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Cleveland Jewish News: Weinstein: Vance’s antisemitic, racist abortion comment ‘dangerous’

Columbus, OH – In a press call Friday, Black and Jewish leaders condemned J.D. Vance for his antisemitic and racist views on abortion and his support for a national abortion ban. 

After spending months trying to avoid saying whether he would vote for a national abortion ban, J.D. Vance confirmed his support this week for federal legislation that would impose new cruel restrictions on women. And if J.D. Vance had his way, there would be no exceptions for rape and incest victims.  

Read more below:

Cleveland Jewish News: Weinstein: Vance’s antisemitic, racist abortion comment ‘dangerous’
Courtney Byrnes
September 23, 2022

  • Ohio Rep. Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, said JD Vance resorted to the “oldest trick in the book: antisemitic conspiracy theories” in recently reported remarks on the candidate’s abortion stance.
  • The USA TODAY Ohio Network reported Sept. 15 that in a January interview on the What’s Left? podcast with Aimee Terese and Oliver Bateman, Vance, who is running for the Ohio State Senate seat against U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, referenced an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
  • “Let’s say Roe v. Wade is overruled,” Vance said in the January interview. “Ohio bans abortion in 2022 – let’s say 2024. Then every day, George Soros sends a 747 to Columbus to load up disproportionately Black women to get them to go have abortions in California. Of course, the left will celebrate this as a victory for diversity … If that happens, do you need some federal response to prevent it from happening because it’s really creepy? I’m pretty sympathetic to that, actually. Hopefully we get to a point where Ohio bans abortion and California and the Soroses of the world respect it.”
  • Weinstein joined state Reps. Juanita Brent, Catherine Ingram, Terrence Upchurch and candidate Erika White Sept. 23 for a news conference in which they called Vance’s antisemitic and racist remarks dangerous and telling of who he is.
  • “(The remarks) play into an old antisemitic trope that Jewish people are masterminds that are, in particular, rich and powerful, that are controlling world events behind the scenes,” Weinstein said during the conference. “It’s false, it’s gross and it has real world consequences, and it’s time to call him out on it.”
  • He said the use of this antisemitic conspiracy theory was an attempt to distract from his “extreme” anti-abortion stance that does not support exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Weinstein also said the remarks show no respect for Jewish Ohioans and recalled the protests that took place outside his home in January.
  • “I’ve both stood up to antisemitism before when I faced protests at my home, and JD Vance’s rhetoric is the exact kind of stuff that leads to these protests at my house on Sunday afternoons in front of my kids,” Weinstein said.
  • Brent, president of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus – the oldest Black caucus in the U.S., led the conference to address the antisemitic and racist remarks as well as the candidate’s abortion stance. She called Vance’s comments out of touch and not in tune with the needs of the community.
  • “Instead of him fighting to make sure that everyone has access, he’s encouraging that it’s going to be OK that there are going to be barriers within the state of Ohio,” she said.
  • Upchurch, D-Cleveland, shared his outrage over Vance’s spreading of racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories and past comments comparing abortion to slavery.
  • “The issue is over women having control over their own bodies, and inventing new conspiracy theories to explain why you want to force survivors of rape and incest to give birth is just gross,” Upchurch said, mentioning recent reports of minors who were victims of rape traveling across state lines for an abortion.
  • White, a Democratic candidate running against Derek Merrin to represent District 42, spoke about the divisive nature of Vance’s remarks.
  • “As we talk about struggling to find health care that women need and even crossing state lines to do so, that should be an outrage and when anyone like JD Vance calls this an amazing victory, we should be outraged,” she said. “We should come together as Ohioans and realize that women and women’s voices should not be downplayed or made into conspiracy theories to separate us.”

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Dave Yost on Casting Doubt on the Story of a 10-Year-Old Rape Victim: “I Don’t Understand What You Think I Need to Apologize For”

Watch a Video of the Exchange HERE

Columbus, OH — This week, Dave Yost sat down with Karen Kasler for an interview on The State of Ohio. When asked about his despicable stunt of going on national television to cast doubt on the story of a ten-year-old rape victim, Yost only doubled down, smugly telling Kasler, “I don’t understand what you think I need to apologize for.” 

A judge in Hamilton County earlier this month said that Dave Yost should apologize for his disgusting comments and Ohio Democrats have called on Yost to resign. Yost, mere hours after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, went to court to implement Ohio’s extreme six-week abortion ban that forced this young victim to have to travel to Indiana for an abortion in the first place.  

