The Morning Journal published an editorial stepping up their demand that Dann resign or be impeached. I really liked this passage the most:
“Ohioans cannot allow the politicians in Columbus to go weak-kneed now and let him off the hook with legalistic mumblings and excuse-making.”
It’s nice to know that the newspaper in Lorain has an opposite view on impeachment than Lorain’s state rep, Joe Koziura does. By the way, voters of the 56th District have a choice in November. They can vote for Stipe.
Pho offers thoughtful analysis of why Dann hasn’t been impeached yet, even though state Democrat leaders promised to. I’m not convinced of the need for further evidence against Ohio AG Marc Dann, and I think my prior post and my comments at Pho’s post provide the gist of why I think impeachment out to go forward in an expedited manner.
Get on with it already!!!!! My blood is boiling!!!!
After all the expression of outrage by our Ohio politicians, I can’t believe there are some allowing disgraced Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann some wiggle room.
Statewide Democrat leaders promised to introduce an impeachment resolution in the Ohio House of Representatives if Marc Dann did not resign. In order to be credible they MUST follow through or else face the wrath of the voters. 2006 should teach them that the voters are capable of expressing wrath.
Keep in mind that the House of Representatives decides whether these misdeeds are impeachable, as there is no requirement to adhere to criminal statutes. There should be a FULL VOTE OF THE OHIO HOUSE to decide whether to refer the matter to the Ohio Senate. Right now, it appears that there are a few key legislators who are trying to circumvent impeachment, and denying the right of the ENTIRE House chamber from weighing in on the matter. Speaker Jon Husted designated Rep. William Batchelder to co-ordinate the impeachment actions against Dann. Batchelder is quickly losing my respect by opining that Dann’s offenses don’t meet his own standards for impeachment, signaling that the drive toward impeachment might be going nowhere. I want to see 98 state reps (Matt Barrett hasn’t been replaced yet) vote on this matter, not just Batchelder.
Speaker Husted is suggesting an independent investigation of Dann to see if something can be discovered that’s more worthy of proceeding with impeachment, implying that what we currently know is insufficient for proceeding. Oh yeah? Let 98 state reps decide the matter. Introduce the measure, and then let’s have a vote. After all, the House, alone, gets to decide what’s impeachable in this instance and what’s not impeachable. No criminal statute applies, so stop raising the bar. Stop moving the goalposts. Since what constitutes impeachment is solely a matter of discretion, and since it applies only to the current set of circumstances, it is utter nonsense to suggest that a precedent is being set that would apply to potential future impeachment cases. There is no such thing as case law on this matter. Also, there is no such thing as double jeopardy in an impeachment case like there is in a criminal court. So if the House decides right now that the misdeeds of Dann aren’t impeachable after a FULL VOTE OF THE HOUSE, that doesn’t mean that the matter can’t be revisited when the independent investigation reveals its findings at a later date. Dann can face impeachment multiple times. Let’s be clear on that. I reiterate, this is not a criminal trial, nor is this a proceeding that must mirror the proceedings of impeachments in the U.S. Congress, so PLEASE toss those notions aside. You have a blank slate in front of you. Be unfettered when you decide this matter. The next time impeachment comes before the General Assembly, the slate will be blank once more, and a decision can be rendered specific to that circumstance without encumbering the ability of starting with a blank slate once more when yet another future impeachment case comes before the General Assembly. Got it?
Oh, gosh! Can impeachment be decided by political whim? YES!!!!!!!
Ohio Republican Party Deputy Chair Kevin DeWine promised to make opinions on the removal of Dann an issue in every election race in Ohio this year. I think voters are prepared to do that very thing anyway, even without DeWine’s say-so. Unfortunately, the standard DeWine was setting for Democrats might now be applied to key Republicans as well.
