A 'progressive' state: Gov. Mike DeWine wants $50M to encourage people to move to Ohio

[alp227]

Source: Cincinnati Enquirer

COLUMBUS – Move over, "Pure Michigan." Ohio wants to prove it's the cool kid on the Midwestern block.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday that he wants to spend $50 million on a marketing campaign to convince East Coast and West Coast residents to live, work and spend their money in Ohio.

"We want to position Ohio as the place to be," DeWine said during a news conference unveiling his next state budget proposal. "Ohio is a welcoming place. I don't care who you are, we want you to come to Ohio. It's a progressive state."

...

"Instead of spending $50M for a PR campaign, Republicans could stop passing extremist legislation that keeps women, people of color, the LGBTQ community and working families from realizing their American dream in Ohio," tweeted House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, D-Akron. "It would be a lot cheaper. And much more kind."

Read more: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/01/ohio-gov-mike-dewine-wants-50-million-market-progressive-state/4342873001/

[msongs]

1. dominated by white supremacists...not sure how welcome that is nt

[Thekaspervote]

3. Exactly..clean up your act! Ohio has really gone down the tubes the past decade...sad

[ouija]

18. Born in Ohio

Live in NYC, progressive it is not.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Progressive??? Ohio??? That has not been true in ages.

[subterranean]

28. It's getting progressively worse. Maybe that's what Dewine meant.

[SunSeeker]

53. Yup. Chrissy Hynde said (sang) it best: "I went back to Ohio, but my city was gone."

[Crash2Parties]

59. Just a few years ago...

The Ohio Legislature passed a law absolving parents of liability should their child or children die as the result of the parent abusing them based on the parent's or parents' "religious beliefs".

Until they repeal that and similar laws, I have a hard time believing they are "progressive".

[malchickiwick]

4. Is that per person? 'Cause it still ain't enough to get me to move there. ew.

[elleng]

5. Sorry, NOT going back.

Went to college there; quite enough, even tho did marry an Ohioan (NOT due to attending college there.)

[underpants]

6. I've always liked Cincinnati....uh...Yellow Springs is cool....

So there’s that.

[maxsolomon]

51. LOL, I left Cincinnati

but yes, Yellow Springs is cool.

[underpants]

63. 😁

[DBoon]

7. Anyone considering moving to a red state should consider what they are getting into

The right wing policies of these states have a real impact on people. They are not simply empty statements for show - they will affect how you live.

What happens if you or a loved one needs to terminate a pregnancy?

If you or a loved one are LGBT what rights will you have in that state? How will you be treated?

No matter how skilled or well paying you employment may be, you are still affected by the state's labor code. Will you find yourself unemployable due to non-compete provisions in your employment contract? If you lose your job, what is the state's policies on collecting unemployment?

State policies affect real people. People with the means to relocate also have the means to refuse to do so, if these policies affect their lives.

You may get a lower cost of living by moving to another state, but you may also find yourself affected by a lot of backward laws.

[raccoon]

61. Great post. Nt

[True Blue American]

64. Do not forget the

Stand Your Ground Law just passed!

I live here, love my small German Baptist created town but the Republican Legislature is corrupt to the bone. Ohio is a lovely state so your put downs are not facts.

With a committee doing the redistricting this year and the young Democratic Mayor of Cincinnati thinking of running for Governor I am hoping they corrupted themselves out of business.

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/01/28/cincinnati-mayor-john-cranley-raised-half-million-ohio-governors-race-2022/4281263001/

[magicarpet]

8. WTF....

Ultra conservatism / Neo-fascism is now called progressive ?

Yes,....let's move there !

[Cirque du So-What]

9. He'd have more luck

paying me to stay.

[Maeve]

10. My life is here or I would leave

Family, work, connections...if I were younger and not tied here....

[True Blue American]

65. Do not forget, Maeve

Ohio put Obama over the top for President.

The shock of that election was that counties all down the Ohio River voted Democrat. They had been Republican for over 100 years. And we are Union, home of the Underground Railroad we helped slaves cross the river to freedom.

Honestly every time We talked about moving in retirement we changed our minds.

