We now know how that turned out, and who was the recipient of a “knockout.”

Newt though hasn’t acknowledged his own weaknesses which have led to his loss. Instead, he upped the heat against Santorum an additional notch higher and blamed Santorum for his own failure! Additionally, Newt couldn’t bring himself to congratulate Romney in his concession speech(repeating from actions in Iowa) while pretended Santorum was now out of the picture, although he couldn’t be any further than the truth.

“It is now clear that this will be a two-person race between the conservative leader, Newt Gingrich, and the Massachusetts moderate, and the voters of Florida made that clear,” Gingrich said following his landslide loss in Florida. Gingrich ignored the fact that the other two candidates in the race – Ron Paul and Rick Santorum – chose not to run aggressive campaigns in the state.

Newt has also failed to recognize that while he has come out ahead of Santorum in Florida, Santorum came out ahead of Newt in New Hampshire. They’ve thus both won one state and come out higher than each other in one other state. Coming out stronger than Santorum in Florida has made Newt equal, not greater than, Santorum.

Although Newt is desperate for Santorum to back out of the race and for Santorum supporters to throw their support behind his campaign, neither of the above will happen in the near future, and his repeated aggressive requests for both won’t change the facts.

Firstly, Santorum has never made winning Florida a goal, as Newt had, since it’s a winner-take-all and knew he won’t win. Instead, he’s focusing on the upcoming elections where he’s polling extremely well. He’s already been to several states in the last few days and he’s got a full schedule today in Colorado.

Secondly, the claims that Santorum’s broke it utterly false; the Santorum campaign confirms it raised $4.2M in January and unlike the Newt campaign, has no debt. Additionally,  Foster Freiss is supporting Santorum and plans on giving him significant help moving forward. “I believe Rick Santorum will become one of the front-runners very soon,” Foster Friess, a major donor to the Red White and Blue Fund, said during his interview with Bloomberg Television.

Furthermore, a new PPP poll had been released yesterday, and the results are quite astounding. Although Newt pretends that if Santorum backs out then Newt has got the nomination in his pocket, the results are pretty shaky. If Gigrich himself backs out though, the nomination does seem to go pretty strongly for Santorum. Santorum polls far  stronger against Romney in a two man race than does Newt solely against Romney. The reason this is so, is because Santorum is the second choice for an overwhelming majority of Newt supporters (and also for Romney supporters) while the reverse is not the case.

Here’s the info directly from the PPP poll.

In Missouri, held a week from today, Santorum has a 63-21 favorability spread to Gingrich’s 52-32, Romney’s 46-36, and Paul’s 28-57.  On the actual primary ballot, for which Gingrich did not qualify, Santorum leads with 45% to Romney’s 34% and Paul’s 13%.  In the caucus, in which Gingrich can compete, Santorum falls to second at 28% behind the former speaker’s 30% and ahead of Romney’s 24% and Paul’s 11%.   Head-to-head, Gingrich would defeat Romney in the state, 43-42, but Santorum would, 50-37. That is because Santorum’s supporters only go for Gingrich by eight points over Romney, but Gingrich’s vote for Santorum by 28 points. In Ohio, which will be held on Super Tuesday (March 6th), Santorum’s favorability rating is 59-24, compared to Romney’s and Gingrich’s 47-37 and Paul’s 31-52.  The primary is a three-way race between Gingrich (26%), Romney (25%), and Santorum (22%), with Paul at 11%.  Gingrich would top Romney, 42-39, but Santorum would, 45-38.

In other words, here’s how the two different two-man races would look like:

-In Missouri Santorum leads Romney 50-37 and in Ohio Santorum leads 45-38.

-In Missouri Gingrich leads Romney 43-42 and in Ohio Gingrich leads 42-39.

And remember that Gingrich isn’t even on the ballot in Missouri.

Can anyone remind me again which candidate is demanding the other to bow out of the race and which one says that everyone has a right to run?

Abie Rubin blogs at The Thinking Voter and can be followed on Twitter.

