Ohio: Right to work. Deja vu, all over again.

          Ohio. 1958. A right to work ballot measure was decided here.
Now, this was the Fifties, the heyday of Union power in America. Ohio was a manufacturing powerhouse. Right behind Michigan in auto production. The home of the tire and rubber industry. In Columbus Ohio you had North American Aviation, a major Defense Contractor employing about 16,000 people building military aircraft. My Father worked there. There was steel and about anything you could imagine.
The anti union Republicans felt they could get a ballot issue passed in a major State with a large unionized workforce. It seems a disconnect with reality is not a modern GOP phenomenon.
The ballot measure was crushed by a 63%-37% margin. Oooops.
The idea of right to work for less resurfaced occasionally over the following decades but gained zero traction.
Fast forward to 2010.
The Tea Party phenomenon and major rise of extremism in the Ohio GOP gave the State to the far right. They immediately pushed a regressive agenda targeting unions and women's reproductive rights.
The Ohio House passed a so called Heartbeat bill to effectively ban abortion after six weeks with no provisions for rape, incest or the health of the mother. It died in the State Senate. However they did pass a twenty week limit. This was done in a political circus which made Ohio a national laughingstock, again.
The House and Senate passed a union busting bill that stripped collective bargaining rights from Public Sector Unions. This was done during massive protests at the Statehouse. They were the largest I had seen there since the anti Vietnam war days. Since Law Enforcement unions were also targeted one did not see tear gas and clubs the State Police were so fond of using on anti-war protesters. Everyone knew the Private Sector was next.
The Republican majority was not completely in lock step on this bill. The Senate leader had to resort to political chicanery. A Republican Senator on the Committee, who had listened to all the testimony, was a No vote. To ensure it made it to the Floor, this Senator was removed and replaced, at the last minute with a sure yes vote.
Senate Bill 5 passed along party lines and was signed into law by Governor John Kasich.
Kasich, even before he signed the bill used it to fundraise, touting it as a victory for workers and taxpayers over unions killing city budgets.
Unions, Democrats and others opposed to the bill immediately moved to put a repeal referendum on the November 2012 ballot.
There was a fight by the GOP to break the repeal into three separate issues which they lost in a decision by Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted.
Nearly 1.3 million signatures were submitted, a record in Ohio.
In August of 2011 the Governor tried to start negotiations with We Are Ohio, the ballot measure sponsor to rework SB5 and pull the repeal attempt. The response from opponents was a heartfelt no. They reminded the Governor and Legislature the time for discussion was before the bill was passed and signed into law.It was pointed out opposing voices were run roughshod over during committee hrarings. The Governor and Legislature was told to repeal the bill and the ballot measure would be dropped. They refused while denying this was a move in response to very bad poll results.
Kasich stumped for Senate Bill 5. It was endorsed by Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, both 2012 GOP Presidential hopefuls. The attack on unions was also backed by Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin. It also received positive support in the Right Wing Blogosphere and on Fox News.
On Election Day in 2011 the repeal passed 61%-39% mirroring the right to work rejection in 1958.
Always one to learn their lessons, the Right To Work crowd announced, within days of Issue 2 going down in flames, they would attempt to get a Right To Work measure on the 2012 ballot. Didn't happen.
They keep trying, saying they will try for the 2014 ballot. So far the drive has been an abysmal failure.
Now, with a rabid extremist majority in both Ohio's Houses it is rearing it's head again.
The Legislators have been told to cease and desist by the Kasich Administration until after the Governor's reelection campaign. Kasich, after 2011 does not want to have this adding to his labor woes. He knows there is a push after Issue 2 and his repressive anti-abortion budget regulations to defeat him. Kasich is dealing with a threatened Tea Party revolt and does not want to hyper energize the opposition of sane Ohioans by picking another fight with labor. He is trying to project a reasonable image as he readies a 2016 run at the White House.
So the best way to stop this is to hammer Kasich at the polls in 2014.
It will stop right to work in it's tracks and badly hamper his Presidential ambitions.
Kasich, one and done for Ohio's future.
Get on board.

Ohio joins up with Pregnancy Centers for Women's health. What??

