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Party chairs weigh Election 2006 results
BY: MARILYN H. KARFELD, Senior Staff Reporter
All the necessary elements came together in Election 2006 to enable Democrats to wrest control of Congress and many state legislatures from Republicans, the chairmen of the Ohio Republican and Democratic parties said last week.
“Democrats took advantage of a perfect storm,” said Bob Bennett, Ohio Republican Party chairman since 1988. “From Noe to Ney, from Iraq to the economy, those were the reasons for the Republican defeat.”
“We did several things right,” affirmed Chris Redfern, state representative from Port Clinton, near Toledo, who became Ohio Democratic Party chairman a year ago. “Republicans did several things wrong.”
Republicans, Bennett admitted, failed to attract independent voters, in part because of the party's conservative stance on social issues. “We have to change our philosophy and what we stand for,” he said. “We paid too much attention to social issues and not enough to fiscal issues.”
In addition, Redfern acknowledged, Democrats benefited from corruption scandals involving Republicans in Washington, disgraces that Ohio Republicans had no control over.
But Republicans in Ohio suffered from their own ignominies, too: Gov. Bob Taft last year pled no contest to four ethics misdemeanors; Rep. Bob Ney pled guilty in October to corruption charges stemming from the investigation of influence-peddling lobbyist Jack Abramoff; and millionaire coin dealer and GOP fundraiser Tom Noe was convicted in November of stealing money from Ohio's Workmen's Compensation Fund. He was sentenced last week to 18 years in prison.
“You're going to have scandals when one party controls everything for so long, so there are no checks and balances,” said Redfern. In Ohio, Republicans have dominated state government for over a decade, occupying all statewide executive offices and controlling the state legislature. They have held the governorship for 16 years.
Speaking at an event co-sponsored by the American Jewish Committee and the community and government relations committees of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, the two political pros agreed that Ohioans, like Americans nationwide, swept out Republicans because they were looking for a change.
The crimes Noe committed damaged the public trust, said Bennett. “His conviction was a good thing. Republicans failed to set a high standard. Voters set the standard for us. Democrats will face the same fate unless they police their own.”
Democrats listened to the “folks on Main Street” who cared about issues, not politics, said Redfern. Democrats ran an 88-county campaign, refusing to write off any county to Republicans.
“We were aggressive and right on the issues, and that's what matters most in building the best grassroots,” said Redfern. “We won 77 Ohio counties for (Gov.-elect Ted) Strickland,” who captured about 60% of the vote. In 2004, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry won only 17 Ohio counties. Senator-elect Sherrod Brown, also outperformed previous Democratic candidates, Redfern said.
In addition, Democrats picked up dozens of county commissioner seats, judgeships and county auditor positions. They gained seven seats in the Ohio House and one in the Ohio Senate, although Republicans retained their majorities in both chambers.
“Collectively, this was the best performance for (Ohio) Democrats in three decades,” Redfern said.
Ohio Democrats avoided a divisive gubernatorial primary race, said Bennett, allowing them to focus early on one candidate. Republicans had to deal with a contentious primary, as Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro battled Secretary of State Ken Blackwell for the gubernatorial nomination.
Still, Bennett insisted that Republicans in Ohio bucked the national trend. “Don't write off Bob Bennett and the Republican Party,” he cautioned.
Ohio Republicans held on to their majority in the Ohio General Assembly, while Republicans in Michigan, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota lost their state legislative control. Democrats in New Hampshire gained 80 seats, the first time they have controlled the state legislature in eight decades. At press time, Democrats were claiming control of the Pennsylvania state legislature, with several seats still in dispute.
Ohio Republicans now hold every seat on the Ohio Supreme Court. They also retained the state auditor's office, which is one of five votes on the Ohio apportionment board. This body draws the General Assembly's legislative districts every 10 years.
On the federal level, Ohio Republicans held on to all but one of their congressional seats, Bennett noted. (This week, a count of provisional ballots showed incumbent Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce of Columbus clinging to her seat by just over 1,000 votes, mandating a recount.)
“I was told we were going to lose three, possibly four (congressional) seats,” Bennett said. “We only lost Ney's seat. It could have been a lot worse.”
Ohio Republicans fared as well as they did due to the party's strong state organization, both party chairmen said.
“I learned a lot from Bob Bennett,” said Redfern. “Over the last 20 years, he has built the best Republican organization in the nation.”
