Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Way to Distance Yourself from the Republican Scandal, Dufus
From the Blade:
COLUMBUS - On the eve of what could be the pivotal week of his political career, Gov. Bob Taft said yesterday he's the one responsible for the "errors and omissions" of his ethics statements that have landed him on a collision course with prosecutors.
"I'm responsible for them, absolutely. It's my responsibility to file a correct report," Mr. Taft said yesterday after the annual livestock Sale of Champions at the Ohio State Fair.
The embattled governor, who returned during the weekend from a vacation to his family home in Quebec, is on the cusp of facing criminal charges for failing to report up to 60 golf outings on his state-required financial disclosure form. The Ohio Ethics Commission last week completed a report on Mr. Taft's case and is forwarding its findings to prosecutors.
Richard Pfeiffer, Columbus city attorney, said yesterday that his office this week will study the Ethics Commission's investigation and decide whether to file charges.
The governor yesterday declined to discuss whether the scandal could lead to his resignation.
"We are not going to talk about [that]," said Mr. Taft, who added that he did not know if his attorney was working on a plea agreement with prosecutors. "This process is still not complete; it's not finished. It wouldn't be proper to answer a number of those questions until the Ethics Commission provides its reports, and we provide the information to the public.
"And then, of course, we'll see what happens when the information goes over to the prosecutor," he said.
State law requires officeholders to disclose the source of gifts above $75. It's a first-degree misdemeanor to knowingly file a false ethics form, with a maximum penalty of six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
Jewel (below)! Could he be dressed more like Bush? Um, Taft - the Republican Party in Ohio is falling from grace and you decide to dress like the guy most associated with it - pure genius. Ohio farmers don't dress like cowboys, stupid. Could someone find him a John Deere trucker-style hat?
Sporting a white cowboy hat, Mr. Taft spent two hours at the Sale of Champions. He helped take bids on the champion meat chickens, hog, lamb, and steer; posed for several photographs, handed out belt buckles, and spent four minutes talking to reporters before an aide halted questions.
Interviews with several Ohioans attending the finale of the state fair on a muggy day under threatening clouds didn't reveal much support or sympathy for the governor.
Velma Johnson, who described herself as a political independent, said if Mr. Taft is charged and convicted of violating state ethics law - even if it's in a no-contest plea in which he does not admit guilt - he should resign.
"I think if he is convicted of a crime, he should go to jail like an ordinary person,'' said Ms. Johnson, a 55-year-old assistant grocery store manager who lives in Trotwood, which is west of Dayton. "Just because he's governor doesn't make him special, not to me."
Standing outside the state fair building named after Richard Celeste, Ohio's last Democratic governor, Mike Short said he believes Mr. Taft's admission that he failed to disclose golf outings could be the "tip of the iceberg."
The key issues are who paid for Mr. Taft's golf outings that were not disclosed, what they and their companies wanted from the governor, and whether investigators have dug deeply enough into those questions, said Mr. Short, a 57-year-old sales representative and Republican who lives in the Columbus suburb of Dublin.
"If it comes down to where he had shown favoritism to those businesses that he played golf with, then I think there's an ethical problem there. They need to look deeper into that. If somebody is massaging him and they want to get into some business deal with the state for their betterment, that's totally wrong,'' Mr. Short said.
"I think he's betrayed the state. If his mission is to take care of the people, and generate business and income for the state, he's gone about it the wrong way,'' Mr. Short said.
If Mr. Taft wouldn't step down, then the legislature should remove him from office, said Mr. Short, who called on the governor to "divulge his activities."
Mr. Taft said full disclosure of the golf outings that were left off his disclosure statements will take place after the Ethics Commission files its report. In response to a public records request, Mr. Taft's office put out information on about 25 golf outings he has participated in since he took office in 1999 - but the records did not show who paid for his time on the links.
The outings included a round of golf with former Toledo-area coin dealer Tom Noe. Mr. Noe, who is facing multiple investigations, managed a $50 million rare-coin investment for the state, and Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro has accused him of stealing millions of dollars from the funds.
Mark Weaver, a Republican strategist, said during a telephone interview Friday that Mr. Taft must continue governing the state as the Ethics Commission process plays out.
"The governor is the governor through January, 2007," said Mark Weaver, a Republican strategist. "Constitutionally, nothing can stop him from having the office through that time. He needs to continue to govern and make decisions and manage the state. This will obviously be a continuing distraction for him."
If Mr. Taft hoped his participation in the Sale of Champions would provide a respite to the controversy over the golf outings and the Bureau of Workers' Compensation scandal, it wasn't working with Jim Borchers.
Jewel (below)! Isn't Rhodes another stupid Republican...the guy who ordered the Ohio National Guard to shoot hippie kids at Kent State? Ha ha ha...I guess enjoying the state fair is the biggest factor one should look at when evaluating a politician's performance in office.
Mr. Borchers, who raises horses in Delaware County north of Columbus, said he had fond childhood memories of Gov. Jim Rhodes attending the state fair.
"This guy is putting on a fraudulent act,'' Mr. Borchers said, referring to Mr. Taft in his white cowboy hat, white shirt, and blue pants. "He's here, but Rhodes really enjoyed it."
