A sobering fact for Ohio Democrats: Richard Cordray won more votes (2,020,128) than John Kasich did to win a 2-1 landslide in 2014 (1,922,436). Trump-era Ohio Republicans simply smashed through the model with rural voters.
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) November 7, 2018
That describes our situation here in ruby red Vinton County. Our farm is on the far edge of the county, and the adjoining county (Athens) is home to Ohio University, making the City of Athens a dark blue dot in solidly red southeastern Ohio. It’s not as screwed up as West Virginia, but then again, what is? (Perhaps you missed the West Virginia Supreme Court debacle?) Our votes were spit in the wind in all the very local races, and not much more meaningful in the statewide races, but Sherrod Brown was able to hold onto his seat, so that’s something. The day before the election, Dr. Evil asked me if I was nervous and I told her I wasn’t, because there was no way it could be as bad as November 2016. Ah, the pleasures of diminished expectations!
I don’t think I have anything new to add to the dumpster fire that is the Trump administration, but rest assured, I’m watching. It’s killing me, but I’m watching.
What I would like to talk about is the growing propensity of politicians to ignore their constituents. I’ll have to use West Virginia as my example, because I’m still learning about Ohio. In West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District (basically the southern coalfields) was left without representation when its congresscritter resigned mid-session to take a seat on the West Virginia Supreme Court (see above). This left the race between a car dealership dutchess (Carol Miller) and a rough-hewn retired Army officer (Richard Ojeda). Ojeda mounted an aggressive shoe leather campaign, and managed to shift WV3 some 37 points from Trump’s resounding success in 2016. Miller refused to conduct open town halls, refused to debate Ojeda, and agreed to only one televised interview, and then only with an incredibly friendly outlet. The same was the case in WV2; the incumbent refused to debate his challenger, and he still needs to ask for directions for any place south of Harper’s Ferry. And In WV1? You guessed it. It’s not unique to the Republicans, of course, nominally Democratic Senator Joe Manchin had several women arrested when they refused to leave his Charleston office in the lead-up to the Kavanaugh vote (which will require its own Surly Farmer piece, if not a series).”Civility!” cry the politicians and their lackeys. Ya know what? You might get harassed less while out dining if you would actually listen to your constituents. All of them.
And lest we think the problem is Republican in nature, check out this lovely bit from the Chicago Tribune. Chuy won, and this was essentially how Luis got the job back in his day. I vote, but man, the choices are horrible. “Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who has served in Congress since 1993, was poised to run and win again in the Chicago-centered 4th Congressional District — until, suddenly, he wasn’t. In late November, at the start of the brief window in which primary candidates file to run, Gutierrez announced his retirement and his preferred successor: Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, a… Read more »
Nope, it’s endemic. And it relies on the fact that most are either too uninterested or too busy making ends meet to notice or raise a stink.