This November’s election isn’t simply red versus blue. It’s We the People versus the Uniparty. Ohio is not for sale. It’s incumbent upon us, the “little people,” to protect Ohio’s finite land, water, energy and future opportunities from those who would exploit them. Decisions made today without meaningful scrutiny could jeopardize the futures for generations of Ohioans.
Every election cycle, peasant-class Republicans and Democrats are pitted against one another. Neighbors and families become adversaries. Our emotional vulnerabilities are exploited while the ruling class consolidates power. Welcome to America’s political duopoly: two dominant parties whose establishments protect overlapping interests.
We’re sold the illusion of fair, open primaries while party bosses, wealthy donors and the political deep state pick winners and losers before voters have a meaningful opportunity to evaluate them. I’ve witnessed firsthand how outsiders can be denied even the opportunity to address state and local GOP groups.
Ohio’s gubernatorial primary illustrates this. The Republican establishment rallied behind Donald Trump-endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy before the primary. Dave Yost, a respectable alternative, withdrew, while outsider Casey Putsch remained in the race, but received little exposure. Voter turnout was abysmal, approximately 23%. By November, the choices have already been narrowed. Yet we’re expected to reward nominees foisted upon us with unconditional loyalty.
Coastal billionaires and technocratic elites pour fortunes into Ohio elections, inundating us with political advertising, costly mailings and even fundraising texts purportedly from Elon Musk and Donald Trump. I don’t believe these expenditures reflect some newfound philanthropic concern for Northeast Ohio families. There’s a difference between investing in Ohioans and investing in control over Ohio.
Massive data centers raise concerns about property values, electricity costs, water consumption, land use and permanent jobs. Ohio’s finite resources shouldn’t be pillaged for short-term political and financial gain, leaving future generations with a data-center wasteland.
Some regional Republican candidates have championed legislation to rein in data-center sprawl, yet their accomplishments risk being overshadowed by the statewide ticket. I believe outside interference in our primaries and the establishment’s insistence on choosing our candidates could cost us good Republicans in down-ballot races. Those consequences should rest squarely with the political power brokers who helped engineer the ticket, not the media, voters or independent-minded candidates whose records deserve consideration.
I’m a constitutional and fiscal conservative, and my principles haven’t changed. Yet the Republican establishment presides over enormous spending and expanding deficits while neoconservative interventionism and technocratic interests displace its professed commitments to fiscal restraint and limited government.
My criticism focuses on Republicans because I’ve experienced their political machinery firsthand, not because Democrats are above reproach. I’m concerned about the disconnect between the principles candidates campaign on, the decisions they make once elected and the interests they ultimately serve. Political loyalty becomes dangerous when we excuse conduct within our own party that we’d condemn from the opposition.
Consider the cognitive dissonance. Republicans condemn universal healthcare as socialism while the United States provided nearly $18 billion in assistance to Israel during one year, indirectly subsidizing a nation whose universal healthcare covers abortions for minors without parental consent and certain gender-transition services, including puberty blockers. Here, it’s socialism. Abroad, it’s “aid” to our greatest ally.
Republicans cannot credibly champion “America First” and fiscal conservatism while committing billions abroad, adding to our national debt and passing the burden to future generations. Party labels cannot substitute for consistent principles, particularly when the policies we finance contradict the values we’re told those parties represent.
Republicans proclaim constitutional liberty while supporting FISA surveillance authorities permitting warrantless searches involving Americans’ communications. Congressional Republicans supported those powers while some Democrats opposed them.
Conservatism is a set of principles, not a party registration. Intellectual honesty and cognitive flexibility mean recognizing two seemingly opposing things can be true: I can vehemently disagree with someone’s policies while respecting their integrity and judgment. Agreement on policy doesn’t obligate me to excuse conduct I consider dishonest or beneath the office sought.
Republicans hold concentrated power in Ohio. When a party stifles dissent, limits primary competition and cannot check itself, external checks seem essential. Ohio already restricts gender-transition medical procedures for minors. Yet emotionally charged campaign rhetoric continues to polarize voters rather than examine what elected officials can actually change, what they’ve accomplished and whether Ohioans’ lives have improved under their leadership.
This November, look past the letter next to each candidate’s name. These are contests between individuals with different records, priorities and judgment: Sherrod Brown and Jon Husted; Amy Acton and Vivek Ramaswamy, down to state and local races. Their records, character, judgment and capacity to lead independently in the interests of their constituents matter more than party affiliation. Examine whether they’re accountable to the communities they represent or to party leadership, PACs and political donors.
Consider what matters most in your own life: affordability, healthcare, transportation, energy costs, land use, data centers, constitutional liberties, natural resources and opportunities for future generations. Voting Republican doesn’t automatically make someone conservative or fascist. Voting Democrat doesn’t automatically make someone liberal or socialist. Voting across party lines doesn’t require abandoning your principles, particularly when your party has abandoned them.
We should live, vote and lead with loyalty to our principles and values, not to political parties or personalities. As voters grow dissatisfied with both major parties, Libertarians, independents and qualified write-in candidates offer alternatives, potentially opening the door to a stronger third-party movement. Political parties and individual candidates must earn our votes.
If we continually hold our noses and eat whatever the establishment serves, they have no incentive to change the menu or the process for deciding what’s on it. We’re so busy fighting with the other customers that we lose sight of who’s running the kitchen. Refusing to eat the slop sends a message that we expect better offerings. And when neither establishment offers anything worth ordering, some people will find another restaurant.
Ohio belongs to Ohioans. Neither political parties nor their donors have the right to give away the resources and opportunities of future generations.
NIKI FRENCHKO
Niki Frenchko is a Warren resident and former Trumbull County Commissioner.
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