While we’ve all recently pointed out that Kansas may well be the kookiest state in our lovely union, we would hate to shortchange to political machine in Ohio by forgetting to report that it is undoubtedly the most corrupt. For those keeping score, Florida is a nice mixture of both elements.
But let’s focus on Ohio for now, shall we? Of course the most important scandal in recent Ohio history was the tampering of votes in the 2004 elections. The Secretary of State (you know, the guy who is in charge of making sure elections are fair and unbiased) for this race was Kenneth Blackwell, who also happened to be the chairperson of George Bush’s re-election campaign in the state. The result? Easily manipulated voting machines with no paper trails, suppression of minority votes, misinformation campaigns that went unchecked, redistributions of voting machines away from Democratic districts that ensured thousands of votes from not getting cast, nullifying mail-in ballots as being printed on the wrong weight of paper (these same ballots were distributed by Blackwell’s office), and of course the wide distribution of “provisional” ballots to voters waiting in long lines, many of which were systematically thrown away without being counted.
Now we have a new reason to feel shame for Ohio – and her name is Jean Schmidt. Jean is running in a special election for a vacant House seat in Ohio’s 2nd district. One would think that she would have no problem getting in, since she’s a card-carrying member of the nutty right in a district that hasn’t voted Democrat in 30 years. This district is so conservative that even Kenneth Blackwell decided that it didn’t need any fraud or tampering in 2004 – and that’s saying something.
I Never Thought I'd Say This -
"She Makes Katherine Harris Look Hot" However, it looks like Jean has hit a bit of a snag. Her opponent is Paul Hackett, a Marine Major who just got back from a 7-month stint over in Iraq. If elected, he would be the first Iraq War veteran elected to Congress. His background is spotless, and he tends to lean Libertarian in many of his views. Of course, due to his biography and service record, he appears to be immune from the typical character assassinations that have plagued so many Democrats in recent election cycles.
None of this has stopped Jean Schmidt. A concerted effort on behalf of the GOP has been instigated to destroy the character of Hackett in this short Special Election season. The right wing echo-chamber has gone all out to sully his name in much the same manner as the Swift Boat Veterans did to John Kerry. Local media personalities are saying things like Hackett is using his military experience for political purposes. Well, duh!! So hasn’t every other veteran who ran for office – it’s the same thing as using any part of your resume’ to show why you’re qualified to hold public office.
Conservative radio hosts are letting callers on the air that spread rumors that Hackett wasn’t even a Marine Corps Major in Iraq without questioning it. They have also speculated that Hackett’s plan all along was to go to Iraq so that he could use it to run for office later on. Automatic phone dialings have also been made to thousands of voters attacking Hackett’s values and motives for service. So much for having the ability to run on your own platform and convictions, eh? Way to support the troops, GOP!
Schmidt herself has even gotten into the act, claiming during a recent debate that “There is a clear difference between my opponent and myself on moral issues”.
Well on this, we couldn’t agree more, baby.
Here’s a short list of the ethical problems linked with our new favorite candidate:
Her campaign has happily accepted a $10,000 contribution from Tom Delay’s ethically challenged political action committee, ARMPAC. Why not learn morality and finance your campaign from the GOP Zen-master, right kids?
Her media strategist (who has been paid at least $60,000 since May 16) used to work at a major Ohio newspaper. There is evidence to suggest that he had advance knowledge of the now-famous “Coin-gate” scandal that is plaguing Ohio government, and chose not to report it.
While a member of the state legislature, Jean lobbied vigorously to the Governor’s office on behalf of Roger Ach, a businessman who wanted a law passed that would allow the state lottery to be played online through his internet business. While she claims to have no recollection of her efforts, a gubernatorial staff member issued an email in 2001 stating that Schmidt “continues to bug me on the internet lottery”, indicating she had contacted him at least several times. Soon after, Schmidt received a $1,000 campaign contribution from Ach.
While running on a campaign of “family values”, Schmidt’s campaign manager Joe Braun recently inadvertently revealed that he was using his campaign e-mail account for a personal profile to advertise his services on a sadism and masochism website. Braun apparently offered his wares to submissive women, and said that: “I am an experienced Dom seeking a Sub for long term exploration and training”. He also lists as his interests “collar and cuffs”, “wax play”, “medical exams”, and “single tails” (whatever that is). Add “lip service” to that list when referencing it against the term “family values”, please.
Finally, last October, Jean and her daughter were treated to a gourmet dinner and luxury box seats to a Cincinnati Bengals game at the expense of a biotech lobbyist. The lobbying group used the occasion to stress their support of a pending bill in the Ohio legislature. Jean was so happy with her treatment that not only did she support the bill, she co-sponsored it.
But that isn’t the whole story – Ohio law states that legislators like Jean are required to report any gifts received valued over $75. Jean claimed that she had no idea that the entire evening amounted to a $75 price tag. Either she’s a giant liar (which is true), or she’s a complete idiot (jury’s still out on this one). After a bit of research, it was estimated that the cost Jean’s vote was $633 – more than 8.5 times the $75 limit.
To put it in perspective for you, this would be like trying to sell you a new Hummer (we’re talking the vehicle here, folks) for about $6,000, when the retail value is really worth about $52,000. You’d be pretty stupid to think you weren’t getting a screaming deal, right? Come to think of it, even if you were offered a hummer (the act), it would likely still set you back more than the $75 allowable under Ohio Law. Either way, I doubt you’d want either of these examples to come under an official public ethics investigation. Luckily for us, Jean’s only being scrutinized for free food and football.
So while voters in Ohio are heading off to the polls – wish them well in their difficult decision. After all – it must be tough to live in a 70% Republican district and vote for an ethically corrupt campaign over that of a squeaky-clean Iraq War veteran, especially when you’ve got that “Support the Troops” ribbon on your bumper.
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