Speaker Batchelder Announces Select Committee, Process for Hearing Election Contest

Release:

COLUMBUS— Pursuant to Article 2, Section 21 of the Ohio Constitution, Speaker William G. Batchelder (R-Medina) today announced that a House Select Committee has been established to hear the election contest O’Farrell v. Landis in the 98th House District, which was recently delivered to the House from the Ohio Supreme Court.

“We will have a full, fair and deliberative process over the next several weeks on this election contest,” Speaker Batchelder said. “I am confident that the select committee will do their due diligence over the coming weeks in order to make a recommendation to the full House.”

Speaker Batchelder named the following House Members to serve on this select committee:

· Rep. Matt Huffman – Chair

· Rep. Peter Stautberg – Vice chair

· Rep. Mike Dovilla

· Rep. Dorothy Pelanda

· Rep. Gerald Stebelton

· Rep. Kathleen Clyde – Ranking Member

· Rep. Mike Curtin

· Rep. Chris Redfern

· Rep. Fred Strahorn

The first of several hearings are expected to begin in the month of March. A hearing schedule and location of these public hearings will be made available in the near future. This committee is not a standing House Committee; as such, members serving in leadership positions will not receive any additional stipend for their service.

The last election contest occurred in the 1980s in the Ohio Senate and in the late 19th century in the Ohio House. The committee membership will be journalized this week and the committee will be dissolved pending their final recommendation to the full House.

Resistance to Kasich Medicaid Expansion Grows

A number of things pop out at you in this Columbus Dispatch article that are worthy of further commentary, but let's start with the fact that conservatives in the GOP caucus have stated -- in open testimony -- that they oppose the governor on this issue. That, in and of itself, is a HUGE accomplishment.

During more than six hours of testimony before a House committee, Republicans made it clear that their opposition to President Barack Obama’s health-care law trumps the Kasich administration’s stance that the expansion will save Ohio taxpayers $404 million over the next two years.

“Clearly, this is an unsustainable position for the federal government, and there will be a day of reckoning,” said Rep. Robert Sprague, R-Findlay. “We will either have higher tax rates as American citizens or our borrowing power will be reduced as a nation.”

The federal government's problems are a concern and I am pleased to hear that some state legislators understand that when the federal government is in trouble eventually those dilemmas will reach down to the state level.

But I think focusing too much on this is a trap that should be avoided. Expanding Medicaid while relying on federal taxpayer dollars to do it is BAD for Ohio, not good as Team Kasich suggests here:

Greg Moody, director of the Governor’s Office of Health Transformation, told the House Finance Committee that Kasich supports a balanced federal budget but that expanding Medicaid is a good deal for Ohio.

“Would I rather take the money and not spend it and drive down the deficit? Absolutely, but that’s not a choice,” Moody told lawmakers.

Under Obama’s health-care law, the federal government for three years would pay all costs to expand Medicaid to those with incomes up to 138 percent of the poverty level — about $23,000 a year for a family of four. The federal match decreases over the next several years to 90 percent of the cost.

The expansion would provide coverage to more low-income uninsured, allowing them to meet the requirement beginning in 2014 that most Americans have health insurance or face a penalty. In addition, it would free up local money for mental-health and addiction services, shift some state costs for prison health care to Medicaid and generate other savings.

Let's start with Moody's dodge. Of course, using that money to pay off some national debt isn't an option. Mentioning that here is simply a diversion from the issue at hand. Ohio can't afford even a 10% increase in spending on Medicaid even in the long term. We are just now beginning to see a recovery from the Taft and Strickland eras and we're going to risk that progress on some scheme from Obama? That just doesn't sound like a good play to me.

Moving on to the "politics as usual" portion of this article:

Moody said Kasich, like many of his fellow Republicans, opposes much of Obama’s Affordable Care Act, but he’s pushing to expand Medicaid because “it’s making the most of a hand we’ve been dealt."

the thing about most card games is that you also have the option of "passing" or "folding" until you get better odds. Team Kasich has a way of playing bad hands in worse situations and just hoping for the best. That simply won't do...

Here's more politics as usual:

“If we don’t do this, we are subsidizing other states,” said Rep. Mike Foley, D-Cleveland.

Moody concurred, noting that Ohioans pay taxes to the federal government that will finance Medicaid expansions in states that decide to increase program eligibility.

“If we don’t spend it, it’s not like that money will be saved. We are still paying it in our federal taxes,” he said. “The question is: Is the money coming back to Ohio, or is it going somewhere else?”

The 527 Media and low information voters might buy this argument, but it is NOT a reason to put your own state finances in jeopardy. Should we just do whatever California does? How about New York? Why not just abdicate the governance of our state to Illinois? This sort of thinking is just passing the buck. Ohio deserves better from its leaders.

