Voting for a real alternative in Ohio
DESPITE REPUBLICANS taking all Ohio state offices on the ballot in the recent election, this does not represent the massive shift in public opinion to the right that they claim.
Two million fewer voters turned out to the November 2 election in Ohio compared to the presidential election two years ago, less than half the electorate. With the lackluster campaigns Democrats were running, their base had little reason to show up.
Democratic Governor Ted Strickland put his focus on running negative ads against his opponent, rather than touting his plans for education reform and improving passenger rail transportation in Ohio or his record of resisting budget cuts that other states have made and freezing tuition increases at Ohio's universities. He managed to lose to a former Lehman Brothers banker in an environment where Wall Street banks are massively unpopular.
One of the U.S. House of Representatives seats gained by Republicans in this election was courtesy of Steve Driehaus in Cincinnati, who rode Obama's coattails to victory two years ago. Since then, he has failed to provide enough reasons for Ohioans to keep him there.
He was one of the conservative Democrats that held out on the health care bill earlier this year due to concerns that federal money could be directed toward abortion, but under party pressure he ended up voting for it anyway. His campaign ads focused on protecting jobs by supporting funding for an alternative jet engine for the Joint Strike Fighter. A substantial share of the engine is being developed at GE Aviation, based in Driehaus's district, but other than the machinists and engineers directly impacted by the program, this is a non-issue for most of Ohio's workers.
The U.S. Senate seat had many contenders, including third-party candidates from the Libertarian, Constitution, and Socialist parties. The Democrat and Republican candidates had no problem uniting in their opposition to allowing any of these alternatives a voice in the televised debate.
Given the absence of progressive politics on offer from the Democrats, Socialist Dan LaBotz's campaign was one of the only bright spots in the state. A vote for LaBotz was a recognizable call to end the wars spawned by Bush and expanded by Obama, to create jobs through a green economy, provide real health care for all, and to give workers an actual voice in how society runs.
Voters--25,368 of them--responded to that message, and many more would have turned out if the grassroots campaign (with more resources) had been able to reach a larger audience. The election offered further proof of what alternative candidates generally know: that getting into the mainstream debates is essential. One particular lesson for Ohio and similar states is that the campaign has to gain an audience in the countryside. In a state where about 20 percent of the population lives in rural areas, campaigning in the cities alone is not enough.
However, the message of the campaign was not that getting LaBotz elected would deliver everything that people need. The message was that working people and students need to be active participants in the struggle for greater democracy and equality in this country. Many connections were made, lessons learned and people became political during the course of the campaign to continue spreading that message.
The wave of Republican victories will require much of the left to contain the damage and put forward an agenda that will work for the majority of Americans.
Craig Johnson, Cincinnati
