Enjoying Week's End

Been an interesting week and fun to read the give-and-take with mostly anonymous and a handful of others on my post to spin us for NewsNight Akron...too bad we didn't get to the local GOP shenanigans during last week's show. I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunity to do so next month when the financial reports start hitting.

I am struck by the vituperative nature of the comments in general local Republicans toss into the mix; personalities notwithstanding it is amusing and, if you're like my friend Ben Keeler who exhibits pain on a GOP loss, maybe a little sad to watch the knife fight while the political world around the combatants goes to hell in a hand basket. It's been instructive.

Here's my advice for what it's worth to the anti-Alex crowd: put your shoulder into the job of taking over the party apparatus or making it irrelevant. The crying game on how much of a loser the Arshinkoff wing is lacks any punch when you can't even get a full slate of your own candidates to step up to the plate during committee meetings. Stop hiding behind anonymous, for example -- use your names, be proud of your opinion and put some work into the change you want. You won't beat Arshinkoff by showing his weakness; you can beat Arshinkoff by showing fellow Republicans you have what it takes to win. Raise your own money; form your own political alliance and act like adults who have a vision instead of sore losers.

My advice to Alex: at some point these folks will figure it out and find enough allies to actually build a winning organization capable of showing you the door instead of just talking about it. When the GOP ruled Washington and Columbus life was good because you got your phone calls returned and your voice was heard. Figure the land of 202 is pretty much out of reach now, at least for the next eight years as far as the White House and executive branch is concerned. Based on the performance of the back-stabbers in the McCain-Palin campaign and the inability of Congressional back-benchers to get their message out in a timely manner I wouldn't be very hopeful about Capitol Hill, either.

As for Columbus, mid-term elections tend to be fertile ground for the loyal opposition but the GOP just lost control of the state House, leaving only the state Senate and Auditor Mary Taylor the stalwarts to spread the word after a generation of full-bore rule at High and Broad. The only chance to get a shot at taking back any of the offices you lost in 2006 and 2008 is to start playing as a team (just as Democrats did in Ohio two years ago and nationwide this year) with an eye toward doing something you took for granted: winning. Now's the time to re-evaluate the Rove tactics that worked and the Obama strategies that paid off, and figuring how to apply those rules so you too can have effective campaigns. No politician is unbeatable, but if you don't have the team ready to rumble the other side will get a free pass.

In the meantime, I'm home recovering from knee surgery. I thought today would be a total loss, forced to RICE (Relax, Ice, Compression and Exercise according to my surgeon) on the sofa with laptop and TV my only companions. Thankfully, the program lords at the SciFi Channel decided to have a mini-marathon of James Cameron's Dark Angel series with Jessica Alba (at left) playing the cat-like engineered soldier fighting a big corporate giant behind most of the evil in the world. No Alex in this show and the only Kevin was my buddy in Nashville who thanked me for the midday call to alert him our favorite show was on. I could say it's because I love science fiction and fantasy and think these programs are entertaining...but that would be wrong.

4-3 Still A Win For GOP

The Arshinkoff-bashers will be churning over today's ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court with a split decision on issues raised by the Summit County Board of Elections musical chairs that left the longtime party chair in the cold -- just not on the sidelines as his opponents were hoping.

The ruling (here in .pdf form) isn't exactly the overwhelming endorsement for either side, but it is pretty clear even those in dissent seem to have been taken aback by the level of partisan participation Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner based her decision on when she yanked Arshinkoff from his seat on the BOE, then refused to seat the local party's hand-picked replacement. One could smell this kind of decision coming when the Court ruled earlier this year that her video deposition in this case, no matter how unseemly, would be fair game for the media and political watchers.

In point of fact, it gave Arshinkoff and his supporters exactly the kind of boost they needed when he marshaled his troops and turned aside the effort of Varian and State Senator Kevin Coughlin to give him the boot. As I noted in our earlier coverage on AkronNewsNow, one delegate to the Tangier Tango even thought Democrat party boss Wayne Jones was on the GOP ballot. He was there to vote against Jones; in a way, he did.

The establishment GOP'ers didn't get everything they wanted; they DO get Brian Daley on the local board, where he can establish his own credentials for Brunner to fume over rather than depend on Jones' hand-picked hit piece hand-delivered in "anonymous" fashion by one of Brunner's own representatives. The GOP does NOT get to turn back the clock on the seven firings that came immediately following Varian's ascension to the seat he's now been denied as the Supremes rule he was acting with the power of the law, even though he shouldn't have been there.

The forecast for the Board of Elections: Bryan Williams remains as Deputy Director without the shadow of Varian's vote with the Jones Gang to dump him. Expect more musical chairs in the ranks as Summit County's in-power Republicans work to re-establish their turf back in the BOE (which is exactly what the Varian-led reformers were doing when they started moving chairs) because those jobs are considered plum political patronage.

Expect more yowling among the various GOP factions and in-fighting for the biggest reason of all: November's not looking very pretty for the GOP, even to the point of supposed memos from the Obama camp showing strategy to win without the Buckeye State. If we're that much in the bag, one of the few things local Republicans have left to fight for is themselves.

Dann Sad Story

We are at the intersection of bad news and worst news when it comes to living in Dann's world these days; on a national basis he can probably thank God there's an election in North Carolina and Indiana tomorrow otherwise the only other big story would be killer storms in Myanmar and thousands dead and that's not enough for a hungry national media audience to pass up something as juicy as this story. It is actually a wonder this hasn't hit red-hot overdrive given the Spitzer Siege; so far no camping outside Dann's home on Nancy Grace.

Just about every conceivable friend in the world is urging him to step down; nary a single "wait a moment, give the sinner time to repent" from the Columbus crowd now crowing for his head. Not just on a platter, mind you; this has to be a pike at the Statehouse Gates, to serve as an example that hanky-panky won't be tolerated at the domeless seat of power.

Poor Marc Dann, to be the one carrying the standard to slay Betty Montgomery, the GOP's best chance to hold on to a constitutional office in the 2006 bloodbath, only to be undone by Hawaiian pizza and a penchant for living the fraternity life away from the family. Propelled to power by Coingate, now condemned to political purgatory by Pizzagate. As a friend with a wicked sense of humor writes from Washington, counting coins should not have led to counting condoms.

