Charita Goshay: What's behind Mike DeWine's latest flip-flop?

Someone please explain the reasoning behind Gov. Mike DeWine's flip-flop on a law he signed six months ago prohibiting August elections except in the case of fiscal emergency.

New legislation allows for a special, $20 million election in August for a statewide issue that would require any attempt by voters to amend the state's constitution to reach a 60% majority threshold.

The measure, if approved, also would add more hurdles to the process of submitting proposed amendments.

You don't have to be James Madison to know this is an erosion of the power your vote carries.

We know why some members of DeWine's cabinet who originally cast themselves as moderates are now playing footsie with a bid to weaken voters' power. They're fueled by their vaulting ambitions for higher office.

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None of them wants to talk about what possible motive a billionaire from Chicago might have for creating a $1.1 million PAC in support of changing Ohio's constitution. No one from the Ohio GOP has told Richard Uihlein to mind his own business or at the very least, "Thanks, but no thanks."

Not a state rep is stirring, not even a mouse.

DeWine ran for office on the premise that he's a reasonable conservative governed by principles rooted in his faith. In contrast to some people who see nothing wrong with a 10-year-old working midnights at a meat packing plant, he has consistently advocated for more funding for children's services.

He never has been heard wondering aloud, a la Ebneezer Scrooge, "Have they no refuge or resource? Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?”

DeWine has been a congressman, a U.S. senator, state attorney general and a two-term governor, which means he has more pensions coming than you can shake a stick at.

Politically speaking, he has no windmills left to joust.

So, what gives? Why would he do an about-face on behalf of a bill that would hamper the most fundamental democratic process there is, namely that whoever gets the most votes, wins?

Now, we know DeWine has an unfortunate habit of sometimes caving to the loudest voices in the room. In the aftermath of a mass shooting in Dayton, he promised the residents there he would do something to mitigate gun violence.

That "something" was signing a law eliminating the need for licensing or training to carry a firearm.

Pretty sure that isn't what they meant.

When COVID-19 emerged, DeWine was lauded around the country for his forward-thinking preparation and policies even in the face of criticism from people who objected to shutdowns.

Where's that guy?

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Of course, we already know the answer to the initial question. DeWine's flip-flop is motivated by Republicans' fear of a public referendum on abortion.

It doesn't seem to matter that the state's former governors have emerged as one voice in opposition to Republicans' attempts to change the rules. The motive to restrict, if not eliminate, abortion altogether is strong, even if it means endangering democracy itself.

But efforts to make it harder to change the constitution make no sense because there's no guarantee — none — that the 60% threshold still wouldn't be met to keep abortion legal. Slightly more Ohioans still support keeping it legal.

According to a religious landscape poll by the Pew Research Center, 48% support keeping it legal versus 47% who want it outlawed, and 4% who are undecided.

A deeper dive into the numbers shows that where you stand might depend on what you believe. Majorities of the state's Catholics and Evangelicals are overwhelmingly opposed to abortion. Protestants opposed to it stand at 45%, while 66% of those with no religious affiliation — which is increasing rapidly — support keeping it legal.

But polls aren't votes. Every Ohioan, regardless of how they feel about abortion, ought to be concerned about this measure because usurping the voting process won't stop at abortion — it won't.

A disingenuous and anti-democratic push to make changing the constitution more difficult requires that Ohio's GOP ignore their party's most famous member, who once said that ours is "a government, of the people, by the people and for the people."

Charita M. Goshay is a Canton Repository staff writer and member of the editorial board. Reach her at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Charita Goshay: What's behind Mike DeWine's latest flip-flop?