Tag: Columbus, Ohio

John Kasich on Wednesday vetoed legislation that would make Ohio the last state in the nation to shift the burden of proof in self-defense cases from the defendant to prosecutors. The term-limited Republican governor’s decision to veto House Bill 228 is likely to be the first in a series of battles with the GOP-dominated legislature over legislation passed during his final days in office. HB 228 would also loosen a number of Ohio gun-control rules – including allowing individuals to challenge local gun-control ordinances in court. Kasich indicated earlier on Wednesday that he intended to veto the legislation “Why would I sign a bill that gives more power to the gun advocates?” the governor said during a Columbus Metropolitan Club luncheon. “For the first time in my lifetime, the possibility of somebody coming through that door and shooting us exists,” he continued. It now remains to be seen whether proponents of the bill can get enough votes in the Ohio House and Senate to override Kasich’s veto. While the bill needed only a majority to pass, a veto override requires the support of 60 percent of lawmakers in each chamber. Right now, state law only allows no duty to retreat when defendants are in their home or vehicle. Last week, lawmakers passed a number of other bills that Kasich is also expected to veto, including a pay raise for lawmakers and other elected officials and a “heartbeat bill” that bans abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected (which can be as soon as 6 weeks into a pregnancy). The Ohio General Assembly also sent Kasich a second abortion bill that would ban the procedure used for almost all second-trimester abortions.

Both developments offered fresh evidence of how Trump has made trade policy the connective tissue that ties together different elements of his "America First" foreign policy and syncs up them with his political strategy for the 2020 presidential election. His aggressive trade tactics, epitomized by tariffs and standoffs with longtime economic partners and allies, are aimed at reversing what he has long viewed as unfair trade deals while maintaining support among largely white, working-class voters who have been hurt by the loss of manufacturing jobs. "Trump understands that economic policy is foreign policy and vice versa," said Stephen Moore, a former Trump campaign adviser and visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation. "The most important element of foreign policy is to not just keep the world safe but to also promote America's economic interest. It's also good politics, in Trump's view. But it's also a popular position with a lot of Americans," Moore said. As he puts a high premium on trade gains, Trump is intertwining the issue with a host of top foreign policy concerns. "And as you know, China is the route to North Korea." In late July, Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker reached a temporary deal at the White House to avert tariffs on automobile imports and a ramping up of their trade dispute — although the threat still remains. After a breakthrough with Mexico, Trump's team has been engaged in talks with Canada aimed at creating a new version of the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.

Both developments offered fresh evidence of how Trump has made trade policy the connective tissue that ties together different elements of his "America First" foreign policy and syncs up them with his political strategy for the 2020 presidential election. His aggressive trade tactics, epitomized by tariffs and standoffs with longtime economic partners and allies, are aimed at reversing what he has long viewed as unfair trade deals while maintaining support among largely white, working-class voters who have been hurt by the loss of manufacturing jobs. "Trump understands that economic policy is foreign policy and vice versa," said Stephen Moore, a former Trump campaign adviser and visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation. "The most important element of foreign policy is to not just keep the world safe but to also promote America's economic interest. It's also good politics, in Trump's view. But it's also a popular position with a lot of Americans," Moore said. As he puts a high premium on trade gains, Trump is intertwining the issue with a host of top foreign policy concerns. "And as you know, China is the route to North Korea." In late July, Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker reached a temporary deal at the White House to avert tariffs on automobile imports and a ramping up of their trade dispute — although the threat still remains. After a breakthrough with Mexico, Trump's team has been engaged in talks with Canada aimed at creating a new version of the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.

A traditionally Republican district of Ohio that has only elected a Democrat once since the Roosevelt Administration is seen as a tossup in Tuesday’s special election – the latest in a series of once-safe seats the party has been forced to defend ahead of November’s midterms. The race for Ohio’s Twelfth Congressional District, which is a dead heat in public polling, pits Republican Troy Balderson, a state senator from the rural eastern edge of the district, against Democrat Danny O’Connor, who is an elected official in Franklin County, which is the largest county in the state. The event was not advertised to the national media, which was deliberate. In contrast, at an event in a crowded campaign office on Monday afternoon, O’Connor hailed the grassroots volunteers who would be knocking on doors from him. Despite O’Connor’s insistence that he would not support Pelosi, Republicans have long used the unpopular Democratic leader as an attack line. CLF has spent over $2.7m on television advertising alone in the race and has knocked over 500,000 doors in the district In a statement, Courtney Alexander, the group’s press secretary, said: “Danny O’Connor has spent the entire campaign lying about his support for Nancy Pelosi and her extreme, liberal agenda. Ohio families deserve a leader like Troy Balderson who will put Ohio families first, not Nancy Pelosi.” ‘It’s pretty lonely out here’: why John Kasich is willing to criticize Trump Read more While Pelosi has proved a flashpoint in the district, so has President Donald Trump. The statement caused the traditionally conservative Columbus Dispatch to endorse O’Connor and kept Kasich, the popular never-Trump governor, on the sidelines. Republicans are clinging to a 23-seat majority and the fact that they are on the defense in such a traditionally conservative seat is an bad omen, even if Balderson pulls out a victory. As Kasich said in his interview Sunday, the tight race “really doesn’t bode well for the Republican Party because this should be -- shouldn’t even be contested.”

As one of the most prominent critics of Donald Trump within the Republican party, John Kasich, the governor of Ohio, admits: “It’s been pretty lonely out here.” Though he does say he would like more company in a Republican party that still seems loath to ever break with the president, even as he endangers traditional alliances or cozies up to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. “You don’t want to become a nihilist, you don’t want to be Ron Paul where nothing is ever good,” Kasich said. However, Kasich says he saw a country increasingly pulled apart by partisanship with two parties where politicians were increasingly marching in lockstep with their leadership and leaving little room for independent thinking as elected officials simply toed the party line and followed orders. If you’re a Republican, I can predict what you’re going to be, and let’s not mingle the two.” As a result, he saw the United States moving “more and more towards a parliamentary system”, a feature he noted that was not what the founding fathers intended. In a looming 7 August contest between Danny O’Connor, a Democrat, and Troy Balderson, a Republican, Kasich was not yet ready to fully commit to support the Republican candidate. However, the Ohio governor said Balderson had “now pointed some out, so we’ll see”. In looking towards the midterm elections, he noted the question of whether the current “level of enthusiasm among Democrats is because they have a better way or because they are anti-something. I don’t see they have much of a better way,” said Kasich. “Both parties are moving further and further away from each other,” said Kasich, who wondered: “What does that mean about the middle?” The Ohio Republican argued we did not know what that means. I don’t know.