Today, Stephanie Warsmith reports Dann talked for an hour with the Beacon Journal's editorial board (note to ABJ: record these things...put 'em on the web before the next day) as Governor Strickland played Dean Wormer and told the Delta House president his fraternity was finished, partly because he didn't fall on the same sword he used to lower the boom on his closest lieutenants. Now it's left up to the Democrats to do the smart thing, which they say they will now pursue: they will move to impeach one of their own, in the hopes of ending their nightmare before it becomes a long statewide march to a very public execution of any hope Dann has of rehabilitation and a future as a political player -- although something tells me the days of actually being a player should be counted on a single hand.

To impeach you need something criminal, and there are plenty of questions still needing an answer: payments for the frat house, state cars wrecked, state workers boozing it up, charges of sexual harassment and general abuse of power and just plain decency in the office. One woman says she was afraid of claims Anthony Gutierrez made that he was connected to the mob to spur a hop in the sack. The folks at the Bureau of Criminal Identification (Ohio's BCI is our nearest thing to CSI) have to be waiting for the call for this thing to go into overdrive since the Attorney General's their boss.

Are DNA samples on pizza boxes next?

GOP: Alex Primer 101

Now that the free world can catch it's breath with the factional intramural over (at least for a day) on the Summit County GOP front here's some observations and thoughts coming out of Alex's victories and one small step turning into a giant leap for the opposition.

First, it was pretty clear from the start that despite the appearance of chaos with a full house squeezing into tight Tangier quarters the A-team had a plan and strategy, and it included making the New Summit Republicans eat some of their own strategy. Tops: you wanted a secret ballot, you'll live with it. With party cameras rolling to keep everything on-the-record -- a nice lesson learned from the impact of Jennifer Brunner's deposition -- Alex Arshinkoff cloaked himself in the Mr. Fairness mantra, telling his own supporters they had to sit in place and not escape to the bathroom as each vote was called out one-by-one, all 365 counted. That set the tone on just how long it would take this game to play out by the NSR's wishes and most in the crowd clearly wanted to get going, especially after seeing the Arshinkoff forces work up a dominating more than 2-to-1 vote margin. Voting by raised hands was a no-brainer after that.

I don't think the threat of "intimidation" voiced by the NSR's had a thing to do with it; it had everything to do with individual convenience and comfort, a basic consideration in event planning and something clearly taken into account by Arshinkoff. He could easily afford to overrule his own vocal supporters when they booed or tried to silence NSR's Kevin Coughlin, imploring them to let Kevin be heard. It's easy to be magnanimous when you hold the cards, and the first vote was a clear sign Alex was ready to clear the table.

There's been plenty of confusion on just what post does what: a colleague called this morning trying to figure it out as well, asking who won to be the party boss? The answer in politics, as in the military, is never that simple. The strategy of securing the overall Central Committee chair position was brilliant and clearly set the NSR's on their heels. They could only watch as Arshinkoff extended every possible courtesy to make sure there were few grounds to grumble they'd been run over by the A-train. Carol Klinger, prepared to campaign, found herself a warrior without battlefield when the decision was Arshinkoff versus Varian. Even some of the more vocal Alex critics think the GOP was skunked by Brunner's decision to insert herself in local GOP politics and it isn't much of a leap to see Democrat meddling underneath the rocks. Local republicans may be paranoid...but that doesn't mean Wayne Jones isn't out to get them.

What makes this struggle fascinating is just how political skill and maneuvering, despite the overreaching and some nasty tactics, played a role in Arshinkoff's victory. It was clearly his crowd last night, showing the NSR's have more work ahead in building their parallel organization. For all the talk of party building, the best strategy for NSR is to make sure they put a majority of their own butts in those Central Committee seats so they don't even need to sabre-rattle over rules. Arshinkoff knew how to run his meeting: his lieutenants Jack Morrison and Jim Laria had their orders and troops ready to go and it didn't hurt that the "surprise" move to run for Central Committee chair meant the fight over who would chair the Executive Committee didn't mean a thing. It took away the standard from the NSR's standard-bearer, leaving them with a front man tainted by the stench of the Board of Election's musical chairs whether he deserved the criticism or not.

It's important to note there are TWO chair positions in most party structures: the Central Committee boss usually runs the annual meeting, presides over the annual dinners and can serve as a figurehead. The Executive Committee is where the heavy lifting comes in providing people, vote support, organization and money and those folks don't even have to be members of the Central Committee. The EC has it's own chair and while that position usually serves to run the day-to-day, Ohio law pretty much allows local political parties to set their own guidelines and structure as long as they don't go overboard and start trampling over the rest of the Ohio Revised Code. It's why Brunner's actions seem so heavy-handed; government has a long tradition of being formed by politics but for the most part staying out of how political parties want to do their business. It's the ultimate expression of Capitalism: let the parties (business) do their thing and let the voter (buyer) sort it all out when it's time to buy

Important to note: Arshinkoff was ready with strategy supporting his rules, including plans to revise the rules; he had his slate of officers up-front and clearly expressed and listening to his slate for Executive Committee, which includes Klinger and other critics, shows he knows the wisdom of the old adage about keeping your friends close but keep your enemies closer. Working with the NSR quiets the storm and helps refocus the party message on candidates. His message of putting the rancor behind everyone and work toward November positions him as a uniter, taking away a top issue his critics use against him. When he says he wants resources used to help candidates instead of in-fighting it has resonance with rank-and-file Republicans who would like to see more wins and less sibling squabbling.

There were bright spots for the NSR effort: 115 voters show there's a chink in the armour and serves to keep the King aware he's being watched. It establishes a credibility baseline for the next challenge in two years, which should be enough time to do what they tried to accomplish in six months: truly build the grass roots support to the level where they can win and not just serve as the opposition.

The question leading into November is whether they will be loyal opposition; given the historic nature of the race at the top of the ticket and two solid candidates in Laria and Pry facing off for the County's top executive position makes sitting on the sidelines unpalatable but the GOP does have a record of preferring to be right than win (see: Goldwater in 1964) but even those occasions helped lay the groundwork for revolutions to come (see: Reagan in 1980, Bush in 2000) when managed correctly. 115 is a number that shows a good start; 260 shows the Old Guard is paying attention.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Nice reaction to what I thought were relatively harmless observations that in hindsight do a better job of showing what's really wrong with politics: boiling down arguments over policy into demonizing the opposition.

This isn't unique to the GOP, although what has been described as Rove-ian strategies are often blamed for the horrible state of discourse in Washington (my, how people forget Paul Begala and James Carville at their Clintonian heights...) and by trickle-down Columbus and Akron. Because I decided to take an objective view at the current Alex v Kevin flareup and note (correctly, I believe) that most of the fighting over the cross-the-t and dot-the-i rules pushed by both sides in the Summit County GOP is ultimate insider stuff.

