After election defeat, Ohio gov. says it’s ‘time to pause’ anti-union efforts

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Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich said on Tuesday that it was “time to pause” anti-union efforts after voters rejected his plan to strip public workers of most collective bargaining rights.

“You know, when you get beat, you have to admit it,” the governor told reporters. “It’s clear that the people of spoken and you know, my view is when people speak in a campaign like this, a referendum, you have to listen when you are a public servant. There isn’t any question about that. …. It requires me to take a deep breath.”

Over 63 percent of voters in Ohio rejected Issue 2, repealing Senate Bill 5, which would have prevented police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other state employees from collectively negotiating for better wages.

Kasich said he hadn’t decided on whether he would try again to limit union rights.

“I don’t think this is a time to make a lot of decisions,” he explained. “When I say it is a time to pause, it is right now on this issue. And the people have spoken clearly. You don’t ignore the public.”

But the former Fox News guest host wouldn’t go so far as to admit he had overreached.

“It’s like asking an athlete, ‘Should you have not taken this shot?’” he remarked. “Voters were saying, I think here, Joe — they might have said it was too much, too soon. Maybe that was it. I don’t really know.”

Watch this video from WLWT and Ohio State House, broadcast Nov. 8, 2011.