Get your act together, Republicans! Dragging this thing out is not politically expedient. There is no political gain to be realized by prolonging this. Voters want Dann removed now, not later. Slowdowns in handling the impeachment matter will only reaffirm voter’s beliefs that our state legislature: 1) might be as corrupt as Dann (and they would be if they let Dann remain); 2) is hypocritical; 3) is grossly inefficient even on matters that should be expedited; and 4) defies the will of the voters of Ohio.
Do the Republicans want to impress voters? Then impress them with the speed and efficiency by which this matter reaches its conclusion and Dann is removed from office. Then the voters may feel they have a Republican-General Assembly that earns their keep rather than a Republican-led General Assembly whose ranks are filled with bungling, fickle, brain-dead sloths.
To the statewide Democrat leaders: I thought the impeachment articles would be introduced days ago by Minority Caucus Leader Joyce Beatty. What’s going on? I’m still waiting. Are you worried there’s not enough support even within the Democrat caucus to proceed? Are you worried that there are more people like Rep. Joe Koziura of the 56th District (Vote Stipe in November!) who think Dann’s actions are merely stupid, ignoring Dann’s selfishness, ignoring the damage done to the lives of Dann’s employees, ignoring the office and condo hijinks that impaired the operations of the AG’s office, ignoring the ties Gutierrez claimed to have with the mafia, ignoring the pimping of women in subordinate positions (and the misogyny behind it), ignoring a workplace environment so unethical and fraught with harassment that it would not be tolerated in any other workplace (let alone a government office, which is why it’s especially heinous in the office of an Attorney General–an office charged with policing workplace harassment), and ignoring the waning morale and confidence of the employees that remain at work in the AG office? If Koziura thinks that this mess can only be attributed to Dann’s stupidity, then he needs to think the whole thing through. The point is, you, the Democrat leaders promised. Who do you want the ax to fall on? The statewide Democrat leadership, or Democrat state reps who just don’t get it? What’s more important in the 2010 elections that will decide the reapportionment process–the jobs of Strickland and Brunner? Or the job of Rep. Koziura, who can’t even run in 2010 if he manages to get elected this year? Save your own credibility and let the stragglers fend for themselves. Remove Dann pronto, or Kevin DeWine’s promise will bludgeon you.
I can’t see how stalling this process helps ANY foot-dragging incumbent get re-elected. Impeach! Now!
I fail to see any headlines that articles of impeachment against Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann were introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives yesterday. Didn’t Democrat leaders say that yesterday the gauntlet would be thrown down? I’ll be eagerly looking to see whether it happens today. If you’re going to deliver a credible ultimatum, then follow through with it. Please.
It’s a must read. You can read Psychobilly Democrat’s letter here.
Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann has been issued an ultimatum to resign. State Democrats have issued a letter stating that the Democrats of the Ohio House will introduce a resolution to impeach Marc Dann.
Signatories to the letter are: Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, Ohio S.O.S. Jennifer Brunner, Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray, Ohio Senate Minority Leader Ray Miller, Ohio House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty, and ODP Chair Chris Redfern.
Took Redfern long enough to get on board.
Rep. Joyce Beatty comes out smelling like a rose, because she tackled the thorny issues of Matt Barrett AND Marc Dann, and she’ll be a key player if Dann refuses to resign. Kudos to her from me.
[update] Hat tip to JMZ at Writes Like She Talks for informing readers that state Democrat leaders are severing party ties to Marc Dann, which is a step in the right direction.
There are a lot of people who aren’t saying things about the Marc Dann scandal because they don’t know all of the facts.
I don’t have that hangup. I’ll go ahead and speak up about some thoughts running through my mind, and wait to see if any person disgruntled by my musings presents any firm evidence that refutes what I’m saying.
The first thing that pops into my head happens to be the headline of this article. When the chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, Chris Redfern, was asked to weigh in on this whole Marc Dann scandal, Redfern tried to offer some praise for Dann’s work as AG. The rest of the state is outraged by the working environment in the Ohio Attorney General’s office, yet Redfern won’t call for Dann to resign immediately. This communicates to me, as an observer, that Chris Redfern has more respect for Marc Dann than he has for women. This communicates to me that Redfern condones this behavior, so long as he can think up a few compliments to balance the equation. Sorry, but those compliments towards Dann do NOT balance the equation.
