Here is the website, which includes a new video of him introducing himself while taking healthy shots at Mike DeWine and AG Rich Cordray:
From Joe Hallett’s column today in The Dispatch:
About five years ago, Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell tried to change the Senate’s nearly century-old filibuster rules.
Back then, Republicans held a majority in the Senate, and they cringed at threats by the Democratic minority to block President George W. Bush’s appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court by using the endless debating procedure.
But if McConnell had succeeded, Senate Republicans might not have use of the filibuster now to block President Barack Obama’s health-care plan.
“God, that was a dumb idea,” McConnell said, chuckling, during a recent interview with The Washington Post.
He and other Republicans can thank, in part, former Sen. Mike DeWine for preserving the filibuster and ensuring that Bush’s conservative nominees to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, won confirmation.
DeWine, who had a reputation for working across the aisle to get things done, had joined six other Republicans and seven Democrats to form the so-called “Gang of 14.”
Their compromise made it more difficult for the Senate to kill judicial nominations by using the filibuster. Conservatives were disappointed, because they wanted the Senate’s GOP majority back then to use their muscle to change the rules and confirm their favorite judges by simple majority rather than the 60 votes required to overcome a filibuster.
Had conservatives gotten their wish, Senate Republicans now would be unable to stop Obama’s agenda, including the “Obamacare” they dread so much. But rather than hail DeWine for preserving the filibuster and ensuring that Roberts and Alito were confirmed, many on the far right vilify him for being a turncoat.
Why is Hallett writing about this? What made him take a break from supporting higher taxes and regurgitating stale political news? I know he can’t stand conservatives, but this discussion feels contrived, as if DeWine’s campaign should list it as an in-kind contribution for free newspaper advertising. It also mirrors what DeWine says during county GOP endorsement meetings.
First of all, both the House and the Senate passed health care bills. Until the election of Sen. Brown (the better of the two Browns), Democrats had a filibuster-proof majority. Republicans were helpless, and only DEMOCRATS were standing in the way of the Obama agenda. In fact, they could still easily pass socialized health care now, using reconciliation and a simple majority. (Some Ohio Congressional Democrats, such as Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy and Sherrod Brown, are pushing hard for this strategy.)
And secondly, though the filibuster is extra-constitutional and has a checkered history, I support it because, as a conservative, I’m a big fan of gridlock and stalling legislation in general. America is a republic (not a democracy), and as more power is consolidated with the federal government, having extra protections against the “tyranny of the majority” is healthy.
However, the problem during the Bush administration was a question of the Appointments Clause (Article II, Section 2), which calls for a simple majority vote for the Senate to “advise and consent” on judicial appointments. Not all uses of the filibuster raises this same sort of serious constitutional conflict about the number of votes needed to do something.
As the battle raged on over President Bush’s judicial nominees, litigation could have been filed to force the Senate Majority to respect Article II, section 2…. Or there could have been debate over changing the Senate rules just for when filibusters conflict with the legitimate rights of the executive branch.
However, then-Sen. Mike DeWine was in no mood for a tough political fight, and instead joined the “Gang of 14″ to avoid this issue entirely. And as he explained to Republican State Central Committee member John Becker last week:
During the “Gang of 14″ discussion, I asked him about Miguel Estrada, Charles Pickering, Carolyn Kuhl, and Fourth Circuit Court nominee Terrence Boyle. [DeWine] defended and explained his position. Although he firmly believes that he did the right thing, he confessed that a number of nominees “got thrown under the bus.”
Translation: Brilliant legal minds (listed above) were prevented from becoming federal judges because DeWine and the other 13 prevented Republicans from starting a political fight in which the Constitution was squarely on their side.
We have no idea how horrible our lives may have been if DeWine was never born. But we know for certain that DeWine’s compromise stopped a number of conservatives from accepting appointments that they were more than qualified for.
But now, Mike DeWine gets to look back fondly on his weak-kneed strategy and claim he stopped ObamaCare years before President Obama even took office?
