By Mark Figley
Guest Columnist
Ohio congressman Tim Ryan is running for the U.S. Senate, trying as hard as he can to sound like a regular guy fighting for you, but he’s still coming up short.
Ryan is a Democrat opposing Republican J.D. Vance to replace retiring Sen. Rob Portman. And his record makes one thing clear: He’s never wavered in supporting Biden’s Build Back Better agenda from day one. That makes him just as dangerous as any other Democrat seeking office and is reason enough for Ohioans to vote against him in November.
Ryan’s strategy has always been to limit losses in rural Ohio while racking up big vote totals in Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati. Yet campaign ads seeking to portray him as a friend of conservative-value voters don’t tell the true story about who he really is.
For instance, Ryan voted to codify Roe v. Wade, supported the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act which will crush the middle class with new taxes and fund 87,000 new unionized IRS agents to audit them. He’s all in on the Green New Deal (further reduction of carbon emissions, renewal of the Paris Climate Accord, ban on offshore oil drilling and ramped-up renewable energy development), favors eliminating gas-powered vehicles by 2040, supports universal background checks for every firearm sale and transfer, favors single-payer health care and expansion of Medicare, supports free college tuition, opposes funding to complete the border wall with Mexico, and voted for Biden’s bloated $900 billion COVID relief bill.
Recently, video surfaced of Ryan telling the Cuyahoga Democratic Women’s caucus “you can count on me” to fight for abortion (up to the time of birth) and LGBTQ and transgender issues, while “staying away from culture wars which don’t serve us very well in Ohio.” And while he is concerned about the opioid epidemic, he says little about the endless stream of fentanyl entering the Buckeye state from Mexico compliments of Joe Biden.
In fact, Ryan has voted 100% of the time in support of the Biden legislative agenda, and ceremonially nominated him on behalf of Ohio’s delegation at the 2020 Democratic Convention. Still, like Democrats everywhere on the campaign trail, he has carefully avoided appearing with the president due to “scheduling conflicts.” Though a better reason might be that to link oneself with Biden is akin to playing with the kid who has cooties.
Throughout his career, Ryan has keenly promoted his political interests, once challenging Nancy Pelosi for House Minority Leader and questioning Biden’s cognitive functioning during the 2020 presidential race. In the end, Ryan officially endorsed both of them. He’s been getting away with deftly convincing voters in Northeast Ohio’s Mahoning Valley in election after election that he’s one of them since 2003 but has always firmly supported leftist Democrat policies.
The contest vs. Vance should not be as close as polls say it is. Ryan’s record speaks for itself if voters would simply look at it, and Republicans need to hammer this point home in the days ahead. Despite their campaign message, Democrats (like Ryan) always stand united in pushing their Marxist, progressive agenda. Whereas they used to regularly conceal this fact, the gloves were loosened under Obama and have been completely removed under Biden.
This has been proven beyond all doubt as every segment of American culture is under attack by leftist-inspired wokeness. Portman largely accepted the notion in exchange for being accepted by the Washington establishment, rarely pushing back on behalf of Ohioans. Ryan would intensify it by gladly working with Sen. Sherrod Brown, an unflinching supporter of every kooky Biden-inspired policy that has contributed to the rapid disintegration of America.
Liberal elites and big tech have joined together to pour millions into the Ryan campaign too. They think they can buy the race for him and understand what’s at stake with a number of hotly contested Senate races and a rapidly-diminishing, lame-duck president.
In a 50-50 U.S. Senate, every seat is crucial. Ryan has survived as a political chameleon for two decades but has finally been exposed for who he truly is. On Nov. 8, voters can make a statement that enough is enough and send him packing. Which side of history do we want to be on? The very future of Ohio, and ultimately the republic, are at stake.
Mark Figley is a political activist and guest columnist from Elida. His column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Lima News editorial board or AIM Media, owner of The Lima News.
