A frustrated LaTourette passes baton to Joyce

When former Ohio Rep. Steve LaTourette  arrived in Akron recently for a luncheon talk sponsored by the Akron Press Club and Bliss Instititute he recounted his frustration with trying to get anything done against the right-wing Tea Party fringe contrrolling the fate of most legislation.

They represent 40  or more House members  who come to the office each day, vote no, and go home praising themselves for a job well done.  It was left to  the memory of Groucho Marx to describe such heinous resistance:   "Whatever it is, I'm against it."

LaTourette faulted the Republican Party for failing to invite minorities, women, gays and others to come aboard. And as a reputed moderate Republican from Lake County, he decided to  give up his seat in 2012 after 18 years in the House.  He is now pacing a group, Main Street Partnership, which is supporting GOP moderates against the sweep of Tea Party insanity.  While a noble cause, it does seem to be an attempt to build a sand castle in a windstorm.

LaTourette has also had nice things to say about his Republican successor, Rep. David Joyce, who is being challenged in the GOP primary.  Here, we have shadings of where moderation ends and the ancient GOP texts arise again.  For example, Joyce has put out campaign ads saying he wants to cut taxes and repeal Obamacare.   And ,of course, he  wants the voters to know that he opposes abortion while favoring family, guns and prayers. the Plain Dealer noted in endorsing him.

The  paper had little choice  against Joyce's Tea Party primary opponent, State Rep. Matt Lynch.  It described  Joyce, the former Geauga County Prosecutor,  as "less combative."

But there's nothing in Joyce's campaign spiel to suggest that he is a...um... moderate..

Eliminate Lynch from the equation, and you still have a garden variety version of a modern Republican conservative that's not likely change much of the resistance movement in Congress.

On Party of Lincoln dinners and yada yada yada...

Every year, the Summit County Party of Lincoln sets  aside a special fund-raising dinner to honor its icon's birthday. Though quite belatedly, this year's Party of Lincoln event, otherwise known as a Lincoln Day dinner on  Saturday is no different.  As County Party of Lincoln Chairman Alex Arshinkoff declared in the invitation (posted on the Party of Lincoln's web site as "Republican headquarters"), this year's event is a "not-to-be-missed opportunity to celebrate our Republican heritage." Indeed.  He expects that to be accomplished through his two Party of Lincoln guests,  Reps. David Joyce and Jim Renacci.

One of the Party of Lincoln's' heritage dinner highlights is what the chairman has boasted over the years as a watershed poll of Republican Presidential  candidate support. Last year the crowd went overboard for the hapless Rick Santorum, who just happened to be the celebrity speaker for the evening. So there!

Having no presidential candidate that survived the November election, the Party of Lincoln settled on Joyce and Renacci, both of whom find gun control quite distasteful. Which leads me to offer a reasonable alternative to a presidential survey:

How do Alex and all of his guests think Abe Lincoln, felled by a bullet,  would have voted on the background check?  C'mon. Be honest. If possible. 

Cornstalker-style Ohio political culture

The Ohio Republican congressional delegation continued to reveal itself on Tuesday as a committed right-wing hit squad  in its near unanimous opposition to the  emergency funds for  Hurricane Sandy's devastation.  The only Republican supporting the relief package was Michael Turner of Dayton.  Speaker John Boehner didn't vote.

That's enough to tell you that Republican David Joyce, the successor to Steve LaTourette,  joined the gang despite earlier hugs that he would be a moderate like Lake County's LaTourette? ( Does anybody recall that LaTourette retired with a condemnation of the partisanship in  politics today?)  Rep. Jim Renacci, who defeated Democrat Betty Sutton in a monstrously  redesigned district that favored him, cast a no vote.  Renacci is occasionally described  in national reports as a "moderate" but you wouldn't know that from the regularity with which he cavorts with his  party's most conservative diehards.

'Twould be refreshing to boast that the Buckeye State had entered the 21st. Century by twice supporting President Obama's election;  but with Gov.Kasich hanging out with the gun  enthusiasts and pro-lifers, and the cornstalkers running the  General Assembly, it would premature to rate the state's  political culture as anything more than clucky.