If you say so, Mike.
From the Inbox:
Huber Heights, Ohio – State Auditor candidate Seth Morgan, CPA was endorsed by the Brown County Republican Party with 75 percent of the vote on Thursday, Feb. 11.
“Republican leaders in Brown County selected Seth Morgan overwhelmingly,” said Rob Scott, Friends of Seth Morgan Communications Director. “This is just another example of leaders across our state publicly recognizing that Seth Morgan is the most qualified candidate of either party for Auditor of State.”
Both Morgan and Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost were in attendance to ask for the county’s endorsement for state auditor. Yost received 13 percent of the vote.
“This endorsement further solidifies the base of support Seth is gathering across the state. Not only is he being supported by the leaders of conservative organizations statewide as well as the Tea Party movement, the Republican ‘establishment’ is joining these groups and proclaiming Seth as their candidate for Auditor no matter what the Party ‘elite’ want the rank and file to believe”, said Emery Phipps, Friends of Seth Morgan Political Director.
And they simply decided to not endorse at all in the Attorney General’s race.
Two days ago, I raised questions about Steve Christopher donating thousands of dollars to Mike DeWine’s previous campaigns for US Senate. Last night, he responded in the comments section:
To all the Right Ohio bloggers. I gave money to Mike DeWine. Back in 2000, I worked on his first senate campaign. I thought he was a conservative; that’s the way he ran. If you could have known ahead of time that he would do what he did, then my hat’s off to you.
Like a lot of conservatives, I misjudged the man. I also contributed and worked on campaigns for other guys. Some stayed true and some didn’t. You quit supporting the ones that sell out. Sometimes you have to choose the lesser of two evils. You can get involved and try to influence the system or just sit back and watch as it gets worse.
I’ve chosen not to sit back and watch. I was early on a supporter of Dave Yost. When he left the AG race, I waited for another conservative to step forward. Nobody did. Reluctantly, I stepped up to fill the gap. Check me out; you should ask questions, whether of me or anyone else who seeks public office. I applaud you for your skepticism. I hope you will accept my explanation. I will never put the people who support me in the position, years later, of having to explain why.
As to my YouTube video, I don’t know who posted it. I had no plans to run for office when I gave that speech. It may not be artful, but it is heartfelt. If you want to know where I stand, start with the YouTube speech.
The YouTubes he is referring to are 3 amateur videos posted of his speech at a local TEA party rally in Kenton (Hardin County). The audio is bad, but he talks about the founding of our country, conservative principles, and gun rights in a style that I couldn’t imagine Mike DeWine repeating without spontaneously combusting into flames.
Thank you Steve for your response.
Mike DeWine is leading Rich Cordray 50% to 32%.
(picture from his public Facebook profile)
I have made my strong disapproval of Mike DeWine known. As Ohio’s Senator, he showed himself to be a man who lacks principles and helped destroy the Republican party brand. Since the Attorney General is not on the apportionment board, I couldn’t blame a conservative who doesn’t vote for Mike in November.
So how exciting it was this afternoon to hear that DeWine was going to get some primary heat from the right. And he happens to be a professor from the same school that DeWine attended law school:
Hardin County attorney Steve Christopher today, Feb. 8, said he is running for the Republican nomination for attorney general against former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine of Cedarville.
“I feel like the moderates and conservatives need to have a candidate for attorney general who’s not a professional politician and a liberal, which DeWine and Cordray both are,” Christopher, 51, who is part of the Tea Party movement, said by phone.[...]
Christopher said he is a township trustee in Hardin County where he lives on a farm near Forest. He has law offices in Kenton and Findlay in Hancock County, where he filed his designation of campaign treasurer form.
“The overriding theme (of the campaign) is that we need a conservative on the ballot, someone who understands the constitution,” said Christopher.
He also is an adjunct professor at Ohio Northern University. DeWine attended law school at Ohio Northern.