You would have thought I was advocating NAFTA in Youngstown.

Note I didn't deny these things were important, but to be in one pocket or the other for observing elderly bladders past midnight may have more to do with how things move (literally) for members of the Central Committee is just common sense, folks. I know you want to embrace the nobility of 470 Republicans, all in one room, marching toward doing the right thing but have you ever actually seen a volunteer committee in action? If they aren't Cavaliers or Indians fans tonight (both are playing) then there are definitely enough members who will be honked off if they miss the new episodes of Law & Order before downing their warm milk ahead of sleepy time. This isn't uniquely GOP, by the way...how many times have Democrats held full attention or even had a full showing for a meeting without a meal, drinks or TV up for raffle?

Some basics here, for those who missed the point:

- The New Summit Republicans have been pushing their points and agenda religiously for nearly five months now; we've had 'em on the web and on the air talking issues, and political strategy, and plans to do better. Is there really anything lost by just getting on with the vote at this point before Tangier bartenders start earning overtime?

- The Old Guard still controls the party (that's why the New Summits want to overthrow them) and so will use the tools at their disposal to win, much the same as the opposition is using the power of the media to their campaign advantage. Regardless of the rules if there are votes to do away with Alex and company, the votes will be there in the early going; if they don't have the votes, then they mounted the challenge and lived to fight another day.

The New Summits are concerned Bryan Williams will do the vote counting; he's been running the Board of Elections and generally won decent marks, including Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's observations in her recent deposition. Tim Grendell is Arshinkoff's Cardinal Parliamentarian, which should make the maneuvering fun to watch given the hard feelings between the Geauga County State Senator and his Summit counterpart Coughlin.

Conspiracy buffs, get over it; time for the people who count to have votes to count.

I really don't have a dog in this hunt. Despite all the back-room rhetoric to the contrary on how evil the others are I don't think any reasonable observer would think Alex has done nothing good for the party, nor do I think any reasonable observer would think Kevin/Don/Carol would lead to the end of the GOP universe.

This beauty contest comes down to what a majority of 470 people think, and after about four and a half hours of rules wrangling, secret ballots and other arcane intrigue there will come a point when what the Committee had for dinner will play every bit as big a role in how things work tonight than the Summit Stratego both sides are playing.

No matter who wins I'm very happy to have Tivo at home so I can still watch L&O; if this meeting forced me to miss Lost it would be a very different story.

The GOP's Short Game

As of this writing just about 48 hours to go until the Alex-Carol-Kevin Show hits the stage at Tangier, with up to 470-plus invited to witness either the start of the new era Summit Republican Party or stay-the-course politics under the elephant's trunk.

There's plenty of angst in this family feud, not the least of which has been among the men and women who actually make up the Central Committee, a name that sounds more like a throwback to Vladimir and Josef's time than political organizing in America in 2008. The comrades are not exactly thrilled with the prospect of being put on the spot by either group.

I think the Klinger-Coughlin brigade hit a wall last week when the fight became more about the rules of engagement than the prospect of romance; the sniping back and forth over which group's rules were more fair than the other still hurts my eyeballs just thinking and reading over the rules. Sure they're important, but in the long run the folks who control the party get to set the agenda and for Wednesday night's roast on West Market that would be the Arshinkoff wing.

For his part the incumbent chairman assures me votes will be conducted by secret ballot so long as the majority wants them cast and counted in secret. A 60% vote by the body as a whole will allow voice-voting and that might be a key to consider in figuring out just how long this all might take. My guess is despite talk of how committed people are to their party the possibility of imposing long waits on older bladders might play more of a part in whether balloting stays secret than either side cares to admit. Arshinkoff also says the media is welcome (we'll have a table off to the side to watch the proceedings) as witness to this slice of local political history.

The New Republicans want a head-to-head vote but that's not likely to happen; county committees have lots of leeway on how they run their own show and here the Central Committee chooses the Executive Committee which then picks the Chairman. So for the upstarts to upstage the Old Guard they need to replace the Old Guard, a formidable task since it isn't mano-a-womano but a more complicated process. Not only would the Central's have to vote against their long-term chairman's interests but now they're being asked to vote no on people they've supported in the past on the Executive Committee...a personal vote.

Is all of this bad for Summit County's GOP?

Nope.

Think of this as the natural way of things. Someone has to challenge the old bull elephant for dominance over the herd, and this is the challenge. For the most part despite the hard feelings each side seems to feel for the other most of this debate has been largely issue-focused, and that's a credit to both sides for not pursuing the case through the mud (even though both will point to this-or-that as proof the other side tossed dirt) but talking about strength of organization and ability to fund raise in the modern campaign cycle.

It's a good sign when democracy occasionally raises it's unruly little head in Summit County's political world. It was good for City Hall to have a scare, however brief, from Joe Finley because that's the kind of voice people in power understand...it helps them regain their focus on why they wanted the job in the first place. It is good for young voices to join the chorus of the Akron School Board because having a fresh perspective keeps an organization vibrant and in touch with stakeholders.

It's good for Arshinkoff to face a challenge from Coughlin/Klinger because it shows the GOP is diverse, and diversity helps build a stronger base to grow from despite the pains of transitioning from one to the other. No matter who wins the battle Wednesday night (if indeed there is a clear winner to be found) the ongoing fight for the soul of a political party is worth the effort.

Getting back to the point of gulag politics noted above: Akron and Summit County are largely run by men who've been there for awhile. In and of itself that isn't necessarily a bad thing, just as long as those on the outside still have faith the system can work for them just as it does for folks in charge.

Same Deal, Different Day

Got word from the Secretary of State's office today with some clarification on just when the local Central Committee meetings will be held. Democrats were planning April 17, Republicans April 18 but now both meetings may push into the following week.

SOS Jennifer Brunner notes the legally-required meetings should be held six to 15 days following the certification of recounts; this makes a difference because the Summit County Board of Elections is expected to certify the election results tomorrow but the clock actually starts ticking once any recount races are finally decided, and that is likely to have an impact on the party committee meeting calendars.

Not your typical post-up breaking news but since being a political geek means thinking stuff like this is worth writing (and reading) there it is. Meetings are now likely for the week of the 21st unless both sides get a dash of energy. In both cases local party stalwarts will choose executive committee members and respective party chairs will also be picked, although that could be left up to executive committees rather than the central body as a whole.

