Ohio
Ohio's leaders blocked (some) foreign money from issue campaigns. Advocates call it a dog-whistle • Ohio Capital Journal
Ohio’s Republican leadership last month refused to put Joe Biden on the presidential ballot unless the legislature adopted another measure that they claimed would protect against foreign money playing a role in the process by which citizens can initiate laws.
But while some surely were concerned about malign foreigners improperly influencing state policy, some of them seemed to be playing on the same trumped-up fear of foreigners that they do in other contexts.
When earlier problems arose with putting presidential candidates of both parties on the ballot, the legislature passed a “clean” bill fixing the problem as a routine matter.
Moreover, with this latest law, Ohio lawmakers did nothing to bring transparency to dark money, which is flooding the state and can come from any source. It can be from foreigners, organized crime or interested parties — all unbeknownst to the electorate whose laws are being impacted. Such dark money played an indispensable role in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio — a scandal in which many of those same Ohio leaders played a part.
In addition, critics said the move was really intended to make it more difficult for citizens to impose popular measures that the state’s gerrymandered supermajority opposes, such as protecting abortion rights and ending gerrymandering. As part of that, they said, it gives the state attorney general — who since 2011 has been a Republican — greatly enhanced powers to harass citizen-led attempts to change the law.
Xenophobia
Advocates for immigrants and others say that in pushing their “ban” on foreign money, some Republican leaders are playing on the anti-foreigner, anti-immigrant paranoia that Donald Trump has relentlessly whipped up since announcing his candidacy to be president in 2015.
The new legislation not only bans contributions from foreign nationals, it also bans them from lawful permanent residents, or “green card” holders. That’s despite the fact that federal law allows such people to make contributions, and Bill Seitz, an attorney and a Republican member of the Ohio House, warned his colleagues that the prohibition could sink the entire measure in court.
To an immigrant advocate, the dog whistle was easily audible.
“They know what they’re doing, the people who are sponsoring these amendments,” said Lynn Tramonte, director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance. “They’re making this about people who were born in other countries and adding on new categories of immigrants to be banned from donating money. The legislator who introduced that amendment knows that that makes it open to legal challenge. That was very clear. Both sides — Republicans and Democrats — expect that law to be challenged in court. So it was clearly not about the policy. It was about getting those headlines.”
Some of the amendment’s staunchest supporters haven’t been shy about using such tactics.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose was the first to flag the fact that the Democratic National Convention was too late to get Biden on the ballot under Ohio law. But instead of calling for a clean bill that would only fix that as the legislature had done in the past, LaRose had other demands.
“Ohioans deserve confidence in the integrity of our elections, knowing that they aren’t being bought by foreign bullies or billionaires,” LaRose said in a May press release. “I hope the House does the right thing and takes action soon to close this loophole before it’s exploited again.”
Other motives
LaRose was referring to a Swiss billionaire who had made big contributions to the Tides Foundation, a U.S. group that helped finance Ohio voter efforts last year.
One trounced an August attempt by LaRose and his allies to make it nearly impossible for citizens to initiate amendments to the Ohio Constitution. Then, in November, voters passed an amendment protecting abortion rights by a 14-point margin. LaRose had earlier told an audience of partisans that the August effort was 100% about stopping the abortion-rights measure in November.
It’s not the only time LaRose, the state’s top elections official, has pressed a fear of foreigners into the service of what appear to be ulterior motives.
For example, he’s conducted frequent voter purges, supposedly in the service of election integrity. Last year, he tried to make a splash by announcing that he had referred 641 cases of possible voter fraud to authorities.
Sounds like a lot, but that’s only 0.0044% of the total votes cast. And when the Capital Journal did a follow-up investigation, less than 3% of those resulted in charges.
In other words, just 0.000132% of the total number of votes cast since LaRose took office in 2019 might end in convictions. Yet LaRose last month announced yet another voter purge, claiming the threat of foreigners casting illegal ballots was why it was needed.
“Ohioans overwhelmingly passed an amendment to our state Constitution which makes it clear that only U.S. citizens can vote in our elections,” LaRose said in a May 14 press release. “It is my duty under the law to uphold the Constitution, and the legislature has explicitly tasked me with ensuring that only eligible citizens can register and vote.”
Spreading fear
Elizabeth Neumann was deputy chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration.
During a virtual press conference sponsored by the National Immigration Forum last week, she described how the “great replacement theory” — the idea that there’s a plot to replace white people, especially in positions of power — has led to numerous racist massacres. She said that whipping up fears of illegal voting is a softer version of the same theory that shooters invoked as they massacred people in Christchurch, New Zealand, a Walmart in El Paso, a Pittsburgh synagogue, and a Buffalo grocery store.