          In  the rush to judgement over the abortion restrictions in Ohio we have lost sight of the deep, caring commitment the GOP legislators are showing to Ohio women. After all, these rules passed in Ohio's budget are for the health and safety of Ohio women. Just ask them.
Clinics that provide abortion services are required to have transfer agreements( A precaution in case of medical complications). These clinics are now forbidden from having transfer agreements with Public hospitals. Since most private hospitals in Ohio have religious affiliations clinics may have problems fulfilling this requirement. It is an excellent idea in a medical emergency,when time is a critical factor, to increase the distance a patient needs to be transported. After all any life saving procedure would be tantamount to an abortion and we can't have public money used to save a woman's life. We all know if she had not had sex she wouldn't be in this situation. Obviously it is the stance of the State of Ohio that sluts don't deserve compassion.
Another way to prove there is no war on women in Ohio is to defund Planned Parenthood. Or sorta defund.
What Ohio has done is change the funding priorities. Any family planning service provider, even if they don't offer abortion services, move to the back of the line for funding if they even make abortion referrals. This includes Rape Crisis Centers. Everyone knows children of rape are gifts from God. Since being a Republican legislator in Ohio makes you a de facto OB/GYN, you can decide if medically responsible treatment can even be mentioned. Once again, had the tramp not gotten knocked up there wouldn't be an issue.
So under these rules Christian anti-abortion, push for carrying to full term propaganda groups are funded. Planned Parenthood, not so much.Thus to ensure the health and safety of Ohio women, which is what these regulations are all about, contraception services will be provided by groups that don't believe in contraception. Natural methods are front and center. Rhythm and abstinence. Two methods that are proven to control a women's reproductive options.
Now, just because these groups have been caught lying in other States doesn't mean they will lie in Ohio. They won't tell women that condoms don't protect against STD's or pregnancy because they are naturally porous. They won't tell women that birth control causes mental health issues. They won't claim abortion can cause the formation of antibodies possibly forcing her immune system to reject a fetus causing a miscarry. Side effects not on the warning sheet are possible.
I am so very proud to live in a State that feels women need to be lied to, humiliated and considered too stupid to make important decisions concerning her health and future. Facts are stubborn things. They only get in the way of caring for women. Giving faith based groups public money to advance their anti-science agenda is needed. God knows women are willful creatures needing a strong hand to guide them. Now, let's go after other rights that are an affront to God. It's the new American way.

Let's talk about John Kasich.

