“A Deeper Connection,” “Husted’s Double Talk,” “Still Claiming Credit,” “Constituency of Lobbyists,” And “Still Waiting:” The Mess Surrounding Mike DeWine’s Campaign This Week
August 15, 2022
| Good Monday afternoon, and welcome back to Mike Check, your weekly source of all the infighting, conspiracy spewing and corruption that’s making headlines in and around the Republican governor’s race and Mike DeWine’s statehouse, courtesy of the Ohio Democratic Party. Here are some stories you may have missed: A DEEPER CONNECTION. Ohio’s Gannett Network Bureau broke new details last week in the FirstEnergy bribery scandal. We now know what was speculated for so long: Mike DeWine and Jon Husted are in fact the figures known as ‘state official 1’ and ‘state official 2’ at the center of the state’s largest-ever public corruption scandal. It’s only the latest bombshell further connecting DeWine and Husted to the FirstEnergy bribery scandal that continues to cost Ohioans $287,000 every single day. The news came as no surprise to Ohio Democrats who, including Nan Whaley, have been working since October to learn and share what DeWine and those in his closest orbit knew about the bribery scandal and when. Yet time and time again, all DeWine and his cronies have done is stonewall attempts and hide what they really knew. HUSTED’S DOUBLE TALK. Jon Husted attempted to defend himself to WCMH-TV but only succeeded in making himself look worse. When pressed on his prominent role in guiding House Bill 6 through the legislature Husted admitted he advocated behind the scenes, directly contradicting comments he made on record. The only response from Husted’s office was to deny he contradicted himself. All the new information only makes full accounting in the scandal more important. “STILL CLAIMING CREDIT.” In this week’s episode of “Groundhog Day,” Mike DeWine is once again claiming he supports law enforcement. After saying he opposed the American Rescue Plan that is funding critical law enforcement programs and then turning around and turning each announced grant into a campaign photo op, DeWine waited days to speak out after an armed attack on Cincinnati’s FBI office. This morning all DeWine could say was we have to support the police. According to DeWine, support simply means lip service, flip-flopping and needing a political win so bad he’s willing to take credit for money championed and brought to Ohio by the hard work of Democrats. CONSTITUENCY OF LOBBYISTS. Mike DeWine’s constituency of lobbyists continues to gain power as your family continues to suffer. Under DeWine’s (lack of) leadership, Ohio continues to plummet in major child welfare categories. Instead of taking meaningful action, DeWine recently reappointed Holly Kastan, a major donor to serve on a key child welfare agency, raising questions about whether DeWine is prioritizing the interests of his campaign donors over the interests of Ohio children. This isn’t the first time DeWine has rewarded major campaign donors with prestigious state board appointments after two mega-donors were appointed to the same university board of trustees earlier this summer. STILL WAITING. We’re still waiting for Mike DeWine to commit to debates as he’s asking voters for their support. When DeWine was once again asked weeks ago about debating Nan Whaley this fall, he once again refused a straight answer. So we’re still asking, will DeWine duck the debates? DeWine has already dodged one debate this year, too scared to take on the likes of political heavyweights like Jim Renacci and Joe Blystone. But Ohioans deserve answers on issues ranging from the FirstEnergy bribery scandal to his anti-abortion stances to his refusing to heed concerns from Ohio law enforcement about dangerous gun bills he signed into law. Whaley called on DeWine to debate across the state. DeWine can’t keep running away. He must face the voters straight on and face consequences if he doesn’t. Ohio voters deserve nothing less. Thanks for catching up with us, that’s all the Mike Check we’ve got for this week. If you have questions my email is [email protected]. Have a great week! ### |
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