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Gerrymandering Our Ohio Courts – 02-07-2023

Gerrymandering Our Courts Gerrymandering, drawing districts to contain a majority of voters who reliably vote for one party and concentrating voters who tend to vote for the other party into just a few districts, has served Ohio Republicans very well. While donald trump[1] won 54% of the vote in Ohio [...]

By |2023-02-09T10:24:10-05:00February 6th, 2023|Word From The Chair|Comments Off on Gerrymandering Our Ohio Courts – 02-07-2023
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Making Voting More Difficult – 01-24-2023

Making Voting More Difficult House Bill 458 was passed by the Ohio General Assembly during its lame duck session late last year.  Governor DeWine signed the bill into Ohio law a couple of weeks ago. This means that H.B. 458 is now part of the reality confronting Ohio voters. H.B. [...]

By |2023-02-09T10:24:12-05:00January 23rd, 2023|Word From The Chair|Comments Off on Making Voting More Difficult – 01-24-2023
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Clermont County Needs You – 01-10-2023

Belated Happy New Year!  I trust everyone had safe and enjoyable holidays.  Of course, with a new year we enter a new election cycle. Yes, It Is Another Election Year We have at least one election every year in Ohio. In 2023, Clermont Countians will be electing school board members, [...]

By |2023-01-09T17:36:42-05:00January 9th, 2023|Word From The Chair|Comments Off on Clermont County Needs You – 01-10-2023
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Word From The Chair

  • Money Makes The World Go Round If you are familiar with the 1972 movie musical Cabaret, with Liza Minelli, Joel Grey, and Michael York, the heading above likely started a tune in your head. John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote a song for the film called, “Money, Money” in which my heading is the refrain. I chose the reference to Cabaret, in part, because the film is set in Weimer Germany in 1931, just two years before Hitler came to power. The Kander and Ebb song is meant to satirize the importance we attach to money.  However, the refrain is also true: very little can be done if you do not have the money to do it. While the analogy to Germany in the 1930s can be over-done, the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol and the nightly programming of Fox “News,” among other things, should be sufficient warning that the United States is not immune to groups sharing characteristics with the Nazis from acquiring political power here. That is an outcome which the Democratic Party is committed to prevent. January 6 and Fox “News” are national phenomena but we are seeing similar trends here in Ohio. Our General Assembly is passing laws forbidding teaching in our schools of anything which may make someone “uncomfortable.”  The obvious intent is to whitewash the history our children learn and erase the mistakes made in the past such as slavery, Jim Crow laws, and our treatment of Native Americans. It is true that those who do not learn the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. Locally, one of our county commissioners has posted signs around the County telling people they can “Stop the Madness” by perpetuating one-party rule. Our local state representatives introduce bills in Columbus to “defend gun rights” against the “tyranny” of sensible regulation but also introduce and enact legislation giving the state control over what a woman does with her own body. It takes money for our voices in opposition to be heard.  As we saw in 2022, winning office in Ohio takes lots of money and the candidate with more money behind him or her usually wins. The Clermont County Democratic Party needs money just to stay in existence as a voice countering the Republican lies, fear-mongering, and corruption. If the Party is going to provide meaningful support to our candidates for local offices, the Ohio House, and Ohio Senate, the Party needs more money than it has had at any time in recent years. Having the right values is necessary, but not sufficient. Money does make the world go around. We are painfully aware that everything is getting more expensive, and money is tight. However, if you can, please provide some financial support to our Party. Please join our Donkey Club. You can find more information on our website, www.clermontdems.org, and you can join online at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/donkeyclub#basics.  Thank you in advance for your support. Save the Date! You may recall that the Clermont County Democratic Party used to have our Donkey Dinner every spring as our major fundraiser for the Party. It also provided an opportunity for all of us to get together in a more social setting. Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic has prevented us from having the Donkey Dinner for about three years. The good news is that the Donkey Dinner is back, although it is coming back in a different format. The 2023 Donkey Dinner will be a picnic on the afternoon of Saturday, May 20, 2023, at the American Legion Victor Stier Post 450, 450 Victor Stier Drive, Milford, Ohio 45150. The Legion Post is located on the banks of the Little Miami River in Old Milford. We expect to have some interesting speakers as well as games for both adults and children. Please watch our website, www.clermontdems.org, and your e-mail for more details. Please plan to join us on May 20. Hope to see you at the picnic in May. Stay safe.  

