The excellent investigation of the Ohio coin scandal by the Toledo Blade is a gift that keeps on giving. Read today’s installment, titled “Coin scandal concerns resonate to D.C.”.
And a taste of what’s to come: [S]ome Democratic members of Congress are planning to meet with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean next week to talk about what happened in Ohio during the 2004 presidential election.
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“I think there should be an investigation of Ohio,” said Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), who last week put a statement on the congressional record about Ohio’s investment scandal. She said she is hopeful a meeting with Mr. Dean will put Democrats in position to undertake a review of what occurred in her home state.
A little sunshine is sure going to make those cockroaches scurry.
(Yes, I’m a newbie…first diary).
Welcome Gina NYC and what a great diary to start with. I am definitely giving this a recommend. I am soooo into the Ohio Coin Scandal. I haven’t been reading much the past week because of the Dean attacks but I will take a few moments time and read the article. I hope everybody here at Booman sees this.
welcome gina…i’m pretty new here also.
coingate is even being covered in the Houston Chronicle.
Hopefully, this story will be around until nov 2006.
If this story continues to get legs (it will remain hot in Ohio, the question is whether it will spread around the country), this could really force issues re: voting reform, redistricting, etc. It really is just a piece of the bigger scandal involving republicans stealing what isn’t nailed down and evading laws to get dirty money into the political process (Tom Noe meet Tom DeLay). What makes this particularly compelling, however, is that you can point to a thing (the Ohio Workers’ Comp. fund) and show that money was taken. That’s a simple story. The money was there, and now it isn’t. Even the most loyal republican voter has to be appalled at the way in which republican politicians and donors have raped the treasury. My hope is that this story not only keeps Kenneth Blackwell out of the governor’s mansion, but that it makes it damned near impossible for any republican to win a congressional or state seat come 2006.
I’ve had the feeling these past few days that they’re keeping a spotlight trained on him for a reason. It reeks of the sort of damage-control attack that they use all the time. They’re ditributing the talking points to the MSM. They wheeled out Dick to suggest that even Dean’s mother can’t stand him (i wonder what Lynn thinks of that sort of talk).
There’s blood in the water and they’re trying to draw some more as a distraction.
Oh, and thanks for the welcome.
Good diary. If the Dems can shine a spotlight on the Ohio election and Coingate, the state might start to swing back in our direction.
Thanks Maximus. I have to believe that republican powers that be are dreading Ohio 2006. If, as I suspect, there is a continued outcry over this growing scandal, then no amount of intimidation and vote stealing will be able to help them hold on to their power.
I’ve read that there were already divisions and dissatisfaction within the Ohio GOP. The ‘wingers apparently think the governor is too moderate (they prefer Blackwell, the Katherine Harris of Ohio).
Intra-party warfare + Coingate + election scandals could lead Ohio voters to feel like cleaning house.
Every day I feel I detect a new “Summer of Love” brewing in America…
Welcome Gina!
Actually, given that the Downing Street minutes story won’t quite die, a new breaking story was reported by The Sunday Times today (re: ministers told by Blair we are going to war, find a legal justification for it), Rep. John Conyers’ DSM hearing this week (his petition has over 500,000 signatures today), the Ohio coin scandal, Tom DeLay’s continuing ethics problems….well, I could go on, but given all of this I have a feeling that for the republicans it is going to be a long, hot summer. Pass the iced tea, please.
I like that frame in the article about Republicans – culture of corruption…
Great diary. I have been following this closely and haven’t had time in the last few days. I read another article down at the bottom of this article in the Blade that I had missed on this about the 215 million that was lost in the MDL hedge funds in Bermuda…seems that they didn’t read the fine print that any legal problems would be argued in a Bermuda court of low, guess Petro is going to be arguing British law…
It seems it’s not just a culture of corruption, but a culture of stupidity.
Excellent! i think that, when all is said and done, Coingate will be the story that contains all of the elements of the corruption and immorality that is encompassing the Republican party… all in one, nice, neat, easy-to-read package.
I agree. Tom DeLay’s ethics problems are a bit more complicated (Texas campaign laws, the use of various entities to make the connection between DeLay and the wrongdoing less obvious, etc.), but this story is easy to understand: rich republican donor is given $50 million in state money to invest and now $12 million is gone. Not that difficult to follow. Of course, all of the various deals between the implicated politicos and donors/others will get pretty complex, but the core of the story is clean and easy to understand. And it sounds like things are unraveling pretty quickly.
congrats on your first diary — and its always good to hear good news!