Politics & Power Quote by Mike DeWine

“National conversation” is politician-speak with a velvet glove: it sounds open-ended, even therapeutic, while quietly setting the terms of debate. DeWine isn’t inviting a free-for-all; he’s corralling the audience toward a single, sanctified reference point. By calling the Constitution “the document that binds us,” he turns a contested, living framework into a kind of civic scripture. The phrase “binds us” does double work: it’s warm (unity, shared identity) and disciplinary (limits, restraint, obedience). In one breath, he offers belonging and warns against deviation.

The cadence matters. He starts broad - “a national conversation” - then narrows to “the document,” then seals it with “of course,” a sly rhetorical move that treats the conclusion as obvious. “Of course” signals that any reasonable person already agrees, which pressures dissenters into seeming unreasonable before they’ve spoken. That’s not deliberation; it’s pre-framing.

Contextually, this language is most at home in moments of fracture: a court decision, a protest wave, a scandal, a policy fight that’s gotten too hot. Invoking the Constitution lets a politician claim neutrality while taking a side. It shifts the argument from outcomes (who gets what, who is harmed, who is protected) to legitimacy (who is faithful to the “binding” text). It’s an appeal to authority that launders politics into principle, offering calm and grandeur precisely when the messy details might otherwise dominate.