One and Done

Okay, I was wrong.

Ohioans voted not to pass Issue One, which would have required the state's voters to pass an amendment to the state constitution by a 60 percent majority, rejecting it by a vote of 57 to 43 percent.  Of course  I was surprised.  After all, this was a Republican idea designed to keep Ohio Democrats from amending the state constitution to enshrine abortion rights in the law, and this is the state that hasn't elected a Democratic governor since 2006 and just recently sent the insufferable James David Vance to the Senate.

But it turns out that many Republicans were against this measure too.  Former Ohio Republican governors Bob Taft and John Kasich opposed it, calling it undemocratic - well aware that changes to the state constitution that are popular with Republicans could just as easily fail to pass if this measure were to become law.   

So, the measure enshrining abortion in the Ohio state constitution should pass in November.  And Republicans have vowed to repeal it if and when it passes.

I give up on Ohio.

Nice flag, though. 

One?

Issue One, a referendum on the state constitution of Ohio that precedes a second referendum in November on whether to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution, is up for a vote tomorrow.   The abortion referendum is expected to get 58 percent of the vote.

However, the referendum up for a vote tomorrow - in literally the middle of summer, when a lot of people aren't paying attention - would raise the minimum majority for a referendum to change the state constitution to pass to 60 percent.

Republicans who crafted this referendum for a dastardly end run around the will of the people in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus - whose domeless rotunda, as seen above, looks incredibly weird - are counting on their base to come out strong tomorrow while running misleading ads pertaining to transsexual issues and education issues related to non-heterosexual perspectives to get independents to vote for Issue One.  I haven't seen any polls showing where the vote to raise the bar for popularly amending the Ohio state constitution stands, but Democrats have their work cut out for them to fend off this referendum.  Organizing Democrats is like herding cats, whereas Republicans organize themselves like a K-9 police unit organizes its German shepherds - with ruthless efficiency.

We are indeed living in scary times.  The people who dreamed up this idea will do anything to prevent their right-wing agenda from being thwarted, so they can continue to do nasty things like criminalize abortion, scale back voting rights, privatize public amenities, and burn more of the fossil fuels that cause climate change, which causes severe weather.

Speaking of which, my area in New Jersey is expected to get thunderstorms today.  Thanks, Big Oil. 

P.S.  Hey, Ohio Republicans: Focus more on immediate concerns, like getting a dome for your Statehouse!