Breaking with long tradition, next week John "The Wonder Guv" Kasich will not give his State of the State address from the Ohio Capitol. Last year's little chat came in the midst of his SB 5 debacle, and the rotunda and the Capitol grounds were filled with raucous, chanting protesters. With the memory of his comeuppance still fresh, John-Boy's just not feelin' the love in Columbus, so this year he's leaving town. He'll address his subjects -- I mean citizens -- from the real heart of The Heart Of It All, Steubenville.
Steubenville, or as it's sometime called, suburban Weirton, is an old manufacturing town known for closed steel mills, political corruption, and Dean Martin. Kasich says it's as good a place as any to make a speech, and I suppose it is. But it's kinda like the President delivering the State of the Union address from, say, Blacksburg, Virginia.
Attendance could be fairly light. Some media will be there, of course, along with Kasich's family and a handful of retirees from the local mills. Beyond that, it'll be a crap shoot. The Ohio legislature will be in session and many lawmakers of both parties say they just can't spare the 5-6 hour travel time. Attorney General Mike DeWine says he can't make it. Ditto for Secretary of State Jon Husted. And nobody knows where the hell Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor is! Do you suppose she's working her ass off on Ohio's newly required health insurance exchanges?
Me neither.
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