State of the Union

Statement on Fisher, Brunner Senate candidacies

(Columbus) - Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine issued the following statement today regarding the announced U.S. Senate candidacies of Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner:

"I can't think of two more unimpressive candidates than Lee Fisher and Jennifer Brunner.  Mr. Fisher brings to the table a dismal record of accomplishment as Ohio's lieutenant governor.  He was hired with the sole responsibility of creating jobs and helping to turn around Ohio's economy, yet in two short years he's managed to preside over the state's largest economic downturn in a generation.  

Jennifer Brunner offers nothing more than a widely criticized record of rabid partisanship and poor judgment.  She represents the kind of politics that her own party's standard bearer promised to change in Washington.  It's fitting that she wants to go to Capitol Hill just as her Democratic colleagues are preparing to shower millions of taxpayer dollars on her election fraud cronies at ACORN.  Brunner's excessive waste of taxpayer dollars to fund the radical agenda of a far-left band of election conspiracy theorists should fit right in with a Senate that knows no excess.

Ohioans want a leader who's respected on both sides of the political aisle and who offers a record of leadership on the economic issues impacting our state every day.  They want a senator with experience who understands our greatest economic challenges and knows what needs to be done to meet them head on.  Neither Lee Fisher nor Jennifer Brunner can offer those skills, but I'm confident that we will provide a candidate in November of 2010 who can."

Letting the power go to their heads

The Toledo Blade unloads on Attorney General Marc Dann today for his foul-mouthed tirade at a reporter who dared to uncover Dann's attempt to use his office as a "friends and family" plan.  Here are the highlights:

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann made headlines for behaving like a jerk recently, yelling an obscenity at a newspaper reporter from Warren. That was bad enough. But what may be worse is that state Democrats just don't seem to understand how important it is that their officeholders not only do what is right but also avoid any appearance of impropriety.

What he said outside a fund-raiser for Barack Obama is too crude to print in a family newspaper and it embarrassed the state.  But the deeper problem is the attorney general's failure to understand that he needs to avoid any appearance of nepotism.

Then after taking a shot at Jennifer Brunner for hiring Dann's relative, the Blade goes after Lee Fisher:

Yet scarcely six months after the Democrats won the mid-term elections, they are letting the power go to their heads. We've heard about Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman's wife, Frankie Coleman, landing a job in the Department of Development. She may have been qualified for the job, but her political connections are what put Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher on the spot explaining the hours she claimed to work, but didn't.

Lee Fisher, Marc Dann and Jennifer Brunner have become symbols of the political arrogance and corruption they once condemned.  Their days are numbered.  Politically, of course.  No need to buy everyone a $3700 home security system.

Can you believe anything Lee Fisher says?

According to Columbus Monthly, Ohio's lieutenant governor frequently lies to the audience when giving speeches and allows reporters to print the lies as fact.

In a pathetically deceptive effort to get a laugh, Lee Fisher often tells "an eleborate story" about going to the wrong location and delivering the wrong speech to a fictious group.  The problem is he never tells anyone he's joking, so the audience believes it: 

It's a great story - too great.  Insider called Fisher's spokeswoman, Kelly Hassett, to find out more about the goof and learned that the Wexner group had been punked.  "It's a joke," she says.  The lieutenant governor frequently tells the tall tale - there is no Ohio Pesticide Association - to "highlight that politicians need to be flexible," Hassett says. 

In January, Fisher also was being flexible in suburban Cleveland by telling a similar story to a group promoting trade with Israel.  Plain Dealer business reporter Mary Vanac reported it as fact and, a day later, the PD retracted the story.

So what else is Lee Fisher lying about (excuse us, "joking" about) when he speaks?  Not only is he a questionable manager who creates phony government jobs for friends who don't show up for work, but you apparently can't trust anything the guy says.

Partisan Prosecution

The Columbus Dispatch weighs in today on the question of why the Fisher-Coleman investigation was referred to the Columbus City Attorney (who can only prosecute misdemeanors) rather than the Franklin County Prosecutor (who can pursue felony perjury charges). 

Interesting to note that the case is now in the hands of City Attorney Richard Pfeiffer, a political ally and friend of Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman (Frankie Coleman's husband).  Conflict?  Maybe.  Pfeiffer also represents Mayor Coleman legally.  Another conflict?  Maybe.

City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr. balked at the idea that his office shouldn't handle the case, which was referred to him by Inspector General Thomas P. Charles. 

"We don't determine to prosecute or not prosecute based on someone's political affiliation," Pfeiffer said.  "We represent the mayor. We don't represent Frankie Coleman."

Chief Prosecutor Lara Baker, who is reviewing Mrs. Coleman's case, said she helped prosecute former Gov. Bob Taft in 2005 and can prosecute the mayor's wife if necessary. Taft is a Republican.

Baker, of course, is also a staunch Democrat.  No one's suggesting prosecutors can't handle cases involving political allies, but it certainly raises questions about a potential conflict of interest when a case against the mayor's wife is being prosecuted by the mayor's attorney.

Fundraiser of the Week

Hmm.  How convenient.  Ted Strickland and Mike Coleman are having a fundraiser tomorrow night.  Oh, to be a fly on the wall at that fun little gathering.

Bludgeoning...

Not sure "bludgeoning" is accurate, but it is what it is:

Republican officials used the inspector general's report as a blunt instrument against Fisher, bludgeoning him for possibly elevating friendship above tax dollars by hiring Mrs. Coleman, whose problems with alcohol seemed obvious to many others.

"What I read in that report is a classic case of cronyism, a classic case of theft in office and a classic case of essentially turning a blind eye to a problem that everyone else seemed to see the signs of, except Lee Fisher," said state Rep. Kevin DeWine, deputy chairman of the Ohio Republican Party.

State GOP Chairman Robert T. Bennett said in a statement that Fisher's decision to give Mrs. Coleman a job "raise(s) serious questions about his ability to staff and supervise a critical state agency."

The episode handed the GOP an opportunity to question Fisher's judgment and managerial acumen, and to sheath those issues for use against him in future campaigns. (Dispatch)