Lunch With Alex, Tea With Kevin

Tuesday was one of those interesting karma days, when different worlds seem to bump up against one another. That's the nature of the business, whether it is media or politics but especially when it is both. After all, how many occasions do we get to spend the better part of four hours navigating the latest chapter of the Elephant Wars?

Update 8:46 p.m.: Ohio GOP Chairman Bob Bennett downplays any of State Senator Kevin Coughlin's hopes for a Columbus presence; additional coverage here at AkronNewsNow.com.

My sit-down chat with incumbent GOP Chairman Alex Arshinkoff was typical for conversations with him -- a couple hours, off-track at times but informative and entertaining. It is clear he still holds great passion for what has become his identity over the past 30 years, even to the point of still calling Ray Bliss "Mr. Bliss" when recounting stories of glory years before Reagan brought revolution to Republicanville.

Alex tells me there will absolutely be a secret ballot for central committee members and they will most likely meet on Friday, April 18th -- the day after Democrats meet to officially set up their respective party structures following the March primary. Unlike the Democrats, however, the GOP will probably see some wrangling back and forth ahead of time.

While the Dems will officially select a new full-time chair since Russ Pry left partisan behind for the executive's office (yeah, I know...inside joke and intended) the GOP won't be the rubber stamp it has been for decades with a significant challenge to Arshinkoff's tenure in the form of Carol Klinger and the New Summit Republicans.

While supporters say this campaign is now Klinger's to wage with personal communication to committee members it is clearly still a battle between Arshinkoff and State Senator Kevin Coughlin, who held his own chatfest Tuesday with a 47-minute conference call that also included Stephanie Warsmith of the Beacon Journal, Eric Mansfield of WKYC-TV, Ben Keeler of The Keeler Report and Ohio.com's politics page and yours truly.

Coughlin wants rules of order for the meeting, even to the extreme of approaching state GOP leaders about running the meeting themselves. There isn't much chance of that happening if Arshinkoff has a say about it, which as incumbent chairman he does but the opening salvo in the minutiae of the meeting wars has been fired. I don't expect state GOP leaders to come without a direct invitation but you have to figure they will have plenty of eyes in the room to track what is going on in this tussle between a proven major fundraiser (Alex) against a proven local vote getter (Kevin) and the future of the last bastion of anything approaching a competitive Republican presence before you drive into Lake Erie.

Arshinkoff argues expectations of a vibrant, winning local GOP can't be measured in the traditional sense of the world we see in all of Ohio's counties; indeed, he points out, the biggest city in Ohio with a Republican at the helm is now our very own Cuyahoga Falls, which explains the rousing reception Mayor Don Robart got at a McCain-event state GOP dinner in Columbus recently. Urban=democrat stronghold in today's Ohio, with Canton falling, Akron not even close, Toledo, Dayton and Cleveland not even a consideration and Columbus and Cincinnati reflecting the same burbs versus inner city schism that sets the true red v blue battle lines. Given the national climate, his perspective on keeping the local GOP alive also hearkens back to the later Bliss years when Republicans couldn't elect a cup of coffee.

Coughlin makes the argument the emphasis on getting what the GOP can should come at a more efficient prices without the overhead, that it should be more grass-roots based. He says the party under Arshinkoff's guidance focuses more on fundraising than party-building, and it is at the hyper-local where the best opportunity for growth exists. That doesn't, however, really take into account the "bankability" of the party presence and whether traditional big donors will pony up the cash for such an operation, or whether the new blood will stimulate new revenue sources to replace the old. Politics in the modern age is an exercise in professional marketing and campaigning despite the apparent grass roots success shown by an Obama campaign claiming the bulk of their financial support comes from small donors. In reality, it's the mix that matters.

This is all a good fight for the local Republican party: the opportunity to determine the broad direction from which specific strategy will grow. Companies and non-profit organizations go through this on a regular basis with strategic evaluations designed to respond to changing times and politics is no different.

Klinger v Arshinoff: Mano et Mano

The die may be cast with plenty of debate ahead in the hallways of Cuyahoga Falls City Hall as Carol Klinger, at-large GOP member of City Council will face-off as the standard bearer for the New Summit Republicans in their bid to depose Alex Arshinkoff as chairman of the county party.

The primary election March 4th only set the table for more moves by both sides; Arshinkoff says he picked up the majority of contested seats among the 470-or so Central Committee members but the group backed by State Senator Kevin Coughlin claims a secret ballot will show their support runs much deeper so long as voter choices won't be public knowledge.

In the middle of all this: Cuyahoga Falls, ground zero for Summit County's GOP. It's not Hudson, Bath Township, Twinsburg or Green that play big (although new Board of Elections member Don Varian is from Bath). The Falls is where the heavy lifting comes to play, complete with Arshinkoff loyalist Mayor Don Robart now in the position of working against one of his own City Council allies in Klinger. Add Coughlin as a Falls resident to the mix and you really get a sense of how this battle is more like a siblings war then a simple neighborhood brawl.

Still waiting to hear on when the local party moves beyond the certifications from the Board of Elections and sets a date for the full Central Committee to meet and vote.

More From The Mud Pits...

A clarification and update this evening on the route the "anonymous" material targeting Alex Arshinkoff took from the law offices of Wayne Jones in Akron to the Columbus offices of Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

Brunner's videotaped deposition was released today on DVD; at over a gig of data it is unlikely we will post the entire piece but we are working on pulling excerpts.

An update on our report last Friday: the Secretary's man in Summit County is James Hardy. He was deposed last week and noted he dropped off the envelope after picking it up from the Jones office at Roetzel and Andress. In an email today, Hardy (also an Akron School Board member) offers additional insight and a correction to our report:

"One correction: I knew the package was about Arshinkoff, I just didn't read it. And I didn't read it on purpose. Craig probably heard me wrong and I don't blame him, when he called me I was still a little flustered from my deposition. I don't normally get deposed everyday.

But I knew as soon as I got in the car to go to Wayne's office that this probably had to do with Alex. But, it's my job to send information up and send information down the food chain, and that's what I did in this situation. But I didn't want you to read my deposition and say, "Hey, James said he didn't know the package was about Alex?"

In fact, I did the same thing for Alex a couple months before. Alex was having a hard time getting Senator Coughlin's campaign finance reports from our office and so I received a phone call from Angela McMillen, the Ex. Director of the Summit GOP, and asked if I could meet her for lunch. I did, and was more than happy to get the bureaucracy working for them so they could get the info they wanted. They were very happy with my services then (I still have the emails praising me), but I doubt they feel the same way now:)"

James added his own emoticon at the end; he's always been a straight shooter since we first met just ahead of his race for the school board. It's good to see he still has a sense of humour, even after going through the deposition mill.

