Ohio Republican Party is sinking state

  Those of us not in the know have been wondering what's been going on with Ohio Republican politics, considering Republicans are supposed to be the opposition to Democrats.
  The Ohio Republican Party has had quite a few bad eggs; Governor Taft was a hypocrite. Someone who forced people under him to follow ethics rules that he ended up getting busted on himself.
  And during the fight last fall about Issue 2, millions and millions of dollars were funneled into the state from Democrats outside the state yet very little money seemed to be invested in trying to maintain SB5. 
  One person who covers Ohio politics very well is Jason Hart at Big Government. He writes about the problem with the party in general; it becomes obvious that the establishment Republicans in this state are as bad as the ones in DC and as corrupt as many Democrats.

As brutal election results reflected, the Ohio Republican Party (ORP) was a scandal-plagued outfit circa 2006. I don’t relish the current ORP leadership fight, but if we don’t want second terms for President Obama and Senator Sherrod Brown we must avoid repeating our mistakes. Party chairman Kevin DeWine’s old-guard ways – combined with his public betrayal of Governor Kasich – make it hard to believe ORP can be effective with DeWine in charge.

  The result of the party's neglect was, of course, the defeat of Issue 2, which has resulted in numerous layoffs around the state. Again at Big Government:

Shelli Jackson, the union’s “Labor Relations Consultant,” was paid $111,811 in member dues last year. An Ohio Education Association-orchestrated strike against a struggling district would be one small notch in her class warfare belt, and one giant kick in the pants for taxpayers. 

The Gallia County Schools union has also threatened to strike if they’re asked to payanything towards their insurance: 

Gallia County Schools Superintendent Charla Evans told WSAZ.com the board has made several offers they believe to be fair. She said the school system is spending more than it is taking in. The teachers and support staff have rejected both offers. 

In Hancock County, the Van Buren Education Association threatened a strike when their school board voted to impose a final offer with inadequate raises: 

  Numerous other incidents of layoffs are listed over at the Big Government; in Toledo, unions are negotiating for wage cuts, just as in Detroit. It's a long and difficult path because no one seems willing to give up anything even though there's no money.