The brave stand Wendy Davis made in the Texas legislature Tuesday night against that state’s assault on women was epic and understandably attracted lots of attention.
But that same day, Republican legislators here in Ohio, who had already stuffed the biennial budget bill for 2014-2015 with attacks on women’s health and reproductive freedom, snuck in a bunch more anti-choice provisions, putting Ohio on track to be one of the country’s most restrictive states. And it’s all being done on the sly by loading up the "budget" bill with non-budgetary items.
Last night state representative John Patrick Carney from the Columbus area spoke to the Shaker Heights (Cleveland area) Democratic club. He was fresh from the statehouse and the final vote on the bill, HB 59, which he dubbed “a festering turd.”
That’s actually a diplomatic description. It’s one of the most horrific documents this horrific legislature has passed — with Republicans in a supermajority in both chambers, despite Democrats getting more votes for legislature last November.
Here’s the sorry thing if you want to read it: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/...
This article might be a little easier to follow, although there are some minor errors about which provisions appeared when. It’s basically accurate.
http://readersupportednews.org/...
The budget now allows local governmental bodies to discuss how they’re spending your money behind closed doors. It continues to cut money for education, while increasing it for charter schools and vouchers. It robs local governments and schools still more by eliminating the 12.5% portion of the property taxes paid by the state, putting the burden on homeowners. It increases the state sales tax and means tests the homestead exemption for seniors. It includes an income tax cut that will be miniscule for all but the wealthiest Ohioans.
But worst of all, it includes a truckload of crap about abortion.
What it originally contained was bad enough. It defunded Planned Parenthood, the only healthcare provider for poor and working women in many parts of Ohio. It allowed TANF money earmarked for mothers and babies to be redirected to “crisis pregnancy” centers to talk women into having babies they can’t afford. And it required abortion clinics to have a transfer agreement with a hospital — then banned public hospitals from having such agreements, effectively closing every clinic in western Ohio.
Now there’s more — much, much more! They’ve taken some of the provisions from a radical anti-woman bill, HB 200, introduced in the House last week, and dropped them into the “budget” bill.
At the top of the list is forced ultrasound — abdominal not transvaginal, but still, a mandated, unneeded test that will increase the cost of having an abortion. Then the doctor is required a recite to the woman a piece of anti-choice propaganda that has nothing to do with providing her with the medical information she needs to make HER choice. The bill tells doctors that they must parrot the ideology of Ohio’s most radical rightwing politicians.
While the budget passed the state senate yesterday on party lines — Democrats against, Republican for — it only passed the 60-39 house by a vote of 54-45.
Carney explained why. He told us that the most extreme representatives were upset that ALL of HB 200 was not just shoehorned intact into the “budget” bill. They’re sulking that they did not get such provisions as a doctor being forced to reveal how much money he made doing an abortion and how much he would lose if he did not.
Carney proclaimed himself “disgusted.” Everyone in the room was disgusted. Women all over Ohio are disgusted. And, as Carney pointed out and we all know, these radicals just don’t care because lopsided gerrymandering has put them in a position of being threatened only by a possible primary challenge from the right. Until Ohio has redistricting reform, we’re going to see this crap over and over.
Groups like Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio and NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio are urging people to call the Governor Kasich and ask him to line-item veto the abortion provisions. (614-728-7576, for you Ohioans).
It seems like a long shot. Kasich keeps refusing to say where he stands while always emphasizing, “I’m pro-life.” Running for reelection, he has to do a balancing act between catering to the far right and appearing to be sane and moderate to the average voter. He could veto them and claim they don’t belong in the budget bill (true!), but that would probably outrage his hardcore base who don’t believe in following rules to get what you want. I think it’s more likely he’ll sign the bill intact, shrug and say he had no choice, and besides, he’s “pro-life.”
Since redistricting doesn’t appear to be on the horizon until 2022, the only way to stem the damage being done is to toss out all the Republican clowns holding statewide office.
At the top of the ticket is Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, and we HAVE to get him elected:
http://www.edfitzgeraldforohio.com/
State Senator Nina Turner, a favorite of leftie talk show hosts like Ed Schultz and Rachel Maddow, is running for secretary of state. OK, she’s not officially running YET, but she is holding a press conference to make a “special announcement” on Monday. She’s running.
http://ninaturner.org/
Former Hamilton County (Cincinnati) commissioner David Pepper is running for attorney general to take on teabagger pandering Mikey DeWhiny. Pepper is a great progressive in the mold of former Ohio AG Rich Cordray.
http://www.davidpepper.com/
State rep. Connie Pillich from the Cincinnati area is running for treasurer against Ohio’s most odious and unjustifiably ambitious public official, Josh “The Empty Suit” Mandel. You may remember him from his lying, unethical and content-free U.S. Senate campaign against Sherrod Brown. No bigger Koch Brother and special-interest puppet exists in the U.S. Go get him, Connie! (Best part: Mandel natters on endlessly about having been in the Marine reserves. Connie was an air force captain.)
http://www.conniepillich.com/
We don’t have a candidate yet for state auditor — the office that keeps tax-spending government entities honest. Well, yes, we do, kind of. Last night, John Carney told me he will be launching his campaign, probably right after Labor Day, as has been long rumored.
http://www.votecarney.com/
This is a great ticket and very youthful — Pillich at 52 is the oldest candidate; Carney at 37 the youngest. The others are in their early-mid 40s. So they have the energy to really challenge our Neanderthal Republicans and be a thorn in the Ohio GOP’s side for a long time to come.