Great! Pro-constitution! Smaller government! Liberal bashing! All stuff I approve of.
BUT, a quick look at campaign finance reports shows that Mr. Christopher has been quite a fan of Mike DeWine, writing substantial checks to DeWine’s campaigns:
6/29/04 Primary 2006-2006 $5
6/26/02 General 2006-2006 $10
2/11/02 Primary 2006-2006 $1,000
10/3/00 GENERAL 2000-2000 $650
9/8/00 GENERAL 2000-2000 $300
7/12/00 GENERAL 2000-2000 $25
9/2/99 PRIMARY 2000-2000 $1,000
8/10/94 GENERAL 1994-1994 $1,000
3/31/94 PRIMARY 1994-1994 $100
10/26/92 GENERAL 1992-1992 $700
10/22/92 GENERAL 1992-1992 $75
10/22/92 GENERAL 1992-1992 $75
8/24/92 GENERAL 1992-1992 $100
So why would a candidate who embodies the principles of conservatism donate thousands of dollars to a “liberal career politician” like Mike DeWine? That’s not very TEA partyish.
I also noticed he donated at least $1800 to pro-trial lawyer (anti-tort reform) American Association for Justice PAC. hmmmm
Original music by Attorney General candidate and Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost. What do you think?
Yesterday, I reported that Kevin DeWine pulled the plug on a potential endorsement in the race for AG. Tonight, Bill Hershey in the Dayton Daily News has the candidates’ responses:
Yost said he was disappointed but would continue working.
Mike DeWine said he was not disappointed.
“My focus in this race is articulating a vision for the attorney general’s office, what I want to do with that office and raising money so I can get that message across to people,” Mike DeWine said.
Mark Caleb Smith, director of the Center for Political Studies at Cedarville University, said in an e-mail that the race reflects what’s going on nationally.
“I think we are witnessing a battle between old-line moderates and conservatives for the control of the GOP,” Smith said.
I think it would be hard to describe a F from the NRA as “moderate.” And of course DeWine is pleased, as the longer an endorsement vote is delayed, the more smokey room deals and arm twisting can occur.
While issues certainly matter, at the end of the day this race is more about principled leadership verses the soulless, entrenched establishment. For example, I’d be very interested to know how badly Mike DeWine’s close friend, Summit County GOP Chairman Alex Arshinkoff, would love to be able to direct special counsel work to certain law firms.
And isn’t it fun to see the party elites worried about their core supporters?:
Montgomery County Republican Chairman Gregory Gantt, who personally supports Mike DeWine, said a non-endorsement might keep peace between DeWine supporters and those in the party, including some in the Tea Party movement, who want new candidates.
Republican Rob Scott of Kettering, president of the Dayton Tea Party, said the group doesn’t endorse candidates but that “I believe we need fresh faces.”
This week, the Ohio GOP’s screening committee was scheduled to meet before the central committee’s meeting on Friday. As was decided in September, they were supposed to consider making an endorsement in the one state-wide race they had not made one in yet… the race Ohio Attorney general, between Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost and liberal, gun-grabbing, former US Senator Mike DeWine (aka “recipe boy“).
That was the plan… UNTIL last night’s conference call, where Ohio GOP Chairman Chairman Kevin DeWine (Mike’s second cousin) suggested that they all should agree to his motion to pull the plug on the endorsement vote. Chairman DeWine only has a single vote on the committee, but loyal party stalwarts diligently fell in line at his request.
Why the last-minute change? No one is entirely sure. They need 44 votes to suspend the rules and 2/3rds of the committee must vote to suspend the rules prohibiting endorsements in contested, non-incumbent primary elections.
ORPers claim that both sides don’t have the necessary 44 votes and they expect low turn out at this meeting. But how can we trust their own internal “whip counts” and take that at face value?
