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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > November > 17
Monday, November 17, 2008
GOP Chief Bennett comes to Kevin DeWine’s defense
Ohio Republican Chairman Bob Bennett is speaking up for Deputy GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine, who’s expected to take over as party chairman next January.
In a message to members of the state GOP Central and Executive Committee and county Republican chairmen on Monday, Nov. 17, Bennett defended DeWine’s post-election analysis of why Republicans took so many losses.
GOP social conservatives were upset by news accounts of DeWine’s Nov. 6 analysis that reported DeWine said the GOP must focus more on economic issues and less on social issues.
“Kevin said nothing more than that our party needs to restore its conservative credibility on fiscal issues,” Bennett wrote. “We lost this election because voters did not trust us to fix the economy.”
He also said DeWine’s comments were taken out of context.
Bennett also said that most polls showed that in this election “social issues ranked at the bottom of the list in most cases, sometimes not ranking at all.
“That’s not to say they aren’t important. They just weren’t the driving issues in this election, and we lost because we failed to connect on the issues that were.”
He also warned them to avoid “the kind of infighting that sent the Ohio Democratic Party wandering in the political wilderness for nearly two decades.” The GOP “will meet a similar fate if we allow these small-minded tactics to continue,” he said.
Here’s Bennett’s message:
“Like you, I received numerous emails over the past week regarding Kevin DeWine’s post-election comments about the future of the Republican Party.
“I waited to weigh in on the situation because I felt that Kevin deserved the opportunity to address the matter before I said anything.
“I attended the news conference at which Kevin gave his analysis of the election, and I can tell you his comments are being greatly twisted out of context by people looking to generate a phony controversy.
“Kevin said nothing more than that our party needs to restore its conservative credibility on fiscal issues. We lost this election because voters did not trust us to fix the economy. On poll after poll, including our own, voters overwhelmingly cited job loss and the economy as their primary concerns.
“Social issues ranked at the bottom of the list in most cases, sometimes not even ranking at all. That’s not to say they aren’t important. They just weren’t the driving issues in this election, and we lost because we failed to connect on the issues that were.
“That’s the point Kevin made at the news conference, and I agree with him completely. Unfortunately, these comments were presented in news reports without context, and the ringleader of one particular group saw an opportunity to drive a wedge. I should add that this person never bothered to contact Kevin, myself, or any member of the staff before firing off her email campaign.
“We should have no tolerance for this kind of divisive and destructive behavior. It is exactly the kind of infighting that sent the Ohio Democratic Party wandering in the political wilderness for nearly two decades, and we will meet a similar fate if we allow these small-minded tactics to continue.
“Kevin has done an outstanding job preparing to take over the helm of this party. He has spent countless hours and driven thousands of miles getting to know our grassroots leaders, contributors, and volunteers. I am very proud of the work he’s done to prepare for his new role as chairman.
“I can say first-hand that leading a major battleground state political party is never easy, but Kevin has the skills and the temperament to be an outstanding chair. More importantly, he has the overwhelming confidence and support of our party leadership - especially after these misguided attacks.
“Please let your contacts know the truth and remind them to get all the facts before rushing to conclusions in the future. Let’s get back to work. ”