The second thing that comes to mind is that Marc Dann hails from Youngstown. And, in a free word association game, if someone says to me “Youngstown,” I say back, “Mafia.” I’m not saying Dann himself is mafia, but I’m not ruling it out, either, and I certainly think, of the four AG candidates in the primaries of 2006, Dann was the candidate favored by the mafia. After all, Gutierrez bragged about his ties to the mafia, but he was never milked for information on it, never so much as interrogated for what tips he could provide about the mafia, so the AG’s office is knowingly turning a blind eye to the mafia. In mafia-like fashion, Marc Dann has his own office do the investigation into the harassment charges, and then claims he’s exonerated when the findings are released. Then he names a legal firm of his own choosing to engage in the rehabilitation of the AG office, whose leading partner donated to the Dann campaign. Nice little payback: one gives campaign cash, the other rewards with income for the firm. It’s perfectly clear what’s going on. His own office investigates so that no smoking gun is brought forward to implicate Dann of an impeachable offense, and the Jim Friedman “clean up crew” will, I’m sure, pay attention to detail in setting the house in order, but as they leave no stone unturned in rehabilitating the AG’s office, they’ll also be able to scrub the place of any evidence against Marc Dann. After all, it’s outside of their scope to investigate Dann, and before any other investigation comes along, the Friedman team will make sure there’s nothing left to find. It sure would be nice if the Ohio State Bar Association would launch their own independent probe, and Dann would have a problem remaining in power if his license to practice law was suspended (**sigh** wishful thinking). And of course, Dann isn’t going to step out of power, just like the mafia would never let go of any toehold they had. All of this has a true mafia-like flavor to it.
Then there are those who are predicting that Marc Dann WILL step down, but a few months down the road, allowing for an interim AG appointment that won’t have to face election until 2010. If that’s the case, I doubt the bloggers on the left will see the appointment of Subodh Chandra to the AG’s office. I think it much more likely that Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher will be appointed as the AG. There is a pattern to who the Ted Strickland-Sherrod Brown-Chris Redfern triumvirate handpicks as their candidates, and, short of spelling it out for you, Subodh Chandra does not fit the profile. (For more elaboration on the profiles of those who get handpicked by the triumvirate, I plan on doing a Matt Barrett followup, and the name “Dan Metelsky” just might appear in it.) Nope, the only way Chandra will be named as AG is if the newly appointed AG has to run in a special election for the seat this fall, because in that short run-up to special elections, they don’t like Lee Fisher’s chances. Notice that the triumvirate, while a Strickland might offer a scolding, is not demanding the immediate resignation of Dann. If the outrage continues over the next several months, then the triumvirate will demand the resignation of Dann, after the window for special elections has closed. If that’s the way it goes down, that’ll be the first substantial chink in Strickland’s armor that could imperil his re-election in 2010.
And, in light of the desire to handpick Dann’s successor and trying as hard as they can to avoid any risk of a Republican taking the AG seat, the ODP hierarchy would throw women under the bus. Partisanship trumps gender. The upper echelons of Democrats will only step forward in the name of chivalry (yes, they are this medieval in their mentality) if it looks as though the political fallout over the scandal is too much to overcome. As Mark Naymik writes in the Plain Dealer:
The Democrats need to pick up four seats to win control of the 99-member chamber. But with newspapers across the state and the Republican Party calling for Dann to step down, it is unclear how effective he can be as a party surrogate.
Rep. Ted Celeste, a Columbus-area Democrat and brother of former Gov. Dick Celeste, said Friday it is too early to tell. But he planned to gauge reaction to the Dann scandal as he campaigned over the weekend.
“It is important to do some testing and see what they are feeling,” he said.
Celeste is one of a handful of Democrats raising money for House candidates in the hope of becoming House speaker if Democrats win control in November.
