Senator's Selects 2024/10/08
Senator's Selects 2024/10/08
An early release to kick off Early Voting
Meow News: Unfair and Unbalanced
Yes, I know it’s Tuesday, and yes, I know it’s 7:30AM, but I wanted to get this out and into people’s hands before they head into the voting booths. Voting in the 2024 General Election starts today at 8AM! For these first two weeks, we’ve got voting at the Board of Elections from 8AM to 5PM every weekday, then the week of the 21st to the 25th, the hours extend to 8AM to 6PM with the addition of 8AM to 4PM on Saturday, October 26th and 1PM to 5PM on Sunday, October 27th. We then head into the last week of Early Voting, where they’ll be open from 7:30AM to 7:30PM the week of the 28th, and even until 8:30PM on Tuesday, October 29th (the last day to request absentee ballots). They’ll have their weekend hours again on November 2nd and 3rd. There is no Early Voting the Monday before Election Day. You can thank the Republicans for that. Speaking of them screwing around with it, election law has changed. You will need to bring a photo ID when voting in person. Acceptable forms are a valid Ohio driver's license or ID card (or the paper form the BMV gives you), a U.S. passport, or a military ID (Ohio National Guard and VA cards qualify!). You may no longer use bank statements or utility bills. Any qualifying ID must not be expired, must have your picture on it, and must have your name, and that name has to "substantially conform" to the name you're registered under at the polling station. It’s definitely about election security and not about voter suppression!
So, before we get into the breakdowns of things, I want to be clear about something: it is imperative that you vote in this election. I’m speaking mostly to my Ohio-based audiences here. Readers in California, in Illinois, overseas… maybe less so. I don’t know your specific circumstances. I am, however, imploring for anyone registered in the state of Ohio to vote in this November’s election. Why is that? Well, let’s start getting into the Meowlot endorsements and discussions.
Issue 1: Yes
I mean, anyone who has been following it has probably seen this one coming. Issue One is our latest and greatest chance to take power away from the Republican dillweeds who foist their grifts upon the state and drag us further and further to the right. By beefing up our anti-gerrymandering requirements, we might actually return to something like a purple state. Thankfully, despite the best efforts of Frank LaRose and our state supreme court (more to come on that), the issue is polling incredibly well - probably because everyone with eyes in their head can see how these ghouls have congealed power and wealth among themselves and won’t stop screwing the rest of the state over. Again, if you don’t remember the debacle that was redistricting in 2021, where we had the Ohio Supreme Court strike down gerrymandered federal maps five times and state legislative maps twice, where our politicians refused to comply with laws and court orders, where our state got these convoluted and unrepresentative districts forced on it over 500 days after the deadline to do so… that shouldn’t be acceptable to anyone. So, it’s a Yes on Issue 1, and it should be one of the biggest drivers for you to go vote in November.
Ohio Supreme Court: Michael P. Donnelly, Melody J. Stewart, Lisa Forbes
Folks, all the citizen-initiated legislation and fair maps in the world won’t mean a damn thing if we don’t change the balance on the Ohio Supreme Court. They’ve shown their willingness to put their thumb on the scale for their Republican colleagues with the Issue 1 ballot language. Hell, they won’t even recuse themselves when they’re hearing cases involving their dad, like that’s not a conflict of interest. For people who don’t click the links and don’t remember, that’s not a joke or hyperbolic statement: Justice Pat DeWine is Governor Mike DeWine’s son and routinely rules on cases about what his dad can and can’t do (you’ll never guess how he finds!). So, for Ohio Supreme Court, it’s Michael P. Donnelly, Melody J. Stewart, and Lisa Forbes, and it should be one of the biggest drivers for you to go vote in November. Speaking of driving…
Issue 47: Yes
Now, this is a little more local in flavor, and I hope I don’t have to belabor its point, but this is the sales tax approval to fund public transit, the LinkUS plan. The increase brings us in line with other cities like Cleveland, so it’s not like we’re way out of line as tax rates go. Put that out of your mind. We’re talking about 45% more COTA service, we’re talking about 500 miles of sidewalks and bikeways and trails, we’re talking about better bus stations, we’re talking about Bus Rapid Transit development, we’re talking about building the platform to bring Columbus out of its Dark Ages for public transit and begin the work of supporting the rapid growth and development we’re about to experience because—newsflash—that growth is coming. Do you want a million more drivers on the roads in single-occupant vehicles ten years from now? How many more buildings do we need to crash into before we change something? We can hardly get the places we need to go now without someone’s smartcar flinging itself into the Convention Center. How much worse will it be with a million more people? I shudder at the thought. It’s a Yes on Issue 47, and it should be one of the biggest (bus)drivers for you to go vote in November.