In 2008, Ohio broke for Obama with 51% of the vote. However, Republicans managed to sweep to victories two short years later. This year, as far as the presidential race goes, one cannot be so sure of an outcome. Ohio has sent missed signals in 2011. While they voted to overturn SB5 which restricted collective bargaining rights for public worker union employees (a “victory” for labor), they also sent a symbolic message to Obama by rejecting Obamacare. Obama’s approval rating are below the national average in the Buckeye state and his performance with independent voters is particularly troublesome. In a hypothetical match up with “generic Republican,” he loses, yet when Mitt Romney’s name is injected in there, he comes out a 5-point winner. Still, at this point, I have to call this state for the GOP.

There is also a Senate race involving incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown. He is perhaps one of the Senate’s most abrasive and unapologetic liberals. Whether that translates into reelection remains to be seen. His approval ratings in the state are not particularly high. There is no doubt that Brown will be the Democratic nominee and all the interest are on the Republican side.

Initial polls indicated that the preference of Ohio GOP voters would have been former Ohio secretary of state, Kenneth Blackwell. Conservative, well-known, and well-liked, he had the added advantage of being African-American, a Republican rarity. However, citing several reasons, he decided against a run which is unfortunate because many national GOP leaders were recruiting him. Another choice that seemed like a good one would be current Lt. Governor Mary Taylor. Considered Ohio’s Sarah Palin, she would have faced some minor, local concerns such as the use of a state helicopter and the fact she does not live in Columbus. A major reason for deciding against a Senate run was that she was just starting a new job and was committed to completing her term before considering higher office.

Other names also bowed out early, particularly popular representatives Steve LaTourette and Jim Jordan. It makes sense for Jordan given his increased role in Congress and GOP leadership. Early polls indicated he would have given Brown a run for the money. That left two candidates- former state senator Kevin Coughlin and state treasurer Josh Mandel. However, in October 2011, Coughlin dropped out.

What is impressive about Mandel is his prolific fund raising abilities in a short period of time. Mandel started off at a 14-18 point disadvantage to Brown, but recent polls show him 5-8 points down. There are two reasons for this. All that money he raises buys name recognition and second, Brown’s approval rating are not that great. Considering this, the polls are reflecting a willingness to at least listen to Mandel. It may also be that Mandel is peaking too early and will not survive the vetting process that a campaign really is, especially against a well-funded rival.

Like Mourdock in Indiana, I did not start this entry as an attack on Mandel. Like Mourdock, many websites, including Redstate, have given blanket endorsements and some are having love affairs with Josh Mandel. Yes- he is young (33 years), a fiscal conservative, and an Iraqi war vet. However, before we get collective tingles up our legs, there are problems that require explanation. First, he told Ohio voters he would serve at least four years before moving on to higher office, but launched his Senate bid a mere three months into his tenure. A case can be made for striking while the iron is hot and Brown’s low numbers may be that hot iron, but Josh Mandel has accomplished exactly NOTHING. For example, in his 2010 run, he campaigned on a non-issue: divesture of pension funds from companies that did business with Iran. This is a pointless quest that Ohio voters really do not care about and is pandering to a small segment of the population. He also touts his opposition to an Ohio law addressing housing discrimination against gays and his support to strengthen laws against cockfighting in the state. At least the chickens of Ohio can support him. Democrats have already filed a complaint against him citing irregularities in campaign donations.

In 2010, he ran an ad implying his opponent was Muslim juxtaposed against images of himself in battle fatigues, a blow so low that even Republican operatives cried foul. One Ohio newspaper has highlighted a dubious $100,000 donation from a Canton businessman noting that many of the listed donors had never given a donation to anyone in the past. Why Mandel ands why now? And especially for a relative unknown in political circles. Along the way, besides raising $2.8 million in one quarter, he has received endorsements from Rob Portman, Jim Jordan, Jim DeMint, and the Club For Growth. Obviously, these people would have supported any GOP candidate given Brown’s far left views. But there are more serious concerns about Mandel starting in 2006.

