Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) was certainly in the news Wednesday and Thursday because of his location in California, where he was fundraising for his Senate campaign to replace retiring Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH). While he used proxy voting, which he claimed was “due to the ongoing public health emergency,” the congressman was actually campaigning in Los Angeles on Wednesday and we will organize another fundraiser Thursday night. On Thursday, “Tim Ryan“as a result, it became a trending topic on Twitter.
Tim Ryan has so little respect for his constituents in Ohio that not only does he repeatedly refuse to come to work, but he lies about why he’s absent, then turns around and attends a fundraiser with his liberal friends in Hollywood instead. https://t.co/swZc19mGWW
— Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) September 29, 2022
This story is not only damning because the congressman misled Americans about why he couldn’t vote in person, even though he did. And it’s not just damning because he is hit his Republican opponent, J.D. Vance, about that, though it is. Rep. Ryan has a history of calling for proxy voting to be made enduring.
Despite President Joe Biden repeatedly declaring during the “60 minutes“In an interview earlier this month in which she declared that “the pandemic is over,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) recently extended proxy voting to November 10, just after the upcoming November 8 midterm elections.
In July, Rep. Ryan he told Spectrum News that he thought such rules should be enduring. “I will continue to use them. I mean, it’s an opportunity for me to be in Ohio but still cast my vote here,” adding, “I will continue to use them.”
He also framed the local station’s problem as an issue of members having “a lot of responsibilities in our congressional districts, a lot of responsibilities here. Kids getting sick, family issues” and argued that “you should still be able to vote. It’s 2022, not 1800. We should move on.”
“Voting records from the Clerk of the House of Representatives “Ryan has been voting by proxy for at least 25 days since September of last year,” Taylor Popielarz said. article for Spectrum News from July 29, read. Popielarz added that “Ryan is at the top of the list” of Ohio House members voting remotely.
The article initially cast Rep. Ryan’s proxy voting in a less than flattering light, given the way the congressman portrayed his desire to use proxy voting as a way to spend time with constituents.
This is how Popielarz began his piece:
WASHINGTON, DC — When the pandemic hit, the U.S. House of Representatives changed its rules to give lawmakers who must quarantine permission to cast a vote through a colleague on the House floor.
But a growing number of lawmakers, including Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, are using proxy voting for a different purpose: campaigning.
Popielarz also drew attention to this aspect of the article by posting it on Twitter as well earlier that same month.
New:
“You should still be able to vote. It’s 2022, not 1800.”
Should COVID-19 proxy voting become a permanent option for members of the U.S. House of Representatives?
ohio @RepTimRyan he thinks so, as #OHSen candidate @TimRyan uses it to run a larger campaign.
To watch ??https://t.co/lzvyEheDXT
— Taylor Popielarz (@TaylorPopielarz) July 29, 2022
Update:
Ohio Representative @TimRyan (D) tells me, “It’s time to make remote voting a permanent option.”
Ryan voted in the House of Representatives via proxy all week “due to the ongoing public health emergency,” but in fact he campaigned in person #OHSen.
His full statement? photo:twitter.com/6KGlWwoEjb
— Taylor Popielarz (@TaylorPopielarz) July 15, 2022
Vance, as Popielarz also pointed out on Twitter, attacked Rep. Ryan for abusing proxy voting.
Yesterday, @TimRyan‘S #OHSen opponent @JDVance1 published a statement criticizing him for abusing proxy voting:
“It’s bad enough that he refuses to show up for work, but what’s truly shameful is that he’s lying to the people of Ohio about why he’s not showing up.” photo:twitter.com/9X1dl9pTAY
— Taylor Popielarz (@TaylorPopielarz) July 15, 2022
Race is considered favor Vance because forecasters see him as “Republican-leaning” or “likely Republican.” Decision Desk HQ describes the race as “Lean Republican,” giving Vance a 66.8% chance of winning. RealClearPolitics it also has +1.2 lead for Vance in the polls.
