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Website Highlights How J.D. Vance’s Sham Non-Profit Brought A Purdue Pharma Puppet To Ohio

Columbus, OH — Following a bombshell Associated Press report showing J.D. Vance’s sham non-profit recruited and promoted a “doctor echoing Big Pharma” known for “questioning the role of prescription painkillers in the national opioid crisis,” the Ohio Democratic Party is launching OurOhioRenewal.com. The website, formerly owned by Vance’s now-defunct organization, redirects to OurOhioRipoff.com, and will spotlight how J.D. Vance’s sham non-profit helped Vance and his political allies while bringing in a puppet of Purdue Pharma, despite its role in the deadly epidemic that has ravaged Ohio. 

Here is what OurOhioRenewal.com looks like now:

Mimicking the format of the old Our Ohio Renewal website, OurOhioRipoff.com focuses on the three “accomplishments” of Vance’s sham non-profit: spending nothing on programs to fight the opioid epidemic, bringing a Purdue Pharma puppet to Ohio, and using the non-profit to position himself for a political run. Just like his organization’s registration with the Ohio Secretary of State, J.D. Vance’s ownership of this domain has also lapsed – and we are very grateful to him for his carelessness here.

Ohio voters can also read about two main players in the non-profit: Dr. Sally Satel, a Big Pharma-backed doctor who echoed Purdue Pharma talking points about the opioid epidemic, and Jai Chabria, a senior advisor to Vance’s campaign who pocketed thousands of dollars through the non-profit while spending nothing to combat the opioid epidemic. 

OurOhioRipoff.com will now serve as a clearinghouse for Ohioans to learn about J.D. Vance’s sham non-profit and all the ways Vance failed Ohio while laying the groundwork for a future run for political office. Herb Asher, a longtime Ohio political expert, characterized the organization’s lack of accomplishments, as well as Dr. Sally Satel’s connection to Big Pharma, as a “betrayal.”

“With a few quick keystrokes, Ohioans can now learn the truth about J.D. Vance and his sham organization: instead of taking meaningful steps to address the opioid epidemic, Vance recruited a Purdue Pharma puppet who echoed their lies and deflected blame from the damage they caused. If it wasn’t already clear, this is just one more way that Vance continues to prove himself a fraud who won’t hesitate to sell out Ohioans in order to further his own ambition,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

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Columbus, OH — In what’s become an all too regular pattern, Mike DeWine is set to tout critical funding for law enforcement that he initially opposed, this time in Gallia County. DeWine has repeatedly taken credit for money that was passed by Ohio Democrats and that he’s on the record opposing. Today, DeWine will yet again shamelessly turn a critical Democratic victory into a political photo op to make it look like he’s got law enforcement’s back. He doesn’t.  

“Time and again, Mike DeWine tries to make it look like he’s got Ohio law enforcement’s back, but the truth is local law enforcement would not have this important grant funding if it were up to DeWine. Mike DeWine is doing little more than once again shamelessly campaigning and claiming credit for the hard work of Ohio Democrats who secured these critical resources for Ohio law enforcement,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes. 

Earlier this month, DeWine campaigned off the hard work of Democrats, using ARPA money awarded to local police agencies to fight violent crime as a political stunt. And back in May, DeWine similarly used Ohio law enforcement officers as political pawns when he announced funding for the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab and Cleveland’s critical Real Time Crime Center, both only made possible because of the American Rescue Plan.   

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Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, The American Independent outlined deep ties between the three extreme Republicans running for the Ohio Supreme Court and the Federalist Society, a right-wing organization with an agenda aimed at installing far-right judges and stripping abortion rights in states like Ohio. The deep ties between GOP justices and the organization that has been working for years to overturn reproductive rights indicate that if Republicans retain the Court, abortion rights in Ohio are on the line. 

“The outcome of these three races will directly affect the future of abortion access in Ohio. Immediately after Roe was overturned, an Ohio law banning abortion after six weeks’ gestation went into effect. Attorneys representing the state’s abortion providers sued to restore access, and the case is waiting to be heard by the Supreme Court, but the outcome of November’s elections could determine how the court rules,” writes The American Independent’s Matt Cohen.

“Make no mistake, reproductive rights are on the ballot at every level this November. This new report puts a direct spotlight on Republican justices’ extreme and troubling views when it comes to abortion rights in this state and indicates that Ohioans’ rights will be stripped away if Republicans retain the court in November,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes. 

Read more from The American Independent here and below:

• When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, its 1973 landmark ruling that affirmed Americans’ constitutional right to an abortion, it was a moment that had been decades in the making. And the organization that played a leading role in laying the groundwork for the court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe continues to push its broader agenda in such states as Ohio, where it is working to make abortion illegal.

• As Ilyse Hogue, former president of the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, noted in a story adapted from her book on the movement to abolish abortion rights, “The Lie That Binds,” a great deal of the push to overturn Roe was organized by the Federalist Society, a right-wing organization founded in 1982.

• The Federalist Society, Hogue says, was “a new effort to train and promote conservative-minded lawyers into prominent positions, with an eye toward installing far-right judges. 

