Tom Niehaus, a Republican making sense

I spend so much yelling at Republicans that it is only fair to report that an ounce of sanity still exists in the Ohio Senate. His  name is Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus, a Republican  who has removed from the legislative table the so-called heartbeat  abortion bill and another that would defund Planned Parenthood in Ohio.

He issued the following statement on Tuesday:

"From my  perspective, I think you have to look at the entirety of the work that's done by Planned Parenthood, and I believe that they offer much needed services that are not available other places, so I chose not to take up the bill in lame duck."

What a breath of fresh air from  the cave-like GOP!

NOTE:  My column on the GOP state candidates for 2014 has been posted on Plunderbund.  

The NY Times may be on to something

   

This war-like headline ran over half of the cover page of the New York Times Sunday  Review section.  It led me to check the Ohio situation before  resentful Republicans started quacking their age- old complaint about the liberal media. Would you be surprised  if I reported that four of Ohio's top political leaders had roots in towns with a total population of 16,804?

Here they are:

        Gov. Kasich, McKees Rocks, Pa., 6,118

        Secretary of State Jon Husted, Village of Montpelier, 4,071

        Senate majority leader, Tom Niehaus, New Richmond, 2,582

       Atty. Gen.. Mike Dewine, Cedarville, 4,033

(I purposely left out this list of small-town politicians House speaker  Bill Bachelder, who, compared to the others, arrived in Columbus from the megalopolis of Medina, pop. 26,827.)

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As Mitt Romney continues to back away from his 47 percenters and other odd numbers, is it possible that he might be suffering from percentile dysfunction?  After all, as he has shown, percentages aren't for everyone.  If side effects  persist,  he should call his doctor, but only if he has coverage for pre-existing conditions.

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The Sunday Plain Dealer reported at length that Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown has been hit b y a $19 million  avalanche of radio and TV  ads that have made the race closer than it deserves to be  against Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel.  The money is from outside groups , including Karl Rove's vault.  I haven''t heard much from Josh's cheering section, which says it's an up-and-down race about Brown by Super PACs  and corporate interests who care little about the challenger and would  be  satisified to replace Brown with Donald Duck without a pleasant nod to Mandel. If  Mandel's money machine happens to pull an upset - Good heavens, don't even think about it! -  will he stand up in the winner's circle  on Election night and declare that he built the victory himself.  He will because he has a very inventive mind when there is a need to say, "I am Josh Mandel and I approve this message."

PD PolitiFact: Two Ohio lawmakers slammed

ON TWO CONSECUTIVE DAYS, the Plain Dealer nailed the top two Ohio Republican lawmakers for lies. On Monday, Aaron Marshall, in the PD's PolitiFact column, cited House Speaker William Batchelder for a hokey story about a Canadian provincial prime minister who sought medical aid in Ohio because his treatment in Canada was so slow that it would have endangered his life. After an intensive investigation of Bacthelder's claim, PolitiFact rated it "Pants on Fire." There is obvious method to Batchelder's madness inasmuch as Ohio's Republican leaders, from Gov. Kasich down, have made the new health care reform law a primary target for their attacks on President Obama in 2012.

Today, PolitiFact looked into the charge by Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus that Senate Bill 5's protestors deficated in the Statehouse.

The PD's Reginald Fields writes:

"As Senate President, Niehaus is one of the most influential people in the state government and when he speaks people listen. Yet his claim is beyond inaccurate. It's a ridiculous assertion that is unsupported by people who actually take care of the Statehouse."

Fields' rates Niehaus's claim: "Pants on Fire."

Oh, my! With all of the crap already flying around the legislature these days, you'd think that Niehaus would have found a different image to make his imagined point.

Ohio senate loosens purse strings

PUT THIS IN THE CATEGORY OF YOU-CAN'T- MAKE-THIS-UP:

Down in Columbus at the Statehouse, where the honored catchword in troubled times is "frugality", we read in the Columbus Dispatch that the Ohio Senate has given raises to its 19 top aides ranging from 4 pct. to 33 pct. The lucky recipients include 10 Republicans and 9 Democrats. But Senate President Tom Niehaus (R) says calm down, he can explain it. "It's never a bad time to do the right thing," Niehaus said. "What I did with the pay increases is consistent with what we advocate in Senate Bill 5, which is paying people for performance .

Among those receiving $15,000 raises was Niehaus' chief of staff, Matt Schuler, whose salary rose to $138,507. With this crowd of cheapskates, it all depends on whose wallet is being gored.