In that year, it is no secret that Brown won his election to the Senate with incredible help from ACORN. Katyn Gillette worked for an offshoot of ACORN- ProjectVote. She noted that DeWine’s base of donors matched that of Brown, but would be able to raise money from other donors like Forest City. They are a real estate enterprise based in Cleveland run by the notorious James Ratner. They coincidentally loaned ACORN $1.5 million to assist in Brown’s campaign. This may explain Mandel’s fund raising abilities because there are unsubstantiated (as of yet) that Mandel married a Ratner. In fact, in 2008, Albert Ratner, one of the leaders of Forest City, donated $17,000 to Mandel. And although Mandel may be a baby-faced, photogenic, Iraqi war veteran, he hails from a wealthy family that was targeted by the Brown campaign in 2006 for donations by ACORN operatives. Making matters worse, the Mandels of Ohio have been donating to the likes of Bill Richardson, Ted Strickland, Joe Lieberman, Frank Lautenberg, Allyson Schwartz, and Shelley Berkely. Hmmmm….

Finally, there is now viral video of Mandel at an Ohio State rally hooting and hollering for presidential candidate Al Gore in 2000. And while a student there, he was president of the Undergraduate Student Government that demanded equal rights at the university for same-sex couples. At a minimum, he will have to explain when and why his conservative epiphany occurred and why it is so at odds with his family’s well-connected, wealthy, Democratic/liberal family. In effect, he is an empty suit espousing conservative dogma when his history indicates he is anything but that. Throw in some dubious fund raising and political opportunism and he has created plenty of fodder for Democratic attacks. In fact, his past seems suspiciously like an alleged constitutional scholar and former community activist from Chicago- an empty suit, if you will- who duped the American public into making him President.

Ohio loses two House seats in 2013 and drop from 18 to 16 seats. The current Congressional delegation is 13-5 Republican after the 2010 GOP wave. Of the new 16 districts, seven are easy: Steve Chabot(R) in the 1st, Jean Schmidt (R) in the 2nd, Bob Latta (R) in the 5th, Pat Tiberi (R) in the 12th, Tim Ryan (D) in the 13th, Steve LaTourette (R) in the 14th, and Steve Stivers (R) in the 15th.

The 3rd District will be based in Columbus and features a crowded Democratic field although Mary Jo Kilroy, who formerly represented the 15th District, should prevail and win the general election. In the 4th, Republican Jim Jordan will win reelection. However, he is at odds with John Boehner over the debt ceiling fight and relations are strained. In the 6th, Republican Bill Johnson will run for reelection. After John Boccieri dropped out of consideration, Charlie Wilson entered for the Democrats. This race bears watching.

In the 7th, Republican Bob Gibbs, formerly of the 18th, will run against either Joyce Healy-Abrams or Dawn Howard. Betty Sutton opted out of this district’s race. She may have been the stronger candidate to unseat Gibbs, but that will not happen now. The 8th is John Boehner’s and is interesting only because he faces a primary challenge from Tea Party activist David Lewis. The plot thickens in the 9th where Marcy Kaptur will face fellow Democrat and Lilliputian Dennis Kucinich is a battle of liberals for the nomination with the winner prvailing in the general election. In the 10th, Republican Mike Turner has a clear path to the nomination (he was formerly in the 3rd) now that fellow Republican incumbent Steve Austria has announced his retirement rather than a primary fight. Of course, he had some rather terse words for John Boehner whom he accuses of having a hand in redistricting. In the 11th, Marcia Fudge will likely win although it could be interesting if Nina Turner runs as an independent. She is considered an up and coming star in Ohio Democratic circles. And in what could be the political heavyweight battle in Ohio politics in 2012, GOP incumbent Jim Renacci will take on Democratic incumbent Betty Sutton. The labor subplot is also interesting; Sutton is a former union lawyer and Renacci is a millionaire. Expect some talk about the 99% versus the 1%. Whoever wins this race will be an indicator of the direction of the political winds in Ohio in the upcoming decade.

