Can democracy survive Ohio?
What’s become of the Republican Party in Ohio reflects poorly on our state.
We’ve seen state GOP politicians repeatedly thwart the voters’ will and ignore the Ohio Constitution in their egregious gerrymanders.
We’ve seen our two GOP senators ignore their constituents’ needs while applauding President Donald Trump’s unconstitutional actions.
And we’ve seen Ohio’s own Vice President JD Vance repeat Trump’s lies (remember their claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were eating pets?) and tell many whoppers of his own.
And, now thanks to a Washington Post report, we learn that in 2019, a small group of right-wing donors rented a resort outside of tiny Rockbridge, Ohio, for a summit to secure the future of the MAGA movement.
They were out to turn Trump’s movement into an enduring political coalition, with a pipeline of voters, donors and candidates that would cement a radical transformation of the GOP.
An organization of businessmen and political donors that was spawned from that meeting called the Rockbridge Network helped fuel Trump’s reelection and propelled one of its own — Vance — into the vice presidency.
If American democracy survives Trump and the MAGA movement, history will record that some of its severest challenges came from Ohio.
Sara Patrick, Strongsville
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohioans are a thorn in the nation’s side. Nation will be lucky if it survives us | Letters
Reporting by Letters to the Editor / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