  • Reproductive Rights Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dodd decision last summer overruling Roe v. Wade our gerrymandered state legislature has passed legislation intended to make it impossible for a woman to obtain an abortion in Ohio for any reason. When asked why abortions are being banned even for rape victims, one of our Clermont County legislators said publicly that a woman who becomes pregnant from a rape has been given an “opportunity.” There are groups working to put an issue on the ballot to amend our Ohio Constitution to give women a state constitutional right to obtain an abortion in some circumstances if the woman chooses to do so. This effort has now passed a critical second step. The Ohio Attorney General has approved the language that these groups want to put on the ballot for voters to read. In Ohio, the actual language of the proposed constitutional amendment does not go on the ballot. Instead, a summary is placed on the ballot for voters to read. You may read both the proposed summary and the text of the proposed amendment as a PDF download. The following link will provide a PDF download of the summary titled The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety. Here is the link to download the PDF. Adding this proposed amendment to our state constitution is important to protect the rights of Ohio women. The next step is the proposed amendment goes to the State Ballot Board. This Board determines whether the proposed amendment may go on the ballot as a single issue or must be broken into multiple ballot issues. That decision matters greatly because it could double or triple the number of petition signatures needed to put the question of protecting women’s bodily autonomy on the ballot for Ohioans. Assuming that the Ballot Board approves the proposed constitutional amendment as a single ballot issue, petition signatures must then be collected to get the issue on the ballot, a lot of signatures. The minimum requirement is signatures from a number of registered Ohio voters equal to 10% of the vote cast in last year’s gubernatorial election, or 413,488 valid signatures statewide.  Of course, not every petition signature will be valid.  A rough rule of thumb is that, to get an issue or candidate on the ballot, you want to submit about twice as many petition signatures as are required.  In other words, for this issue, almost 827,000 signatures. The statewide signature requirement is not the only hurdle to getting the Reproductive Rights amendment on the ballot.  Ohio law also requires that those 400,000+ signatures include valid signatures from at least 44 counties in numbers equal to five percent of the vote cast in that county for governor in 2022.  In Clermont County, this minimum number of signatures is 4,022.  Again, using the rule of thumb, 8,044 signatures from registered Clermont County voters should be gathered to be reasonably confident of meeting the five percent county requirement.  As of last November, Clermont County had 145,532 registered voters.  So, only six percent of Clermont County registered voters need to sign the petitions.  Easy, right? There is another hurdle.  As we know, the Republicans in Columbus want to make it virtually impossible for citizens to amend the Ohio Constitution.  A constitutional amendment intended to end citizen initiated constitutional amendments has been proposed and may be on the November ballot.  That creates pressure to get the Reproductive Rights amendment on the ballot this November so it is not subject to the new rules intended to prevent such amendments from ever reaching the ballot.  What’s the issue?  November is eight months away.  Not really.  In order for the Reproductive Rights amendment to go on the November ballot, petitions with at least the minimum numbers of valid signatures must be submitted to the Ohio Secretary of State by July 5, 2023.  The gathering of petition signatures cannot begin until the Ballot Board acts.  Assuming the Ballot Board approves the Reproductive Rights amendment as a single ballot issue by mid-March, that will allow only about three and a half months to collect the hundreds of thousands of needed signatures. Polls have shown that a strong majority of Ohioans support a woman’s right to choose as that right was recognized in Roe v. Wade.  Eliminating that right is, however, a top priority for the Republicans who run our state.  Therefore, a state constitutional amendment is the only way to protect this right which most Ohioans support.  There will not be much time, but the needed signatures must be gathered to get this issue on the ballot.  The Ohio and Clermont County Democratic Parties will be involved in this effort.  Watch this newsletter and our website, https://clermontdems.org, for information on how you can help.  You can also find information on the website of the coalition that is leading the effort to get reproductive rights on the ballot, protectchoiceohio.com.  Ohio needs your help to get this done. Learn how to circulate petitions and help Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights and Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom effort to get this Constitutional amendment on the ballot to #ProtectChoiceOhio SIGN UP FOR TRAINING HERE What? I typically pay no attention to the CPAC convention which occurs every winter.  CPAC is a far-right political action committee that is quite influential on the Republican Party.  Even our own Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, spoke at the CPAC convention.  Presumably, he again tried to walk the tightrope of saying he is doing an outstanding job as Ohio’s chief elections officer while also feeding the myth that we suffer from massive vote fraud. What caught my attention about the CPAC convention which just ended was a clip I heard from donald trump’s speech.[1]  Of course, it is not surprising that trump spoke at CPAC.  However, the segment of his speech which made the news program I heard was his declaration that, when he is re-elected President in 2024, he will get “revenge” against those who oppose him.  […]

