CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT REAL ISSUES?

In today’s NEW YORK TIMES, Mike DeWine, the Republican governor of Ohio, a supporter of Donald Trump and JD Vance, wrote an op-ed that I strongly believe is worth sharing. Here are his key words, starting with the headline:

I’M THE GOVERNOR OF OHIO.  I DON’T RECOGNIZE THE SPRINGFIELD THAT TRUMP AND VANCE DESCRIBE.

“I was born in Springfield, Ohio. My wife Fran and I have lived our entire lives less than 10 miles from this city.

When we were dating in high school, we would go there to see movies at the Regent or State Theater, or to eat fried clams at Howard Johnson’s. I remember Fran taking the bus about eight miles from our hometown, Yellow Springs, to Springfield to shop at  Wren’s Department Store. Over the years we’ve eaten countless doughnuts from Schuler’s Bakery, worshipped at St. Raphael Catholic Church and we logged many work hours there when I represented Springfield in the U.S. House and Senate. 

Springfield has a rich history of providing refuge for the oppressed and being a place of opportunity. As a stop on the Underground Railroad, the Gammon House, which still stands, was a safe haven for escaped slaves seeking freedom.  And, as a stop on the Old National Road, America’s first  east/west federal highway, Springfield attracted many settlers both before and after the Civil War.  Immigrants from Ireland, Greece, Germany, Italy and other countries helped built the city into what it is today.

For a long time, commerce and manufacturing flourished in Springfield, which earned the title ”Champion City “ after the founding there of the agriculture implement giant Champion Machine Company.

But the city hit tough times in the 1980s and 1990s, falling into serious economic decline as manufacturing, rail commerce and good-paying jobs dwindled. Now, however, Springfield is having a resurgence in manufacturing  and job creation. Some of that is thanks to the dramatic influx of Haitian migrants who have arrived in the city over the past three years to fill jobs.

They are here legally. They are here to work. 

It is disappointing to me that Springfield has become the epicenter of vitriol over America’s immigration policy, because it has long been a community of great diversity. Bomb threats — all hoaxes — continue and temporarily closed at least two schools, put the hospital on lockdown, and shuttered City Hall. The two local college have gone remote. 

As a supporter of former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance, I am saddened by how they and others continue to repeat claims that lack evidence and disparage the legal migrants living in Springfield. This rhetoric hurts the city and its people, and it hurts those who have spent their lives there.

This past Monday I met with Springfield manufacturing business owners who employ Haitians. As one of them told me, his business would not have been able to stay open after the pandemic but for the Haitians who filled the jobs.

Springfield today has a very bright future….. I am proud of this community and America should be too.”

Thank you, Governor DeWine. I hope your words take credence and resound through the country so that we can get back to hearing about REAL ISSUES before the November election.