On this date in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, as well as 2020, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day posted profiles of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who once voted for the impeachment of Bill Clinton, supported Personhood amendments on abortion, and tried advocating for failed Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers by saying her lack of judicial experience would “add to the diversity of the Supreme Court”. Since being booted from Washington, D.C. in 2006 and becoming the Attorney General of Ohio, DeWine has spent the time trying to use the power of his office on a partisan quest to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters in Ohio with strict Voter ID measures, and then had the nerve to publicly accuse the Obama administration of “trying to suppress the military vote” during the 2012 elections (without any facts to back that up). That’s hardly the end of his conservative endeavors in that role, as he also sued the federal government over the Affordable Care Act, led a witch hunt against Ohio Planned Parenthood clinics after the fraudulent “sting” video was released by the Center for Medical Progress (DeWine also falsely accused Planned Parenthood of dumping fetal tissue in landfills without any proof to back up his claim), and filed every legal brief he could to try and prevent the implementation of same sex marriage in Ohio, per Supreme Court rulings. Lastly, and most heinously, DeWine refused to press any charges against any of the teenagers involved in the Steubenville Rape Case, and only pressed charges against adults covering it up after months of public outcry. Remember, Mark DeWine’s one job is to prosecute people who break the law in Ohio.
We were actually looking forward to one thing about the next two years… we thought that when Mike DeWine went up against term limits in 2018, that he would figure he was over 70, and call it a career. However, as it turns out, he’s ran for Governor of Ohio to replace John Kasich, who also was term-limited. DeWine continues to promise he will combat the opioid epidemic in his state, while having done nothing yet about it, and offering no details on how he’ll take care of it either, short of educating KINDERGARTENERS about painkiller abuse (Note: That’s not the age demographic abusing this drug, Mike.) DeWine had enough rich donors pump dark money into his coffers to pull out a narrow win with 50.7% of the vote. Now sworn in, we’re expecting DeWine to somehow make John Kasich’s hard-right socially conservative agenda and make it seem like he is George Clooney in comparison.
The honeymoon did not last long, as after several mass shootings across the country in 2019, one in Dayton, Ohio, that left 27 dead in but minutes, DeWine had constituents literally screaming, “DO SOMETHING!” at him.
Alas, he did not get anything done, because they didn’t elect a man who holds their interests at heart, only his own, and the wealthiest people exploiting his state.
But what he can get done? Oh, you bet he signed a fetal heartbeat anti-choice bill the minute it hit his desk in April 2019, to deny women abortions as early at six weeks, before many even realize they’re pregnant.
Now, here’s the thing about 2020… in a few instances, there were members of the Republican Party who responded to the threat of Covid-19 like rational, sane adults, and wanted to take precautions. Closing non-essential businesses, calling upon the public to voluntarily wear masks, or even mandate that it is necessary. And Gov. DeWine actually was one of those Republicans. This, of course, means that his own party is currently trying to impeach him for doing the smart thing. And of course, the truly insane right-wing crowd were plotting to kidnap him like they were up north in Michigan, where they wanted to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer.
Let this just serve as a bellwether for how insane the GOP has become as a whole… an extremist like Mike DeWine is now too “moderate” for the fringe of his party, because he took even the simplest of measures to listen to scientists and take measures to save lives. Just… wow.