In the final analysis, just as Illinois need not be the great Republican apocalypse many predict, Ohio need not be the great Democratic apocalypse. once again, to the victor goes the spoils and that cuts both ways. At the end of the day, new congressional delegation will be 12-4 Republican, a loss of one seat on either side; hence, no net change. Brown will win reelection over Mandel. And Mitt Romney will take their 18 electoral votes.

Running totals thus far:
Obama with 145 electoral votes to 194 for GOP nominee;
Net gain of 2 Governors;
Net gain of 4 Senate seats, and;
Net loss of 7 House seats.

Next: West Virginia

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) served 7 terms in the House – starting in 1993 – before his 2006 election to the U.S. Senate. I’m 28, and Yale graduate Sherrod Brown has been peddling his blue-collar class warfare elixir in Washington since I was in 4th grade.

Does his record merit reelection this November? If you have any vaguely conservative beliefs, the answer is a resounding “NO.” Ranked as the leftmost senator in 2009 and 2010 by National Journal, Sherrod has a lifetime 7.77 rating from the American Conservative Union (ACU). What sort of voting history puts someone to the left of Dianne Feinstein and Harry Reid?

Here’s a compilation of Sherrod Brown’s most notable votes, accompanied by his ACU rating for each year!

• 1993: Sherrod voted for the Brady Bill, D.C. statehood, missile defense cuts, preventing employers from replacing strikers, and Clinton’s “Emergency Stimulus” spending and tax hike package. He opposed school choice funding and missed a debt ceiling vote. ACU Rating: 9.00
• 1994: Sherrod voted for the assault weapons ban, a $30 billion Omnibus Crime Bill jammed with pork, and a motion to kill the House Post Office ethics investigation. ACU Rating: 14.00
• 1995: Sherrod voted for “family planning” funding ultimately given to Planned Parenthood, and for enforcement of vast EPA and FDA regulations. He voted against the partial-birth abortion ban, welfare reform, tax & domestic spending cuts, and the “Mexico City Policy” restricting U.S. dollars spent on abortion in foreign countries. ACU Rating: 32.00
• 1996: Sherrod voted to increase the minimum wage and in favor of killing school choice vouchers. He voted against the GOP budget, welfare reform, repealing the assault weapons ban, overriding Clinton’s partial-birth abortion ban veto, and making English the official language of the U.S. government. ACU Rating: 0.00
• 1997: Sherrod voted for national education testing and B-2 bomber budget cuts. He voted against the Hyde Amendment, tax & domestic spending cuts, school choice, and converting federal housing programs into block grants. ACU Rating: 12.00
• 1998: Sherrod again supported national education testing, and voted to allow a minor to be transported across state lines by a non-parent for an abortion. He voted against tax cuts, the partial-birth abortion ban, D.C. school vouchers, opening impeachment hearings, and ending racial preferences. ACU Rating: 4.00
• 1999: Sherrod voted against impeachment proceedings, a broad tax cut package, medical savings accounts, and education block grants. He voted to delay missile defense implementation, and to continue funding the United Nations without demanding UN reforms.  ACU Rating: 0
• 2000: Sherrod voted against banning partial-birth abortion, eliminating the death tax, and cutting taxes to alleviate the marriage penalty. He voted to lift the embargo on Cuba, increase the federal minimum wage, and impose the federal minimum wage on the states.  ACU Rating: 4
• 2001: Sherrod voted against making it a crime to kill an unborn child while committing another crime. He voted against school vouchers. He voted to allow taxpayer funding for abortions in federal prisons, lift the embargo on Cuba, tighten SUV mileage standards, and maintain the ANWR oil-drilling ban.  ACU Rating: 4
• 2002: Sherrod voted against extending welfare reform, eliminating the death tax, banning partial-birth abortion, capping medical malpractice suits, and a broad 1% domestic spending cut. He voted to limit free speech in the months preceding an election, and to allow Homeland Security employees to unionize.  ACU Rating: 4
• 2003: Sherrod voted against a partial-birth abortion ban, medical malpractice reform, class action lawsuit reform, death tax repeal, and DC school choice vouchers. He voted to fund abortions at military hospitals, keep ANWR closed from drilling, allow human cloning, and allow negligence suits against gun manufacturers when a gun is used to commit a crime.  ACU Rating: 16
• 2004: Sherrod again voted against making it a criminal offense to kill an unborn child while committing another crime. He voted against medical malpractice reform, allowing small businesses to buy health insurance as a group, drilling in ANWR, and a 1% cut in non-defense discretionary spending. He voted to fund abortion at military hospitals, block “bunker-buster” development, and cut military spending in favor of green energy programs.  ACU Rating: 4
• 2005: Sherrod voted to block oil drilling in ANWR, hike fuel efficiency standards, and spend taxpayer funds on embryonic stem cell research. He voted against bankruptcy law reform, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac reform, tying UN funding to UN reforms, and requiring parental notification to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion.  ACU Rating: 4
• 2006: Sherrod voted to impose Net Neutrality. He voted against a capital gains tax cut, a death tax cut, and ending the offshore oil & gas drilling moratorium.  ACU Rating :25
• 2007: Sherrod voted to ban incandescent light bulbs, expand SCHIP, and spend tax dollars on embryonic stem cell research. He voted against death tax repeal, Alternative Minimum Tax repeal, extension of the Bush tax cuts, and improved earmark disclosure.  ACU Rating: 0
• 2008: Sherrod voted for more risky Fannie & Freddie lending, two separate $4 billion Fannie & Freddie bailouts, the auto industry bailout, TARP, and a tax hike on energy companies. He voted against missile defense, an earmark moratorium, and a discretionary spending cap.  ACU Rating: 8
• 2009: Sherrod voted for Obama’s “stimulus,” Cash for Clunkers, Obamacare, and Eric Holder’s confirmation as Attorney General. He voted against medical malpractice reform, D.C. school choice, and de-funding ACORN.  ACU Rating: 0
• 2010: Sherrod voted for New START, the DREAM Act, and Craig Becker’s appointment to the NLRB. He voted against an earmark moratorium, D.C. school choice, death tax repeal, and a fence on the southern border.  ACU Rating: 0