I've gotten other interesting responses to this story, not all in the form to share (I'm always amazed by how some have such a dominating command of at least four letters of the English language) but would like to add at no time have I ever claimed there was any law broken. In fact, my previous post on playing hardball deals with the political strategies, not any legal liability. I don't believe there's anything illegal about using the shadows of "anonymous" to plant a pitchfork in the back of one's political rivals. I do think the folks doing the pitching, however, should face the consequences when people find out what they've done.

Does this mean Alex is a lock to retain his post as Chairman of the Summit County GOP? The conventional wisdom must be that any interference from the opposition such as Wayne's actions ought to help, especially in an environment where it pays to be paranoid. Critics of Arshinkoff's rule offer a grudging admiration of how this plays to his advantage, telling me they marvel at his ability to re-focus the debate away from their questions and attacks on his performance.

What is interesting is the political junkies here in Summit County are getting a rare, more open look at the kind of back-stabbing that goes on as the players in the game pitch hardball; it's the world we pretend is the poison of Washington politics right here at home.

Tuesdays With Alex

Summit County GOP Chairman Alex Arshinkoff did something he usually never does today: a sit-down with reporters, an actual, honest-to-God news conference to talk about the counting from his vantage point of Central Committee members who will decide the direction of the party.

This is the election that keeps on giving; members of the Central Committee will be the ones to elect the local GOP Executive Committee, which in turn elects the Chairman. That's the way it's been for the better part of three decades with Arshinkoff at the helm, either as the saviour of the local Republican effort or the devil taking the local party down (depending on your point of view.)

Just about a third of the more than 450 committee posts were contested in last Tuesday's primary election and Alex says his side picked up 87; he says rival State Senator Kevin Coughlin's troops took 72 with four still ties. No decision on when the Central Committee as a whole meets, says Arshinkoff, until the primary numbers are certified by the Summit County Board of Elections. When I spoke with Coughlin last Wednesday he expected such a meeting could come as early as the end of March but much depends on final counting at the BOE. Nice to see both sides agree on something here.

AkronNewsNow's Tina Kaufmann has posted her story here, complete with audio from Arshinkoff and Coughlin reaction. However, we can note a couple of things to watch for:

• Just how much of a battle can we expect over the four ties?
• Arshinkoff says a handful (seven) committee positions could actually be claimed by both sides as supporters -- folks on the Alex-Kevin fence;
• Just what will the rules be in the actual voting? Coughlin indicated he thinks he will pick up quiet support from members if they cast secret ballots.

All interesting issues to consider ahead of the next round in what we've been calling the "Elephant Wars" in this classic struggle for control of the party that realistically doesn't stand a chance of achieving dominant wins with half the county (Akron) still 9-1 in the blue but the suburbs more to the purple or red.

Summit County is important to state Republicans because it's one of those gateway counties; to the north lies the Democrat Fortress of Solitude in Cleveland, to the south the GOP's promised land of rolling hills, farms, and subdivisions. When Coughlin talks about how Summit GOP candidates should do better he's talking about the suburban races the Republicans actually have a chance of winning; when Arshinkoff talks about staying competitive he's really talking about keeping the Democrats at no more than 60-65% which means a Republican candidate has a chance when the 'burbs and rural areas start to kick in.

At least, that's been the model that worked for the past three decades -- maybe this year will be different with the first election since 1952 to feature a Presidential ticket led by candidates with virtually zero true government executive experience. Even in the Reagan v Mondale, Bush 41 v Dukakis and Clinton 2 v Dole races at least one of the candidates had a clue on what holding the big office really means -- statewide or nationally.

This election, though, is different. No clear decision on who has more real experience, no matter how many times Hillary's red phone rings at three in the morning and McCain draws on his heroic history. I get a sense from listening to supporters (and detractors) that this election has more to do with who the heart says to vote for instead of the brain, and that may be enough to short-circuit the traditional wisdom of how to build a winner in Ohio -- and make no mistake we've earned our role as a microcosm for the rest of the country. It is also why the 35% solution for the GOP in Summit County may be a strategy outdated by the unique nature of candidates we're expecting to choose based on whether they uplift, repulse, or follow despite core value misgivings.

Elephant Wars Heat Up

We're set new lows in the battle for control of Summit County's GOP; now we may see more hardball as both sides ramp up for the March central committee elections.

When's the last time you saw THAT in a lead?

I spoke with State Senator Kevin Coughlin, who called to ask me about a conversation with long-time county chairman Alex Arshinkoff. I reported last August on a Saturday morning call when I asked about some of the charges Coughlin and the New Summit Republicans leveled at the current GOP leadership. Of particular interest was Alex's comment on why he didn't field a candidate to challenge Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic, then-running against fellow Democrat Joe Finley with clear sailing ahead in the general election.

I thought Alex's point was well-taken, that he didn't push a Republican challenge because Akron would benefit with Plusquellic in a position of influence with Columbus statehouse executive offices under Democrat control and a strong likelihood the White House would see a change in power as well. That bit of honesty may cost Arshinkoff, however.

Coughlin wanted to let me know the report -- in addition to similar comments made to others -- could form a basis of a challenge to remove Arshinkoff from the county executive committee.

Here's how it would work: the anti-Alex camp believes he violated the county party's by-laws, as filed with the Secretary of State's office, over language that calls for members to get the boot for supporting candidates who don't have the party's official stamp. That would certainly be Plusquellic, and in an ironic twist they say it's exactly the same strategy used by Alex years ago to have former Fairlawn Mayor Pete Kostoff removed (for supporting Wayne Jones' bid to unseat Republican incumbent Don Robart in the hotly-contested Cuyahoga Falls Mayor's race) from the GOP Executive Committee.

Following along? In a nutshell the charge is that by giving Plusquellic a free pass -- and even telling me the reason shows support -- should be enough to remove Arshinkoff from office.

The New Summit Republicans lawyers will huddle over the weekend to decide strategy; they may ask Arshinkoff to step down for violating his own rules, something Alex would certainly reject. The next step would be to take the case in front of a judge (after all, the by-laws are mandated by state law) or even ask Ohio's top elections official, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, to order Arshinkoff removed.