There is no doubt that the party establishment, including the most recent Republican presidential candidate, is firmly in support of Mike DeWine. But now that DeWine’s communications director and fundraiser have left and Mike’s campaign is in shambles, maybe the committee was willing to endorse the only candidate which embraces the conservative principles of the Republican Party: Dave Yost.
There is no question that the Republican grassroots is with Yost. As someone who worked for Ken Blackwell’s campaign in 2006, I remember vividly how difficult it was to get Republican activists to phone banks if they also had to make calls to also support DeWine. We would have gladly held our own phone banks, but simply didn’t have the money to conduct such efforts independently of the ORP. I really can’t imagine that John Kasich would appreciate that sort of drag on the party’s ticket.
Polls have shown that at no time in history are voters more upset at big government and the political status quo. And in this election cycle, the party would be hard pressed to find a worse candidate to run than Mike DeWine, a former Senator who earned a F rating from the NRA, supported speech-stifling campaign fiance laws, opposed drilling in ANWR, and stopped dozens of conservative judges from taking the bench by joining the “Gang of 14.” DeWine was part of the same Republican elite that forgot their party’s platform and handed Washington over to President Obama and the far-left.
And even Ohio Democrat leaders have read the tea leaves and are worried about a Yost candidacy. As was reported in the Cincinnati Enquirer on December 1…
Monday night, 415 Cincinnati area Democrats gathered in the 20th Century Theater in Oakley to hear Ohio Democratic Party officials lay out their plan for delivering a “knockout” blow to the GOP in the 2010 elections.
With double-digit unemployment and approval ratings of Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and President Obama nose-diving, the Democratic party will have its work cut out for it.
The 20th Century, of course, is a theater, and state party chairman Chris Redfern and Doug Kelly, the party’s executive director, put on a stage show, complete with graphics, comedy one-liners and even a clip from a Blues Brothers movie to fire up the crowd.[...]
- Kelly also predicted there may be an upset brewing in the GOP primary for Ohio attorney general, with Delaware County prosecutor Dave Yost beating the better known Mike DeWine.
So if the grassroots know and a liberal like Doug Kelly knows, then how likely is it that the screening committee doesn’t know that Dave Yost is the superior candidate? My educated guess is that this was a purposeful effort to stall a meeting where Yost would have won the endorsement, to give Cousin Kevin a chance to browbeat and arm twist.
Is Kevin DeWine starting to make good on his promise last year to move the party even further away from conservative principles?
Stay tuned for more details…
In addition to DeWine firing his spokesman, DeWine’s fundraiser, Amanda Sima is leaving the sinking Titanic known as the Mike DeWine for Attorney General campaign. Amanda is one of the most prominent Republicans fundraisers in Ohio, and I had the pleasure of working with her on the Blackwell campaign when we knew her as Amanda Tilson.
I am waiting for an update as to where recent Ohio GOP Voter Vault supernerd and current DeWine’s campaign manager John Hall is up to. I won’t speculate, but we can imagine things are very quite at campaign headquarters today.
It is confirmed by three credible sources that anti-gun Mike DeWine’s DC-based political consultant, Jon Seaton, former national field director for failed presidential candidate John McCain, has been fired and will be leaving DeWine’s campaign at the end of the year.
As this race for Attorney General has been seen by most political observers as a stepping stone by former Senator DeWine to rejoin the US Senate or perhaps run for Governor.
With DeWine’s campaign already violating election law twice (here and here), this is yet another example of what a disaster things are behind the scenes at DeWine HQ.
Update: Jesse Hathaway, who is the first person I heard the rumor from, tells us that Mark Weaver is going to be taking his spot. I have picked on him in the past, but Weaver is a talented guy. WHY MUST HE STICK WITH GOP SQUISHES!?
BLOG POST EDITED: I originally referred to the DeWine campaign being “run out” of the Ohio GOP office. That certainly isn’t true, at least in the physical sense of an actual office space. In addition, Hall is not currently an employee of the Ohio Republican Party.
