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Ohio Gov. Kasich admits that, on Issue 2, 'the people have spoken clearly'
by Laura Clawson for Daily Kos Labor
Wed Nov 09, 2011
The fight to defeat Ohio's Issue 2 was one more look at what a determined mobilization of the 99 percent can look like. And holy crap, what a victory it led to: with 99 percent of votes reporting, the margin is 61-39. ModernEsquire notes that turnout was barely lower than in 2010, when Ohio was voting for both a governor and a senator, and just a handful of counties voted to strip collective bargaining rights from public workers—many counties that would be red in a partisan election voted no.
Today, we get to see a chastened Gov. John Kasich—but not quite chastened enough:
At a news conference Tuesday night, Mr. Kasich congratulated the winners and said he would assess the situation before proposing any new legislation. “It’s time to pause,” he said. “The people have spoken clearly.”When asked about the people’s message, Mr. Kasich said, “They might have said it was too much too soon.”
Dude. Your polling is hilariously bad (PDF); just 33 percent of voters approve of you, and if they could do 2010 over, you'd lose big. In an off-off-year election, the vote against your signature measure was bigger than the vote for you in your own election year. The one voters wish they could do over. Maybe you're still lingering in the bargaining stage of grief? If so, get over it. The voters of your state didn't say that taking collective bargaining rights from workers was "too much too soon." They said it was unacceptable, now or in the future.
Hopefully, the force with which Ohio voters jammed Issue 2 back down Kasich's throat will be enough to make not just him but Republican governors and legislators in a few other states take pause.
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