New calls for ORP Chairman Kevin DeWine to resign

Ohio Democrats and leftists have tried to take advantage of the infighting within the Ohio Republican Party by claiming that it was all started by Governor Kasich. They accuse the governor of orchestrating a power grab, when in reality, the Republican base has had serious problems with Kevin DeWine since before Kasich was even elected.

For example, I highlighted on BigGovernment.com that 4 major conservative blogs in Ohio are all in agreement that DeWine should step down.

Another case in point is the Tea Party. The following is a press release from Jim Woods, a recently elected member of the State Central Committee. He does an excellent job of explaining why a change is needed. This isn't about the governor, folks. This started long before John Kasich was even sworn in.

Ohio GOP State Central Committee Calls for DeWine to Resign

Medina, Ohio - The “Tea Party Caucus” composed of Tea Party leaders who have
been elected to the Ohio GOP State Central Committee is calling for the immediate
resignation of Ohio GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine. Jim Woods, State Central
Committeeman-elect from Ohio’s 22nd District notes that “There is no shortage
of good candidates available to replace Kevin DeWine. The new State Central
Committee includes a former State Chairman, a former Speaker of the Ohio House of
Representatives, a former Congressman, several county Chairman, and many former
Ohio elected officials from Attorney General to State Representative.”

The Tea Party Caucus cites the following grievances against Chairman DeWine:

• Upon taking office as Chairman, DeWine immediately announced that he was uninterested in advancing or supporting the agenda of “social conservatives”, in spite of the principles espoused by the GOP Party Platform

• Has consistently opposed the economic conservatives of the “Tea Party Movement”, and worked to exclude them from participation in the Ohio Republican Party 

• Did nothing to intervene when Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner “lost” most of the petitions and signatures filed by Steve Christopher in his campaign for Attorney General, causing him to be disqualified

• Promised long overdue Party support to Dave Yost if he would vacate his race for Attorney General and run instead for State Auditor, leaving the AG’s race uncontested in the primary for the Chairman’s second cousin 

• Spent hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting a personal friend of the Chairman running for Secretary of State, and opposing Sandy O’Brien 

• Spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat “Tea Party” candidates running for the GOP State Central Committee, achieving new heights in hypocrisy by using “Tea Party Values” as a logo on the postcards of his candidates working to defeat Tea Party candidates.

• Provided little or no support to Speaker Batchelder’s effort to regain control of the Ohio House of Representatives … the GOP treasury had been drained 

• Provided significantly less support to the Governor at the “top of the ticket”, than he did for his personal friend vying for the “down-ticket” Secretary of State.

• After the election worked to install loyalists in Ohio Senate seats that had become vacant, to establish a power base In the Senate that would provide him with a counter weight to the power of the Governor and Speaker 

• His “floor leader” in the State Senate (Shannon Jones) launched an overly complicated and ill-considered bill for collective bargaining reform (Senate Bill 5) prematurely; this bill essentially “set up” Governor Kasich and Speaker Batchelder to try to correct and support a fundamentally flawed bill they had not initiated 

• Failed to support Senate Bill 5 after it became Issue 2 on the ballot, leaving the Governor to absorb full blame for an embarrassing loss 

• Hi-jacked the Issue 3 (Healthcare Freedom Amendment) campaign team and divided the Tea Party movement against itself; achieving a winning margin that was notably less than the “favorability” indicated by public opinion polls 

• Again has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the effort to defeat not only Tea Party but “Governor’s” candidates, using a picture of the Governor on the postcards of his loyalists without the Governor’s knowledge or permission 

• Supported the “Power Play Amendment” to disqualify Tea Party candidates who run for election to the State Central Committee if they did not vote in the last three consecutive primaries in the even years, even though they had already been qualified by the Boards of Election, even though voting had already begun, and even if they are elected by the voters.. 

• Is at the time of writing and with the aid of GOP Political Director Bruce Tague, working to sow suspicion and dischord among the newly elected state central committee; creating factions and pitting them against each other.

Noted Jim Woods, “This year our nation will reach a crucial crossroads, a general election that will serve as a referendum on the direction our country will take not merely for four years, but more likely for a generation or more. Now, more than ever before those of us who believe in the Constitutional republic, a free market economy and traditional American values must unite and work hard to win this election. But we cannot focus on that task, if we are constantly having to look behind ourselves to see if the Ohio GOP Chairman is trying to stick a knife in our backs. Chairman DeWine’s track record is one of non-stop infighting for his own personal political agenda; his stock in trade is divisiveness, and pitting one faction against another. We cannot risk having him at the helm in 2012. He must resign now.”

The Tea Party Caucus is composed of recognized leaders and participants of Ohio patriotic groups who have won election to the Ohio GOP State Central Committee in 2010 or 2012.