All over the country, a battle is going on for the heart and soul of the Republican Party.
It’s waged by the party’s social conservatives and fiscal conservatives, fired up by the Tea Party movement and aimed at GOP candidates they see as too moderate on their issues.
Ohio may be next, and in a somewhat unlikely arena – the two-man race for the GOP nomination for Ohio attorney general.
“Conservatives – I hate to say it because I don’t think we ever went away – are on the comeback,” said Warren County political activist Lori Viars, who works for Family First PAC. “We’re not just backing the same old candidates the party puts up. We’re challenging them.”
In Ohio, the line is being drawn between the two announced candidates for attorney general, who will face each other in the May primary – former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, who has had some problems with the party’s most conservative members in the past, and Delaware County prosecutor Dave Yost.
[...]
The Ohio GOP endorsed two candidates who are likely to have primary opposition in the May primary – former congressman Rob Portman for the U.S. Senate over Cleveland car dealer Tom Ganley; and former Ohio House speaker Jon Husted for secretary of state over Sandra O’Brien of Ashtabula.
But, on the DeWine-Yost race, the party was silent.
John McClelland, the state party’s communications director, said that because of DeWine’s late entry into the race, party leaders decided to skip the attorney general’s race.
“We decided to be neutral on this one; and it may well stay that way,” McClelland said.
First of all, John is full of crap. Not only is the Ohio GOP not neutral in this race, every employee at the Ohio GOP office is quite dismissive of Dave Yost and a recent-ORP staffer named John Hall, is serving as his campaign manager. John should stick to the stiff YouTube video updates. And looking at where his fund raising is coming from, there is no doubt DeWine has hire aspirations.
So far in this campaign, I have shown that Mike DeWine has violated campaign election laws TWICE (here and here). In other campaigns these might be small oversights, but they are BIG DEAL when you are the guy who wants to serve as Ohio’s top lawyer and prosecutor.
DeWine hasn’t stood in front of a jury since President Reagan was in office, while Prosecutor Dave Yost is in Delaware County TODAY putting bad guys.
DeWine also supported the late Ted Kennedy’s minimum wage hike, joined Sherrod Brown in opposing US companies from buying cheap foreign steel, and repeatedly opposed legislation to drill for oil in Alaska. And he was part on the infamous “Gang of 14″, where compromises where made with Democrats and kept brilliant conservative judges like Janice Rogers Brown and Miguel Estrada off of the bench.
Also, as a supposed Catholic, DeWine joined forces in 2004 with Ohio’s sodomite lobby to oppose Ohio’s marriage amendment which was passed with an overwhelming 62% of the vote and probably saved President Bush’s re-election campaign.
DeWine richly deserved a F Rating from the NRA, which would put him at odds with his Rich Cordray on this important critical issue for the AG’s office. Considering that, no matter how much John Kasich apologies profusely for his incorrect vote on the 1994 Clinton Assault Weapons ban, gun groups aren’t satisfied. So wouldn’t it be nice if the ORP at least made an attempt to have their ticket appear more pro-gun than the Ohio Democrat ticket?
The media may call DeWine a “moderate,” but I call him UNPRINCIPLED because that is what he is. The problem is- DeWine’s record is spread out over so many years that few know it in detail. Thankfully, I’ll be here to remind you.
Apparently, voters in Butler County want a candidate for Attorney General who DOESN’T have a F rating from the NRA…
From the inbox:
Defeats Mike DeWine for Butler County Endorsement, calls victory a “game-changer”
(Hamilton) Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost last night secured the endorsement for Ohio Attorney General from the Butler County Republican Central and Executive Committee, defeating former U.S. Senator Mike DeWine. Butler County is the seventh largest county in Ohio boasts one of the state’s strongest GOP bases.
“This is an enormous win for our campaign – but it’s even more important as a signal of a fresh start for Ohio,” Yost said. “I’m humbled and encouraged by this vote of confidence as a signal of the desire among voters for a new generation of leadership.”