[Maeve]

69. I also have an idiot neighbor who flies two tRump flags and the American flag upside-down

He flipped the flag on the 20th (my military DIL wanted to go down and give him a piece of her mind since he lost his!)
Yeah, I'd be happier in a more progressive part of the area, but we do have some of the most worthless people in the state capitol. Maybe if we get the anti-gerrymandering going...

Thanks for the pep-talk and reminder of the good history.

[True Blue American]

70. I am counting on the

Committee we voted for. Tim Ryan for the Senate?

[Maeve]

71. Love to have two good senators!

My eldest was tickled to meet John Glenn in college (got his autograph, too)

[True Blue American]

73. Sherrod Brown

Is the most popular guy in the Senate until you make him angry with dumb ideas.

He also answers every email. After you get an instant response.

[LuvNewcastle]

11. People aren't going to move there for the hell of it.

They should invest in education so they can equip their people to work in the technology sector. If companies start locating in Ohio, people will start moving there to work. Build it and they will come. I wish Mississippi would do that, but the people who own everything here won't allow that to happen because they would lose some of their control on the state. But that kind of thing is common in red states because they have the sort of economies that are run by an oligarchy and a large number of people who are just scraping by. It's been that way here since the beginning.

[getagrip_already]

12. Maybe it's a play on words - progressive insurance is hq'd there and is very popular....

Despite the retrogressive tendencies of the good people in the cleveland area, they love progressive as a local employer.

They give a lot to the community, employ thousands, and despite living up to their name, they are well liked.

I worked there for a couple of years as a contractor. Good company. Scary people.

[Dream Girl]

33. How were the people scary. I'm just curious.

(Former Clevelander )

[getagrip_already]

56. lots of preppers, racists, and generally creepy people....

From all walks of life. They were everywhere, and it was palpable.

[True Blue American]

93. So am I!

Lived in Ohio all my life in different areas of the state. Visited many of the states these people making fun of Ohio live in. I can assure you I can not wait to get back to my small town.

I have met nice people in all those states but maybe it is because I am a friendly person who does not snobbishly denigrate the State I am in.

I have met friendly people in Columbia, Panama, Costa Rico, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, all the Southern States, most of the Northern.

Just heard on my local station Ohio Cities are the place to make movies. Just last year it was announced that Athens, Ohio was the number one city millennials are moving to. Toledo is number 2.

The number of people from Ohio that are Space pioneers are numerous. John Glenn? Chose to live in Ohio all his life.

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. David Simon, creator of The Wire:

Link to tweet

Now entertaining a weird fantasy about moving to Akron, changing my political party and running the ugliest, most profane, most rant-filled, fuck-you-fucking-morons campaign for U.S. Senator ever.
Upside: Fun; A debased GOP primary season.
Downside: I would be in fucking Ohio.

To all of those now egging me on, I quote Lafcadio Hearn, a literary voice of New Orleans: "The city is crumbling into ashes. It has been buried under taxes and frauds and maladministrations...but better to live here in sackcloth and ashes than to own the whole state of Ohio.”

[Botany]

14. A long time ago a very conservative Republican, Jim Rhodes, had a project to have a college or tech

school with in 50 miles from everybody in the state and supported the right of unions and
Ohio was the envy of the nation but now it is North Alabama and the dumb fuck factor here
is overwhelming. Christ, late last winter we had a great woman running the state's response to
C-19 Amy Acton however she had to quit after coming home night after night to find the beard
and beer gut gun toting assholes brigade in her backyard because mask wearing and science
was "deep state big government plot." Gov. Dewine did not stand up, protect her and her family,
and nor did he point out that these Q fighters were getting fed information via Vlad Putin.

BTW after my mom passes I'm out of her.

[Wuddles440]

17. I agree with..

DeWhine, if you're using the Dark Ages as your standard for "progress". He must be trying out some material for his next career as a comedian. Ohio being "progressive", now that's rolling on the floor funny! In fact, I'm crying from laughing so hard!!!

[Botany]

21. It is like we have let the headless zoombie monsters take over. "They" look nice.

Fetal heartbeat bills and State Legislature people proposing a Donald Trump day for a Russian
asset who has killed > 500,000 Americans. Right wing media, the nut ball internets sites*,
"people's pastors," and generational stupidity has sucked the brains out of many Ohioans.


