By Andrew Walsh
awalsh@wbcowqel.com
The political progeny of Abraham Lincoln, at least those who ply their trade in Crawford County, gathered at the Gospel Baptist Church near Galion to honor their party’s famous forebearer.
The gathering also proved a good opportunity for Crawford County Republicans to swap ideas with a few visiting members of the party, and see what issues might be important in other parts of the state. The inverse of that is that these visiting Republicans had to opportunity to hear issues that may not be high on the priority list in their home constituency.
The keynote speaker for the event was Ohio Speaker of the House Cliff Rosenberger, but he did not have a monopoly on the energy in the room. Judge Pat Fischer of the Court of Appeals in Cincinnati was mixing it up with guests in preparation of a run for the Ohio Supreme Court in 2016. An Ohio native, Fischer has held his post for the last four-and-one-half years. He is eying one of the seats that will be vacated by Justices Pfeifer and Lanzinger.
“I know the law, I know the state, I know the people,” Fischer said, “Those are three things any Supreme Court justice needs for the state level.” Fischer also provided the handy mnemonic that serves as the title of this article.
Cincinnati contributed another judge from the Ohio First District Court of Appeals, and another Pat as well. Judge Pat DeWine made the trip with Fischer as he also has his eyes set on a Supreme Court seat in 2016. DeWine stressed that he would not be an activist judge, and “apply the law as it is written.”
Monday’s event was the headline event in the Crawford County Republican Women’s calendar. Robin Hildebrand is the leader of this group and she was a flurry of motion helping to direct attendees of all sorts to their appropriate destinations. Aside from the fellowship among Republicans that the meeting fostered, this was the Crawford County Republican Women’s largest fundraiser for the year. Over 140 people were signed up, and their contributions will go to help fund Republicans at the local, Crawford County level, and the group itself.
“I think it’s great that we were able to attract the Speaker of the Ohio House,” Hildebrand said proudly.
Rosenberger has been the Speaker of the Ohio House since the beginning of the year and has served in the Ohio House since 2010. He spoke with enthusiasm, and optimism, about continuing the good work that has been taking place economically in Ohio in recent years.
“Tonight we’re up here to talk about things that we’re doing in the Ohio House to continue to make sure Ohio has a strong quality of life,” Rosenberger said. “Talk about our budget, $1.2 billion income tax cut – we did 63 percent across the board bringing it down below 5 percent. Talking about what we’re doing for our schools and how we’ve made sure all our schools are funded and taken care of.”
Rosenberger came at the request of Jeff McClain and was enthusiastic about “lending support.”
Traditional conservative values took center stage Monday night. Lower taxes, friendlier business environments, and stricter interpretations from the judicial system were at the heart of a great many discussions. The ideas also came from all three branches of government, as active members of the judiciary, legislature, and executive were offering their insight into how government should work.
“I love being able to support the party,” Bucyrus Mayor Judge Reser said, “and I think it’s the ideals of the party that are going turn this country around.”