Bellwether – Voter solidarity defeats conservative onslaught

Ohio's anti-union law defeated

BY CHRIS SUNDHEIM - Associated Press

Published in: National

Tamar Gray, a music teacher from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, raises her arm Tuesday following a speech after the failure of the anti-union law at the We Are Ohio event in Columbus, Ohio.

Kentucky and Mississippi refused to turn their governors' offices over to different parties Tuesday, despite the nation's economic woes, and Ohio restored full bargaining rights to tens of thousands of public employees in a major victory for organized labor.

Also in Mississippi, voters rejected an initiative that would have defined life as beginning at conception - a measure that supporters had hoped to use to mount a legal attack on Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that established the right to abortion.

Across the nation, voters' last major judgments of 2011 were closely watched for any hints about the public's political mood just two months ahead of the first presidential primary and nearly four years into the worst economic slowdown since the Depression.

In Ohio, a new law that severely limited the bargaining rights of more than 350,000 teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public employees was repealed. The defeat was a stiff blow to Gov. John Kasich and cast doubt on other Republican governors who have sought union-limiting measures as a way to curb spending.

The disputed law permitted workers to negotiate wages but not pensions or health care benefits, and it banned public-worker strikes, scrapped binding arbitration and eliminated annual raises for teachers.

The outcome will no doubt be studied by presidential candidates as a gauge of the Ohio electorate, which is seen as a bellwether.”

“Mississippi's "Personhood Amendment" fails at polls

(CBS/AP)  

JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi voters Tuesday defeated a ballot initiative that would've declared life begins at fertilization, a proposal that supporters sought in the Bible Belt state as a way to prompt a legal challenge to abortion rights nationwide.

The so-called "personhood" initiative was rejected by more than 55 percent of voters, falling far short of the threshold needed for it to be enacted. If it had passed, it was virtually assured of drawing legal challenges because it conflicts with the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a legal right to abortion. Supporters of the initiative wanted to provoke a lawsuit to challenge the landmark ruling.”

“AKRON, Ohio -- State Issue 2 spiraled to defeat by a 2-1 margin Tuesday night, but that might not be the last time Republicans try to curb union power.

In acknowledging defeat, Ohio Gov. John Kasich said he and like-minded colleagues "strive for bigger rewards than the fleeting praise of the here and now."

"Ohio’s problems developed over time because too many people cared more about popularity than about making the tough and sometimes unpopular -- choices Ohio needed," he said.

GOP House Speaker William Batchelder already has said lawmakers will try to resurrect some parts of the bill next year.

GOp Sen. Frank LaRose also said legislators would not have "much choice but to address the issue in a thoughtful way. I still believe it’s what’s best for Ohio."”