?alias=standard_900x600

* did you know that Hillary had people killed to cover up Bill's cocaine ring?

[paleotn]

41. I hear ya....

Same thing happened in my old home state. TN was never a progressive bastion, but was at least pragmatic. Then 1994 happened. The state went hard right and never looked back. 5 years later we voted with our feet. We left for good and rarely return.

[Botany]

45. We should never underestimate the damage that hate talk radio, right wing TV & internet sites, and

... Jesus really was a small government free market that "people's pastors" pushed have done. You
also have generational racism in much of OH and TN too. Also the killing of quality public education is
a factor too.

[True Blue American]

66. Jim Rhodes, 4 time Governor

Modernized Ohio. A great Governor. His worst mistake was calling in the Guard to Kent State. He did not expect what happened.So was Gilligan and Strickland. People blamed him for the Bush recession that killed the auto industry. First Kasich, now DeWine, from bad to worse.

[Botany]

77. Stuff

The night before the shootings at Kent State told the National Guard Troops that the
student rioters were like nazis.

Ohio is now so highly gerrymandered that getting some kind of equitable power will be very hard.

The Ohio Democratic Party has been the limp groom on the wedding night.

Kasich is not the moderate that the media likes to paint him to be. When he was @ Lehemann Brothers
he sold the State of Ohio something like 390 million $s of useless paper and then when became Gov. he
complained that their was no money in the state's public employee retirement accounts. Kasich walked
with millions. And he sold the future profits from State Liquor sales to his Wall Street Buddies for something
like $5 million and they were worth > $30 million.

[True Blue American]

80. A committee we voted for will

Do the districts this year. Kills me when people who do not know Kasich call him a moderate. He sucked so much out of public education to feed his friends crooked Charter Scholls and rainy day fund in his last year his Republican Legislature put it back.

[Botany]

81. Although I haven't seen him in years I do know John K. and in person to me at least he has always ..

Last edited Tue Feb 2, 2021, 03:44 PM - Edit history (1)

... been very nice.

BTW he really thinks that Jesus walked on earth so he could be POTUS one day.

[True Blue American]

83. Maybe he could have shown a little of that Jesus love

During the 8 years he was Governor. I am sure he is nice face to face but I know what he did to Ohio and public Unions before we stopped him with petitions and the ballot box.
Plus his stealing from public Education. He left behind one of the biggest online Charter School ripoffs of all times.

[Botany]

87. John has his "issues" no doubt.

His father was union mailman in a small PA town and the roof over his head, the food on his plate,
and much of his Ohio State under grade payments came from that union.

[True Blue American]

88. You have to wonder

How so many Republicans had the same upbringing yet drifted so far away.
John Boehner did the awful gerrymandering in Ohio, yet he grew up in a working mans bar.

[Botany]

89. Boehner was in the House when they did the gerrymandering .... Kasich was governor @ the time and ..

... gerrymandering was designed by ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council).

[zeusdogmom]

15. Progressive? 😂😂😂😂

I’m not a native Ohioan. When the family moved here 25 years ago is was the lesser of 3 evils - the other job opportunities were in Alabama and Mississippi. 😬. Ohio has changed a good bit since then and sadly not toward the good. Our state legislature is simply loony-tunes. Yes there are some good people, but they are out numbered. DeWine is inherently a good person, but a weak governor, unable to deal with the RWNJ who populate the republican party.

[bucolic_frolic]

16. When the product can't be improved, advertise

You'll convince enough people, and it will pay for the advertising campaign.

PS. When they put "improved!" on a frozen food label, it means it's improved - more profitable - for them. YOU don't matter.

This is the same principle.

[turbinetree]

19. Lets see...... go back to one Ken Blackwell and how he pulled his shenanigans

and voting...........

[oasis]

84. Blackwell's actions damaged Kerry far more than the Swiftboat lies. nt

[turbinetree]

85. Yepper spot on................

[appleannie1]

20. I live 30 miles from Ohio and have no desire to even visit.

[TomCADem]

23. This Seems Like An Excuse to Give Kickbacks to Political Consultants...

... who might run PR firms on the side.