U.S. Senator: Sherrod Brown
Listen, I’ve never been one of Brown’s biggest boosters, part of his Canary Club or what have you. That’s not to say that I don’t like him, but I recognize that by even occasionally acknowledging our disagreements (come talk to me about no-fly lists, Sherrod) that I am way harder on him than some of the starry-eyed fans he has throughout the state. He’s tried to thread the needle on last year’s developments in Israel and Gaza, and let’s acknowledge the fact that this threading has seen him distance himself from the statement released by the Ohio Democratic Caucus Leadership, the Franklin County Delegation, and the Jewish Caucus that criticized law enforcement response to campus demonstrations and attending Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress this summer. For those not clicking that link, I’ll reproduce Brown’s comments here.
I strongly believe that Israel has a clear and undeniable right to defend itself against Hamas’ brutal terrorism and I voted to send military aid to Israel, along with much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza. However, I continue to have deep concerns about the policies that Prime Minister Netanyahu has put in place – including his long record of thwarting a two-state solution and his conduct of the war in Gaza, which has resulted in the loss of far too many civilians.
Ultimately, Israel and Hamas must agree to a ceasefire that ends the war, frees the hostages, and delivers desperately needed humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. The United States must continue to help pave the way for lasting peace by aggressively pushing for an end to the fighting and working toward a two-state solution that ensures stability for Israelis, Palestinians, and the entire region.
Sherrod is in a close race with Bernie Moreno, a crypto-mining used car salesman who steals from his workers and wants to take away our abortion rights (even if he’s savvy enough not to out-and-out say it). A close race! That’s without digging too much into Don Kissick, who made the ballot as a Libertarian candidate and whose platform is general “smaller government better” pablum and whose campaign blog shares interesting takes on Justin Fields and faith. Off the ballot, you have write-in candidates: Stephen Faris, running again as an abortion abolitionist; David Pastorius, running again with no available platform; Nathan Russell, whose YouTube channel seems to be mostly about fart jokes and QAnon-adjacent ideas; and Tariq Shabazz, who has run in but never made it through several Northeast Ohio primaries for offices like U.S. House Representative and Cuyahoga County Executive. Shabazz, nominally the Green Party candidate for the Senate race, has a platform that keys in heavily on ending the military-industrial complex, Medicare for All, housing as a human right, and reparations for American descendants of slavery. One can see why he doesn’t get through Democratic primaries! You must remember that I temper my radicalism with pragmatism (boy howdy, that’s gotten me in trouble over the years), and there’s not a chance in the world any write-in candidate is winning a statewide race in Ohio… perhaps unless it was LeBron James, or someone of similar stature, name recognition, and ability to self-fund. Winning as a write-in is very difficult in small races, let alone something where the win number is in the millions. As such, it’s Sherrod Brown for U.S. Senate.
