Please grant me, at least for the duration of this post, my contention that the right to keep and bear arms, as guaranteed by the Second Amendment, is the most fundamental of constitutional principles. It's the one and only right that empowers us, if necessary, to defend with force our other precious liberties.
So it would seem, then, that a principled People would be looking for staunch Second Amendment advocates to supplant the bums who now hold office. Everyone knows that means getting behind right-wing Republicans and conservative Tea Party candidates -- right?
Welcome to The Great State of Ohio, where a Democratic governor is up for re-election and conventional wisdom [sic] takes a long lunch.
Gov. Ted Strickland, a steelworker's son from Lucasville, came to the office after several terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a Democrat raised in southern Ohio he wears the label "progressive" more comfortably than he does "liberal," even though he endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2008.Strickland has helped to repair much of the damage that the previous governor -- Bob Taft, a Republican -- did to our Second Amendment rights. (Why Ohioans put a Boston-born lawyer in that office for eight years is beyond me.) Strickland's record as governor and, before that, as congressman has earned him an A+ grade from the National Rifle Association and the endorsement of both the NRA and the Buckeye Firearms Association.
Opposing incumbent Strickland's bid for a second term is John Kasich, a Pennsylvania native and former congressman representing Ohio's 12th District. Many FOXNews viewers will remember "From the Heartland with John Kasich" and his occasional stand-ins for Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. While he's a loyal Republican, he expresses his values with a moderation which annoys wingnuts in search of ideological purity.I don't care that Kasich worked as a managing director of Lehman Brothers until it imploded in 2008. I do care that as a congressman he voted on the side of the Clinton Assault Weapons Ban -- five times -- and against repealing the oppressive DC gun ban that ultimately was neutered by the Heller decision. And that's not the half of it.
His NRA grades: C- overall, with a flurry of Fs on crucial tests.
Obviously, Kasich and Strickland defy partisan stereotypes. Neither is a litmus-test candidate, and for that I'm grateful. Each manifests the kind of thoughtful independence that has my respect (if not always my agreement on specific issues).
There's no perfect candidate in this or any race, but from a constitutional perspective I believe that Ted Strickland would give Ohio a more principled four years than John Kasich would.