With a few commendable lapses, Sherrod Brown has spent two decades as a foe of fiscal prudence, the Second Amendment, and national defense. Sherrod is an equally consistent supporter of Big Labor, bigger central government, and the abortion lobby.

Sherrod Brown is easily one of the worst senators up for reelection this November. Share his shameful record with every Ohio voter you know!

You can find Sherrod Brown’s Republican opponent, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, at JoshMandel.com.

Follow me on Twitter: @jasonahart

Compiled from my series at Big Government. Cross-posted at Third Base Politics.

However they market themselves, public unions are political by nature, brimming partisanship that goes beyond their skewed campaign spending. Every Republican teacher, public safety worker, and government employee forced to pay “fair share” dues should be outraged.

My state’s National Education Association (NEA) affiliate, the Ohio Education Association (OEA), takes millions in fees from non-members each year. Operating on NEA’s model, OEA insists all teachers be forced to pay for the union’s non-political business. This would be well and good, if OEA conducted any non-political business.

From the union’s mission statement:

OEA believes that for those whose business is public education, activism is an obligation.

OEA has the same definition of “activism” as every garden variety leftist group: Demand bigger government under the guise of fairness and equality. For example, ACORN’s 2005-06 Political Program (hat tip: Publius’ Forum) lists OEA as a “Coalition Partner” -

We see the combination of these efforts as key to maintaining and expanding the level of electoral participation by more progressive voters in the state, along with playing a role in pushing voter alignment along axes of community concerns and economic security.

In other words, OEA worked with ACORN to push the entitlement mindset and get entitlement-minded voters to the polls. For… the children?

More recently, OEA was listed as a state partner of “Health Care for America NOW” (a lobbying group devoted to socialized medicine) and the Ohio Voter Fund (a coalition of leftists against voter ID).