[SunSeeker]

52. Or make it all about him, like Christy did with those NJ ads.

[catbyte]

24. Seriously?

If he meant that Ohio was progressively swirling down the rabbit hole and therefore the drain, I suppose.

[MRDAWG]

25. I agree! Stop moving to Georgia!

Traffic is horrible in the OUTER Atlanta areas.

[doc03]

26. I wonder how much he will pay us to stay here

[Auggie]

27. Progressive? Liquor is still sold in state stores. No way I go back.

[True Blue American]

67. You can also but it in Kroger's!

[Mawspam2]

29. After 40 years in California, I left for...

...Minnesota in 2016. I could have gone anywhere. I have been to all 48 continental states and 9 Canadian provinces.

Before moving, I made a list of places where I might want to live. Alabama, Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington made the list.

Then I looked into things like politics and good government, tax rates, unemployment rates and available jobs, cost of housing, local health care, education possibilities, entertainment options, technology infrastructure, renewable energy, ecology, transportation, and so on before making my choice.

I've been to Ohio hundreds of times. It was nowhere close to making the list. Freaking Alabama made the list, Ohio did not. DeWine is gonna have to come up with a lot more than an ad campaign to ever change my mind.

[twin_ghost]

30. The WX sucks in Ohio during the winter. no thanks. n/t

[LaMouffette]

31. "Way to go, Ohio," Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders

Hey, all these years, I thought the lyrics were "Where'd you go, Ohio?" Just watched the video and read the lyrics. Lo and behold, Chrissie Hynde is singing "Way to go, Ohio!" which I guess is still apropos of this thread, if you read it in a sarcastic voice. Maybe that's how they meant it anyways.

[link:

|

[George II]

32. I tried that back in 1977. Arrived in late May, was on my way back to NYC first week in December.

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

34. DO those "pure MIchigan" ads even work? I hear them and wonder who the heck is going to pick up and

move to Michigan just because of an ad? You either want to be somewhere, or you don't

[LeftInTX]

49. They're tourism ads..I think they work for tourism...

They start showing up in April down here and stop in late July.

Michigan does have a tourism industry. Ohio, probably not so much.

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

78. The ones I hear are directed to businesses to get them to relocate nt

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

60. As a Michigander, those ads make me cringe. Reminds me of some guy ...

... demanding his 12-year-old daughter take a "purity oath". Because Jesus.

Michigander? Michiganian? Michiganite? Wolverine!

[NEOBuckeye]

35. Fuck the Ohio GOP-KKK

Run those motherfuckers out of state government and maybe we can call call ourselves something approaching progressive, like moderate.

[mdbl]

36. The only things Ohio has going for it are Kings Island and Cedar Point.

nice place to visit but wouldn't be able to live there.

[niyad]

37. Let me know when women have full bodily autonomy, mikey. Until then, f*** off.

[paleotn]

38. BWAAAHAHAHAHA!!!

.....no.

[Habibi]

39. I grew up in Westerville, which in the 60s

was a great small town and still fairly rural. I didn't know from politics as a kid, so as far as I knew they didn't affect me. But after a couple of visits over the years, I couldn't imagine living there again. Of course, if they wanted to pay me 50m (heh), I could figure out a way to enjoy it.

[CaptainTruth]

54. I worked with a guy from Westerville, in San Francisco!

I grew up near Akron, we both ended up at the same company in SF.

[llmart]

40. Is he serious?

My roots run deep in Ohio but over three decades ago I left and never looked back. Some of my family are still there. Over the years they'd occasionally ask me if I'd ever move back to which I would reply, "You couldn't pay me enough." Now their answer is, "I don't blame you." We're all old now and they feel like they're stuck there, but no one is really stuck anywhere if they have the courage and curiosity to take a chance on moving.

I wish I could think of one thing that would entice anyone to move there, but I honestly can't.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

42. It's an odd idea coming from him, as far as I'm concerned.

The idea would surely help swing Ohio back to blue, at least somewhat.

Or maybe he's counting on the right-wingers from those areas to live here?

