Reader's Forum: Ohio Election 2005 turned into a national, state and local tragedy

Ohio being a key swing state, the stunning defeat of all four election reform measures here is not only a statewide but also a national tragedy.

The big-money interests that back Bush-Cheney are clapping with glee. They came perilously close to losing their ability to make unlimited corporate contributions and might even have had to face a fair and even-handed political process in Ohio.

Our election process is infected with a disease. The forces of unadulterated greed have captured the great idea of democracy. Ohio citizens were just given an unprecedented opportunity to clean up a system rife with corruption.

One would have thought that this was the year, with a barrage of high-profile scandals appearing to push the public to its limits of tolerance. Instead, we witnessed one of the most dramatic examples in recent memory of the very disease this campaign was trying to cure -- the overwhelming power of money to use media to distort issues and confuse voters.

There was plenty of motivation on the side of Reform Ohio Now (RON). What it lacked was a leadership well versed in the school of political hard knocks. Big money pulled out all the stops and hired the same ruthless Madison Avenue guns that orchestrated the 'swift-boat' character attacks aimed at sinking the Kerry campaign.

They came up with TV ads right out of George Orwell, using 'doublespeak' to turn truth upside down. Instead of a history of progressive causes being denied adequate access to media through lack of funds (the truth), the opposition persuaded a majority that it was the big-money folks who were being unfairly 'gagged' and supposedly 'deprived of their rights' (an amazingly blatant lie).

RON needed names big enough to counter these distortions. I suggested Jesse Jackson and Jimmy Carter. Jackson made a major impact after the year 2000 vote in Florida. Former President Carter just co-chaired a commission formed in direct response to the 2004 Ohio controversy and specifically endorsed a proposal to remove partisanship from the supervision of state elections (precisely RON's Issue 5). RON replied that they did not want partisan Democrats associated with a non-partisan campaign.

I understand the principle, but economic necessity forced RON to accept help from labor unions and even the left-leaning people at MoveOn.org. Though RON gained a major Republican endorsement of Issue 4 from California Gov. Schwarzenegger, they never went for Jackson and Carter. Jackson could have mobilized the inner-city vote, and Carter would have brought respect and credibility. This was a mistake.

Another need was unity in the progressive community. Our own local Democratic Party chair Susan Gwinn shattered any hope for such. Gwinn's highly technical, nit-picky criticisms of the ballot measures are comparable to a situation where someone might break a door to save a neighbor from a burning house.

Were you authorized to do this, Gwinn might ask, and did you have a permit to enter? The reality is that our democratic process in Ohio is trapped in a burning house, and these ballot measures were eminently reasonable first steps toward getting us out.

Gwinn was not satisfied to keep her shallow criticisms confined to Athens County. She took it upon herself to organize a press conference with her counterpart in Cuyahoga County so as to inflict maximum damage.

She did so knowing full well that her statements would be seized and used by the opposition to spread confusion and discord. In fact, she was directly quoted in opposition phone-bank calls to voters in southeast Ohio.

Prior to her statewide ambush on Issues 3, 4 and 5, she expressed dismay that a City Council candidate had written a letter to The Athens NEWS criticizing what was at that time a not-yet 'official' stance.

While this letter-writer may have erred in not checking directly with Ms. Gwinn beforehand, one wonders whether such a petty, interpersonal conflict may have been allowed to motivate such a high-profile, damaging attack.

If indeed this was the case, what a sad commentary on Ms. Gwinn's psychological maturity. Gwinn's arrogance blinded her to the destructiveness of her actions.

Another obvious question that presents itself is Gwinn's opposition to Issue 4 and its attempt to stop 'gerrymandering' -- the manipulation of voting district lines so as to favor the party in power and wipe out any meaningful competition. Is it possible that such manipulation is OK with her as long as it is the Democratic Party doing so?

Four ballot measures were probably too much at one time. Concentrating on Issue 3 (reinstating spending limits), making the most of voter reaction to the scandals, and hopefully winning would have achieved a tremendously significant change in the rules.

Time before the next election could have been well used to educate about gerrymandering. Having these limits in place for the next election also would have granted an improved chance for victory.

Last, but by no means least, is the issue of voter turnout in Athens County. One would guess the lowest turnout might be one of the almost completely rural, sparsely populated counties. It was astonishing and discouraging to learn that the lowest percentage in the entire state was none other than right here in supposedly 'progressive' Athens County -- the home of a large university.

Many factors play into this level of apathy. One would be OU's ever-growing reputation as a party school. A mindset fixated on a 'me first, to hell with the world' obsession with self-gratification and alcohol does not leave much room for civic responsibility.

Another factor would be the seeming inability of Athens' progressive community to see the direct and unequivocal connections between issues.

Bad governmental policies do not occur in a vacuum. They occur because big money is driving and controlling the process, and breaking this control is the unbending prerequisite for any meaningful social change. Activist resistance to war or environmental harms or social injustice is important and necessary, but the opposition is not carried far enough.

Deep-pocket CEOs can easily tolerate symbolic peace rallies on Court Street and even anarchists breaking windows at Starbucks. What they cannot tolerate is a ballot measure that would have actual binding power to shut down their otherwise unlimited corporate contributions and sever their iron grip on the government. This is a strategy that strikes at the heart of the problem, and yet the so-called 'progressive' community of Athens barely lifted a finger to help.

It was truly amazing that enough energy was found to overcome cynicism and gather over a half million signatures to qualify these initiatives. Who knows when we will have another chance like this? Yes, this was a sad election.

Editor's note: Gary 'Spruce' Houser of Athens has been involved in the campaign-finance-reform issue for many years.