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All of this hasn't even risen to boil level yet; the undercurrent of story commenting on the Akron Beacon Journal (through Topix) has been particularly personal and vile, aided no doubt by the ability to log-in and post anonymously or even using someone else's name. Eric Mansfield reports on a particularly graphic and nasty YouTube video making the rounds that drags up sexual orientation, martial fidelity and other mud (I agree with one commenter on YouTube: this one looks like it came out of Democrat quarters...) and both sides are already flying with charges and counter-charges of dirty tricks, fake mailings, vicious personal email attacks under false names and far worse.

- - -

The circus-like atmosphere of this challenge to Arshinkoff's authority -- coming from Coughlin -- is just scratching the surface. What may be lost in this is an honest discussion the party should be having: what's the definition of success for the GOP in Summit County, at what cost and with what face? Arshinkoff is a powerful force in local and state politics aided by his longevity, his amazing fundraising ability and his take-no-prisoners strategy in past races. But he's had some episodes of Nero-like excess, such as threatening those who dare question his leadership; that includes blasting local judge, the United Way (was Mother Theresa busy that weekend?), this week's public shouting match with fellow Board of Elections member Jones and other bizarre personal incidents that lead even his supporters to shake their heads. Coughlin has been one of the region's more consistent GOP names and performers despite the tag he's a little too ambitious; he's managed to put together his own faction within the local GOP that can ignore the bluster from the Arshinkoff wing and win without their help.

A dangerous thing, such independence from the county machine. Sheriff Drew Alexander is unusual in that he stands above that fray, seemingly immune to the entreaties and barbs from either side, the truly non-partisan public official. Coughlin could have taken that route, let Alex play in his own sandbox, but he tells me he can't stand what's happened to the local party and it needs to change to grow, prosper, and win.

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The New Summit Republicans appear, on paper at least, to fall short of their goal but expect them to go head-to-head with Arshinkoff loyalists on filings for the central committee. A real key to this fight will be whether Alex is confident enough in his own game to allow the committee members an honest shot at deciding this contest, without manipulating meetings and the process, with a secret ballot in voting for the executive committee (and, by proxy, the chairman's job). Not surprisingly, his critics say that's the one thing he should be most afraid of because without the power to identify and punish he won't survive an honest accounting. That power play will come after the March primary vote with those hundreds of committee positions on the line.

Political Junkie Update

I've posted the Summit County filings from today's deadline for the March 2008 primary on AkronNewsNow but among the things to watch for:

• Sheriff Drew Alexander gets another free pass; so does Council's Cazzell Smith. Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh isn't so lucky;
• as noted elsewhere Russ Pry has primary opposition from Joe Finley, with Jim Laria waiting in November;
• John Widowfield lost his bid for Municipal Court Clerk last fall; now he's looking to boot Louise Heydorn from her County District 3 post;
• the big fight will be among judges again, with the GOP contested nomination for a Common Pleas seat between David Drew and Tom Parker; also Democrat Elinore Marsh Stormer will face Probate veteran Judge Bill Spicer in November;
• still to be tallied: the onrush of candidates for the highly-coveted Republican Central Committee positions (sarcasm here for my friends in northern Summit County...) and the likelihood Senator Kevin Coughlin's New Summit Republicans rounded up enough horses to make it a hot race to unseat longtime GOP Chairman Alex Arshinkoff.

UPDATE Red Stamp Justice

The City of Akron does the right thing and reinstates Jesse Jones, the 22-year veteran of the Akron Fire Department originally placed on indefinite unpaid suspension when he was facing sex charges. You may remember this case: Jones was given a pass when a grand jury ruled "no bill", but the prosecutor's office slapped the wrong stamp on the paperwork and the case moved ahead as if he'd been indicted (that would be a true bill) by mistake.

The error was caught and the correct paperwork entered, with apologies (how would you have liked to get that call from your lawyer!) and case dismissed, with prejudice meaning it won't come up again.

The City tells AkronNewsNow's Larry States they will put Jones back on duty, with back pay. But should there be more coming? After all, the neighbors and co-workers and total strangers will remember the case when it broke -- and we all reported it. We're reporting now that the case was dismissed but is that really fair to a man's reputation built on a lifetime and sent up in flames in a matter of hours? What price does Jones think is fair for the months he spent with no job, no money, and likely no support? A hard lesson to play out to find out who your friends are -- and how justice works.

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The deadline just came and went in the election filing crush at the Board of Elections in Summit County. New Summit Republicans headmaster Sen. Kevin Coughlin was filing his paperwork this afternoon on South Grant Street; I've got to imagine the growling behind the scenes from the partisans backing incumbent GOP chairman Alex Arshinkoff as Coughlin claims he's got his slate ready to go to give the long-time party boss a run for the money. It would be educational to hear more from Alex but as usual he's not talking. This, I predict, will be THE race we're all watching over the next eight weeks. When is the last time anyone even mentioned "central committee" and eyes didn't glaze over? Nothing like a family feud to satisfy our lust for political bloodletting, and in a rare switch it isn't Democrats beating each other over the head. At this point the Summit County elections folks were laughing at our reporter's attempts to get a read on just how many people are filing for those central committee slots and tell us they may not have a full list until Monday.

I just want to know: is anyone running against Alex in his home precinct? How big a sign can Alex put up in his front yard this time, with or without the help of the ACLU?

- - -

Speaking of races to watch: the early conventional wisdom says Joe Finley's challenge of Russ Pry in the Democrat primary for County Executive will be a snoozer. I tend to agree with the analysis that running against bossism isn't always the best idea because successful bosses keep their machines in power by doing what they promise; besides, as Pho points out in his Pho's Akron Pages blog it isn't as though people don't like Russ Pry...even political opponents tell me privately they like the guy off-ballot and he's won high marks for his first six months since being appointed to the job. But to rule out Finley at this point is like buying into the wisdom that had Hillary Clinton winning Iowa a month ago: let's not forget it's voters, not the pundits, who decide. Still, Finley's opening salvo today and in his interview earlier this week with ANN's Craig Simpson wasn't the best start...Pry showed a more steady campaign style in not reacting to the bluster when we spoke with him on Thursday.

New Year, Some New & Old

Greetings 2008; can't wait to see what kind of shenanigans we can look forward to this year but no matter what happens I don't think the local political scene can hold a candle to 2007's tight election race for Mayor Plusquellic, the rise of Russ Pry or Marco Summerville's travel travail.