But this year, Bennett admitted, Republicans were unable to win “soft Republican” voters and independent voters, particularly women. “I hate primaries. They drive my candidate to the right. Independents don't vote in primaries.”
In 2004 and again in 2006, Republicans often campaigned on conservative social issues, such as opposition to embryonic stem-cell research and gay civil rights. This, despite the fact, Bennett noted, that he has at least three Republican county chairmen who are gay.
Instead, the party should be focusing on economic issues, he said. For instance, Ohio's tax policies encourage retirees to move to low-tax states like Florida, taking their taxes, and even more important, their philanthropic donations, with them.
Republicans and Democrats need to work together to address difficult issues, Redfern said, such as over-reliance on property taxes to pay for public education.
“In the last seven or eight years, we (Ohio state legislators) spent a lot of time talking about everyone's bedroom, while we need to talk about what's going on in your wallets,” said Redfern.
Looking ahead, both party chairmen said that Ohio's term limits, which allow state legislators to serve only eight consecutive years, should be extended to 12 years. Relatively rapid turnover deprives the legislature of valuable experience and institutional knowledge.
Furthermore, Bennett said, “it's hard to keep ambitions in check” in the era of term limits. Politicians, campaign managers and staff are continually looking to position themselves for a new job. “It's move up or move out,” the Republican chairman said.
In addition, Bennett said, a bipartisan approach to apportionment would make state legislative and congressional races more competitive and produce better lawmakers. After the 2010 census, Ohio will probably lose another congressional seat and have to redraw its districts.
Packing Republicans into legislative districts enabled them to win seats more easily, but Bennett said it was not ultimately beneficial. “You get a better legislature if legislators are running in a 55% (Republican or Democratic) district than a 75% district,” he insisted. “If you come from a 75% district, you don't have to listen to anybody.”
Congressional districts should also be more balanced, he said. If competitiveness is the only test for apportionment, the community's best interests are not served.
Last year's unsuccessful ballot initiative that would have turned apportionment over to a bipartisan commission should be tweaked to make it palatable to both parties, Redfern and Bennett said.
The election provided Republicans with a necessary lesson, Bennett added. “We needed this reminder that our service to the people is at their discretion. It can easily be taken away.”
mkarfeld@cjn.org
“Democrats took advantage of a perfect storm,” said Bob Bennett, Ohio Republican Party chairman since 1988. “From Noe to Ney, from Iraq to the economy, those were the reasons for the Republican defeat.”
“We did several things right,” affirmed Chris Redfern, state representative from Port Clinton, near Toledo, who became Ohio Democratic Party chairman a year ago. “Republicans did several things wrong.”
Republicans, Bennett admitted, failed to attract independent voters, in part because of the party's conservative stance on social issues. “We have to change our philosophy and what we stand for,” he said. “We paid too much attention to social issues and not enough to fiscal issues.”
In addition, Redfern acknowledged, Democrats benefited from corruption scandals involving Republicans in Washington, disgraces that Ohio Republicans had no control over.
But Republicans in Ohio suffered from their own ignominies, too: Gov. Bob Taft last year pled no contest to four ethics misdemeanors; Rep. Bob Ney pled guilty in October to corruption charges stemming from the investigation of influence-peddling lobbyist Jack Abramoff; and millionaire coin dealer and GOP fundraiser Tom Noe was convicted in November of stealing money from Ohio's Workmen's Compensation Fund. He was sentenced last week to 18 years in prison.
“You're going to have scandals when one party controls everything for so long, so there are no checks and balances,” said Redfern. In Ohio, Republicans have dominated state government for over a decade, occupying all statewide executive offices and controlling the state legislature. They have held the governorship for 16 years.
Speaking at an event co-sponsored by the American Jewish Committee and the community and government relations committees of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, the two political pros agreed that Ohioans, like Americans nationwide, swept out Republicans because they were looking for a change.
The crimes Noe committed damaged the public trust, said Bennett. “His conviction was a good thing. Republicans failed to set a high standard. Voters set the standard for us. Democrats will face the same fate unless they police their own.”
Democrats listened to the “folks on Main Street” who cared about issues, not politics, said Redfern. Democrats ran an 88-county campaign, refusing to write off any county to Republicans.
