(Ohio - Taft) Democrats not seeking to impeach

[salin]

Democrats not seeking to impeach

But Taft could still be forced out by new disclosures, both parties say
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Sandy Theis
Plain Dealer Bureau Chief


Columbus -Democrats stopped short of calling for the impeachment of Gov. Bob Taft on Tuesday, but they drafted articles of impeachment - just in case.

After last week's conviction on ethics charges, Taft continues to brush off suggestions that he should step down before his term ends in January 2007, but members of both parties wonder whether new information will surface that could force him out sooner.

Much of the anticipation centers on coin dealer Tom Noe's assertion that Taft lied when he said he did not learn until last April that the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation had hired Noe in 2001 to invest some of its money. The bureau eventually allowed Noe to invest $50 million, and Noe's lawyer has said that up to $13 million of the investment cannot be accounted for.

more: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1124876131164630.xml&coll=2&thispage=1

Meanwhile on the "Taft claimed he never knew about Noe's coin fund until the story broke in the Blade vs. Noe's "take that claim back.. or else..." front comes this item. Note the article tile - then its subtitle.

BWC SCANDAL
Taft still denies prior knowledge of coin funds
But Noe's lawyer demands a correction - or else


By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK and JAMES DREW
BLADE STAFF WRITERS


MIDVALE, Ohio — In Gov. Bob Taft’s first public appearance since his criminal conviction on ethics violations, he refused yesterday to answer questions about his relationship with Tom Noe or recant statements he made last week that the Republican fund-raiser “ worked hard to conceal” his $50 million state-funded rare coin venture.

--snip--

Mr. Noe’s attorney, William Wilkinson, as he did last week, said last night that the governor must correct his statement about the coin dealer’s “concealment” or his client will “help people to understand that it was incorrect.”

“The governor is, to my knowledge, the only person on the planet that has even suggested that Tom Noe concealed his association with the coin funds,” Mr. Wilkinson said. “I have been in contact with each of the 13 government agencies involved and nobody has ever raised such an implausible question.”

more: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050823/NEWS24/50823001/-1/NEWS

[liberal N proud]

1. What is wrong with the Democratic Party.

In Ohio and across the country,
Spineless, they are all spineless.

[Maeve]

4. For what it's worth...let him twist in the wind

If we kick him out now, the Republicans get a new governor, fresh start and a year until the election to be "reformers" and clean up their act. Leave him in office and he's an albatross around their necks, a reminder what a one-party government is really like.

[salin]

6. hi Maeve!

I am on the same page as you!

[belle]

18. yup.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

10. A "new" governor...

gets all the perks that come with incumbency. And leaving Taft where he is allows Democrats to rail against the "culture of corruption" in Columbus, a culture that includes every potential Republican candidate for Taft's job. Keep him where he is as the poster boy for Republican corruption.

[mom cat]

17. And perhaps start asking questions about election fraud!

[bleedingheart]

13. agreed, give them enough rope to really hang themselves with...

[salin]

5. I disagree

on this one I think they are playing it smart.

Take him out for this - it will be read as just about golf games by the public - AND when the real corruption comes spilling out of the BWC investigations - the public can think: "Taft's gone so problem is cleared up."

Better to have him sitting as Gov - as the focal point for the outrage at the REAL corruption (way more than golf games) and let the outrage build and spread beyond him - that is the kind of public outrage that tips elections beyond a single office (eg effects my vote on other levels of the ballot, not just the governor.)

[Hawkeye-X]

11. Eh. They're not spineless.

They're showing Ohioans the fuckwittage of the Governor and the Republican Party in general, therefore, waking the koolaid drinkers up and getting the corruption out. Therefore, Blackwell is doomed, and will not be able to win, and DeWine will not be able to win and 90% of the R's will not be able to win.

[JesterCS]

2. Hey only

as 5 more months.... why waste millions for 5 months.

[Robeson]

3. Wow, once again, we've shown that we are some badass Mo Fo's...

...we've got the Republicans so scared, I'll bet they'll play nice with us now.....:rofl:

[CubsFan1982]

15. Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees.

Don't you get how much of a windfall it would be for the Ohio Democratic Party to have Taft remain in office? Like people have said before, it gives us an issue, and a big one, to run on: "Look at that corrupt Republican governor sitting up there in Columbus".

If you want a Democratic governor and a Democratic state legislature, not to mention a Democratic US Senator and more Democrats in the House delegation, you want this big, fat, 800 lb gorilla still sitting on the Republicans' shoulders.

[cmd]

7. I'm from Ohio and I say keep him

He is totally harmless and worthless where he is. The republicans do not have the governorship any more. If we would impeach him, they would get a new republican governor. With Taft in office, we can point out that he has been convicted of a crime at every opportunity.

Edit: this should have been a reply to post 1. my error.

[Kukesa]

16. And this Buckeye agrees with you. n/t

[Massacure]

8. "but they drafted articles of impeachment - just in case. "

I guess they are expecting the little coin scandal to go right up to Tafts doorstep, eh?

[OzarkDem]

14. Exactly, don't rule impeachment out

Dems are preparing for impeachment, but waiting for the right time.
They have to be careful to avoid letting the R's make Taft the fall guy.

[johnnie]

9. They are doing the right thing.

Taft is the worse governor this state has ever seen and it should help us in the next election.
The thing is... any Ohio citizen can file impeachment papers on him. Maybe someone will do it.

[mackdaddy]

12. Taft is a side issue in Ohio Political Dirt

I believe that Taft, although Governor, is not a central figure in the real power and corruption in Ohio politics. And all of the real political power in this state has been neocon republican for decades now.

Taft has been a great diversion to draw the light away from where the real dirt and behind the scenes political manipulation has been occurring. The dirt on these true insiders has been slipping out some such as the Tom Noe Coin-gate, The Quarter Billion BWC investment loss scandal, and the Abramoff- Bob Ney connections. I believe that there is a lot more Karl Rove style dirt where this came from.

Taft is a lame duck, and has a lower approval rate that even Bush. He has no political future. Democrats going after him any more will not help the Dems, will not hurt the Repukes, and may put them in a much stronger positron for the next election. The repubs may have put him out there on these minor charges to prove how much the policial corruption had been "handled".

I am not thrilled by the Democratic Party in this state (or nationally, I volunteered with the Greens for the recount!) but there are better targets to go after. Blackwell for one, really needs to be marginalized or he could end up Governor.