But the truly insulting thing about this argument is that it is the same tired Washington DC thinking that we have heard from virtually every Congressman we've ever sent there. I am reminded of a local politician saying at a Tea Party rally that he was against pork, unless it was coming to his district because that money was going to be spent anyway. He didn't say it in those exact words, but the meaning was clear as day.

Fiscal responsibility begins at home, people.

Here is another position that I find lacking:

Rep. Gerald Stebelton, R-Lancaster, suggested that Ohio hold out to “negotiate a better deal” with the federal government.

“The best leverage we have with the federal government is to opt out.”

We don't want to deal with the federal government at all. All 88 counties in this state voted to reject all forms of Obamacare with the Health Care Freedom Amendment. Allowing a backdoor entry in to that dreaded program is not only unacceptable it is against our state's constitution.

But, if that is an argument that will sway a politician to vote NO, I'll take it for now.

The bottom line is this: Team Kasich is going to need every single Democrat vote in order to get this passed. What else will Team Kasich have to give Chris Redfern in order to make that happen?

The Medicaid expansion proposal should be removed from the budget and buried in whatever hole it originated never to be heard from again.

QOTD: Chris Redfern

Quote (PoliticsDaily):

"If Rob Portman wins Ohio as the trade representative for George Bush, it is, in fact, one of the seven signs that the world is coming to an end," Chris Redfern, chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, told Bloomberg News.

That is pathetic.  Of course, no liberal is going to criticize him for saying it let alone believing it.  Crap like this is why I loathe party politics.  These people, like Redfern and Kevin DeWine) have no grip on reality or what matters to real people.

You Can Always Count on Redfern for a Laugh

The Ohio RINOvich Party's saving grace: the Ohio Democratic Party and its chairman Chris Redfern.  Redfern actually says this to a reporter:

"The fact that Justices O'Connor and Lanzinger clearly made endorsements under the guise of not endorsing makes their behavior particularly reprehensible," Ohio Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern wrote in the complaint.

What a maroon, as Bugs would say...

ATHENS UPDATE: Gwinn & Co. Remain Defiant

Every time I get stunned at GOP arrogance, I have to remind myself that the Republicans are the amateurs on that particular stage. Ohio Democrats are the real professionals when it comes to tin eared, blatant hypocrisy and arrogance. The nerve of these people is amazing.

Yesterday, it was reported that Ohio Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern called the $5 a Vote scam a stupid scheme and asked for the resignation of the Athens County Chair, a woman already under indictment for other crimes in office. What do Athens County Democrats do? They double down...and call for Redfern's resignation.

Nate Nelson has that story at Nate, Uncensored.

ATHENS UPDATE: OU College Republicans Respond to Redfern

Release:

The Ohio University College Republicans applaud the statement of Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern regarding the current vote bounty controversy. Chairman Redfern stated: “The Ohio Democratic Party had no role in this stupid idea, and I urge Athens County Chairwoman Susan Gwinn to suspend the program immediately and not issue any payments that may have been planned. I call for a complete investigation and prosecution for any wrongdoing in this case.” The Ohio University College Republicans endorse Redfern’s call for embattled Athens County Chairwoman Susan Gwinn and the Ohio University College Democrats to suspend the program and conduct a full investigation into the matter.

Furthermore, in light of the recent revelations, the College Republicans are concerned about prior instances of this votes-for-cash bounty program. During the 2008 election in the 92nd Ohio House District, Republican candidate and Athens County Auditor Jill Thompson lost to the current representative Democrat Debbie Phillips by less than 600 votes. The College Republicans hope that a full investigation will reveal whether or not the College Democrats implemented a similar program during the 2008 election.

Christine Fahl, the candidate for Athens City Council 4th Ward who was to be the potential benefactor of the fraudulent votes, played a major role in Debbie Phillips’s 2008 campaign.

The Ohio University College Republicans will continue to meet, and ask for the involvement of, the university administration, local law enforcement, and state-wide election officials. In addition to the potential criminal acts, the OUCR’s believe that the College Democrats have violated the university’s Computer and Network Use policy, and will be filing charges with the judiciaries to that effect. It is the club’s hope that a thorough investigation of all these charges will help restore confidence in the sanctity of local elections.

OH Dem Chair Redfern Implies "If You Worked For GM, You Can't Run"

How else can you interpret Redfern's nonsense about John Kasich having worked for Lehman which went bankrupt AFTER Kasich left? I will also point out that Kasich did not work for the troubled department of Lehman that caused the financial troubles.

So...all you union guys who worked for GM...you know now how Chris Redfern and the Ohio Democratic Party feels about you. What are you going to do about it?

OH-07: Neuhardt's Ad Pulled

A couple of days ago Sharen Neuhardt released a web ad that said Steve Austria had been "bought and paid for by lobbyists." The ad showed the trademarked logos of numerous Ohio and national companies.

