Former GOP official endorses Democrat over spineless pro-Trump congressman

Rep. Steve Chabot’s (R-OH) loyalty to Trump may have earned him a spot on Trump’s rally stage, but it has cost him the support of a prominent local Republican, who recently endorsed Democratic challenger Aftab Pureval.

Former Hamilton County Commissioner Phil Heimlich threw his support behind Pureval, and blasted Chabot for siding with Vladimir Putin and against the Mueller investigation.

“As a former prosecutor, this makes me sick,” Heimlich said, referring to Chabot’s criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller. “I want to be on the right side of history. We are living under the most dishonest president in history.

“What is Steve Chabot’s position on that? Nothing. He refuses to speak out against this mountain of dishonesty.”

Heimlich also recorded a video calling Chabot and other Ohio Republicans “cowardly” for refusing to stand up to Trump.

“The only way to protect our democracy is to put Democrats in Congress,” Heimlich said in the video.

At a House Judiciary Committee hearing in December, Chabot joined other Republicans in attacking the Mueller probe with false accusations of bias.

Chabot also participated in the House Republicans’ campaign to hype the infamous “Nunes memo” to undermine the Mueller investigation. But the memo turned out to be embarrassing failure that actually debunked GOP attacks on the Russia probe.

Chabot has been campaigning to become chairman of the Judiciary committee, and has already made it clear that he’s willing to ignore all of the evidence of collusion and obstruction of justice that has come to light as a consequence of the Mueller investigation. He has said that impeaching Trump should be “avoided, if at all possible.”

Since Trump took office, Chabot has been a rubber stamp for Trump’s agenda. He’s voted with Trump 96 percent of the time, and has praised Trump for policies that have hurt the residents of his district.

Thanks to Trump’s sabotage of the Affordable Care Act, families in Chabot’s district will be forced to pay an extra $2,000 in premiums next year.

Chabot might better know how Trump’s policies are affecting his constituents if he ever deigned to meet with them, but he hasn’t held an open town hall event in six years.

Aftab Pureval, meanwhile, has promised to be accessible to residents of the district, and has been making good on that promise by engaging with voters.

Pureval has also promised to protect health insurance for everyone, including people with pre-existing conditions.

Chabot, on the other hand, has repeatedly voted to gut those protections and kick millions off of their health care. And because Chabot knows these positions are unpopular, he’s lying to voters about what he’s done.

But it was Chabot’s loyalty to Trump that was the last straw for Heimlich, and the same could be true for many other voters in Ohio’s First Congressional District. The race is rated a “toss-up,” and Pureval just tripled Chabot’s fundraising in the final quarter before the election.

Pureval recently reminded voters that “A vote for Chabot is a vote for Trump.” And as Heimlich pointed out, a vote for Chabot is also a vote against holding Trump accountable.