(Ohio Governor)Taft facing four criminal charges for failing to report gifts

Columbus Dispatch ^ | 8-17-05 | Alan Johnson and Mark Niquette

[dogbyte12]

Anybody from Ohio know the real story behind this?

[merzbow]

May I be the first to say "good riddance". Hopefully he'll resign or be impeached and the Ohio GOP will be better without this albatross around its neck.

[Pondman88]

He's screwed. There's nothing like a political witch hunt. Fortunately (for him) execution ain't a possibility.

[Blogger]

I know I don't like him. He's been a horrible governor.

[dogbyte12]

From what I gather, conservatives in Ohio hate Taft. I don't follow Ohio politics (well at all). I am just curious as to how this plays out.

[nascaryankee]

Don't blame me, I never voted for him.......

[WOSG]

Thoughts:
1) It s*cks not being Clinton when this happens.
2) Is he going to resign? Media mentions impeachment...
don't let that happen to you Gov Taft.
3) It sounds a bit small-potatoes actually for a 'criminal charge' ie failing to report golf outings.
4) I've heard enough bad about him that as Republicans, we might prefer him long gone by 2006 than stinkin' up the joint for Republicans in 2006. GOP voters are less forgiving than the Democrats.

[NeoCaveman]

Don't blame me, I never voted for him.......

I only voted for him once, back in 1998. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

[psychopuppy]

me neither, couse i've only be registered to vote in California and Maine. So kinda hard to cast a vote for him ;)

[leadpenny]

"Noe, a Maumee coin dealer,"

My brother lives in Maumee. Says Noe is a real sleezebag.

[GoBucks2002]

The first problem with Taft has been that he has been a tax-and-spend liberal. He makes Voinovich look frugal. He campaigned on, among other items, passing right-to-carry. Suddenly, when he took office, he said he would only do it if law enforcement groups (including the Highway Patrol, which he of course oversees) supported it.

Second, the guy has no leadership, no legacy (except maybe this). He didn't restore something like fiscal sanity like Voinovich did. He didn't spend massively on public works like Rhodes did (airport in every county and four-year college in every county that had 100,000 folks at that time). Heck, Celese, the last Dem, even modernized the highway rest areas. That's a bigger legacy than Taft has.

[chadwimc]

I argued that Taft was worse the his democrat opponent in the last election. Party faithful(read as "scum, sucking dogs") accused me of being "bad for the party and good riddance" No matter what the outcome,this will give democrats ten years worth of ammo.All I can say is...Nyahh nyahh nyahh(In my most childish voice)...

[cake_crumb]

Criminal charges for failing to report golf outings? Overkill.

[RockinRight]

I hope the GOP voters in Ohio have enough sense to vote Blackwell in the primaries and he will heal all wounds.

[goarmy]

Some things to ponder:

1. It seems that the Ohio newspapers have gotten off the backs of Betty Montgomery (State Auditor), Jim Petro (State Attorney General), and Kenneth Blackwell (Ohio Secretary of State), who are all Republicans, and they're focusing their efforts against Governor Taft, who's in hot-water with the Republicans, so he's as weak as they come.

2. Those idiot Democrats want Ohio in 2008, and they interpreted the recent, close results of Ohio 1st District's Congressional Seat (Hackett vs. Schmidt) as a sign of weakness that voters are tiring of Republicans and our devious ways.

3. Only weeks ago, a Democratic rally was held in Ohio's capital starring Hillary Rodham as herself and Columbus Mayor and Governor-Wannabe Michael Coleman proclaiming that the Democrats "have a new pot of ideas."

4. Both US Senators from Ohio (both Republicans) voted down the nomination of President Bush's choice for US Ambassador to the UN...John Bolton (perhaps you've heard of him). Both have lost confidence from their Conservative constituents. They're both weak.

Dunno about you, but I see an allocation of resources focused on Ohio.

[darkangel82]

Neither did I...but then again I moved out of Ohio just before turning 18, so I never voted there.

[The Old Hoosier]

Time to resign.

[RushCrush]

I didn't see the word "Republican" til half way down the story. I thought for sure the guy was going to be a D the way they had it buried.

[RockinRight]

What is the order of succession in Ohio? I only support a resignation if the Sec. of State became Governor. If it's the Lt. Gov NO FREAKIN WAY because it would give her an incumbency advantage come 2006.

[leadpenny]

Add to all this a DWI Supreme Court Justice and another one hauling a carload of cash, Ohio is starting to sound like a third world country.