Transitional Notes
There really aren’t any other exciting races locally that I need to dissect. Most in the state legislature are running unopposed, a byproduct of their uncompetitive districts. Judges, unopposed. John Rutan is a crackpot so conspiratorial even the local Republicans stepped away from him, so there’s little to think about for the Prosecuting Attorney race (congratulations to Shayla Favor! The primary was the real juice, as many expected). State Board of Education, I’m leaning on recommendations from the Ohio Education Association. There is something interesting afoot in the County Treasurer race here in Franklin County: Cheryl Brooks Sullivan, who was recruited to run with the Zach Scott camp back in 2016 as part of the “Democratic Civil War in Franklin County” (longtime readers will remember well these days) that emerged in the post-Coleman landscape and who accidentally won her primary unlike most of those people, whose qualifications were immediately called into question over her multiple bankruptcies and her criminal convictions, who won that November and has stayed winning ever since, well… she’s being challenged this election by a former employee of her office, Sina Draughn, who is running as a write-in, and Drake Lundstrom, a polyglot DevOps tech bro and Rotary Youth volunteer who will be appearing on the ballot as a Libertarian. So, given Brooks’s background, given her recent controversies as she increases our county investments in Israel (and her less-than-friendly responses to being questioned on that by local activists), I don’t know what will happen. I don’t think that enough people are going to be upset enough to check a box that says Libertarian, but… I’ve been surprised before, I guess. Would be a helluva thing. I don’t even think many of the local Republicans would see a Libertarian box and think “oh yeah, that’s the stuff.” We’ll see.
So It’s Come To This: A Presidential Election
Alright, I want to break down who is on the ballot and counts, who is on the ballot and doesn’t count, and who is off the ballot and counts. You have probably heard about a couple of candidates on the ballot, but maybe not all of them! I’ve researched this across three separate Boards of Elections throughout the state and even went to the Secretary of State’s office, and I’m still not sure I’ve correctly identified all your certified options. I’ve done my best.
On the Ballot, Votes Count: Richard Duncan (non-party)
Yeah, I’m about as surprised as you are. Duncan’s website is expired, but his 2016 platform included planks like “I believe the current strategy in force of a continual offensive bombing is productive” and “the morals in our country will be preserved with the pro life movement and maintaining the right to worship a God of ones choice” and “the goal of creating new jobs and preserving the ones we have in this country is crucial to everyone. I will do this by developing ZONES OR GEOGRAPHIC AREAS throughout the nation.” You know, it really does make think about how easy it apparently is to get on the ballot for president. Hm. Anyway, that’s Richard for you.
On the Ballot, Votes Count: Peter Sonski (American Solidarity Party)
The American Solidarity Party is rooted in a tradition that I thought had gone the way of the dinosaur in America: “abortion is the direct killing of human life” and “we affirm a special collective responsibility to the most vulnerable members of society and call for societal structures that uphold the equal value and dignity of each person, regardless of any personal characteristics” living on the same page. If you are learned enough to be like “oh yeah, Christian democracy, that’s the stuff for me,” well, I guess Peter’s your candidate. An easy sell to your uncle who is still mad about Vatican II, but a weirdly hard sell to any of the late-convert TheoBros.
On the Ballot, Votes Count: Chase Oliver (Libertarian Party)
There’s no surprises in Oliver’s platform. Abolish the Department of Education. Deregulate. Market-driven healthcare. Open borders to drive down wages and prevent worker organization. Cut spending and cut the budget. You know, a Libertarian. Hey, at least I don’t see anything on the website about ages of consent. And the votes for Oliver will count for something, unlike…
On the Ballot, Votes Don’t Count: Jill Stein (Green Party)
As detailed in earlier posts, some amount of clerical error and/or sabotage has made it such that votes for Jill Stein won’t be counted, as her candidacy is effectively withdrawn in the state of Ohio. I mean, they might get tallied up, but they won’t count in the race. She’s not eligible to win. Stein’s platform is boilerplate Green Party stuff: save the planet, Economic Bill of Rights, prison abolition, UK-style National Healthcare Service as a goal, end military aid to and place sanctions on Israel while demanding a ceasefire, negotiate a peaceful end to the Russia-Ukraine war while disbanding NATO. Listen, I’m not going to spend too much time talking about Jill if only because I did so last week, but also because she’s withdrawn! It doesn’t matter.
Off the Ballot, Votes Count: Shiva Ayyadurai (write-in)
Dr. Shiva Ayyudurai claims to have invented email. If I was at a bar and someone came up to me claiming to have invented email, I would be arrested for assault. I’ll launch you into the sun. You did this to us. Also, Dr. Shiva is a virulent anti-vaccine activist who regularly criticizes RFK for being too support of medical immunization. That’s pretty much all I can glean from his website.
