7/17/2008 10:14:00 AM Ohio Democrats seek military vote
By STEPHEN MAJORS Writer for The Associated Press
COLUMBUS (AP) - It's election season, and supporting military veterans is a popular cause - one that both Democrats and Republicans would like to call their own.
Traditionally, the Republican Party has enjoyed a widespread perception as the party of national security and the military. But with the unpopularity of the Iraq war and the public souring on Republican rule in Washington, Gov. Ted Strickland and other Ohio Democrats are eager to take that mantle away.
Strickland announced a plan last week that allows veterans in other states to pay in-state tuition prices at Ohio public colleges. When combined with benefits from the federal GI Bill, all veterans can attend Ohio universities essentially free.
Fellow Democrats immediately praised the move.
"I am so proud of this promise that builds on our good work in the General Assembly to honor veterans and the families who support them," Rep. Peter Ujvagi, a Democrat from Toledo, said in a statement. A list of his accomplishments supporting veterans followed.
"With this promise, Ohio becomes a national leader in serving our military members with the same honor those members have exhibited in battle," Rep. Stephen Dyer, a Democrat from Green, said in his statement, which included a list of Dyers' veterans causes in the state Legislature.
Reaction to the Ohio plan even rose to the level of the presidential campaign, with Democrat Barack Obama issuing a statement to applaud the move.
It wasn't the first time that Strickland had made a splash with a veterans initiative.
In May 2007, he announced that he was appointing a council to study veterans issues, with the goal of creating a Cabinet-level agency.
The Republican-led Legislature signed off on the department earlier this year, and its members are eager to take their share of the credit.
Without reference to Strickland's tuition initiative, state Sen. Steve Austria, a Beavercreek Republican who is running for Congress, wrote a column for constituents last week outlining his sponsorship and handling of several bills to help veterans, including the bill that established the Ohio Department of Veterans Affairs.
Republican House Speaker Jon Husted also not-so-subtly reminded Democrats last week that the GOP still wields power in the state.
Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray, a Democrat running for attorney general in November, made a recent push to give bonuses to veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf.
The Senate, also controlled by Republicans, passed the plan unanimously, but Husted signaled last week that it's not going anywhere in his chamber.
He said it would be irresponsible for the state to incur more debt to pay for the bonuses.
Such political jockeying over veterans has a long-standing history in both parties.
Last October, when Republicans held a news conference outlining plans to exempt military retirement pay from state income taxes and waive probate fees for families of personnel killed in combat, Democrats complained that representatives of their party had earlier introduced the same proposals.
House Democratic Leader Joyce Beatty said at the time, "After months of inaction, the Republicans have finally recognized that our members' ideas were right on the money." One of the Democratic lawmakers' names was then added as a primary sponsor to the legislation.
The proposal was later passed by both the House and Senate and signed into law by Strickland.
Jim Schnell, a professor of political rhetoric at Ohio Dominican University and a retired colonel in the Air Force Reserve, said courting veterans is crucial when it comes to public perception.
"To align yourself with the troops is really essential for both parties. It's a political phenomenon," he said.
Schnell said policies such as tuition benefits are welcomed by veterans but are just a drop-in-the-bucket with the larger challenges they face.
Resolving issues such as long-term care and providing mental health support take a lot more time and money, which makes it harder for lawmakers to get behind them, he said.
"We'll see a big splash like this but if you look at things like long-term veteran care, homeless veterans and mental health issues, it's really abysmal our treatment of them," he said.
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Stephen Majors is a writer for The Associated Press.