  • The Big Picture It is useful on occasion to step back from the practical concerns of recruiting, trying to elect candidates and the latest Republican outrages. Instead think about why we are Democrats and what we ultimately seek to achieve. A very helpful tool for framing those questions is a 137 page book by J.M. Purvis, Democrats 101: A Primer for Us  Mr. Purvis’s basic premise is that “[c]ore beliefs, . . . define us as Democrats.” What we should be focused on, in Mr. Purvis’s view goes beyond elections and specific policies.  “This is about the way the American people perceive us as a party, their gut sense of who we are.” Mr. Purvis identifies the central principle of Republican conservatism, which he traces back to Barry Goldwater’s book The Conscience of a Conservative, as the “wealthy class” are “responsible for the greatness of America and that maintaining absolute freedom for them and their businesses [is] essential to the country’s continued greatness.” Mr. Purvis also argues that, starting with Nixon’s 1968 “Southern Strategy,” Republicans made a “fundamental realization: fear beats ideas. Fear beats everything, a raw emotion that appeals across traditional political groups.” Since that realization, Republicans have relied upon “a message of pure negative emotion.” We can see ample evidence to validate Mr. Purvis’s conclusions in Ohio and in Clermont County. While Democrats do well in our diverse urban counties, we lose massively in the homogeneous parts of the State, like Clermont County. We wonder why a majority of Clermont Countians vote against their self-interest and for Republicans who work to channel wealth away from average Ohioans into the hands of those who are already wealthy. The answer is fear. Many Ohioans have been conditioned to believe that people who look different than them aim to take what little they still have, and that Democrats aim to help them. That is why it makes perverse sense for Republican County Commissioner Claire Corcoran to post signs urging people to “Stop The Madness” by voting Republican even though Republicans have controlled our county and our state for decades. To Republicans the “Madness” to which Commissioner Corcoran refers is not the private sector’s devotion to profit over the environment and human safety, exemplified by the recent train derailment which released huge quantities of toxins in East Palestine, Ohio. The “Madness” is not the mass shootings which are reported on an almost daily basis in places ranging from Michigan State University to a lunar New Year dance in California to Dayton, Ohio. The “Madness” is not state government leaders secretly taking money in return for passing laws that force every Ohioan to pay to support a mismanaged private utility company (a subsidy which, among other things, made the Zimmer plant in Moscow uncompetitive). To Republicans the “Madness” is far worse. The “Madness” is “those people”, people who don’t look like you, who don’t sound like you, people who love differently than you do. We don’t know what those people will do if they gain power, but we know those people are different than us so whatever they do won’t be good for us. Who wants to give “those people” power at least equivalent to ours? Democrats. Mr. Purvis argues that Democrats’ core values, if presented accurately, have an emotional appeal that outweighs Republican fearmongering. His argument is that “[e]lections are all about the emotional perception of who we are” and that Democrats have failed to present our values in ways which reach voters on an emotional level. His book proposes a “Democratic Creed.” He summarizes the Creed as making “Freedom, Justice, and Opportunity as reality for all.“ He does not insist that his formulation of our Creed is necessarily correct but expressly labels it “a work in progress.”  There may be better ways to express our Creed.  However, I think Mr. Purvis’s basic point correct: we must constantly present our Democratic values in a way which has emotional and not just intellectual appeal. Mr. Purvis’s book is published in a small, pocket size and is only 137 pages of text.  It is highly readable.  You may not agree with everything Mr. Purvis says.  However, our values are under a more concerted, and effective, attack now than at any time in my lifetime.  Reading Mr. Purvis’s book is a good way to focus on our Democratic values and how we should go about making those values reality.  J.M. Purvis, Democrats 101: A Primer for Us, (Plainwords Press, 2021). Stay safe.