“Dave Yost asked what he needs to apologize for. That’s quite a list, but at the top of it is questioning the story of a 10-year-old rape victim on national television and implementing the law that forced her to flee to Indiana for critical healthcare in the first place. Yost’s initial comments were disgusting and the fact that he continues to double down is despicable. These latest comments from Yost are a good reminder of why we’re calling on him to resign,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes.

Read the full transcript of the exchange below and find the full video of the interview HERE: 

KASLER: I have to start by asking you about a story that Democrats, including the judge hearing the case involving Ohio’s six week abortion ban in Hamilton County, were saying that you should apologize for–the case of the 10-year-old rape victim who went to Indiana to get an abortion. To quote you for an appearance on Fox News quote, “Every day that goes by the more likely that this is a fabrication. I know the cops and prosecutors in the state. There’s not one of them that wouldn’t be turning over every rock looking for this guy and they would have charged him. I’m not saying it could not have happened. What I’m saying to you is there’s not – there is not a damn scintilla of evidence.” And you said shame on the Indianapolis paper who ran the story and you said they had an obvious ax to grind. There was an arrest in the case. You said quote, “We rejoice anytime a child rapist is taken off the streets,” but you did not apologize. Why didn’t you apologize?

YOST: Karen, I don’t understand what it is you think I need to apologize for. What in that was untrue or inaccurate at the time it said it. By the way, you conflated two separate interviews.

KASLER: Well, yeah, there was a Fox News interview and then there was the statement that you made afterwards, true. But the [YOST: The following day] impression is that you denied the existence of this 10-year-old girl when there are 10-year-old rape victims and as a prosecutor, you certainly know that.

YOST: Of course, I know that. The quote you just read didn’t say that nor did anything else in that interview. Which I brought, helpfully, a transcript for you. Nothing in here was untrue. Nothing in here- we didn’t even know the identity, and still don’t, of that poor victim. So you’re asking me to apologize for saying what was true when I said it? Respectfully, that’s not very fair. And you’re misreading my comments.

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Ohio Democrats Bring the “Not-So-Strong Ohio” Tour To Elyria

Watch Ohio Democrats’ Not-So-Strong Ohio Preview Video HERE

Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democrats brought their “Not-So-Strong Ohio” tour to Elyria as they travel across the state to lay out how Mike DeWine’s weakness is taking our state backward. 

For four years, DeWine has been too weak to stand up to extremists in his own party and the special interests fueling his campaign, instead serving as a rubber stamp for policies that hurt working families while failing to provide the leadership Ohioans expect from their governor. 

“On issues ranging from abortion rights to gun violence to redistricting to the the largest public corruption scandal in state history, Mike DeWine’s weakness is costing Ohioans big time and taking our state backward,” said Ohio Secretary of State candidate Chelsea Clark.

Key examples of DeWine’s weakness include:

  • Abortion Rights – Mike DeWine told an anti-abortion special interest group that he wants ‘to go as far as he can’ to rip away reproductive rights in Ohio. 
  • Gun Violence – Despite promising to ‘do something’ to combat gun violence, DeWine caved to the gun lobby and signed gun bills that are opposed by Ohio law enforcement because they make Ohioans less safe. 
  • FirstEnergy Bribery Scandal – ‘State Official 1’ has been dodging questions since October about what he knew and when about the largest public corruption scandal in state history, a scandal that continues to cost Ohioans $287,000 every single day. 
  • Redistricting – Even as he acknowledged the maps he was passing were likely unconstitutional, DeWine ignored voters, caved to his own party and rubber stamped seven illegal, GOP-gerrymandered maps. 

With this kind of record, it’s no wonder Mike DeWine is scared to debate Nan Whaley. He’s spent his whole time as governor selling out to the wealthy and well-connected and leaving Ohio workers to pay the price. 

“Under Mike DeWine, we’ll have extremists in the legislature running the show, pushing radical agendas that keep businesses away from our state and taking our economy backward,” said  Ohio Treasurer candidate Scott Schertzer.

“If Mike DeWine is going to cower to the likes of Matt Huffman on every issue, he should step aside and let someone who wants the job actually lead our state,” said Ohio Auditor candidate Taylor Sappington.

Ohio Democrats, like former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, are offering a better way forward: moving our state forward by investing in working families and putting kitchen-table, economic issues front and center. 

