There have been 114 midterm elections in American history, and contrary to most of the political hype coming out of both parties, America will still be here on the morning of November 7th, and the country will go on. The real question for voters is whether their ballot will affect the kind of tangible, problem-solving that we all crave, but rarely see.
In Ohio, citizens have a real opportunity to empower tested leadership that will deliver principled, results-focused governance, by supporting Attorney General Mike DeWine for governor.
In our political age of big personalities and thin resumes, where the most dangerous space is between an aspiring candidate and a camera, DeWine is a refreshing reminder of candidates who embody virtues such as modesty, integrity, experience, and results; qualities which we used to take for granted in our public square. Indeed, DeWine’s storied career in the service of the people of Ohio speaks to a different kind of leadership; where issues are not perpetual tools of division, but challenges to be faced squarely and resolved constructively. Where service creates a visible record of accomplishment, and is more than a platform for “virtue signaling.” Consider the record.
Upon taking office as Attorney General, DeWine learned that thousands of rape kits had not been tested across Ohio. He launched the Sexual Assault Kit Testing Initiative, a program which found and tested 13,931 rape kits, which had been languishing in police department evidence lockers across Ohio. The initiative led to 5,000 hits in the FBI’s DNA index system, and the indictment of 700 alleged rapists.
700.
Consider this contrast.
In Washington, Democrats turned the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings into a posturing circus, weaponizing sexual assault as a tool to advance a political agenda. Richard Cordray, DeWine’s Democrat opponent, joined those voices. Yet in Ohio, with dedication but little fanfare, Mike DeWine has been bringing actual justice for sexual assault survivors.
Some posture. Some act. This is what is on the ballot on Tuesday.
The same holds true with the opioid epidemic.
As a senator, DeWine was actually ahead of his time, sponsoring the Drug Free Century Act, which was designed to reduce transport and distribution of illicit drugs, and was signed into law by President Clinton.
As Attorney General, while others have talked about the opioid epidemic, DeWine has been on the front lines combatting the problem. By the end of DeWine’s first year in officel, 100 doctors and pharmacists lost their licenses for illicit prescriptions. In Scioto county, Ground Zero for the national opioid crisis, DeWine closed 12 “pill mills.” In addition, DeWine has created a special unit dedicated to combat heroin abuse, and has taken the fight directly to the drug manufacturers, suing these companies for their role in the devastation.
DeWine’s hands-on experience as Attorney General informs his comprehensive 12 pronged plan to fight and overcome the opioid epidemic as governor. The plan covers production, trafficking and distributions of drugs, but also, importantly, drug addiction recovery efforts and education.
DeWine’s experience, leadership and record of accomplishment stand in contrast to that of his opponent, Richard Cordray. As a candidate, Cordray certainly talks a good game, and he has been ferocious and personal in his attacks on DeWine. But this is little more than cover for Cordray’s thinly relevant resume and outright negligence.
Those 14,000 rape kits that DeWine found and processed? They were left over from Cordray’s term as Attorney General, when Cordray was otherwise occupied suing financial institutions on the national stage, instead of managing issues closer to home.
Cordray’s criticism of DeWine’s opioid record and plan is leavened by his own lack of results when he was Attorney General. Though the opioid crisis was reaching epidemic levels when Cordray was in office, it was DeWine, his successor, who actually tackled the crisis.
Beyond these issues, Cordray’s campaign appears out of sync with the needs of Ohio. Cordray’s agenda is heavy with a dose of increasingly necrotic Obamaism, with its reliance on new and excessive public spending in such areas as subsidized clean energy and costly public transportation. Indeed, Cordray’s last full time job was heading an agency designed by Democrats to be unaccountable to Congress and the American people. This informs Cordray’s campaign priorities which are about empowering government, not empowering Ohio citizens.
It stands in contrast to DeWine, who has an agenda focused on the structural impediments to job creation, including worker training, regulatory relief, and tax incentives, all designed to make Ohio businesses an engine for economic prosperity.
So, Ohio, you have a choice on Tuesday.
While it is seductive to look at your vote as a way to send a message nationally, the truth is that your vote for governor will ultimately have the biggest impact locally. You have a choice between a talker and doer. Don’t waste your vote “virtue signaling.” Empower yourself by voting for someone with a track record of getting things done.
Vote DeWine.