Hibernation

This election season was different from the last two, in that the majority of the results were consistent with the results I was working for here at Blue Bexley - Nancy Garland won in the 20th Ohio House District, helping to give Democrats a majority in that body. Issue 5 passed, and the most predatory of lending schemes in Ohio is no longer being perpetrated. Barack Obama, of course, is our next president (and my faith in the legions of volunteers and donors he inspired was borne out). David Robinson did not manage to unseat Pat Tiberi, which is disappointing. Of course, if Pat were to actually be defeated, what would I blog about?

Ay, there's the rub.

The primary objective of Blue Bexley has always been to provide analysis, opinion, and original reporting that focuses on the aspects of reality that would influence the election of Democrats to the offices on the Bexley ballot (local, state, and federal). I've argued for a pro-partisan view of politics, because parties set the legislative agenda, and 'liberal Republicans' and 'conservative Democrats' only get to vote on legislation approved by the caucus more generally. For example, putting a gay-friendly Republican in the Ohio House instead of a quietly homophobic Democrat might seem like the right thing to do if you're a single issue gay-rights voter, but in actuality, a non-discrimination bill makes it to the floor if the Dems have a majority, and doesn't if they don't. Once Dems have a majority, you can lobby and confront individual office-holders. Until then, it doesn't make a difference.

I keep saying "until then." I should say "until now." Democrats have a strong working majority in both the U.S. House and Senate, they're now set to be running the executive branch in D.C. and Columbus, and have gained a majority in the Ohio House. The Ohio Senate is still GOP turf, but their agenda-setting capabilities have been overwhelmed by the Democratic control everywhere else.

So, um, that's that.

The two secondary objectives of BB have been to provide expanded coverage of the interplay between policy, politics, and the Bexley community, and to fulfill the promise inherent in the old joke that Everyone is Entitled to My Opinion.

Coming out of this election, I'm looking at a blog that is less focused on getting Ted Strickland re-elected and more focused on pushing Ted hard on his so-far-underwhelming response to funding and quality disparities in Ohio schools, his knee-capping of the Sick-Law initiative, his power grabs on behalf of the executive branch, etc. A blog that focuses on the details of competing proposals for a new Bexley Public Schools levy. A blog that wonders if the fact that Rusty Klesla is the only original Blue Jacket on the team makes him more or less likely to be the defenseman who gets dealt. A blog that can't help itself and starts trying to raise funds for Jennifer Brunner's 2010 race.

And though it might not be easy to explain or to understand, I'm not sure I'm up for writing that blog. So for now, I'm taking a few months off. If I come back, it may be to continue Blue Bexley. It may be to pivot Blue Bexley. It may be to shut down Blue Bexley and try something new.

By all means, if you can't live without my opinion on something, shoot me an email. I'm not expecting my inbox to overflow, though. Thank you to all who have emailed me, as well as to all of you who have read Blue Bexley regularly, and those who have stumbled upon the site by chance and came back once or twice. I've had a very small but still noticeable influence on electoral politics in Central Ohio this year, and that was always my first metric for the blog's success. Without y'all, that never could have happened.

I hope you and your families enjoy the upcoming holidays, whichever ones you celebrate, from Veteran's Day tomorrow, to Inauguration Day Jan 20.

-Jason aka bonobo