What we do now

Republicans lost last Tuesday. Some are calling it an "extinction-level event" for the GOP. I am vice chair of the Ottawa County Republican Party. We owe the voters the truth. In 2024, Americans picked up the phone, dialed 911 and asked for the fire department. Our house was burning. Prices had climbed. The border was wide open. Washington was not listening to them. The voters sent the GOP to put out the fire. By 2026, the fire was partially knocked down, but other rooms remained ablaze. Too many of our crew stood in the yard admiring the truck. The Democrats came with buckets. They had helped start the fire. It did not matter. They looked like the ones putting it out. The people were tired: tired of war, of gas prices, of promises not kept. The Democrats talked about groceries and rent. Too many Republicans talked as if the work were done. It was not done. Voters ran a simple "before and after." Before the war, gas was just under $3 a gallon. Diesel was under $4. On Election Day, gas averaged $4.15. Diesel was $6.29. Prices were up 3.7% over the year. Electricity was up 4.4%. Americans carried $1.26 trillion of debt on their credit cards. Vice President JD Vance rightly asserted turnout was not the problem. Our people turned out, and then they voted for Democrats. They believed that we had not done what we said we would do. That belief was not unreasonable. Congress never reformed the Senate filibuster in order pass the SAVE America Act, requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register and photo ID to vote. Now Democrats say they will end the filibuster anyway. Senate Democrats saw to the rest. Senator Jon Husted's Ratepayer Protection Act would make AI data centers pay for their own power. The House passed it 417 to 3. Senate Democrats blocked it. They blocked a ban on members of Congress buying stocks. And they walked away from a permitting deal to cut the cost of building power plants and pipelines, and then pushed it past the election. They wanted to run on problems, not solve them. That was cynical, but it's no excuse. We held the White House and both houses of Congress. Voters do not grade on archaic Senate rules or on the curve of good intentions. They grade on action and results. Democrats should have been made to block good bills in daylight. Every week. Until We the People knew the names of the responsible party. On immigration: we secured the border, but elsewhere, we did not even try. Why have we not shut off troublesome visa programs? Why did we not write the President's immigration orders into law? Why did we not strip the federal courts of jurisdiction over deportation cases? Again, Senate Republicans blamed the filibuster. They never showed they would do these things with 50 votes either. The voters noticed. Washington always looks after Washington. We let the Epstein files become a wound. Epstein's clique ran through both parties, and the whole of the elite. This was never a GOP scandal, but we let it become our problem. A party that will not stand for the truth about the abuse of children will not be trusted on anything else. Ohio paid its own price. The state party handpicked our candidate for governor. Some of our candidates walked like men who had already won. That is hubris. And "Red" Ohio is a myth. Ohio is not a conservative or liberal state. It is a common-sense state. It is a blue-collar, working-class state. Most Ohioans were not born to privilege. They know condescension when they see it. Ohioans gave the job to Amy Acton. We will not win voters back by complaining that Democrats stole our message. We win them back by meaning it again. We have to get our own side right. When we do, we win. Our creed must be simple: America First and Ohio First. America First in Washington. Ohio First in Columbus. A working family from Port Clinton should be able to afford a home, a doctor, a full tank of gas and a future for their kids. The house fire still rages on. The Republican Party must be the party of the paycheck, the kitchen table, Main Street and Middle America. Produce oil, gas and nuclear, to cut the gas bill and the light bill. Pass the Ratepayer Protection Act. Clear the red tape that keeps starter homes from young families. Stop the spending that drives inflation. It's time for a complete system reset in how we think about taxation, including property tax. Give small businesses less paperwork, fewer fees and simpler taxes. No lobby and no tech giant gets a veto. No member of Congress trades stocks. Congressional ethics cannot be an oxymoron. The GOP must be the party of citizenship, a bond that ties every American to every other. Government owes its first duty to citizens. America needs its border and laws. A nation without a border is not a nation. So enforce the law. Write the President's immigration orders into law. Continue to remove those here illegally, criminals first. Require E-Verify so no one undercuts an American wage. End visa programs built to do the same. Healthcare with real prices, posted. Bigger health savings accounts. Drugs made at home. Cheap generics, fast. No surprise bills. Debt relief, not bailouts. Medical debt off credit reports, employers that can pay down student loans tax-free, colleges that sell degrees that no one can repay can share the loss. Trade schools and apprenticeships so young Ohioans can earn a good living without debt. A stronger child tax credit, no marriage penalties. Fairness for girls in sports. Parents who know what their children are taught. An orderly and predictable tariff schedule. No blank checks for forever foreign wars. Ohio's sons and daughters, the boy from Port Clinton and the girl from Oak Harbor, did not enlist to fight in someone else's war. Send them for America, or else not at all. Allies must carry their share. Every commitment serves the American people, or it is not made. America First is not a slogan. In 2024, the American people said it and they meant it. Our house fire is still burning. We must put it out. Too many held their tongues too long. Some folks did it out of respect for the party. No more. We took a wrong turn. The road back is long. Still, we must walk it. As for me, I will keep my promises, and I ask my party to keep theirs. The men and women who farm and build and protect and care and haul and fix things in this county have waited long enough. Ohio First. America First. Always. Christopher N. Enoch Vice chair, Ottawa County Republican Party Ottawa County Clerk of Courts