COLUMBUS - On the eve of what could be the pivotal week of his political career, Gov. Bob Taft said yesterday he's the one responsible for the "errors and omissions" of his ethics statements that have landed him on a collision course with prosecutors.
"I'm responsible for them, absolutely. It's my responsibility to file a correct report," Mr. Taft said yesterday after the annual livestock Sale of Champions at the Ohio State Fair.
The embattled governor, who returned during the weekend from a vacation to his family home in Quebec, is on the cusp of facing criminal charges for failing to report up to 60 golf outings on his state-required financial disclosure form. The Ohio Ethics Commission last week completed a report on Mr. Taft's case and is forwarding its findings to prosecutors.
Richard Pfeiffer, Columbus city attorney, said yesterday that his office this week will study the Ethics Commission's investigation and decide whether to file charges.
The governor yesterday declined to discuss whether the scandal could lead to his resignation.
"We are not going to talk about [that]," said Mr. Taft, who added that he did not know if his attorney was working on a plea agreement with prosecutors. "This process is still not complete; it's not finished. It wouldn't be proper to answer a number of those questions until the Ethics Commission provides its reports, and we provide the information to the public.
"And then, of course, we'll see what happens when the information goes over to the prosecutor," he said.
State law requires officeholders to disclose the source of gifts above $75. It's a first-degree misdemeanor to knowingly file a false ethics form, with a maximum penalty of six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
Jewel (below)! Could he be dressed more like Bush? Um, Taft - the Republican Party in Ohio is falling from grace and you decide to dress like the guy most associated with it - pure genius. Ohio farmers don't dress like cowboys, stupid. Could someone find him a John Deere trucker-style hat?
Sporting a white cowboy hat, Mr. Taft spent two hours at the Sale of Champions. He helped take bids on the champion meat chickens, hog, lamb, and steer; posed for several photographs, handed out belt buckles, and spent four minutes talking to reporters before an aide halted questions.
Interviews with several Ohioans attending the finale of the state fair on a muggy day under threatening clouds didn't reveal much support or sympathy for the governor.
Velma Johnson, who described herself as a political independent, said if Mr. Taft is charged and convicted of violating state ethics law - even if it's in a no-contest plea in which he does not admit guilt - he should resign.
"I think if he is convicted of a crime, he should go to jail like an ordinary person,'' said Ms. Johnson, a 55-year-old assistant grocery store manager who lives in Trotwood, which is west of Dayton. "Just because he's governor doesn't make him special, not to me."
Standing outside the state fair building named after Richard Celeste, Ohio's last Democratic governor, Mike Short said he believes Mr. Taft's admission that he failed to disclose golf outings could be the "tip of the iceberg."
The key issues are who paid for Mr. Taft's golf outings that were not disclosed, what they and their companies wanted from the governor, and whether investigators have dug deeply enough into those questions, said Mr. Short, a 57-year-old sales representative and Republican who lives in the Columbus suburb of Dublin.
"If it comes down to where he had shown favoritism to those businesses that he played golf with, then I think there's an ethical problem there. They need to look deeper into that. If somebody is massaging him and they want to get into some business deal with the state for their betterment, that's totally wrong,'' Mr. Short said.
"I think he's betrayed the state. If his mission is to take care of the people, and generate business and income for the state, he's gone about it the wrong way,'' Mr. Short said.
If Mr. Taft wouldn't step down, then the legislature should remove him from office, said Mr. Short, who called on the governor to "divulge his activities."
Mr. Taft said full disclosure of the golf outings that were left off his disclosure statements will take place after the Ethics Commission files its report. In response to a public records request, Mr. Taft's office put out information on about 25 golf outings he has participated in since he took office in 1999 - but the records did not show who paid for his time on the links.
The outings included a round of golf with former Toledo-area coin dealer Tom Noe. Mr. Noe, who is facing multiple investigations, managed a $50 million rare-coin investment for the state, and Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro has accused him of stealing millions of dollars from the funds.
Mark Weaver, a Republican strategist, said during a telephone interview Friday that Mr. Taft must continue governing the state as the Ethics Commission process plays out.
"The governor is the governor through January, 2007," said Mark Weaver, a Republican strategist. "Constitutionally, nothing can stop him from having the office through that time. He needs to continue to govern and make decisions and manage the state. This will obviously be a continuing distraction for him."
If Mr. Taft hoped his participation in the Sale of Champions would provide a respite to the controversy over the golf outings and the Bureau of Workers' Compensation scandal, it wasn't working with Jim Borchers.
Jewel (below)! Isn't Rhodes another stupid Republican...the guy who ordered the Ohio National Guard to shoot hippie kids at Kent State? Ha ha ha...I guess enjoying the state fair is the biggest factor one should look at when evaluating a politician's performance in office.
Mr. Borchers, who raises horses in Delaware County north of Columbus, said he had fond childhood memories of Gov. Jim Rhodes attending the state fair.
"This guy is putting on a fraudulent act,'' Mr. Borchers said, referring to Mr. Taft in his white cowboy hat, white shirt, and blue pants. "He's here, but Rhodes really enjoyed it."