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  • WHAT’S INSIDE Urgent Action Needed On HJR1 CCDP Picnic – Save the Date Join The Donkey Club Today Word From The Chair – Raymond Lembke What’s New From Clermont to Columbus and Beyond Volunteer To Protect Reproductive Rights In Ohio Free Online Training Reading Room Clermont County Democratic Club Meetings Clermont County Democratic Party Committee Meetings Next Issue Publication Dates Urgent Action Needed! On January 11th, 2023, Ohio Rep. Brian Stewart and 35 co-sponsors reintroduced the so-called “Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment” in the Ohio House of Representatives. A constitutional amendment proposal to increase the passage threshold of new constitutional amendments to 60%, up from a simple majority (50% +1). The original version of the bill, HJR6, was recently defeated in the last General Assembly for lacking enough support for passage. Now the GOP are introducing HJR1 as a replacement to HJR6. HJR1’s first hearing is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 22nd at 9:00AM in Ohio Hearing Room 17 at the Ohio Statehouse. Ballot initiatives allow us to exercise our freedom and to decide on issues that matter the most. However, if this amendment passes, it will mean more power for special interests and less power for voters like us. We must stop it. If you can’t make the committee hearing, please join the online conversation by following #NOonHJR1 on social media and sign our online petition to stop this bill in its tracks. In Solidarity, Nick Tuell Senior Communications Strategist InnovationOhio   Save the Date! We’re Having a Picnic! Clermont County Democratic Party is having a picnic on the afternoon of Saturday, May 20, 2023, at the American Legion Victor Stier Post 450, 450 Victor Stier Drive, Milford, Ohio 45150. The Legion Post is located on the banks of the Little Miami River in Old Milford. We expect to have some interesting speakers as well as games for both adults and children. Please watch our website, www.clermontdems.org, and your e-mail for more details. Please plan to join us on May 20. Join The Donkey Club Today It’s that time of year! We need your support. The Clermont County Democratic Party relies solely on donations from our friends to operate. Our Donkey Club is our major source of funding and we hope you will become a member today. Member benefits below. A headquarters located centrally in the county in Batavia A bi-monthly e-newsletter A robust Internet presence on our Website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Support for our Democratic candidates Click the Donate button below and make your donation securely online through ActBlue or mail a check. Make Checks payable to: Clermont County Democratic Party (CCDP), PO Box 475, Batavia, OH 45103 Thank you for your support! Raymond W. Lembke, Party Chairman Clermont County Democratic Party WORD FROM THE CHAIR- Raymond Lembke It takes money for our voices in opposition to be heard. As we saw in 2022, winning office in Ohio takes lots of money and the candidate with more money behind him or her usually wins. The Clermont County Democratic Party needs money just to stay in existence as a voice countering the Republican lies, fear-mongering, and corruption. If the Party is going to provide meaningful support to our candidates for local offices, the Ohio House, and Ohio Senate, the Party needs more money than it has had at any time in recent years. Having the right values is necessary, but not sufficient. Money does make the world go around. CONTINUE READING What’s New From Clermont To Columbus And Beyond Click on the headline to access the full article Anti-abortion group Protect Women Ohio is spending $5 million on new ad campaign Protect Women Ohio, a dark money 501(c)(4) organization founded in February, was created to fight the abortion ballot campaign. Protect Ohio Women is a coalition made up of several organizations including Ohio Right to Life, Center for Christian Virtue and Right to Life Action Coalition of Ohio. PWO released their first ad Wednesday and plans to spend $5 million on advertising over the next four weeks “for this first phase of its effort to defeat the amendment,” according to the release. Continue reading. After other risky investments, Ohio pension system won’t say what it lost on failed bank The Ohio State Teachers Retirement System still hasn’t said exactly how much of its members’ money it lost when Silicon Valley Bank failed last weekend. The system is already under fire for big salaries and for paying $10 million in bonuses last August — two months before actual losses of $5.3 billion came in for the prior year. That was 77% higher than some of the employees receiving bonuses estimated. And many of those paying into the system are rankled because the big money is going out to system employees while retirees have gotten only one, 3% cost-of-living increase since 2017. Continue reading. Analysis: Bribery scandal shows how Ohio politics is polluted with dark money A utility bailout at the center of a massive bribery and money laundering scandal was such bad legislation — and it was pushed in such bad faith — that it’s hard to see how it could have survived without the more than $60 million in bribes that sustained it. And, while FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones claimed in text messages that the bill was good for “Bob and Betty Buckeye,” he clearly wasn’t eager for Bob or Betty to know that his company was behind it. The mechanism he used to fund the scheme — 501(c)(4) “dark money” groups — don’t have to disclose their donors. Continue reading.   Volunteer To Protect Reproductive Rights In Ohio Restore Roe Ohio: Volunteer Signature Collection Training Friday, March 24, 2023 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET Virtual Ready to roll up your sleeves and gather signatures to get reproductive rights on the ballot this November?! Team Ohio has got you covered! Join us for a virtual training and information session, and we’ll get you ready to hit the pavement! Sign up here. Signature Drive Through Milford […]