     It appears inevitable that in spite of the impassioned, angry response of the women in the State, Texas will pass their repressive Reproductive Health law. Governor Rick Perry's lasting legacy of shame and humiliation for the women of the Great State of Texas. Compared to Ohio Texas, The Old Confederacy and all the extreme Right Wing dominated Legislatures here in the North are rank amateurs.
Not one, as Ohio has done, has seen fit to redefine pregnancy. I really can not rehash these regressive laws stripping women of their rights as citizens again. It gets a bit messy as my head explodes. Google. OK? 
I want to, wait. Let me rephrase. I need to talk about Ohio Governor John Kasich.
Once again the wannabe historian lurking inside takes the reigns, shoving me aside.
John Kasich. Where to start? Sheesh.
John grew up in Pennsylvania the son of a Letter Carrier. Yep, he grew up with a Union Thug. Kasich attended and got his degree from The Ohio State University. I wish he had gone to Michigan then he'd be their problem, not Ohio's.
Kasich stayed and was at twenty-six elected to the Ohio Senate. Even then he had a likeable public persona. John drew on his blue collar background, pointing out his father worked for the Postal Service, projecting an everyman image. He moved on wresting the 12th Congressional District back from a one term Democrat in 1982. He would hold that seat until 2001.
During this time he would convert from Catholicism to Evangelical Christianity, divorce his first wife. He then married his second and current wife. They have twin daughters.
Kasich came to Congress as a member of the minority GOP.He voted for the Clinton Impeachment. John also voted for NAFTA and helped get passage of the Assault Rifle Ban in the now Republican House. I am surprised that vote did not haunt him during his Gubernatorial bid.
With the GOP in control of The House, Kasich became head of the House budget Committee. He helped   pass the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. That is something he still claims full credit for, as if no one else was involved.
As Kasich declined to stand for relection again in 2000 he opened an exploratory committee for a Presidential run. That bid collapsed under massive indifference. He withdrew prior to the Iowa straw poll and endorsed George W. Bush.
Following his Congressional career Kasich received a show on Fox News. "Heartland With John Kasich".Here he pushed himself as a reasonable voice from the heart of America. He polished that performance. Fox also used him as a commentator and guest host for O'Reilly. John also subbed for Hannity. Sean, as a fair and balanced journalist, heartily endorsed Kasich's run for Governor.
While at Fox John also went to work for Lehman Brothers as a Managing Director based in Columbus Ohio. As they collapsed, nearly taking the economy with them, John received nearly a half million dollars in bonuses.
The collapse of the economy in 2008, the rise of the Tea Party, and falling poll numbers for Ohio Democratic Governor Ted Strickland convinced Kasich to run in 2010..
The near implosion of the American economy caused Ohio/s to tank. As a good Republican Kasich blamed the Democrats and the evil, greedy Unions. He rode the Tea Party and Democrats Unicorn Wing sitting out due to annoyance with President Obama. Thus the Democrats lost every Statewide elected office. This spelled disaster as redistricting loomed. Kasich won a brutal election by less than two percentage points. Like Bush in 2004, Kasich felt this was a sweeping mandate.So he took on the Public Sector Unions.
In a speech in Ashtabula County in March of 2009, Kasich spoke of a "Need to break the back of school unions." Thus when a bill eviscerating public sector union rights in Ohio passed the legislature. no one was surprised.
It took old school political shenanigans for this bill to pass. An Ohio Republican State Senator on committee was replaced to ensure the bill would make it to the floor. The Democrats were steamrollered. Opposition witnesses were denied a chance to speak.As the Statehouse was packed with and surrounded by angry Ohioans the bill passed. It was promptly signed by Kasich.
The opposition coalesced and gathered millions of signatures for a ballot repeal initiative.It required a truck to deliver the petitions to the Secretary of State. SecState Husted, staking out his independence from Kasich rejected Republican attempts to split the initiative into multiple ballot issues. The GOP also lost court battles over ballot language.
The fight was on. A former Republican lobbyist I know smugly predicted a crushing defeat for Issue 2. It was simply a matter of education, he said. We(GOP) just have to show the electorate the right way to vote. Massive amounts of out of state money poured in on both sides.The GOP attempted to split the Union vote by offering to remove Police Unions from the law. The FOP rejected it for solidarity.The poll numbers were dismal showing a defeat coming. So at the last minute the GOP offered to negotiate a new bill with Dems if the ballot measure was removed. That was met with a resounding NO. Issue 2, the Union Busting Bill was repealed 69%-31%.
With majorities in the State House and Senate the GOP turned their eye to women.
A Heartbeat Bill was introduced in the House. This legislation would have prevented abortion once a fetal heartbeat was detected. The result would be effectively banning abortion as a heartbeat occurs before most women realize they are pregnant. A fetus testified to the House via sonogram. Ohio was a laughingstock, again.
This bill was so misguided that so called Right To Life Organizations opposed it. They knew full well it would never survive a court test. Thankfully it died in the Senate. However there was no veto threat from Kasich.
Throughout his political career John has at every opportunity bleated his Pro Life credentials.
The Ohio Republican reactionary social agenda was rejected in 2012 by electing President Obama and Senator Sherrod Brown with a comfortable margin, Actually Senator Brown crushed his conservative opponent.
So, with the message given by voters the Ohio Legislature, with opposition proof majorities, did the only rational thing they could. They went after women.
These guys seem to feel they have a God given divine right to impose their narrow, theocratic moral views on the population of Ohio. The best way to do this they felt was in a budget bill effectively preventing open debate. Because, freedom.
As I said earlier, I am not going to revisit those provisions today because I can't type as I weep for Ohio.
Now tucked away in the budget passed by a conservative Republican majority was a provision forbidding an expansion of Medicaid in response to the ACA. Let's look at what happened after the budget was passed.
Prior to passage there were large protests outside the Statehouse. This should have been seen as proof the issue isn't the winner they think it is. In their bubble they must think,"Women, cute how they think they're  important."
This reprehensible budget passed on a Friday less than forty-eight hours ahead of a legal deadline.
The calls for the Governor to use his line item veto to strike down these provisions was loud and immediate. The response was to stop answering their phones and emails.
In answering questions for the Media over that weekend Kasich extolled the virtues of the new budget. He would work with the Legislature to get Medicaid expansion even though they'd just bitch slapped him over it. As to the abortion provisions he needed to look oat them. He also made it a point to often cite his pro life credentials.
Democrats and progressives I know thought that Kasich is at times a pragmatist. To avoid court fights he would veto the abortion regs. I disagreed because I saw this as a play to the base with his constant waving of the pro life ensign. I truly wish I had been wrong.
Kasich vetoed the prohibition on Medicaid expansion and did not veto ANY of the abortion provisions in the budget. This way he avoids a bloody GOP mutiny as he eyes reelection in '14 and a possible Presidential run as a champion of the pro life movement. So for naked political ambition John Kasich is willing to boost his ambition on the backs of women. He sees no downside to stripping women of their rights. Kasich must feel women are too complacent to cause any meaningful political damage to his election plans. Perhaps he should have a chat with Mitt Romney.
Ohio, it is tme to show these officeholders the political price of hubris and arrogance.
They need to be reminded who they serve. The people of Ohio. All the people of Ohio not just the most vocal, connected and generous with campaign contributions.
It is time to retake the asylum from the patients.Sanity, compassion and equality must return to the political discourse in Ohio. The only way to cause that is to show extremism has a high political cost.
The time to stand united with women is now.
The time to restore sanity is now.
The time to shout no further is now.
Stand for our daughters, sisters and a womans right to control her life and future.
NOW!
 