Butler County, a Republican stronghold among Ohio’s 88 counties, is crucial for any candidate seeking statewide office. The Party endorsement requires a supermajority of 60%. Yost won with 68%.
An interesting fact you may not know is that the Ohio Revised Code prohibits campaign contributions from Medicaid Providers to candidates for Attorney General:
3599.45 Candidates prohibited from accepting contributions from Medicaid providers.
(A) No candidate for the office of attorney general or county prosecutor or such a candidate’s campaign committee shall knowingly accept any contribution from a provider of services or goods under contract with the department of job and family services pursuant to the medicaid program of Title XIX of the “Social Security Act,” 49 Stat. 620 (1935), 42 U.S.C. 301, as amended, or from any person having an ownership interest in the provider.
As used in this section “candidate,” “campaign committee,” and “contribution” have the same meaning as in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code.
(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
Effective Date: 07-01-2000
But since candidates for AG are always brilliant lawyers ready to serve as Ohio’s top law enforcement officer, of course every candidate would know about this law, right?
Wrong!
According to Mike DeWine’s campaign report, DeWine gladly accepted a $1000 donation from Michael R Heaphy MD, a Medicaid provider from Lima.
But perhaps in Mike’s defense, he is so singularly focused on higher office that he forgot to pay attention to the campaign laws which he must abide by when running for his stepping-stone office. Regardless, he should return the money immediately.
And on a local level, DeWine’s former campaign manager, Matt Carle, a pro-abortion DeWine-like Republican, is running for the State House. But by the time I’m done with him, he will wish he never let the word out so early.
He wrote a long column in the Dayton Daily News about how wonderful Sen. Kennedy was. This passage jumped out at me:
He taught me persistence — not to go away, to keep coming back. You may only get one-third of the loaf in the first go-around, but that’s OK. You have to be in it for the long haul and come back the next year for another third.
Translation: Sen. Kennedy taught me that when you can’t remain in the US Senate after spending YEARS there damaging the Republican brand, come back for 1/3rd the loaf (run for Attorney General) before getting the full loaf (becoming Governor).
It is obvious that the DeWine pest won’t go away, but who knew we had Ted Kennedy to blame for his persistence?
Considering their close friendship, I wonder if DeWine ever joined Kennedy for dinner and a waitress sandwich.
From today’s Columbus Dispatch:
Former Republican Sen. Mike DeWine, who served on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the captured terrorists “are ugly, nasty human beings who were bent on destroying us.
“So when people judge the techniques that were used, I think they have to put it in a proper perspective,” said DeWine, now a Republican candidate for Ohio attorney general. “As the inspector general report points out, information they received from these individuals saved lives. This was very valuable information that was received.”
DeWine said in the aftermath of 9-11, many analysts predicted additional attacks, including potential chemical assaults. But DeWine said that “just didn’t happen. We obtained information in many ways. Information is what intelligence is about and information prevents tragedies and lack of information causes tragedies.”
We are only talking about this issue because the Dems want a distraction to the health care / cap and trade / stimulus debate. I absolutely agree with Mike. And the disconnect between reasonable Americas who are certainly OK with hurting terrorists and the outrage shown by the liberal MSM over tactics that clearly worked is fascinating.
But couldn’t The Columbus Dispatch find someone else to talk to? Perhaps a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute or Heritage Foundation? Why talk to a guy who, while serving as a US Senator, was too busy to attend intelligence hearings?
Ohio Attorney General Candidate Dave Yost’s campaign is putting together a number of video profiles of young conservative leaders throughout Ohio. This one is of Derek Merrin, Mayor of Waterville:
Good work, Mayor Merrin! While Mike DeWine might find that his support is almost nonexistent among the Republican base, it is really exciting to see a serious candidate like Dave Yost stand up to the same political establishment which has lead the GOP into minority status. Yost is clearly the best choice for Attorney General.
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