“We were aggressive and right on the issues, and that's what matters most in building the best grassroots,” said Redfern. “We won 77 Ohio counties for (Gov.-elect Ted) Strickland,” who captured about 60% of the vote. In 2004, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry won only 17 Ohio counties. Senator-elect Sherrod Brown, also outperformed previous Democratic candidates, Redfern said.
In addition, Democrats picked up dozens of county commissioner seats, judgeships and county auditor positions. They gained seven seats in the Ohio House and one in the Ohio Senate, although Republicans retained their majorities in both chambers.
“Collectively, this was the best performance for (Ohio) Democrats in three decades,” Redfern said.
Ohio Democrats avoided a divisive gubernatorial primary race, said Bennett, allowing them to focus early on one candidate. Republicans had to deal with a contentious primary, as Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro battled Secretary of State Ken Blackwell for the gubernatorial nomination.
Still, Bennett insisted that Republicans in Ohio bucked the national trend. “Don't write off Bob Bennett and the Republican Party,” he cautioned.
Ohio Republicans held on to their majority in the Ohio General Assembly, while Republicans in Michigan, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota lost their state legislative control. Democrats in New Hampshire gained 80 seats, the first time they have controlled the state legislature in eight decades. At press time, Democrats were claiming control of the Pennsylvania state legislature, with several seats still in dispute.
Ohio Republicans now hold every seat on the Ohio Supreme Court. They also retained the state auditor's office, which is one of five votes on the Ohio apportionment board. This body draws the General Assembly's legislative districts every 10 years.
On the federal level, Ohio Republicans held on to all but one of their congressional seats, Bennett noted. (This week, a count of provisional ballots showed incumbent Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce of Columbus clinging to her seat by just over 1,000 votes, mandating a recount.)
“I was told we were going to lose three, possibly four (congressional) seats,” Bennett said. “We only lost Ney's seat. It could have been a lot worse.”
Ohio Republicans fared as well as they did due to the party's strong state organization, both party chairmen said.
“I learned a lot from Bob Bennett,” said Redfern. “Over the last 20 years, he has built the best Republican organization in the nation.”
But this year, Bennett admitted, Republicans were unable to win “soft Republican” voters and independent voters, particularly women. “I hate primaries. They drive my candidate to the right. Independents don't vote in primaries.”
In 2004 and again in 2006, Republicans often campaigned on conservative social issues, such as opposition to embryonic stem-cell research and gay civil rights. This, despite the fact, Bennett noted, that he has at least three Republican county chairmen who are gay.
Instead, the party should be focusing on economic issues, he said. For instance, Ohio's tax policies encourage retirees to move to low-tax states like Florida, taking their taxes, and even more important, their philanthropic donations, with them.
Republicans and Democrats need to work together to address difficult issues, Redfern said, such as over-reliance on property taxes to pay for public education.
“In the last seven or eight years, we (Ohio state legislators) spent a lot of time talking about everyone's bedroom, while we need to talk about what's going on in your wallets,” said Redfern.
Looking ahead, both party chairmen said that Ohio's term limits, which allow state legislators to serve only eight consecutive years, should be extended to 12 years. Relatively rapid turnover deprives the legislature of valuable experience and institutional knowledge.
Furthermore, Bennett said, “it's hard to keep ambitions in check” in the era of term limits. Politicians, campaign managers and staff are continually looking to position themselves for a new job. “It's move up or move out,” the Republican chairman said.
In addition, Bennett said, a bipartisan approach to apportionment would make state legislative and congressional races more competitive and produce better lawmakers. After the 2010 census, Ohio will probably lose another congressional seat and have to redraw its districts.
Packing Republicans into legislative districts enabled them to win seats more easily, but Bennett said it was not ultimately beneficial. “You get a better legislature if legislators are running in a 55% (Republican or Democratic) district than a 75% district,” he insisted. “If you come from a 75% district, you don't have to listen to anybody.”
Congressional districts should also be more balanced, he said. If competitiveness is the only test for apportionment, the community's best interests are not served.
Last year's unsuccessful ballot initiative that would have turned apportionment over to a bipartisan commission should be tweaked to make it palatable to both parties, Redfern and Bennett said.
The election provided Republicans with a necessary lesson, Bennett added. “We needed this reminder that our service to the people is at their discretion. It can easily be taken away.”
mkarfeld@cjn.org
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