Ohio GOP lawmakers an unhinged authoritarian band. Vows to chuck abortion, weed vote proof

Amelia Robinson, Columbus Dispatch
·4 min read
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Oct. 5, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Marchers pass by Columbus City Hall during the first Ohio March for Life on Wednesday. The event which drew thousands was a show of support for ending abortion access in Ohio from the point of conception. Ohio's Republican lawmakers are poised to ban nearly all abortions when they return to Columbus after the November elections. Mandatory Credit: Barbara Perenic/Columbus Dispatch

Ray Marcano is a long-time journalist with writing and editing experience at some of the country’s largest media brands.

When panic sets in, desperation follows, and arrogance isn’t far behind.

Just like in the Ohio GOP.

Panic describes unthinkable behavior. Desperation results in rash or extreme actions. Arrogance characterizes people with a wild sense of self-importance.

That’s today’s Ohio GOP.

Since Election Day, when voters affirmed a woman’s right to choose and legalized marijuana, Republican lawmakers have vowed to treat voters like roaches and stomp on them.

They vowed to change portions of the marijuana law they don’t like. They vowed to fight against enshrining a woman’s right to choose and have now engaged in the most dictatorial behavior we’ve seen in these parts in a while.

More: Ohio voters approved Issue 2, but legal marijuana - and abortion - can go up in smoke.

More: Gov. DeWine on abortion rights vote: 'We accept the results of elections'

A group House Republicans wants to stop the judiciary from hearing cases related to Issue 1.

In a statement, Rep. Bill Dean (R-Xenia) railed against voters when he called Issue 1 “dangerously vague and unconstrained.”

He also said lawmakers, "will consider removing jurisdiction from the judiciary over this ambiguous ballot initiative. The Ohio legislature alone will consider what, if any, modifications to make to existing laws based on public hearings and input from legal experts on both sides."

Ohio Republican lawmakers afraid of the law.

Rep. Bill Dean, R-Xenia, speaks to the Ohio House. He is the sponsor of a new bill that would slash absentee and early voting in what Democrats say is an attempt at voter suppression.
Rep. Bill Dean, R-Xenia, speaks to the Ohio House. He is the sponsor of a new bill that would slash absentee and early voting in what Democrats say is an attempt at voter suppression.

That’s panic, desperation and arrogance on full display.

You can tell panic ensues when Republicans don’t trust the conservative-leaning Ohio Supreme Court.

But we know what this is about. The GOP worries that judges might follow the rule of law and uphold Issue 1 while dismantling the provisions of the Heartbeat law and other anti-abortion measures lawmakers wanted to impose.

The desperation shows GOP voters — some of whom joined Democrats in supporting Issue 1 and 2 or stayed at home on election day — what their party has become: an unruly authoritarian band that wants to rule by decree.

Marcano: Ohio voters pass Issue 1 abortion amendment. We aren't as red as Republicans think.

And that makes sense since they can’t win on ideas and see a public revolt against their policies.

After August’s Issue 1 failed — that was the desperate attempt to convince voters to make it harder for them to amend the constitution — the GOP had no cogent message to sway voters to their anti-abortion and pot smoking stands.

How do we know Ohio Republican legislators are even more panicked, desperate and lawless?

On Election Day, three things happened that illustrates the precariousness of Republican positions.

  • First, 64% of independents voted for Issue 1, according to exit polls.

  • If you don’t win Independents, you lose, and the GOP lost them big. Those same polls showed at least 13% of Republicans voted for a woman’s right to choose.

  • The third number should lead to soul searching. In an election in which an energized voting block went to polls, Republicans stayed home. The estimated 35% turnout was down six percentage points from 2022 election and the lowest since 2012, according to ABC News.

That panic, desperation and arrogance will heighten as voters, as soon as next year, vote on whether to create an independent commission to handle redistricting. If that passes, then Republicans won’t be able to gerrymander their way to an illegal veto-proof majority.

And they would only have themselves to blame because, just like now, they’re ignoring voters who twice amended the state constitution to demand fair redistricting.

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There are steps Republicans can take. For example, Issue 1 allows them to place abortion limits based on viability, the time at which a fetus can survive outside the uterus. Medical professionals tend to put viability number at about 23 weeks.

That’s what they should do under the law, not look for ways to circumvent the will of the people. The GOP would be wise to pay heed to the words of the literary great William Butler Yeats, who wrote, "Arrogance is the surest path to failure."

With their behavior, it’s the path the GOP has chosen.

Ray Marcano is a long-time journalist with writing and editing experience at some of the country’s largest media brands.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Do Ohio Republicans have any legal way to stop abortion, marijuana?