“Ohio deserves better. We need a governor who will stand up to the bad guys, not do their bidding. We need Nan Whaley,” said State Senate candidate Anthony Eliopoulos.

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ICYMI: Columbus Dispatch: Two Republicans On Ohio Supreme Court Won’t Weigh In on 2020 Election Results

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, the Columbus Dispatch reported today that two  Republican Supreme Court Justices refused to acknowledge the results of the 2020 election. Instead, Sharon Kennedy refused to answer the question and all Pat Fischer could muster was: “I don’t know. I guess. He’s the president, isn’t he?” And Pat DeWine simply answered he had no reason to believe the 2020 election results weren’t legitimate.  

This all follows the justices’ appearance at a Trump rally Saturday where he repeated his false claims about the 2020 election being stolen. 

“Republican Supreme Court justices are clearly more beholden to MAGA Republicans and their political party than the rule of law. If these justices can’t muster the courage to acknowledge the truth out of fear of political retribution, they certainly can’t be trusted to rule fairly and impartially from the bench. Ohioans deserve better,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes. 

Read more from the Columbus Dispatch here and below: 

  • The three Republican justices running for the Ohio Supreme Court acknowledge that Joe Biden is president but two of them sidestepped the question of whether the 2020 election results are legitimate.

  • “I don’t know. I guess. He’s the president, isn’t he?” said Justice Patrick Fischer. When asked if the 2020 election results are legitimate, Fischer said: “I don’t know if I’m allowed to take a position because I understand there is still some litigation… Under our ethics rules, I can’t talk about any pending cases in the United States or its territories.”

  • Justice Pat DeWine acknowledged that Biden is president and when asked if the election results were legitimate, DeWine said he had no reason to believe otherwise.

  • Fischer is being challenged by 10th District Court Appeals Judge Terri Jamison, who says the 2020 election results are legitimate.

  • “I made an oath to uphold the laws and the constitution, both federal and state. Despite the unlawful attempts to stop it, the nation’s presidential vote was certified by Congress and no court has found that process invalid,” Jamison said.

  • DeWine, who is the governor’s eldest son, is being challenged by 1st District Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Zayas, who agrees that Biden is president. “Each state certified its electoral results, the electoral votes were cast and counted, and President Biden received 306 votes, more than the required 270 electoral votes,” Zayas said.

  • Brunner, a Democrat running for chief justice against Kennedy, said “The nation’s 2020 presidential vote was certified according to the rule of law by Congress, and no governmental body or court has found the 2020 presidential election to be invalid. I respect the rule of law as a justice of the Ohio Supreme Court.”

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DeWine Debate Watch Dissolves as DeWine Ducks Debates

Ohio Democrats Released an Online Video This Week Cataloging All The Times DeWine Refused to Answer Questions about Debates on the Trail 

Columbus, OH — Today, the Ohio Democratic Party’s DeWine Debate Watch comes to an end as DeWine has all but confirmed he’s too scared to take on Mayor Nan Whaley on the debate stage this year. Knowing his record of betraying voters would be deeply unpopular and not wanting to answer the tough questions about topics ranging from abortion to the largest public corruption scandal in state history, DeWine has chosen to cower in the corner rather than do the right thing. It’s a loss for voters who deserve to hear from their candidates before one of the most important elections in Ohio history. 

You’ll remember, DeWine also dodged a debate with his primary opponents earlier this year, signaling that he is nothing but scared to defend his record to Ohioans, especially since he’s debated political opponents in the past. For the past 25 days, Ohio Democrats have been on ‘DeWine Debate Watch,’ reminding Ohioans that DeWine won’t even try to make his case to them as he seeks re-election to the highest statewide executive office. 

  • Watch ODP’s recap of all the times Mike DeWine dodged debate questions HERE 

“Our DeWine Debate Watch is over now that Mike DeWine has officially declared he’s too scared to debate. Too afraid to defend his own record, DeWine is once again reminding Ohioans that when given the choice between standing up for what’s right or backing down because it’s easy, DeWine will cave every time. The only thing we’re on the lookout for now is DeWine’s spine,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes. 

Despite DeWine’s blatant refusal to talk directly to voters, Ohioans still deserve answers from him on a number of key issues, including his promise to ‘go as far as we can’ to rip away reproductive rights, his broken promise to ‘do something’ to combat gun violence in Ohio, his connections to the largest public corruption scandal in state history and his role in the failed redistricting process that produced GOP-gerrymandered maps and cost Ohioans millions of dollars. 

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