Things Are Getting Interesting in Ohio!!

[maxrandb]

I wanted to post this here instead of the state forum, because I think we need to make this a "national" issue. My home state has been suffering long enough under "one-party" rule, and Ohio is the key.

I've heard that all politics is local, but this scandal has the potential to spill all the way to the Oval Office. This scandal needs to be hung on the necks of ALL Republicans like an albatross.

FYI - IMHO, if we turn Ohio "blue", it is all over for the neo-cons. I especially love the quote from the Dem that I highlighted. Really brings homes what has been wrong with the Democratic Party for a long time now.

http://www.dispatch.com/topstory.php?story=dispatch/2005/06/06/20050606-A1-00.html

At 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sen. Randall Gardner, a Bowling Green Republican who accepted $6,600 in contributions from coin dealer Thomas W. Noe, said he hadn’t thought about giving up the donations. Two hours later, Sen. Kevin J. Coughlin, R-Cuyahoga Falls, said he had no intention of giving up the $900 Noe donated to him. "I don’t see what the point would be in doing that, even symbolically."

By 9 p.m., Senate Republicans chose to follow other statewide GOP officeholders who earlier in the day agreed to give up thousands in Noe contributions

The state gave Noe $50 million to invest in rare coins, only to learn recently that the powerful GOP donor cannot account for up to $13 million in assets. State and federal investigators are probing his dealings and connections to numerous state officials.

At one point, Senate President Bill M. Harris threatened to remove Sen. Robert F. Hagan, D-Youngstown.

As the late-night session wore on and majority Republicans closed debate and voted down yet another Democratic amendment, Sen. Dan Brady boiled over.

"This is not the Marines and this is not boot camp. We represent millions of people and you can’t ignore us," the Cleveland Democrat said.

Harris, a retired Marine from Ashland, tried to maintain civility in the chamber with mixed success.

"Now you’ve had your say, please have a seat," he told Brady.

Tension levels have risen as Statehouse Democrats, who say they have grown increasingly frustrated by years of seeing their ideas rejected, appear emboldened by the coin scandal.

"I don’t think the Republicans are used to us fighting so hard," said Sen. Marc Dann, a suburban Youngstown Democrat and vocal critic of the coin scandal. "I am proud to bring that level of intensity." (gee, if only our national party would take the gloves off)

But Democrats, despite their anger, have little chance to impact legislative action.

"The only real change is going to occur at the ballot box in 2006," said House Minority Leader Chris Redfern, of Catawba Island. "The people will send a message that we need bipartisan governance in this state."

[ohio_liberal]

1. It's about time

Glad to see our Democratic state leadership found some cajones. It's about goddamned time.

How surprised are you that the Toledo Blade is the one who blew "coin gate" out of the water? The Dispatch and the Plain Dealer were just sitting on their hands.

[maxrandb]

3. The Dispatch and the Plain-Dealer

are just one level above the Washington Times as far as I'm concerned. They are only covering this because it has gotten so big that they have to cover it!!

Years ago, we used to have an alternative in Columbus called the "Citizen Journal". CJ had better comics too. It's part and parcel of the corporate media.

It's almost Pavlovian. You wouldn't bite the hand that feeds you, now would you? Maybe, just maybe thinkgs are changing. Like my Grandmother used to say: "You can have the best trained dog in the world, but if you hit him on the nose with a rolled up newspaper everyday, he's eventually going to bite you".

[KharmaTrain]

2. The Noe Story Has Been Getting Some Buzz

I'm trying to get up to speed on this as well. I just wonder where the tipping point is...and I know there is one.

We had a similar situation in Illinois. For over 20 years the Repugnicans controlled the governorship and key state offices as well as majorities in the state house and senate. That started to implode thanks to George Ryan and his ever widening scandals. Now we're very blue...our problem is the fighting within in our party now.

There are several states with growing Repugnican scandals on the state and local level. I hope the DNC and local parties are able to track and shed light on these things. Repugnicans are good at hiding their scandals in the back pages and keeping investigations off the front pages.

I've always strongly believed the long-term answer to turning the tide in this country is on the state and county level. It's good to see an energized Democratic party emerging in Ohio. There's a lot of us out here standing by to support.

Cheers!

[Snotcicles]

4. James Traficant would kick some ass and I love the Toledo Blade n/t

[Democrat 4 Ever]

5. Meanwhile, their repug neighbors to the south, Kentucky has their

own little scandal brewing. You can always depend on repugs to overreach.

Governor Fletcher, a repug, took office after Governor Paul Patton confessed to having an affair with a woman and gave her preferential treatment in getting state approval for her nursing home. The repugs were aghast, I tell you, shocked and appalled that Patton would do such a horrible thing. They promised to bring back honesty to Frankfort.

Well, imagine everyone's surprise :sarcasm: when the entire governor's office is embroiled in a scandal of epic portions. They have been giving state jobs to unqualified repugs. They are circumventing the state laws on hiring, etc. to repay their friends who got them elected. They also demoted or forced retirement on many long term state employees because they wanted their positions for their friends.

There is nothing like rethuglican hypocrisy - absolutely nothing.

Stay tuned, this is going to be fun.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050524/NEWS0104/505240347

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Attorney General Greg Stumbo can read the e-mails of thousands of state workers in his investigation of state government hiring, a judge ruled yesterday.

Also yesterday, Transportation Cabinet officials said they received a letter of resignation from Douglas W. Doerting, the whistleblower who went to Stumbo with allegations of political hiring for merit system jobs.

In court, lawyers for Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration contended that Stumbo would invade the privacy of 38,000 state workers by reviewing many of the documents he subpoenaed, which they said weren't relevant.

Franklin Circuit Judge Roger Crittenden disagreed.

"Based upon my reading of the case law, the attorney general, as the chief law enforcement officer in the commonwealth, is entitled to just about whatever the attorney general asks for in a criminal investigation," Crittenden said in rejecting the request filed by the Commonwealth Office of Technology.

[Straight Shooter]

6. Try to imagine a Democrat who could not account for $13 million.

We'd be hearing about it 24/7 and that person would be villified on every right wing talk show and broadcast.

Repubs in power are nothing but leeches.

[Jack The Tab]

7. The Democratic Party aparatus in Ohio is horrible...

I live in Cleveland, right down the street from Kucinich's 2nd office. I have volunteered for most of his campaigns. He has a lot of good people working for him and I've met him a few times and had a chance to talk to him at length about a lot of the things that concern us here.

But the Democratic Party in Cleveland is an absolute nightmare of incompetence. I cannot say how well the party operates in other areas, but Cleveland is screwed. Incompetence, indifference, and just outright lazy attitude. It's quite amazing to witness.