NEA and its state affiliates are enthusiastic cheerleaders for Keynesian deficit spending, though I wouldn’t want the task of finding a math teacher who insists one minus two equals jobs!

Honestly, NEA’s entire “Education Votes” blog could be an Obama 2012 campaign site. NEA publicly endorsed Obama’s reelection last July, ending hours of heated debate among no one: every Big Labor affiliation and stump speech flies in the face of the lie that partisanship is limited to official campaign spending.

When the public union stranglehold was threatened in Ohio last winter, OEA’s class war machine went into overdrive at the expense of willing and unwilling dues-payers alike. Progressive talking points come easily to a group that instructs members to indoctrinate children on the glories of unionism!

NEA bosses take advantage of the goodwill teachers generate, paying themselves and Democrats handsomely while claiming credit for members’ hard work. Unless you look forward to the second Obama term NEA is sinking millions into, be sure your friends and family know teachers’ unions want higher taxes and bigger government.

There’s much more evidence than what I’ve listed here, and I’ll continue highlighting the ugly Progressive truth about NEA and its partners here in Ohio.

Cross-posted from that hero and Big Government.

In Wisconsin, Governor Walker’s public union reforms are pummeling the Big Labor narrative by saving taxpayer dollars and teachers’ jobs. Meanwhile, the professional class-warriors who get rich pushing “solidarity” force districts into layoffs by refusing to revisit unaffordable contracts.

After similar reforms failed in Ohio thanks to a smear campaign exceeding $30 million, Ohio’s public workers are enjoying the sort of union victory that’s often accompanied by a pink slip.

A month ago I shared stories from around the state of firings caused by the same union bosses who screeched against Governor Kasich’s “attack on workers.” To the surprise of neither of my website’s readers, this avoidable trend continues.

Voters who opposed reform have caused the very problems Big Labor insisted reform would create:

Marion Police say they are committed to answering the city’s 9-1-1 calls but come the [sic] January 1st, callers could see delays in response times.

That’s because the [sic] 15 officers are being cut from the department.  Another position is expected to be eliminated in 2012.

Emphasis mine. Delayed response times were one of the many unexplained evils that would have allegedly resulted from making public employees a little more accountable to the public.

In Lorain, millions in cuts plus millions borrowed from the state aren’t enough:

The cuts would be in addition to laying off 18 teachers and nine teachers’ aides, which was approved Wednesday night by board members and would save $1.5 million. The layoffs take effect Jan. 23.

In Wapakoneta, home of Neil Armstrong, the teachers’ union is preparing to strike over a pay freeze and increased benefit costs, although administrators and non-union staff have already taken a pay freeze:

The district, like many, has faced difficult financial times. It had $1.2 million of deficit spending last fiscal year and is projected to spend $1.6 million more than its annual revenue this year.

Shelli Jackson, the union’s “Labor Relations Consultant,” was paid $111,811 in member dues last year. An Ohio Education Association-orchestrated strike against a struggling district would be one small notch in her class warfare belt, and one giant kick in the pants for taxpayers.

The Gallia County Schools union has also threatened to strike if they’re asked to pay anything towards their insurance:

Gallia County Schools Superintendent Charla Evans told WSAZ.com the board has made several offers they believe to be fair. She said the school system is spending more than it is taking in. The teachers and support staff have rejected both offers.

In Hancock County, the Van Buren Education Association threatened a strike when their school board voted to impose a final offer with inadequate raises:

That offer included a two-year contract that freezes teacher salaries this year, with a 1.12 percent raise in the 2012-13 school year.

Teachers who are on the single health care plan are also required to pay more toward benefits.

Threatening to strike when asked to pay slightly more towards insurance is a common public union tactic because it works. For Exhibit A in the National Education Association’s top-down mastery of class warfare, refer again to the results of the Ohio union reform campaign.

Exit survey: How un-frozen has your salary been over the past few years? When is the last time you heard a public employer suggest a pay cut? What do you expect will happen to teachers without seniority when local unions squeeze school boards into contracts they cannot afford?

Cross-posted at that hero and Big Government.