“There’s a lot of conversation about how migrants are actually voting and this goes into that softer great-replacement theory and we anticipate that will continue to be a challenge this election year,” said Neumann, who is now chief strategy officer for Moonshot, which works to end online harms such as violent extremism and child trafficking.
Tramonte, of the immigrant alliance, said the real aim of claims of illegal voting and purges and prosecutions is to scare marginal populations away from the polls. She said she helped conduct a focus group before last November’s election.
“I heard from people who were citizens who said they were afraid to vote because they were afraid of being attacked,” she said. “They had a plan to go early in the morning and make sure they could get their vote cast because they wanted to make sure their voices were heard, but they were afraid.”
In addition to not effectively addressing the problem of mystery money in our politics and making it harder and more frightening to participate in the process, there could be a darker consequence of the rhetoric around the bill Republicans demanded in exchange for putting a sitting president on the Ohio ballot.
In an interview, Moonshot analyst Yuri Neves said that political leaders are invoking conspiracy theories when they insinuate that green card holders have a diabolical agenda or that masses of undocumented immigrants are voting illegally.
“It suggests some coordinated plan by nefarious actors,” he said. “Depending on who you talk to, it’s globalists, Jews, etc. When we say it’s a conspiracy theory, it’s not just demographic changes happening as there always are. It’s that it’s some malevolent actors behind it. And that’s where it gets quite dangerous.”
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One of the top trending movies on Netflix this holiday season is ‘The Six Triple Eight’, which tells the true story of an Ohio woman who made history during World War II.
In the movie Kerry Washington plays U.S. Army Maj. Charity Adams Earley, a trailblazing officer of the Women’s Army Corps.
The 6888th Central Postal Battalion was assigned to sort through a three-year backlog of undelivered mail that amounted to 17 million pieces to and from soldiers and their families.
Adams Earley, who was born in 1918 and grew up in South Carolina, came to Ohio to attend Wilberforce College to study math, Latin and physics. She returned to South Carolina to be a schoolteacher but in the summers she took graduate classes at Ohio State University, according to her biography published by the National Women’s History Museum.
In 1942, she joined the Women’s Army Corps and became a member of the first officer candidate school. In 1944 Adams Earley was picked to be the commanding officer of the first Black WAC unit sent overseas.
The Netflix movie, directed by Tyler Perry, tells the story of Adams Earley and her battalion’s grit and resourcefulness during the mail sorting assignment.
She left the service in 1948, having achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel. Adams Earley returned to Ohio State University to finish her graduate degree and later work for the Veterans Administration in Cleveland.
She moved to Switzerland where her husband, Stanley Earley II, was studying to become a doctor. The couple returned to the states in 1952, settled in Dayton and had two children.
Adams Earley became active in Dayton civic affairs, serving on the boards of Sinclair Community College, American Red Cross Dayton chapter, Dayton Metro Housing Authority, Dayton Opera Company and Dayton Power & Light Co.
The Charity Adams Earley Girls Academy in Dayton is named after her.
Adams Earley died in 2002 at age 83 in Dayton.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
Former Purdue tight end Max Klare has committed to transfer to Ohio State, giving the Buckeyes a difference-maker at that position for 2025.
Klare caught 51 passes for 685 yards and four touchdowns this season for Purdue. He was the leading receiver in all three categories for the Boilermakers, who were winless in the Big Ten and fired coach Ryan Walters.
Klare finished sixth nationally in receiving yards among tight ends.
Klare was ranked the top available tight end in the NCAA transfer portal by ESPN and the No. 20 player overall. Texas, Michigan, Louisville and Texas A&M were reportedly other programs that pursued him.
Klare will have two years of eligibility remaining. The 6-4, 240-pounder is from Guilford, Indiana, near Cincinnati. He attended St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati.
He is the third transfer addition of the day for Ohio State, following West Virginia running back CJ Donaldson and Idaho State defensive end Logan George.
Why TE Max Klare picked Ohio State from transfer portal
Klare told ESPN that Ohio State’s status as an elite program and ability to develop him further were major reasons for his decision.
“Really, when it came down to making the decision, coach Day’s ability to develop players and send them off to the NFL, the development process was huge for me,” he told ESPN.
“Just an opportunity to win a national championship and develop into a better player and play against the best competition, day-in and day-out (appealed to me), and being around a lot of like-minded individuals that are going to push me to be my best.”
