Dear Republican Leaders,
Here are some of the highlights:
- Other than the $5,000 worth of damage to my car, I had a great trip to Wyandot County on Monday night and another opportunity to share our agenda for Leading Ohio at the county's annual Lincoln dinner. As we've seen everywhere this year, the turnout was encouraging and the crowd was energized to bring our party back.
- I also had the privilege of meeting on Monday with Delaware County Sheriff Walter Davis, who made history two years ago by becoming Ohio's first African American sheriff. Sheriff Davis is a loyal Republican and a voracious networker, and I appreciate his insights on building the party. He has an inspiring life story that he's sharing with young people across our state, and you can read more about it in this recent Columbus Dispatch article.
- The staff and I traveled to Findlay on Tuesday for another productive party leadership meeting, this time with county chairs and state committee members from the northwest counties. We discussed the strengths and weaknesses of our performance in 2008, and we outlined our strategy for making a comeback in 2009 and 2010.
- On Wednesday, I met with a team of election attorneys who have agreed to advise the party on legal strategies related to voting procedures, ballot integrity, recounts, and other election-related issues. The last two recount scenarios in Ohio's 15th congressional district and the still-undecided U.S. Senate race in Minnesota have prompted us to be more prepared for the unfortunate but inevitable litigation that often surrounds a close outcome. We also continue to face the ongoing legal maneuvering of our secretary of state, who shows little regard for the law when it doesn't fit her partisan agenda.
- I also met Wednesday with former Senate President Stan Aronoff as we continue to reach out to the veteran leaders of our party for insight.
- About 25 county chairs and state committee members joined us on Wednesday evening in Lewis Center (Delaware County) for the last of six regional party leadership meetings. We didn't intend to meet colonial style, but a power outage forced us to converse by candlelight for part of the evening. Despite the unique setting, we had a great discussion about our 2009 political plan and 2010 statewide ticket.
- I capped off the week with a keynote speech to the Highland County Republican Party's annual Lincoln Day dinner - probably the most humorous event I've been to this season. The locals were funny; the event was lighthearted; and the mood was incredibly optimistic. I asked everyone to reacquaint themselves with the principles of our party and to recommit their time, energy and talents to the cause. My thanks to Kay Ayres for her outstanding leadership in Highland County and, more importantly, as vice chair of our state party. Kay has driven thousands of miles this year to attend Republican events from Hamilton to Cuyahoga counties and everywhere in between. I appreciate her loyal service and reliable partnership.
Finally, I appreciate the encouraging feedback many of you have shared about these weekly emails. They not only keep me accountable to you, but they also provide a short, informative summary of our progress that I trust you can use in communicating with others. Please feel free to forward this email to your network. If you'd like us to add a list of email addresses to this update, send them to Craig Forbes in my office (forbes@ohiogop.org). You can also click on the "Forward Email" link at the very bottom of this page to send the email directly to your contacts.
The Week Ahead
Next week, I'll be traveling out of state with my family, but the staff has a lot on the agenda back at the office. Our first New Media Training Workshop is scheduled for Wednesday evening, and it's already filled to capacity. Our County Chairs College begins on April 27th, and our annual Candidate Training Seminar will likely happen on June 6th, but we're still working on some final logistics for both. We'll send out confirmation on both of those events next week.
Thanks again for what you're doing to advance the Republican Party!
Kevin DeWine
Chairman
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From the Ohio GOP Blog:
You know it's getting rough for the Obama administration when even their leftist allies in the media are starting to gripe. Here are the highlights of a brutal editorial in the latest issue of The Economist:
- Hillary Clinton might have been somewhat accurate in her quip that "the Oval Office is no place for on-the-job training."
- Obama's "performance has been weaker than those who endorsed his candidacy, including this newspaper, had hoped."
- Polls are starting to show "independent voters again prefer Republicans to Democrats, a startling reversal of fortune in just a few weeks."
- "Mr Obama has seemed curiously feeble."
- His stimulus package was "subcontracted to Congress, which did a mediocre job."
- His budget "is wildly optimistic," and he has taken "too long" to produce his bank bailout plan.
- "The failure to staff the Treasury is a shocking illustration of administrative drift."
- Obama made a "series of bad picks of people who have chosen or been forced to withdraw."
- He "mishandled his relations with both sides in Congress" and failed to behave as the centrist he promised.
- He "seems unable to" control his own party. "Democrats are messing him around," and he is "letting them get away with it."
In summary, "Mr Obama has a long way to travel if he is to serve his country—and the world—as he should." Ouch.
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In Case You Missed It:
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OhioGOPtv
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Must Reads of the Week
Karl Rove: Something powerful is stirring in the land, and it may not be good news for President Barack Obama, his agenda or the Democratic Party.
GOP gloves off for budget brawl: House Republicans have begun unveiling detailed alternatives to President Barack Obama's policies - a concerted effort to push back against Democratic efforts to label them "the Party of No." On Wednesday, it was a housing plan. Thursday, it will be a big, TV-friendly stack of budget blueprints, "The Republican Road to Recovery."
Five Signs of a Flailing Presidency: What goes on in Washington usually comes across as background noise to the public, but not this time. Bonuses for AIG executives are like the infamous Bridge to Nowhere--an issue that's broken through outside Washington. And we know it's become a major political problem for the president because he and his administration act as if it has.
The GOP Alternative: With Democrats trying to sneak a sweeping overhaul of the country's medical system into law, including a government-run health plan that would unfairly compete against private insurers, the GOP is offering "tax incentives for millions more working families and small-business owners to obtain access to coverage." The GOP plan would also let people "shop across state lines to purchase affordable policies that best meet their needs." Most important, however, the Republican alternative replaces the biggest spending spree in history with deep tax cuts - a proven economic jump-starter.
WSJ - Obama Sticker Shock: President Obama's 2010 budget looks more astounding by the day, especially when someone other than the White House budget office is analyzing it. The latest case of epic sticker shock came Friday when the Congressional Budget Office published its assessment, which found that the proposals would increase the federal deficit by $2.3 trillion more over 10 years than the White House had claimed.
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Photo Gallery
Chairman DeWine meets with party leaders at the Central Ohio Regional Leadership Meeting in Lewis Center this week.
Vice Chair Kay Ayres and Chairman DeWine talk with party leaders at the Northwest Regional Leadership meeting in Findlay this week.
U.S. Senate candidate Rob Portman addressed the Ohio State Medical Association earlier this week at their annual meeting in Columbus. Rob spoke to more than 300 Ohio physicians from around Ohio about the economy and health care. Pictured with Rob are Brent Mulgrew, OSMA President Warren Muth, OSMA First District Councilor Marvin Rorick, Tim Maglione, and Jeff Smith.
