A couple of things worth noting in this Associated Press piece about Marc Dann's troubles...First, is Dann's attempt to stall the investigation as a negotiating tactic:
Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, under pressure from both parties to resign over sexual harassment by an aide and his own extramarital affair, tried to cut a deal Tuesday to leave office but failed, according to lawmakers.I really fail to understand what Dann was expecting to get from that...and I really don't understand why the legislature would balk at that to get Dann out of office.
The Democrat offered to step down if lawmakers delayed a planned investigation into his scandal-plagued office by 90 days, Democratic Rep. Robert Hagan and a spokeswoman for Republican Senate President Bill Harris said.
Second, the bill creating the investigation made it through both chambers and got signed by the governor...all in one day!
Third, if this is right, the Republicans blew it:
Earlier in the day, House Democrats also tried to start impeachment proceedings against Dann, only to be dismissed as moving too fast by the Republicans in power."Moving too fast"? Seriously??? Kevin DeWine has been hammering Marc Dann to resign for how long now? And the Demcorats are moving too fast to remove him??? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?
As usual, Speaker Husted is "unknowingly" doing the bidding of Chris Redfern and the Democrats:
Democrats need backing from Republicans who control the Legislature in order to send the impeachment charges to the Senate for a trial, but Republican House Speaker Jon Husted ridiculed Democrats for what he called the "political act" of rashly filing impeachment articles to appear tough on a member of their own party. Both sides are maneuvering to take ownership of a process that Ohio hasn't used since 1820.So this becomes the narrative on how this all goes down no matter what happens now:
Republicans first want the assistance of the inspector general before proceeding with impeachment, while Democrats believe their impeachment proposal is sufficient to move forward immediately.
"It's shameful to use the Constitution for political ends, shameful to use the impeachment process for political ends, and I won't be part of it," Husted said. "We're going to make sure that what we do is going to be a process set forth that's going to stand the test of time."
The Democrats' resolution, researched by three lawmakers, accused Dann of making misleading statements under oath and said he should have known his actions created a hostile work environment.Granted, this whole thing has become a lose/ lose proposition for Ohio Republicans, but I'm still not seeing evidence of "strategery" here...even though I have been assured that there is one. Apparently the strategy was to make the Democrats attempt to clean up their own mess, then back off, then submit articles of impeachment, and then have the Republicans put the brakes on the whole thing. As the Guiness beer guys might say, "Brilliant!"
"We promised the people of Ohio to end a culture of corruption that existed in the past, and we are fulfilling that promise by cleaning our own house when events and circumstances warrant," the three lawmakers said in a statement.