One of my neighbors was born and raised in NYC, of Italian ancestry, and she can't stop complaining about that city and how she's much happier here. Lower tax rates, etc. And it's been clear that she has strong Republican leanings based on various little "clues" that she's dropped.

[bluedigger]

43. I thought the Buckeyes were Ohio's ad for how great it is.

Does the football team's budget not count?

[yuiyoshida]

44. I live in the CITY by the BAY...I grew up in the city by the bay....

I will forever be a San Franciscan!

[Ford_Prefect]

46. More grift money for the GOP machinery. They can raise that in state.

[modrepub]

47. Loosing Reps

Like a lot of areas in the Midwest and Northeast, Ohio’s population is either shrinking or not growing fast enough to stop loosing seats in Congress. The hope here is to try and get folks to migrate into the state.

[LeftInTX]

48. Does that mean I'm gonna see ads for Ohio on TV?

Isn't that where a river burned?

"We've got Lake Erie and to the south, we've got hillbillies"
"Cross the river and you're in the South" (Go sightseeing in Kentucky!!)

[mdbl]

62. used to cross the border from WV to Ohio

the sign on 77 said "Ohio The Heart of it all" . Being an ex Ohioan my brain would convert that to "Ohio, The Fart of it all"

[True Blue American]

68. And you live in WV?

[mdbl]

75. no was driving through multiple states

[SunSeeker]

50. LOL. I think Mike DeWine's ads should riff off of the old "Mikey likes it" ad.

[spooky3]

55. Sadly, I think that many states have similar situations, depending on the urban/rural divide

and average levels/quality of education. To the extent that more people live outside cities, or lack education, the state seems to have more problems with irrational or worse behavior.

[True Blue American]

72. All the

Cities in Ohio have the Educated, the jobs, all voted Democratic. The backward, rural voted Republican.

I really resent the insults in this thread when each of the states mentioned have as bad, or worse problems.

We have moderate cost housing and many millennials are moving out of the high cost areas.

[spooky3]

90. +1

[IronLionZion]

57. Might work as well as South Dakota's "Meth. We're on it" ads

[Bayard]

58. I lived in Cincinnati for 12 of the longest years of my life

Very red and very racist.

[Auggie]

74. I grew up in Ohio. When I announced I was moving to California I might have well said Oz.

They were genuinely happy for me, as friends and family should be, but in some instances I sensed envy too. That was 42 years ago.

[oldbones]

76. I just moved to Ohio about couple of years ago

I was really shocked when I got my ballot to vote. I thought it was a fake one, I called my county Democratic Headquarters and ask why no democrats were on it. I think there was one besides Joe Biden and Harris. I think they should take every cent they can get and use it for Covid, I am 80 years old and still cannot even get an appointment to get vaccine. So come on all you people,(not democrats)move to Ohio and die with covid

[True Blue American]

79. Do you have a hospital affiliation?

They are notifying people. Mine was on My Chart. I received mine 2 weeks ago. Call your Doctor they can give you a number to call.

Sherrod Brown is a Senator. Portman is retiring. Keep your eye out for the Democratic Mayor of Cincinnati, a young Democrat is getting ready to run against DeWine. And we have a Committee doing the redistricting this year.

[AnnieBW]

82. Nope.

I moved out of Western Pennsylvania 33 1/2 years ago. Too many damn Trump-humpers there now. I'd rather move to a nice, blue state, like Georgia!

[True Blue American]

92. Wait until the next districting by Committee

Then you will see more blue.

DeWine is rambling, making little sense as he goes on and on and watch John Cranley. I am getting emails from him.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cranley

[Vinca]

86. Ohio is on my top 10 list of places never to set foot in again.

Move there????? I don't bloody think so.

[Ohio Joe]

91. I'm never going back

I'm pretty sure I'll live out my days here in Colorado.

[a la izquierda]

94. I lived there for 2 years. That was plenty. Unfortunately...

I moved to West Virginia after that, which is worse.
I found Ohioans to be weirdly insular (at least around Columbus). Everyone thought Columbus was the best city in America (just...no). I found the people to be superficially nice: nice on the surface, but not genuine.
Cleveland was cool. There was some good food as well.
But I wouldn't move there if you paid me.