About

About The Ohio Republic

“All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for their equal protection and benefit, and they have the right to alter, reform, or abolish the same, whenever they may deem it necessary; and no special privileges or immunities shall ever be granted, that may not be altered, revoked, or repealed by the general assembly."

- Ohio Constitution, Article I, Section 2

The purpose of The Ohio Republic is to provide information that will help Ohioans regain the freedoms they were guaranteed by the Constitutions of the United States and of Ohio. It does so by providing news and comment about liberty, the Tenth Amendment, nullification, and secession as actual and potential strategies for regaining our freedom.

The Ohio Republic does not advocate, nor will it condone, violence in pursuit of its goals; except in self-defense against a government or international organization that resorts to violence against us. This weblog stresses the importance of the rule of law to maintaining our civilization, and thus much prefers to seek legislative; and where necessary, judicial remedies to the problems that confront us.

While The Ohio Republic supports the work of several organizations; such as the Tenth Amendment Center; the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law; and the Ohio Freedom Alliance, which includes the Ohio Liberty Council, Ohio Honest Money, and Ohio Free State (state sovereignty initiative); this weblog is independent of any organization.

Please read the Platform of The Ohio Republic for greater detail about our philosophy.

Additional information may be found in the posts labeled Basics.

Platform of The Ohio Republic

Published January 1, 2011

1. The Ohio Republic is committed to individual freedom: spiritual, political, and economic. When considering policy positions, we keep this end in mind. Our most general rule is WWJD? In spiritual matters, “what would Jesus do?” in political and economic matters, “what would Jefferson do?”
2. The Ohio Republic seeks government that is decentralist, which may be loosely defined as a system in which there is little or no federal government, little state government, and as much local government as the people desire; but accountable to the state for corruption and violations of basic human and political rights by local officials.
3. The Ohio Republic being, of course, Ohioan, seeks practical approaches to problem solving. Too often, libertarian thinkers get lost in a fantasy world created by the ideology. Solutions are not practical if they ignore political and economic realities, or if they fail to take the dark side of human nature into account.
4. The Ohio Republic specifically rejects anarchism. While government must be strictly limited, it remains necessary to protect the people from criminal use of force and from fraud. Government can promote the liberties of the people effectively and efficiently, by returning to Constitutional principles and by replacing the proactive (administrative) compliance model with a passive (judicial) model. (I shall explain this principle further in my book, Governing Ourselves, to be published later this year).
5. The Ohio Republic, consistent with its commitment to decentralism, presses the Ohio General Assembly to assert the rights of Ohioans and of our state government against unconstitutional intrusion by the federal government. If we are to protect our rights and remain in the union, we must demand that our Ohio General Assembly interpose in those instances where federal law exceeds the limits set in the United States Constitution. (This is more commonly called nullification)
6. The Ohio Republic advocates Ohio’s independence from the United States as a last resort, when all efforts to reason with the federal government through the standard political process and nullification have failed. There is no question in our mind, based on the experience of other nations, that Ohio is perfectly viable as an independent Republic; provided that its government and people have taken certain preparatory steps prior to the declaration of independence. Prominent among these are the revitalization of the organized state militia, and the establishment of a currency based on silver or gold.
7. The Ohio Republic draws on our Judeo-Christian tradition to support its emphasis on personal freedom, not to proselytize for any religious belief; but because the Bible has documented a way for a people to live in political and economic freedom, as long as the people accept individual responsibility for their own actions.

About Harold Thomas

Harold Thomas, a native of Canton, was educated at Ohio Northern University and Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.), where he holds a master of science in foreign service degree. While living in the Canton area, he was executive director of the Stark County Republican Party and twice ran unsuccessfully for public office. He also served as finance director for a statewide judicial campaign.

He has been a resident of Columbus for more than twenty years, where he is a business analyst. He is married and has a canine "daughter" named Duchess. Harold is an active member of his church, his professional organization, Toastmasters International (where he holds the designations Advanced Communicator Silver and Advanced Leader Bronze), and the Columbus Swiss Singers.

He is available to speak to interested organizations on topics related to The Ohio Republic. Additional information is available on the Speaker page.


Harold may be reached by e-mail and has a page in Facebook.


By Harold Thomas

Book

•  Governing Ourselves: How Americans Can Restore Their Freedom, to be published February 29, 2012 (preview).


Articles and Publications
• "Are You Serious?" (How the liberty movement should view the Ohio gubernatorial campaign), Liberty Voice, Summer 2010.
• "Beyond Red and Blue: The State Sovereignty Movement Ignites a 'Wildfire Across America'", Vermont Commons, Autumn 2009.
• "The Case for Ohio Independence" (privately published, 1995, pdf file).


Media Interview
•  Interview with Jim Hogue, April 4, 2009 (.mp3 file) on secessionism in North America. Broadcast on radio station WGDR in Burlington, Vermont.

Speeches
•  Sermon to Obetz United Methodist Church , “What did they fight and die for?”, May 24, 2009 (html file).
•  Wooster 9-12 Project, “State Sovereignty: What’s in it for me?”, August 10, 2009. PowerPoint (html file).
•  Southwest Ohio Liberty Conference, "State Sovereignty, Nullification, and Secession,"  November 21, 2009. (Photo and brief article)
•  Berwick Kiwanis Club, "The Meaning of Liberty," July 8, 2010.

Videos
This five-part video series features an interview with Harold Thomas and Jason Rink. Each is a YouTube video approximately 10 minutes long:

• Part 1: Ohio State Sovereignty - An Introduction
• Part 2: Federalism
• Part 3: The Constitution and the Courts
• Part 4A: Nullification
• Part 4B: Secession