Kasich's Call for Compromise Smacks of Desperation

by Kyle Weidleman  |  August 26, 2011

Ohio Governor John Kasich, state House Speaker Bill Batchelder and state Senate President Tom Niehaus offered a desperate appeal for “compromise” on SB 5 only 11 days before the deadline to take Issue 2 off the November ballot. The trio held a fake photo-op of the three of them sitting with empty chairs labeled by placards for AFSCME, AFL-CIO, and the Ohio Education Association, among others.

The anti-worker SB 5 legislation is still wildly unpopular among Ohioans. According to the latest poll from PPP (taken August 11-14), 50 percent of Ohio citizens would vote to reject Issue 2/SB 5, while only 39 percent would vote to keep it as law.

The timing of Kasich and his allies' call for compromise — less than a week after pro-worker candidates won a majority of nine Wisconsin recall elections, and only one and a half weeks before the ballot deadline — is suspect.Said Republican state Senator Tim Grendell of Kasich's call for compromise: "I think it's highly doubtful we're going to take this complex issue and find a middle ground in 11 days." Grendell voted against SB 5 in the state Senate.

For more on the "No On Issue 2" campaign, visit the We Are Ohio website.