• And now that the future of abortion access is in the hands of the states, the Federalist Society is setting its sights on state supreme courts, utilizing its network and resources to ensure a majority of state supreme court justices are aligned with its conservative values.

• The effort is especially pronounced in Ohio, where two of the state’s Supreme Court justices are running for reelection, and a third open-seat race will fill an impending vacancy on the seven-person court.

• The outcome of these three races will directly affect the future of abortion access in Ohio. Immediately after Roe was overturned, an Ohio law banning abortion after six weeks’ gestation went into effect. Attorneys representing the state’s abortion providers sued to restore access, and the case is waiting to be heard by the Supreme Court, but the outcome of November’s elections could determine how the court rules. A recent Suffolk University/Cincinnati Enquirer poll found that a majority of likely midterm voters in Ohio want see abortion rights protected.

• Currently, the Ohio Supreme Court has a 4-3 Republican majority, and three of the four conservative justices have deep ties to the Federalist Society.

• Pat DeWine and Pat Fischer, who are both running for reelection, are both listed as contributors on the Federalist Society’s website. DeWine, who is also the son of Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, participated in Federalist Society-sponsored events during his candidacy in 2016 and often refers to his involvement with the organization on Twitter.

• Fischer too participated in Federalist Society events when he was a candidate for Ohio’s highest court in 2016, as has continued to do so since he was elected. 

• Sharon Kennedy, a sitting justice who is running to fill the impending vacancy left by Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, who is set to retire after this year, participates in Federalist Society events and frequently mentions her involvement with the organization.

• But the Federalist Society’s influence in Ohio’s judiciary branch doesn’t end with the state Supreme Court. Ohio Attorney General David Yost is also listed as a contributor on the Federalist Society’s website and has repeatedly mentioned his involvement with the organization. After Roe was overturned, Yost hurried to file a motion to dissolve a federal court injunction that had been placed in 2019 on the state’s recently passed and misnamed “Heartbeat Protection Act,” which prohibits abortion as soon as what is incorrectly referred to as a “fetal heartbeat” is detected. As doctors note, there is no heart in an embryo when electrical activity right-wing lawmakers incorrectly call a “heartbeat” can be picked up by an ultrasound. 

• Yost drew widespread ire in July when he questioned the veracity of a story of a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was allegedly raped and had to travel to Indiana to get an abortion because of the Ohio abortion ban that he championed. Shortly after Yost cast doubt on the story, a 27-year-old man was arrested and charged with rape. The Democratic Party of Ohio has since called on Yost to resign.

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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 Mike DeWine’s campaign and statehouse, courtesy of the Ohio Democratic Party.

Here are some stories you may have missed:

THE LAW IS THE LAW – UNLESS YOU’RE DEWINE. When it comes to attacking Ohio women and ripping away their reproductive rights, Mike DeWine is suddenly all about law and order, telling reporters Friday that when it comes to enforcing Ohio’s extreme six-week abortion ban, “We can’t pick and choose what laws that we follow.” That’s a different Mike DeWine than the one we saw cave to his fellow Republicans, ignore Ohio voters and several Ohio Supreme Court orders and pass GOP-gerrymandered maps time and again, even ones he admitted were not “clearly constitutional.” It’s clear that DeWine uses the rule of law to suit his political needs: all for it when it comes to punishing women but merely an annoying obstacle when he wants to appease his fellow Republicans who he doesn’t want to piss off any more than he already has.

STRAIGHT TALK. In case you missed it, the Cleveland.com Editorial Board joined Nan Whaley and Ohio Democrats’ calls for Mike DeWine and Jon Husted to tell Ohio voters what they knew and when about the largest public corruption scandal in Ohio history. The editorial comes after bombshell reporting disclosing messages confirming both DeWine and Husted (State Official 1 and 2 in federal court documents) took an active role in pushing legislation at the center of a $60 million bribery scandal. Earlier this year, the Ohio Democratic Party announced a lawsuit against DeWine and his office to get answers about what DeWine knew and when about the largest public corruption scandal in Ohio history. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Nan Whaley has called on DeWine, Husted and their administration to release all private emails, text messages and other communications related to the FirstEnergy scandal.

IN TROUBLE. Two new polls show what else we already know about Mike DeWine, he is in trouble and losing support by the day in his weak attempt to remain in office. Results out late last week have Nan Whaley within one point of DeWine showing the race is truly neck-and-neck. The polls also show DeWine trailing when it comes to favorability and a higher unfavorability number. The polls follow the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade and DeWine’s comments that he wants to ‘go as far as we can’ to rip away reproductive rights in Ohio. They also come as the Republican Governors Association dumps big money into Ohio, showing they too think DeWine is weak and vulnerable.

(STILL) STILL WAITING. Another week passed and still no answer from Mike DeWine on his commitments to be transparent and debate this fall. When DeWine was once again asked weeks ago about debating Nan Whaley this fall, he once again refused a straight answer. In the weeks since, nothing but crickets. So we’re still asking, will DeWine duck the debates? DeWine has already dodged one debate this year, refusing to directly answer Ohioans 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.

Thanks for catching up with us, that’s all the Mike Check we’ve got for this week. Have a great week!

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