Former Blackwell Staffers Just Poor Losers?

Gene Pierce and Carlo Loparo – former spokesmen for Ken Blackwell during his time as Secretary of State and during his failed campaign for Governor – have teamed up with David Hansen (of Buckeye Institute Fame). This time they seem to have revenge on their minds. Revenge against the guy who defeated their candidate and lost them their jobs: Governor Ted Strickland.

I can find no other reasonable explanation for the project both men are currently involved in: trying to sink the budget recently passed by both the Ohio House and the Republican-controlled Ohio Senate. Their “problem” with the budget is that it includes a provision allowing video lottery terminals at Ohio’s racetracks. A provision included to avoid raising additional taxes on Ohioans. It’s a reasonable solution that would not have been pursued had we not been in such a serious economic crisis. And it’s a much better solution that the ones proposed by Blackwell during his campain (remember the whole sell the turnpike idea?).

I’m still waiting to hear Loparo and Pierce’s alternative proposal. I can’t wait to hear which programs they would like to cut and/or which taxes they like to raise to replace the revenue that will be generated by these lottery terminals. Until I hear them propose some alternative solution I’m going to continue to assume that this is nothing more than revenge politics.

The most ridiculous part of their whole endeavor is the name these guys chose for their group: Let Ohio Vote.

Given that Ken Blackwell, their former employer, is well known for preventing thousands of votes from being cast and counted in 2004 you’d think they could have come up with a little better name.

Another example of Republicans pushing their ‘do as we say, not as we do’ message.