Yesterday, the Neuhardt campaign had to pull the ad from their website after several companies threatened legal action against Neuhardt for using their trademarked logo without permission.

Also, I hear that Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern had to make a call to the Neuhardt campaign and tell her to take the ad down.

How embarrassing...

A Strong Argument for DeWine: Viars is Against It

I've been rather lukewarm on the idea of Mike DeWine for Attorney General, but I may have just found a reason to root for him in the Toledo Blade:

Lori Viars of Lebanon, Ohio, the executive director of Family First, a conservative, Christian political action committee, said Republicans cannot afford to leave any of their traditional voters on the sidelines.

"We need the fresh face of a good person who's tough on crime and who's squeaky clean with not a lot of baggage," she said.

"If you look at the special congressional races run across the country, pro-life Democrats have beaten the Republicans three straight."

If Lori is against it, you can generally find me on the other side...

Who else is preaching the Lori Viars gospel? Chris Redfern...that's who. Intrepid reporter Josh Sweigart got this quote:

Rep. Chris Redfern, chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, said Democrats are still more trusted than Republicans by the general public. And he's ready to take on DeWine, who he says is the likely nominee.

"If there's anyone who represents the past and not the future, it's Mike DeWine," Redfern said. "His pitiful record in the Senate is one of the reasons why the voters threw him out a couple years ago."

You stay classy, Chris Redfern. Say, how is it we got in this mess in the first place? Oh yeah, Chris Redfern and his Democrats promised to run honest government in this state...and as usual, failed miserably.

Local Government Reform Mandated by State of Ohio Update

Previously on WMD, we talked about the proposal put forward by a Cuyahoga County Democrat and endorsed by the Republican Speaker of the Ohio House. The idea was to consolidate some positions and make them appointees rather than electeds. The Cleveland Plain Dealer has an update on their blog OPENERS:

Slipped in as an amendment to the state capital spending bill, which passed 94-2, the language would allow Cuyahoga County commissioners to put a government restructuring plan on the ballot as soon as November. A two-thirds vote of the commissioners would be needed to place the plan before voters. Whether that would happen remained in doubt Thursday.

The amendment applies only to counties with populations the size of Cuyahoga County, a restriction that had House Democrats, including Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern, upset.

Redfern, a state representative from Catabwa Island, offered an amendment in committee to apply the restructuring option everywhere. It was tabled Thursday morning on a party-line vote, with majority Republicans killing the idea to take it statewide.

"Some elected officials -- hold your breath -- are hiring supporters and relatives for jobs in Cuyahoga County. I'm not sure it's happening anywhere else in the nation, but it's happening in Cuyahoga County," Redfern said sarcastically when he offered the amendment Thursday morning.

"If we're going to point the self-righteous finger at some, we should point it at others," he said. The Democratic Party chief cited county government scandals in Butler County, a Republican-dominated area, as an example of how other counties could benefit from reforms.

Redfern is all smart about nepotism...which is NOT what this proposal was about. What the provision does is take the positions of Auditor, Recorder, and Treasurer in to a single position which would be appointed rather than elected. Also on the chopping block are the elected positions of Engineer, Coroner, and Sheriff...all of which would become appointees.

Now, remember, Redfern was all ticked off about nepotism, right?

That guy is an idiot.

Ohio Republicans finally got one right by blocking as much of this nonsense as possible. Read the OPENERS piece for more details...

Silliness From Lefties on Dann

Okay...as previously stated, I think the Ohio GOP ought to let the Ohio Dems off themselves on this whole Dann affair, but this nonsense from Jill regarding Kevin DeWine's comments is just whack!

Which just goes to show how mental the lefties in the Ohiosphere have become over this whole thing.

My advice to the lefties is to let Kevin DeWine dig his own holes too...

We can check in with the SOS office, but I'm pretty sure that the "politics as usual" mindset that has gripped Columbus is not affiliated with either party.

But the most irritating thing about the piece is that Jill excoriates DeWine while having nary a word to say on the silence of Chris Redfern. And that speaks volumes to me, man...

UPDATE 1: More silliness -- this time from Modern Esquire, who also can't manage to find a few pixels for Chris Redfern (Has ANYONE seen Chris Redfern???). Speaking from experience here, the hardest part about blogging on a scandal in your own party is avoiding the distraction of getting sidetracked to non-relevant issues. Who cares what Kevin DeWine thinks? If Ohio Democrats were smart, they'd thank Kevin DeWine for leaking their strategy and then counter it by taking aggressive action towards removing Dann. That is exactly what the Ohio GOP failed to do with Bob Taft and Bob Ney. Leave it the Ohio Dems to learn from the Ohio GOP's mistakes...