  • The Ohio Scoop The Ohio Scoop is your weekly campaign fix, filled with the most up-to-date information about Ohio Democrats and everything happening on the campaign trail here in Ohio. We’re here so you can get your political scoop, all in one place. We need to fill you in on everything that happened this week, so let’s jump right in. Bribery & Corruption & the FBI. Oh[io] My! Well, the verdict is in. On Friday, a jury of Ohioans found disgraced speaker Larry Householder and ex-Ohio GOP Chairman Matt Borges…   guilty of racketeering conspiracy.   For too long, wealthy Republicans in our state have gotten away with ripping off working Ohioans, then making them foot the bill for blatant GOP corruption. But yesterday, a jury of Ohioans made it clear that nobody — including wealthy politicians and their well-connected friends — is above the law. While we’re jumping for joy that justice was brought to Householder and Borges, this scandal runs deep within the Ohio Republican Party. Unsurprisingly, Governor DeWine and other top Republicans in the state have stayed quiet since the verdict was announced. Every GOP politician who enabled it to happen or stood by complicity must be held accountable. DeWine and his cronies haven’t been implicated in the $60 million bribery scheme despite conversations with then-FirstEnergy executives involved and several aides with ties to FirstEnergy. Listen, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck… While a verdict was reached in this case, we promise to continue keeping you apprised of the Republican corruption that goes on daily in Ohio. Reproductive Rights Ballot Initiative In a major win for the reproductive rights movement, the Ohio Democratic Party Executive Committee voted unanimously on Saturday to endorse the reproductive rights ballot initiative. We support the rights of Ohio women to make healthcare decisions for themselves without interference from politicians. We’re thrilled to partner with the reproductive rights champions who are leading this ballot initiative and telling GOP politicians at the statehouse: we won’t go back. TODAY, the Ohio Ballot Board passed the proposed language which means signature collection can begin. We won’t lie, there is a long road ahead of us. We’ll put it bluntly – we need your help. If you’re with us on this fight, please consider donating to help fund signature gathering efforts. Donate to Fund Signature Collection After Roe v. Wade fell, Ohio Democrats organized an over 5,000 person rally in 48 hours to send a clear message to Republicans. We’re asking you to join us again by rallying your friends, family and loved ones to collect signatures to put abortion on the ballot. Sign Up to Attend Signature Gathering Training Frontline Congressional Members Frontline is the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)’s battle-tested program to provide Democratic Members of Congress in competitive seats the resources to execute effective re-election campaigns. This cycle, 29 incumbent Members of Congress have been named to the program after 53 Democrats in competitive seats won their elections, over performing nearly every expectation in 2022. In no big surprise, 3 of Ohio’s own Congressional Democrats have been named to the list. Greg Landsman (OH-01), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09). Emilia Sykes (OH-13)! Show your support for our superstars in Congress! Donate to Congressman Landsman Donate to Congresswoman Sykes Donate to Congresswoman Kaptur ICYMI Editorial: Bipartisan Rail Act wise | The Blade Brown, Vance Rail Act: Darcy cartoon – cleveland.com Gov. DeWine’s mistaken choice of Joe Deters for the Ohio Supreme Court: editorial – cleveland.com Until Next Time It’s a new year and Ohio Democrats are gearing up to re-elect Senator Sherrod Brown in 2024. Please consider contributing as much as you can to help Ohio Democrats. If you’re unsure about how much more you can contribute, simply reply to this email. We’d be happy to help. As always, thank you for standing with us. I am immensely grateful for your partnership. Onward, Emily Feltz Finance Director, Ohio Democrats

  • Friends: The Ohio Ballot Board has approved the Reproductive Rights Amendment as a single ballot issue. Read more about the issue here. This means that signature gathering time starts now. We will need at least 4,022 valid signatures of registered Clermont County voters if we want Clermont to be one of the 44 counties in which a minimum number of signatures is required for the amendment to get on the ballot. That means we really need at least 8,100 signatures to account for possible invalid signatures. To make the November 2023 ballot, petitions with “approximately” 413,000 valid signatures, including signatures in 44 counties equal to 5% of the 2022 vote for Governor in that county, must be submitted to the Ohio Secretary of State by July 5, 2023. Word from Patty Lawrence on behalf of Democracy In Action, DIA, is they are committed to gathering signatures in Clermont Co. They are working on a multi-faceted collection plan hosting drive thru, canvass, and be at events. For more information contact Patty at pattylawrence16@gmail.com We will also need volunteers to open CCDP headquarters in Batavia to collect signatures. If you can volunteer let us know at clermontdems@gmail.com or leave a message at 513-732-2378. Protect Choice Ohio is offering training on collecting signatures via a webinar this Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 7pm. You can sign up for the free webinar at https://protectchoiceohio.com/training Training will last about an hour. RSVP required. For any additional information about the training please contact Destinee at Destinee@ProtectChoiceOhio.com Please consider volunteering. Thank you. Raymond W. Lembke Executive Committee Chair Clermont County, Ohio Democratic Party

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