Some new:

• Thorn-in-the-side of City Hall Warner Mendenhall has a new blog about public records; The People's Records provides a nice rundown of FOI issue and also spiffs this blog; thanks for the blogroll, Warner;
• Kevin Coughlin weighs in with some new rules for his New Summit Republicans (link downloads the .pdf file); it's a good rundown on what the "new" GOP has in mind for life after Alex if they're successful in dethroning Arshinkoff from the Summit County chair, led by getting a handle on the $600,000 critics say is spent to keep the party offices going;
• Bruce Kilby is heading to court whether he likes it or not over the property he owns in the Dead Poets neighborhood. This AkronNewsNow story includes our interview with Kilby as he finds himself on a side of the law the law-makers rarely see; it isn't often a sitting councilman is being sued by his own city in an Eminent Domain taking but observers could see it coming when talks started breaking down and Kilby maintains he's getting low-balled because he's a vocal critic of the Administration.

As for the old, I'm still working to prove my existence to the third-party provider of my company's FSA health savings account. As noted earlier under the heading of "Why I Hate Insurance Companies" my simple attempt to access my money being held for my health spending was denied when the company reported I didn't exist -- despite holding their card, which I had used earlier this year, in my hand and complete with account number. No response yet from supervisors who promised to call (I'm not holding my breath) so I went ahead and paid for the stuff anyway. Now starts the battle of documenting my existence; included will be the letter I got from said third-party manager noting my balance on December 5, 2007 for the account that doesn't exist.

My friend Chuck Collins noted I called this experience "Why I Hate Health Insurance Companies" on our AkronNewsNow blog. I apologize to other insurance companies at this time but reserve judgment until I need to get some of my promised money back from them, too.

Holiday Irony

Some more random thoughts post-Christmas holiday:

- is it just me or did the fact Fox News was still running the death-and-destruction ticker while airing Rick Warren's religious hour-long A Purpose Driven Life holiday program sort of counter the reason for the season? I mean, I know the consultants say the 24/7 ticker is an important part of news branding but even during the hug-my-family program aimed at showing the power of positive energy? WWJD if He was the technical director?

- Also on Christmas Day: Instead of running their 7:00 news block WKYC opted instead for Christmas With the Stars which included Lou Rawls, who not only has been dead since January 6, 2006 but his widow's home in Green was burglarized over the holiday weekend and among the items stolen was his passport. I could have overlooked Susan Anton and Erik Estrada among the "stars" but dragging out poor Lou? He was the best voice of the holidays (well, second only to Nat King Cole but we can discuss that one later) but two years after he passed away? At least we can tell the Bing Crosby and Perry Como specials date back to TV's Stone Age...

- Nice headline on Drudge Report on how rotten this holiday shopping season has been for retailers: they reported only a 3% and change increase from last year. Now that's not big stuff according to the bean counters because they want 5% increases but note they never seem to have any problem with salary increases bumping up only 3% -- that's called "normal".

- State Senator Kevin Coughlin is weighing in with an email warning of "false" notices from his New Summit Republicans, now waging war on the Arshinkoff faction of the county party. With slates needing to be assembled for the full assault on the membership of the county committee (literally hundreds of folks) underway communicating the message just stepped up a notch. Add to it the stories from Stephanie Warsmith in the Akron Beacon Journal on expected costs allegedly OK'd by the Summit GOP Executive Committee to defend Alex ($350 grand) and the tough no-holds-barred fight ahead this'll be a gem to watch. Stay tuned...with the early primaries culling the Presidential herd the races for local party faithful in Summit County's GOP ranks may be the most compelling political lesson in the March primary.

- We tape the NewsNight Akron "Top Newsmakers" special this afternoon at Northside...sort of a return to the crime where we last led off with the best and worst of the year. I'm excited Eric Mansfield is at the helm for this one -- especially since he's kept plenty close to the vest so Jody Miller, Steve Hoffman and I are still in the dark. Note: this NewsNight Akron program airs on PBS 45/49 on Friday, January 4, 2008 at 9:00 p.m.

- had the occasion to visit with former WKSU PD and News Director Vince Duffy just prior to Christmas at his new (and impressive) digs at Michigan Radio in the Free Republic of Ann Arbor. He looks well -- I'd opine even younger now that he's back in the solid news trenches and out of the grind of program management. His stations stretch their signal from west to east coast and just about all of the lower half of the "mitten" in Michigan, with a heavier dose of news delivered (each hour) and the challenges obviously invigorate.

- speaking of WKSU these are the final days for Daniel Hockensmith, AKA Dan Taylor from his Akron Radio Center days. Dan's been hosting "Your Way Home" on WKSU but leaves broadcasting behind for a new gig with Plastics News. I'll miss him on the radio but look forward to his work covering such a huge beat that literally extends around the world -- good luck Dan!

Using Hillary

The latest broadside fired by the New Summit Republicans against incumbent, long-time party boss Alex Arshinkoff is textbook, and right out of Alex's own playbook to boot: use a polarizing person, issue or thing to provoke action.

This brochure was dropped to select Summit County households just in time for the holidays (you can see the whole trifold with this .pdf file) and since I got mine in my northern Summit County mailbox ahead of the frozen candy boxes, bills, cards bearing holiday wishes and the usual hate mail I have to figure Alex got his in Hudson, too.

It has the usual: he squanders money with party money on his ride (an Escalade); expensive eats (more than $6600 bucks alone in one posh downtown joint); party time at the country club (five grand at the Portage CC! What did that buy, a burger and chips?...) and $600,000 on the party headquarters, including drapes. All this and Summit County doesn't have more Republicans holding office.

But in order to make this stick for people to actually care and 1) run for the GOP Central Committee and, 2) actually vote for someone who runs for the GOP Central Committee it takes a world of hurt to force said people to act.

Image from New Summit Republicans brochure

This ought to do it...

When in doubt and you don't have a cavorting Bill, or the Mayor cussing out parking lot attendants, or Nancy Pelosi arranging taxpayer-financed flowers for her office go with the big guns. Nice touch with the shot on the back of Ronald Reagan pointing with "how can you help" underneath.

Enjoy the holidays. The campaign for control starts in earnest right after we watch Ohio State play another national title game against another speedy SEC team. I'd rather bet on Alex versus Kevin...

Pry's Perfect Planning

We aren't even into the 2007 General Election and already it's fun to check out the early sniping between the Akron Lords of the Ring.

Russ Pry will announce tomorrow (Wednesday -- AkronNewsNow story here) he will try to make appointed elected with a run for the Summit County Executive job. He's been in the post since Jim McCarthy retired last summer, holding down not only the top county post but also holding on to the Democratic Party chairmanship.

