Why is Ohio so conservative?

[JDPriestly]

I campaigned there in 2008. Obama won, but judging from the past election and the lack of real resistance to the current union-busting legislation, I doubt that he will win again.

What happened? Why is Ohio so conservative?

[LaurenG]

1. Having come from the SW to Ohio I found Ohio very backward

or at least Cincinnati. The majority of conservatives here are really very un-educated politically. The politically well educated people are wealthy conservatives or democrats.

I have personally experienced conservatives to be a frightened bunch. Afraid of God and afraid to think outside the box and how they were raised. Their whole lives revolve around fear. The fear of someone taking something away from them mostly.

[cmd]

6. I agree with you

I've long believed that those people who talk about the Fear of God are conservatives, while those who believe in a God of Love are more progressive. Everytime I see another Megachurch go up, I see votes going to Republicans. Personally, I do not fear God. I no longer go to
church, but try to lead my life according to the teachings of Jesus.

[Name removed]

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[LaurenG]

18. Do you live in Cincinnati?

If not you probably don't have anything to say about this that I'll consider. There is a huge difference between uneducated and politically uneducated and you don't seem to understand that either.

[Kolesar]

2. It is the conservative Protestant backgrounds of half the population

Literalist, fundamentalist bible church-types

Ohio is very Republican going back to the Civil War.

[Ninga]

3. In addition, Ohio is a huge, sprawling state, with miles of farm land, industrial centers,

and Youngstown, to Cleveland to Toledo more in tune with the mid-west, and the southeastern portion of the state more like Appalachia.

Strickland (D) won several Congressional terms in an Appalachian type district. We had Senators Glenn, Metzenbaum, Gov. Celeste all D's and of course Senator Brown.

The problem with Ohio is that is has a lot of Reagan Democrats (37% of union households voted for Kasich).

I believe our state party lacks vision, and is tone deaf when it comes to backing candidates that can win.

It is all a very complicated dynamic.

I believe that after Kasich has raped the state and it's working class, that the Reagan Democrats will finally come home.

[we can do it]

5. Great Answer (mine sucked)

I certainly hope the last of the union people finally open their eyes, if its not too late.
I feel there is quite a bit of racism to blame as well.

[Ninga]

9. Yes,

[ckimmy57]

11. I believe our state party lacks vision

No truer words have ever been spoken. My husband is involved in local politics (elected official) and our son is the president of our local Democrat club and sometimes I just want to beat my head against the wall. The Democrats here lack motivation, desire, and outright passion when it comes to elections. It's the same ol people doing all the work. I want to shake the shit out of them and scream WAKE UP. Also here in our county 75-80% of all teachers are registered republicans....well, look where that got them. Now they are all fired up and fighting for their financial lives.

[realisticphish]

12. excellent analysis nt

[we can do it]

4. Its the Buy Bull Belt

The nit wits tend to buy bull from prechers and faux noiz

[Ninga]

10. And yes!

[ladym55]

7. Many reasons

Some are included here ...

--The role of the megachurches on their members. The members are told to focus on "family values": vote anti-gay, anti-choice. Vote against your economic best interest.
--The lack of education. We have very uneven school funding. It was deemed unconstitutional YEARS ago, but the Republicans refused to do anything about it. The Dems worked very hard on the issue for two years, and then Kasich threw their plan out on taking office. The result? A population with limited education, limited opportunity, and great fear.
--A Democratic Party that is frequently disorganized and petty. John Kerry had to bring in his OWN people in 2004. Many of the Kerry volunteers went on to become politically active in 2006, 2008, and 2010. However, they still have to work with the larger Democratic Party. While working in 2010, I often had the sense that the folks running the show were chasing their tails. It was a mess.

And with resistance to SB 5, it has been strong ... it just hasn't received media coverage. 8,500 at the capitol on a weekday is a big deal. Much of what is happening in Wisconsin has been made possible because the Rethuglican majority is not that large.

It was a VERY big deal that SB 5 almost didn't get out of committee. They had to switch senators to get the bill out of committee. Even with a large Rethuglican majority, the bill passed by ONE vote.

Kasich won because the economy was bad, press coverage of Strickland was non-existent, and people were scared. Kasich's approval ratings were nosediving even before he came into office. The guy has no mandate, and I think by overreaching he will galvanize the Dems and bring the Independents over to the Democratic side.

[lfairban]

8. Let's hope so.

What have we got to lose. :shrug:

[Deep13]

13. Brain drain. Most of the smart people left years ago. nt

[Vinee]

14. Ohio isn't that conservative. it's quite moderate in fact.

[LeftinOH]

16. Ohio is chock-full of people who think they're Southerners -judging by so many confederate flags on

pickup trucks. Maybe the huge influx of people from Appalachia (KY, WV and TN) who came for the industrial jobs (which are now long gone) back in the 50s and 60s.

[Ninga]

17. Everything south of I-70, high percentage of conservative.