Off the Ballot, Votes Count: Jay J. Bowman (write-in)
This dude filled out the Candidate Questionnaire on Ballotpedia, which only the nicest candidates do. He leans heavily on “I’m a normal dude” and “government shouldn’t be so expensive.” That said, he does call for a “well-funded, well-equipped military” and his background as an entrepreneur/small business owner. Extrapolate from there as you will.
Off the Ballot, Votes Count: John Cheng (write-in)
Cheng ran as a write-in for senate back in 2018, and so his platform is likely to be similar to then, even if I can’t find much news about him. Back then, he wanted term limits for public offices, for Congress to “pass laws on if and when an unborn person has rights,” to close tax loopholes, and to “eliminate birthright citizenship for births to illegal and tourist immigrants.” Well, that’s definitely neither right nor left, I guess.
Off the Ballot, Votes Count: Claudia De la Cruz (write-in)
The Party for Socialism and Liberation isn’t organized enough to have ballot access in Ohio. Hell, the Greens pretty much don’t have it, and the Libertarians are only newly coming back. The Party formed in 2004 (splitters!), and it has faced allegations of cult-like behavior and covering for abusers, much like any mainstream American political party. Claudia’s platform calls for seizing the 100 largest corporations in America, reinventing the government into a socialist system, locking up war criminals and Wall Street bankers (hey, what happened to prison abolition?), sending reparations to and rebuilding Black communities, and saving the planet from capitalism. Admirable goals and a tough road to victory for someone you probably didn’t know you could even vote for until just now.
Off the Ballot, Votes Count: Cherunda Fox (write-in)
Listen, I don’t want to spend too much time talking about Cherunda. I think we need to improve mental health coverage in this country, and I think people should be able to get the help they need. Everything I’ve seen and read from Ms. Fox reminds me of the sorts of content I’ve read from people in the midst of breakdowns. So, yes, her website where she talks about the need to create a Bureau of Divorce Affairs to help wives leaving bad marriages because “American can't afford your Treason against our own seed, our Treasury and our Soveignity” and its home page where she details that “Democrats+Republicans stole 105,000.00 per man woman and American child=35 Trillion since 1998, when Hillary paid the deficit off for me to see how much they would steal after they blew he federal bldg up in Oklahoma City to deny me a measly 250,000.00 and a new start on 4-19-95, to punish American taxpayers for me blessing their jealous politicians who never had any intentions of doing anything but using us” reminds me of Time Cube more than maybe any other candidate’s that I’ve seen. I wish her well.
Off the Ballot, Votes Count: Chris Garrity (write-in)
His entire platform is “hey, wouldn’t it be cool if a normal dude was president?” Shame that, like most normal dudes, he has no other stated policy positions on his website (which is actually on the nicer end of write-in campaign websites).
Off the Ballot, Votes Count: Brian Kienitz (write-in)
Brian’s website begs you not to vote for him if you live in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin. It’s also covered in vectorized graphics of his face as he posts AI-generated blogs about why politicians need empathy. It’s refreshingly honest for a campaign, I guess. Smacks a bit of Jeff Leopard, which I won’t explain further (you either know or don’t).
Off the Ballot, Votes Count: William Nalbach (write-in)
I can find literally nothing about this dude other than his picture on the Ballotpedia page. I don’t even know where they got it. This dude functionally does not exist, to me.
Off the Ballot, Votes Count: Cornel West (write-in)
Oh, Brother West. Many of you reading this, at least based on the Meow Institute readership poll, you’re already familiar with Dr. West. His robust platform is “a movement rooted in truth, justice, and love,” and it’s a laundry list of policy proposals that a just world would bring to bear: economic empowerment for people with disabilities, universal basic income, dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, the actual use of the word “jubilee” in its debt cancellation proposals, healthcare guarantees for seniors, the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution, the call for the United States to “lead with moral clarity in promoting justice and an end to apartheid conditions” for the Palestinian people and the dismantling of U.S. imperialism and, with it, the disbanding of NATO, much like the Green Party platform had. Man, foreign policy is complicated. Hmm.
