GOP Leader Tom DeLay Indicted; Steps Down

The News-Herald has the story:

WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was indicted by a Texas grand jury Wednesday on a charge of conspiring to violate political fund-raising laws, forcing him to temporarily step aside from his GOP post. He is the highest-ranking member of Congress to face criminal prosecution. [...]

DeLay, 58, was indicted on a single felony count of conspiring with two political associates. [...] The indictment stems from a plan DeLay helped set in motion in 2001 to help Republicans win control of the Texas House in the 2002 elections for the first time since reconstruction.

The grand jury accused the men of conspiring to route corporate donations from DeLay's Texas committee to the Republican Party in Washington, then returning the money back to Texas legislative candidates. It was a scheme intended to evade a state law outlawing corporate donations going to candidates, the indictment said.

When will the corruption end?

Coingate: The Crux of the Issue

Today's Toledo Blade features an article about Pay-To-Play politics that highlights the differences between Democrats and the current Republican leadership. The Blade writes:

COLUMBUS - Democratic lawmakers plan to introduce legislation to combat what they call pay-to-play" in state government.

State Sen. Marc Dann of suburban Youngstown said he is working with fellow Democrats on a "government reform package" that would ban employees of firms with state contracts from contributing to the officeholder who awards those contracts. [...]

The Blade reported Sunday that dozens of engineering and consulting firms that work for the Ohio Department of Transportation have contributed more than $1 million to mostly GOP politicians, political parties, and political action committees over the last decade. [...]

In the past five years, those firms have received more than $400 million in ODOT contracts.

Democrats see the scandals involving pay-to-play politics and seek to make laws to prevent such abuse in the future. What do the current Republicans have to say on the issue?

"The problem is no matter how you write the rules, people find more tenuous ways to get around them," said state Sen. Jeff Jacobson (R., Dayton).

One party wants to put an end to pay-to-play politics. Another is satisfied to continue with the current corrupt state of affairs.

PD: LaTourette fundraiser to cash in CAFTA vote

The PD's Stephen Koff has the story:

Washington- U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette's last-minute flip-flop on the Central American Free Trade Agreement has caused no shortage of embarrassment.

But the Lake County Republican may be getting something for his trouble.

Tonight, U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman, President Bush's chief emissary on CAFTA, will co-host a political fund- raiser for LaTourette. Donors who put up $500 to $2,500 to see Portman at the Capitol Hill Club will be benefiting LaTourette's political treasury. [...]

LaTourette, of Concord Township, voted for CAFTA in July after telling people that he was against the trade pact. He said he changed his mind after being contacted by Kraftmaid, the Geauga County-based cabinet maker, and being told that passing CAFTA was necessary to eliminate costly tariffs and preserve company jobs.

But The Plain Dealer revealed that those tariffs were already exempt under other trade rules, making it impossible for Kraftmaid's jobs to be at risk. [...]

Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, called the LaTourette fund-raiser "a corporate CAFTA payoff party, a block from the U.S. Capitol."

News-Herald: Scandal Clouds Petro's Future

Sunday's News-Herald featured an editorial scolding the poor performance of Jim Petro:

Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro's political aspirations to be governor are sinking with his slow response to problems at the state Bureau of Workers' Compensation. Twin scandals at the [Bureau of Workers Compensation] deserved his undivided attention long before Ohioans knew who Tom Noe was.

Additionally, recent letters from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission state the SEC told Petro in March 2004 about "possible abuse in discretion" by the bureau for paying commissions to three brokers since at least 2002. This was more than one year before the BWC investments scandal was known.

Noe, of Maumee, is the Republican fund-raiser who was given $50 million from the bureau to invest in rare coins. The fund lost $13 million and Petro's office is leading the investigation of Noe. Compounding this financial crisis, it was learned just weeks later that MDL Capital Management of Pittsburgh lost $215 million on high-risk investments.

Petro's duties compel him to serve as our watchdog over legal matters involving state government. If there's even a hint that something is wrong, it's time to get answers.The SEC information should have initiated a deeper probe to learn how big the fire was where this smoke billowed.

The concern about Petro's response isn't that he didn't do this job. The problem is he didn't display the required level of vigilance when he had an opportunity to peel the lid off this scandal. [...]

Jim Petro has forgotten what his job is: He's the people's lawyer first," said state Sen. Marc Dann, D-Liberty Township.

Meet Mike Coleman

In February, Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman announced his candidacy for governor. A city councilman before being elected mayor in 1999, Coleman has served in public office for 13 years. During his tenure, he has been a strong advocate for fiscal discipline.

Coleman explains:

As Mayor of Ohio's largest city, I understand the challenge of allocating
scarce resources and still getting the job done...

We made the tough decisions... cutting $190 million from budgets... protecting
basic neighborhood services... and still hiring more Police Officers and Fire
fighters... during a time of national economic recession... the worst since the
Great Depression.

Coleman has aligned himself with the Democratic Leadership Council, a moderate pro-business group of Democrats.

In an address to the DLC, Coleman declared:

Sometimes leadership means putting politics aside and reaching out even to those
on the other side of the aisle. For example, today I am offering to help a
struggling Ohio Governor and a Republican-controlled legislature to forge a
bipartisan solution to a jobs-and-technology effort called the Third Frontier.
I'm doing so because it is good for the state, for our citizens and the future
of jobs and economic development for our state. That's what leaders do.

Coleman is very familiar with the needs of people from around Ohio. He was born and raised in Toledo, attended college in Cincinnati, went to law school in Dayton, and has made his home in Columbus.

Why is Coleman running?

Coleman answers:

For more than a decade we have watched the musical chairs of the current
statewide office holders, scheming and plotting to be governor rather than doing
their jobs. They have put ambition about the mission.

Hope and ambition should reside in the hearts of our citizens, not in the
failed leadership of those who want to serve only because they believe we owe
them the governor's office just because they are next in line. [...]

I don't just want to hold the job of Governor... I want to DO the job!

To learn more about Mike Coleman or to get involved with his campaign, visit his website at http://www.colemanforohio2006.com/

For a profile of Congressman Ted Strickland, the other Democratic candidate for governor, click here.