How CFP fans (probably) reacted to the first round games
After the CFP first round, Before The Snap shares a sketch take on who made it to the quarterfinals.
How Max Klare will fit with Ohio State football’s roster
Klare is the front-runner to start for Ohio State next year. Starter Gee Scott Jr.’s eligibility expires, as does Will Kacmarek’s. Kacmarek is an Ohio University transfer who has been a significant role player.
The Buckeyes still have Jelani Thurman, a promising but inconsistent sophomore, and Bennett Christian, who’s more of a blocker.
Klare and Thurman could give the Buckeyes a strong receiving element from the tight end position that they lacked this year following Cade Stover’s graduation.
According to the Indianapolis Star, Klare accounted for almost 32% of Purdue’s pass plays that gained 10 or more yards.
Ohio State football transfer targets
The Buckeyes remain in the mix for Rice offensive tackle Ethan Onianwa, according to multiple reports.
When does transfer portal close?
The portal closes on Dec. 28 or five days following a team’s last postseason game.
Get more Ohio State football news by listening to our podcasts.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jack Sawyer ran from a postgame interview when he heard the opening notes of “Carmen Ohio” coming from the Ohio State band.
The local product didn’t want to miss a second of the postgame tradition.
Emeka Egbuka gazed at the Ohio Stadium seats as he slowly turned in a circle.
The senior receiver who always took his role in stride amid a collection of spectacular talent at the position wanted to take it all in one final time.
Donovan Jackson had his arms around fellow offensive linemen as they posed for a photo with Will Howard.
The once-highly-rated offensive tackle wanted to be part of a captured moment with those who helped him keep the quarterback upright despite brutal injury luck in the trenches.
Those were among the late-night moments inside Ohio Stadium on Saturday as members of the Buckeyes’ senior class celebrated a College Football Playoff first-round win against Tennessee.
A group once ranked among the best in the storied program’s history that hasn’t achieved many of its goal — capped by an ugly postgame scene following a Nov. 30 loss against Michigan — got a second chance to leave its home field on a better note.
They took advantage, dominating the Vols en route to a 28-point victory.
The first step in rewriting, or at least improving, a legacy was complete.
“It means everything to me,” Sawyer said. “When we saw we got another home game against a team like that coming in here, I knew it was going to be awesome.”
Ohio State’s seniors nearly left on an ugly note
Ohio State coach Ryan Day establishes the program’s standard with three goals each year: Beat Michigan, win the Big Ten and claim a national title.
When the 2021 recruiting class arrived, it was supposed to start a run of consistently reaching those accomplishments. So far, the Buckeyes’ senior class is 0-for-11 and the lasting memory was lined up to be an ugly one.
Before Sawyer was running to sing with teammates on Saturday, the final image of him at Ohio Stadium was one of anger and disappointment.
Ohio State was a heavy favorite against Michigan this year, suggesting a three-game skid in the rivalry would finally end.
Instead, the Wolverines pulled off the upset and tried planting a flag at midfield. It led to Sawyer and many of his teammates taking offense, sparking fights that saw law enforcement get involved.
Despite a stellar outing from Sawyer, including a spectacular interception, that was going to be the lasting image.
“I could’ve had a million sacks, but we lost the game,” Sawyer said Saturday. “That’s all that matters to me. Everything (about) the way the game ended motivated us to come into this week like this.”
The new College Football Playoff allows narratives to change
The Michigan loss would’ve been it for players such as Egbuka, Sawyer and Jackson last year. At 10-2, Ohio State’s season would’ve ended in a underwhelming bowl game after immense expectations.
The new 12-team College Football Playoff has brought change, allowing additional opportunities to shift narratives.
Perhaps no group in the country could benefit more than Ohio State’s seniors.
“I think it’s awesome,” Sawyer said. “The 12-team playoff, I think it’s great. It gives teams a chance that you wouldn’t have got a chance in years previous.”
There’s a cliché in baseball when a hitter is going through a slump. If they’re hitless in 11 consecutive at-bats, you tell yourself that they’re due.
Statistically, there’s no such thing. You’re likelihood to get a hit in that 12th at-bat is the same as any other, but the belief still exists that the longer the drought continues, the sooner it is to end.
Ohio State’s seniors are on at-bat No. 12: Winning a national title.
Maybe the win vs. Tennessee proved they’re due to change how they’re remembered.
“It is a new season,” Sawyer said. “It’s a new season every week. It’s win-or-go-home. It’s the NFL playoffs now. That’s been our mindset.”
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