Shhhh, girls, the men are talking. Ohio. Again.

     I had hoped not to have to write this. I should be used to dashed and decimated hopes by now.
     Gov.John Kasich ( R-OH) had the chance to show Ohio is a sane, reasonable place to live. Instead he chose to show Ohio as a reactionary, theocratic, anti-women, anti-science State where Conservative men know more than Doctors on how to treat a pregnant woman.
    The provisions in this abhorrent Budget have purpose. To shame and intimidate women. The rules come from the idea that the girls are incapable of making decisions on their reproductive health, their future and rights as a human being and citizen  With the redefinition of pregnancy (AMA be damned) certain contraceptives may be defined as abortifacients since they prevent implantation to the uterine wall. Ultra sound and lectures for the pill or IUD?
     Any contraception restriction seems to be intended to strip women of viable alternatives to sex for other than  procreative purposes. If you have sex simply because you enjoy it (SLUT) be prepared for the consequences. You may need to rely on barrier or rhythm methods.       Or the RWNJ favorite, abstinence. See, sexually active women with alternatives and reproductive control are a major reason for the decline of our "Christian" nation's moral values. Harlots!! There seems to be a longing by these rat bastards for a return to a woman being pregnant for most of her reproductive years.
     Let's not forget there is no exclusion for rape or incest. The only exclusion is for saving the life of the mother. Period. That's it.
     The GOP in Ohio used to be reasonable and wary of overreach. No longer. They feel they have a mandate from God. A divine right to impose their narrow, hateful vision and moral judgements on the people of Ohio.
     The "Pro Life" lobby is ecstatic. Women are so incapable of making these decisions about their lives. Men are so much smarter and must act to protect them from themselves.
     Kasich in response to abysmal poll numbers has flirted with trying to appear pragmatic and reasonable. There have been occasional dashes to the center. Always short lived and seen as blatant political posturing.  
     Thus in Ohio there was the feeling he realized these provisions were a mistake and extremist over reach. He would use the line item veto on them. Instead he decided to play to the rabid right base to position himself for reelection in '14 and a possible Presidential run as a Conservative Pro Life champion in '16. He seems to have forgotten his Presidential flirtation with the GOP  in 2000 collapsed under massive indifference.
     I have always tried to avoid pissing off women as a rule. I have found angering women is unwise and dangerous.  These guys seem to relish it.
     So, options
     The best remedy I believe will be the courts. The danger there is these budget provisions seem to be a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade. A challenge that winds it's way to the Supreme Court (GOP AG DeWine would surely keep appealing any losses up the food chain) could,in this court result in overturning that landmark decision. We've seen their disdain for precedent and what in normally considered settled law.
     A major pushback by concerned and outraged women is very likely. However there is no Recall in Ohio.
     Budget provisions, I believe, can't  be overturned via ballot repeal. I need to research that but even if, deadlines for Nov. loom.
      The GOP can expect a push for defeat by righteously, outraged Ohio women and men.
     Our primary recourse is the ballot box to remove these people from office next year. Due to gerrymandering it will be a challenge. A challenge accepted. As a free people that value equality we can not let this abomination stand.
     We have an obligation to our daughters to stop this now. To stand and say NO! No Farther.
     Apathy and complacency will doom women to a return to the 19th century. Dangerous herbal concoctions to induce adbortion and miscarriages.
     Again back alley abortion resulting in death and sterilization of women due to sepsis. The return of the wire coat hanger as a surgical instrument.
     Not again!