…So, anyone else running?
On the Ballot, Votes Count: Donald J. Trump (Republican Party)
Convicted felon, former president, oldest presidential nominee in history, and your Republican Party candidate. I shouldn’t have to tell you much about this guy. You probably have a handle on his deal. Amid his incoherent rambles as late, he’s really ramped up the nativism. We’re at levels of racial discourse not seen since the early 19th century, deporting legal immigrants and so on. Yeah, he’s on the ballot.
On the Ballot, Votes Count: Kamala D. Harris (Democratic Party)
She’s had about a month and a half to put together a campaign since Joe dropped out. Her big policy work has been on middle class economics, which may not be the sexiest subject. It is important, however. Beyond that, I am reminded of Joe Biden’s pledge in 2020: nothing will fundamentally change. Harris has racked up a slew of endorsements from Democratic stalwarts to a number of labor leaders (but not all!) to Republican officials both current and former. Hell, she’s even got a few war criminals in the mix for good measure (Dick Cheney, let’s go hunting sometime!).
The Bottom Line (Because Senator Meow Said So)
We live in Ohio. Again, if you are outside of Ohio, your material conditions are different, and you can do whatever makes sense. Ohio went from +4.58 Obama in 2008 to +2.98 Obama in 2012 to +8.07 Trump in 2016 to +8.03 Trump in 2020. Why is that? Well, a lot of it has to do with the way our local and state Republicans have been hoarding wealth and power, rigging the game on a small scale such that it depresses statewide support and limits how well the Democratic Party can build its bench. Couple that with a Democratic state party that seems to have lost its handle on how to campaign and Democratic county parties more interested in donor dinners than voter turnout (no names!), and here we are. I don’t think we’re a competitive race when it comes to president, and that gets even more complicated when you consider the Electoral College. Maybe this is the year Charlie kicks the football, and Texas and Florida will both turn blue together for the first time since 1976 when the polls severely overestimate Trump’s performance (for once). In that case, none of the swing states would matter, and we’re not even considered a swing state (sorry, battleground) in this election. No, this presidential election, like every presidential election, only a few states are deemed to matter, and they’re getting drenched in ad money and polling. It’ll all come down to turnout in crucial Waukesha County.
So, I’ve given you all the clues. By just skimming this, you’re more informed than most voters will be this election. This may come as a surprise to some newer readers, but I’m not and I never have been a rubber stamp for the Democratic Party. That too has gotten me in trouble over the years. I’ve long advocated for people to use the ISideWith quiz and see how their beliefs line up with candidate platforms (and I’ve long cautioned people that candidate platforms don’t always line up with candidate actions). My results: 95% Cornel West, 93% Jill Stein, 92% Kamala Harris, 77% Peter Sonski, 39% Chase Oliver, and 21% Donald Trump. If Claudia were on there, she’d probably be up in the 90s too. One of those people will be our next president. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine who gets their vote. I know several people whose red lines have been crossed and for whom Harris is a non-starter, and I know several people who are fully coconut-pilled. Hell, I even know a few people who are ready to Make America Great Again (we all have cousins, don’t we?). Listen to your heart, and make the choice you feel best with. You’re the one who will live with it, after all. Do you really need a cartoon cat to tell you who to vote for for President of the United States?
…but [Obama voice] let me be clear, I will drive to your house and kick your ass myself if you don’t go vote Yes on Issue 1; Yes on Issue 47; Michael Donnelly, Melody J. Stewart, and Lisa Forbes for Ohio Supreme Court; and Sherrod Brown for U.S. Senate.
The Sample Meowlot - November 2024
In closing,
If you think superheroes like me can fight all your battles for you, think again. Voting for your local, state, and federal representatives lets you choose who's on your side on all the issues we face today, from the little ones to the really big ones too. Have a voice in your future. Vote. And tell 'em Spider-Man Senator Meow sent ya.
Until next time, make a plan to vote. Make one for a friend too.