“The reality is that the proof will be in how the scandal unfolds,” he said. “It is hard to equate this situation with what happened in ’06, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t real issues here that have to be dealt with.”
Asked if he thinks Dann should step down, Celeste said, “For me it is too early to say.”
State Rep. Armond Budish of Beachwood, who also wants to be House speaker, said he doesn’t think the scandal will affect the battle for the House. “I think they will still be won or lost on the merits of each of the individual races,” he said.
Democratic consultant Dale Butland, who manages statewide candidate and issue campaigns, says he, too, can’t predict what impact Friday’s events will have. But he predicted it will harden the partisan divide in this year’s elections.
What does it say about Ted Celeste (among others) that he has to stick his finger in the wind in order to decide whether to stick up for working women and demand Dann’s resignation? It says that there’s a complete lack of principles among Democrat party leaders except for the principle of holding on to power which is eerily similar to the philosophy of the mafia.
Something else that gets me thinking is that Gutierrez told his subordinate that she got her job because of her female anatomy. Capri Cafaro got the state senator job left vacant by Marc Dann, despite some controversy over her residency in the district. Did anatomy have anything to do with getting the nod? Did a connection to the mafia have anything to do with getting the nod? I never thought about these questions at the time of Cafaro’s appointment, but this whole Marc Dann mess has made me look at things from a new perspective.
Another thought that springs to mind is Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who also refuses to step down, after defending him cost Detroit a few million dollars (mostly to settle a suit, but additional dollars will be used to defend him against prosecution for perjury). That Kilpatrick stays in power is maddening. There will be civil lawsuits against the AG’s office seeking damages, I’m almost certain of it. How much money will taxpayers pay to mount a vigorous defense, only to have a large payout to the plaintiffs as the final result? Cutting Dann loose may help cut Ohioans’ losses.
Republicans were angered by improprieties of their own party leaders. Under pressure from Republican leaders, Joe Deters had to bail out of statewide office to find refuge in Hamilton County, and Bob Ney had to resign from Congress. Others, that Republican voters were dismayed who didn’t remove themselves from office, found themselves removed from office in the 2006 elections. Ohio Republicans have shown a willingness to purge the scandalous from among their ranks. I note that the left side of the blogosphere is ready to stand up for working women, but the Dem leadership is not. I’ll be interested in seeing if Dem rank-and-file voters are just as willing to purge the scandalous from among their ranks, and do the job that Dem leaders won’t do.
Everyone else is taking the fall for Marc Dann except Marc Dann. Get this Youngstown mafia-backed goon out of the Ohio Attorney General’s office NOW!
I am so sick of his excesses. So sick of his total lack of ethics. So sick of the pack of wolves he runs with. So sick of the total lack of regard for not only the state of Ohio, but his own employees, ESPECIALLY his female employees.
He’s admitted to an affair with an employee. He won’t say which employee. His scheduler, Jessica Utovich, the rumored paramour, however, has resigned without stating a reason.
What does it do to a work environment when certain people have access to the boss because they have SEX with him? Isn’t that WRONG, WRONG, WRONG?
Not only shouldn’t he be Ohio Attorney General, he shouldn’t even be in a position to ever hire anybody nor should he ever be in a position to supervise anybody. He only understands how to abuse his power and authority. He has no concept of professionalism. If you were a female, how would you feel if Dann were your co-worker? You’d either feel resentful because he was always hitting on you, or, if you weren’t his target, you’d feel resentful that other women were giving in to his sexual harassment to gain workplace privileges that you won’t get access to.
Everyone in the MSM and everyone in the blogosphere, you have free rein to call Marc Dann any disparaging name you choose. After all, he’s in no position to file a defamation suit against anyone. He’s already defamed himself.
OTHER VOICES: (note: many of the referenced sources below have multiple articles on the Marc Dann story, so I would encourage readers to not just access the articles linked below, but also access the home pages of these sources to find additional coverage that they may have)
New Philadelphia Times-Reporter
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Buckeye RINO