What has happened to Ohio?? Budget tells women to shut up and take it.

      I remember when Ohio was a moderate, reasonable State.
John Glenn and Howard Metzenbaum were the US Senators.The two parties actually worked together to make Ohio a better place to live. Political agendas were not aggressively pursued and imposed on a reasonable populace. That was then. This is now.
In 2006, following Gov. Robert Taft's pathetic two terms Ohio elected a moderate, pragmatic Governor. Ted Strickland.
Ken Blackwell, the poster child for voter suppression in 2004 was kicked to the curb as he got his ass handed to him in the Governor's race. Democrats swept every State wide office and had a majority in the State Senate. Ohio was a moderately progressive state where compromise was required to govern.
Well, fast forward to 2010.
The rise of the Tea party challenge from the right and the Unicorn Wing of the Democratic Party sitting at home on their hands in a pique, forgetting elections have consequences saw the rout of reasonable pols. The reactionary right seized control of State Government. They Gerrymandered the State to create safe districts and ensure one party rule for the next decade. There was attempted voter suppression beat back by the courts.Still Ohio is not the red state the Tea Party/GOP say it is. PBO carried Ohio in a decisive victory. Twice.
This is simply apologetic background to show Ohio doesn't have a long history of insanity.
Now comes the two year budget passed by the reactionary Legislature, steamrolling the Democratic minority. Into this budget they inserted the "Pro Life" shopping list and in places took it farther. Let's peer under the rock at the squirmy little fucks.
This budget:
Redefines pregnancy as starting at conception contrary to what the AMA says.
Reworks funding to put Planned parenthood at the end of the funding line behind Pregnancy Crisis Centers. (Anti abortion groups) One Senator said no funding for any organization that supports abortion as an option.
Doctors must perform a medically unneeded ultra sound at the woman's expense.The MD is required to describe the fetus and tell the chances of it reaching viability and full term. Fetal pain must be mentioned.
Doctors are required to tell women abortion increases the possibility of breast cancer even though the American Cancer Society says there is no evidence of a correlation.
If Doctors don't lie to their patient and jump through the hoops they could be convicted of a felony and a million dollar fine can be imposed..
Abortion providers can not have transfer agreements with public hospitals. In Ohio most private hospitals have religious affiliations This could make transfer agreements problematic.
Doubles the waiting time to forty eight hours.
If a fetal heartbeat is found during the ultra sound the woman must be notified in writing.
The GOP says these regulations are necessary to inform a woman of risks and options. To increase safety. Another solution in search of a problem.
This is needed to reduce the number of procedures in Ohio. OK. in 1982 45,000 abortions were performed here. 2012? 25,000. The number seems to be decreasing without this intervention by the State.
There were protests as the vote progressed. State Senator Nina Turner(D-Cleveland) said,"Texas lit the fuse." Indeed, This legislation is an abomination. It makes me ashamed to be an Ohioan.
Gov. John Kasich(Already mentioned by Politico as a strong Presidential primary contender in 2016) in a five minute answer to a question about the abortion regs mentioned several times he was pro life. So, a line item veto of these heinous regulations is unlikely
So, options? A court challenge on multiple provisions seems likely.
An organized pushback by women is also likely.
Kasich is up for reelection in 2014. The best way to derail his Presidential ambitions is to make him a one term Governor and restore sanity to budget making here. For those who don't remember Kasich had an aborted Presidential; Primary campaign in 2000 which collapsed under lack of support. He also worked at Fox News.
WE need more sane voices in the Legislature
WE need to retake the State wide offices.
Ohioans must stand and say NO!! Ohio has to show the Nation we are not in favor of women being chattel with no input on their health, rights and future.
Equal means equal.
Stand up Ohio! Just say NO! Loud and proud.