Berl Falbaum
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recently published an Op-Ed in The New York Times that left me shedding plenty of tears.
DeWine, a Republican, was apparently motivated to write the article following ugly, false charges made by Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, where DeWine was born, are eating the pets of Springfielders.
With lots of nostalgia, DeWine devotes many words to the fond memories he has of Springfield, and the hours he and his wife, when dating, spent enjoying the local theater and restaurants. He tells us:
“The Springfield I know is not the one you hear about in social media rumors. It is a city made up of good, decent, welcoming people. They are hard workers -- both those who were born in this country and those who settled here because, back in their birthplace, Haiti, innocent people can be killed just for cheering on the wrong team in a soccer match.”
I was at the stage of swallowing often and hard as I read his moving words. When he gets to the subject of “pet eating,” he writes:
“It is disappointing to me that Springfield has become the epicenter of vitriol over America’s immigration policy, because it has long been a community of great diversity. Fran [his wife] and I were reminded of this when we attended Mass at St. Raphael…and stopped at the nearby Groceryland on our way home. We talked with community members from many backgrounds who are understandably concerned about the negative things being said about their city in news reports and on social media.”
Given the bomb and other violent threats that followed, DeWine wrote that as governor, “I have posted Ohio Highway Patrol troopers in each school building in Springfield so the schools can remain open, teachers and children can feel safe, and students can continue to learn.”
Then I read, “As a supporter of former President Donald Trump and Senator J.D. Vance, I am saddened by how they and others continue to repeat claims that lack evidence and disparage the legal migrants living in Springfield.
This rhetoric hurts the city and its people, and it hurts those who have spent their lives there.”
I reread those sentences several times. Yes, “As a supporter…” is in the present tense. He still backs the Trump-Vance ticket. He explained:
“The Biden administration’s failure to control the southern border is a very important issue that Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance are talking about and one that the American people are rightfully deeply concerned about. But their verbal attacks against these Haitians — who are legally present in the United States — dilute and cloud what should be a winning argument about the border.”
So, DeWine implies that he is not so much offended by the attacks on Haitians in Springfield, but rather that be believes the smears are not an effective political strategy. Stick to attacking Biden-Harris on the porous Southern border.
Now, that brought more tears, tears of a different kind.
With tissues in hand, I consumed lots of media coverage on this Op-Ed with headlines blaring how DeWine blasted Trump and Vance, but none pointed out that he still backs the two. I moved on.
Desperately trying to control my emotions, I wondered what DeWine thought about Trump’s role in the January 6 insurrection and also his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
DeWine condemned the insurrection but I could not find any comments by him about Trump’s role in inciting it or doing nothing for 187 minutes -- more than three hours -- to stop it.
As to the election, he believed that Biden won but got into a heated argument with a CNN news anchor when he claimed Trump had legitimate reasons to question the results.
Now the tears came down in cascades but they changed from tears of sympathy when DeWine discussed his feelings for Springfield and its residents to tears of disgust for his political hypocrisy.
I seldom read comments at the end of news articles, but I did scan those at the end of DeWine’s piece (about 200 or so). All but a handful condemned him for his continued support of Trump and Vance, with “Chris” writing:
“[DeWine] decries the actions of Trump/Vance, yet continues to support them. That's all I needed to see -- beautiful prose rendered hollow by craven political cowardice.”
Those who have been reading these ramblings through the Trump years, know what’s coming. DeWine is the next recipient of our Pence Outstanding Hypocrite Award (POHA).
But the certificate which accompanies this honor (dishonor) will be tear-drenched.
—————
Berl Falbaum is a long-time political journalist and author of several books.
DeWine, a Republican, was apparently motivated to write the article following ugly, false charges made by Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, where DeWine was born, are eating the pets of Springfielders.
With lots of nostalgia, DeWine devotes many words to the fond memories he has of Springfield, and the hours he and his wife, when dating, spent enjoying the local theater and restaurants. He tells us:
“The Springfield I know is not the one you hear about in social media rumors. It is a city made up of good, decent, welcoming people. They are hard workers -- both those who were born in this country and those who settled here because, back in their birthplace, Haiti, innocent people can be killed just for cheering on the wrong team in a soccer match.”
I was at the stage of swallowing often and hard as I read his moving words. When he gets to the subject of “pet eating,” he writes:
“It is disappointing to me that Springfield has become the epicenter of vitriol over America’s immigration policy, because it has long been a community of great diversity. Fran [his wife] and I were reminded of this when we attended Mass at St. Raphael…and stopped at the nearby Groceryland on our way home. We talked with community members from many backgrounds who are understandably concerned about the negative things being said about their city in news reports and on social media.”
Given the bomb and other violent threats that followed, DeWine wrote that as governor, “I have posted Ohio Highway Patrol troopers in each school building in Springfield so the schools can remain open, teachers and children can feel safe, and students can continue to learn.”
Then I read, “As a supporter of former President Donald Trump and Senator J.D. Vance, I am saddened by how they and others continue to repeat claims that lack evidence and disparage the legal migrants living in Springfield.
This rhetoric hurts the city and its people, and it hurts those who have spent their lives there.”
I reread those sentences several times. Yes, “As a supporter…” is in the present tense. He still backs the Trump-Vance ticket. He explained:
“The Biden administration’s failure to control the southern border is a very important issue that Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance are talking about and one that the American people are rightfully deeply concerned about. But their verbal attacks against these Haitians — who are legally present in the United States — dilute and cloud what should be a winning argument about the border.”
So, DeWine implies that he is not so much offended by the attacks on Haitians in Springfield, but rather that be believes the smears are not an effective political strategy. Stick to attacking Biden-Harris on the porous Southern border.
Now, that brought more tears, tears of a different kind.
With tissues in hand, I consumed lots of media coverage on this Op-Ed with headlines blaring how DeWine blasted Trump and Vance, but none pointed out that he still backs the two. I moved on.
Desperately trying to control my emotions, I wondered what DeWine thought about Trump’s role in the January 6 insurrection and also his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
DeWine condemned the insurrection but I could not find any comments by him about Trump’s role in inciting it or doing nothing for 187 minutes -- more than three hours -- to stop it.
As to the election, he believed that Biden won but got into a heated argument with a CNN news anchor when he claimed Trump had legitimate reasons to question the results.
Now the tears came down in cascades but they changed from tears of sympathy when DeWine discussed his feelings for Springfield and its residents to tears of disgust for his political hypocrisy.
I seldom read comments at the end of news articles, but I did scan those at the end of DeWine’s piece (about 200 or so). All but a handful condemned him for his continued support of Trump and Vance, with “Chris” writing:
“[DeWine] decries the actions of Trump/Vance, yet continues to support them. That's all I needed to see -- beautiful prose rendered hollow by craven political cowardice.”
Those who have been reading these ramblings through the Trump years, know what’s coming. DeWine is the next recipient of our Pence Outstanding Hypocrite Award (POHA).
But the certificate which accompanies this honor (dishonor) will be tear-drenched.
—————
Berl Falbaum is a long-time political journalist and author of several books.