Nice work if you can get it, and so far Pry's done a nice job of showing the doubters (myself included) that he's got a pretty good handle on not only talking the talk but also walking the walk. Pry's not only got the look down but he projects the leadership style folks look for in an executive-level post in the time he's been running the show. He clearly has a style different than McCarthy's rough-and-tumble moving up the ladder: Pry is smoother, appears to work more on building consensus and he hasn't missed many opportunities to build on those relationships as a constant presence on major political issues such as CSB, the Urban League's new headquarters building, trying to find the peace over management of the Summit County Fairgrounds and even tackling animal control.

By the way, the County is still doing it's water and sewer and economic development thing, too.

Folks expecting missteps have yet to be rewarded; so far no snide wars involving some of the more mercurial members of County Council. Pry gets high marks from other county elected officials, including GOP office holders in an environment where serving as County Executive usually means wearing a target on your chest because you control the flow of dough. Summit County is unique; the only county in Ohio with a charter government, one where a legislative body works with an executive branch (what a novel thought).

There's one job Pry's been holding that preps him well for 2008's election shenanigans now that his name's on a ballot a couple hundred thousand voters will decide on: a member of the Summit County Elections Board.

The Beacon Journal got some pithy thoughts from GOP Chairman Alex Arshinkoff's (Yin to Pry's Yang on paper even though it's really seen as an Alex v. Wayne Jones fight) on Pry's plans. Arshinkoff says Pry's been acting "like a Democratic officeholder" for his first 100 days.

No kidding, Alex -- Pry has been the Democratic officeholder, and with a reported $100k already in the kitty and the likelihood of banking even more makes him a strong opponent for any Republican. Or Democrat who thinks they can take him for a spin in the March primary.

Regardless of how he got there he's the incumbent, which is golden in a year of presidential and congressional politics. So long as Pry doesn't stumble, so long as there's no negatives, so long as there's no scandal it'll be tough for opponents to tag him as a rookie (not true since July) or too partisan (talk to the GOP'ers who govern with him) to force a change.

Shy of big names such as a Robart (unlikely) or a Coughlin (now waging a fight to the death with Alex for the GOP committee) there isn't a long line of Republican candidates in the wings ready for a bruising battle with the Democratic machine behind a well-financed incumbent -- even if he hasn't won a single election for the job he's holding.

The Donald Wins -- Again

I'm not sure this was ever in doubt but Finley was game. Don Plusquellic wins by over a thousand votes, the closest the race was came at the very beginning when the vote count started and Finley was within seven votes. Of course, that was two minutes after the first ballots were received at the Board of Elections on Grant Street. About three minutes later it was Plusquellic on a pony off to the races.

We were cranking out updates not only for broadcast but also online; our wrap-up coverage on AkronNewsNow includes updates to posted stories, so the time stamps will be somewhat confusing but suffice it to say the Mayor's race was over fairly early. We called the Mayor's race at about 8:47pm during the Indians game on WAKR, and about a minute later on ANN.

Finley wouldn't concede despite the clear numbers, saying the screw-up by some poll workers in turning GOP voters away who wanted to cross over in the primary (legal in Ohio, by the way) were told no and given conflicting information. This is serious stuff and kind of "shoe on the other foot" in more ways than one. Maybe the Democrats actually learned a lesson or two in 2000 and 2004 and instead of whining about losing figured out they could convince people not to vote hiding behind confusing laws, too. Either way it won't make up a thousand-vote deficit and I'm disappointed; Joe seemed like a better man to take his ball home with him from the $1 beer night at the Crowne Plaza without walking upright and admitting defeat.

No real challenges to established Akron with the exception of the two council races in Ward Four and Ward Six; in Renee Greene's case she's four down from Deandre Fourney, who ran a hell of a grassroots campaign. Greene won't give it up with about 80 provisional ballots she's counting on; Terry Albanese holds on to a 12 vote margin, and both will see mandatory automatic recounts.

November will have another set of political ying-yang: CSB and ADM levies, schools, Norton's Mayor's race, Green, the Falls Muni Court Clerk (my personal pick for microcosm of Summit County politics) but it won't have Plusquellic kicking around pundits. Too bad -- I got the sense this year he finally figured out the gruff bully act might actually be a liability at times and a bit more seasoning might prep him better for life after Akron, even if that is in 24 more years* by his reckoning.

*in his postgame comments he noted at the rate he's losing margin he could serve for more than 40 years.

Making Craig's List

I can't believe the dodge from Idaho Senator Larry Craig and his cowardice exhibited today after the proverbial Brokeback Bathroom scandal hit the fan (thanks Drudge for that twist...) in Washington and beautiful Boise.

"I am not gay," proclaims the GOP Senator who has a political history of using those charges to paint himself as a fighter for the mountain voters back home. Did he directly address the charge that he was toe-tapping in the MSP crapper? Can I get a "NO", amen! Did he directly address the record he was caught making hand signals to the fellow in the stall next door that it was time to make the dance more personal until said fellow flashed a badge instead of something else? C'mon now, give me a "NO", amen!

Big Question here: since when does getting caught going after strange whoopi in a public restroom equate with being gay? I agree with one thing, Craig isn't gay -- he's just not happy.

This episode is disturbingly similar to Craig's other reported forays with Mr. Johnson in other public restrooms, most notably one at Union Station just down from your U.S. Capitol building. Modus Operandi usually packs quite a punch when delivered in tandem. What is really despicable is Craig's cry he's "not gay" as a defense on lewd public behavior charges. What the hell does one have to do with the other? My reporter colleagues gave Craig an easy pass today when they tolerated his "statement" without getting answers or challenging him on the non-gay defense which, I must note, reflects more the behavior of a sex-crazed scumbag more than any gay people I have ever known.

This has nothing to do with gay; my reporter's experience is that most of the troubled souls usually caught up in these public indecency stings are far from gay; they're usually the same make and model of guys hanging around the 50-cent movie machines at the adult bookstore. Larry Craig isn't a model of pro-or-con homosexuality; he is the model of a sex addict who would do well to keep his hands and his little buddy in check for more private venues.

Why can't we grow up and toss out the talk of gay or no-gay in this issue? Larry Craig should be held accountable for breaking the law in a public bathroom by soliciting one person for sex; he's not charged with being anything other than a pervert, and allowing him to slip in any mention of sexual preference is nothing more than political three-card monte. It's about where his feet, hands and other appendages were and plying sex in the potty is what this case should be about, not whether he likes one gender versus the other.