Coin-Gate Goes National

Front Page of the New York Times. The Times brings the rest of the country up to date, and adds a few snippets.

Coins Go Missing, and G.O.P. Insider Becomes Outcast
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And suddenly, Republicans who once stood staunchly at Mr. Noe's side, and at his fund-raising parties, cannot seem to run from him fast enough.
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Indeed, in Ohio it is hard to find anyone responsible for government problems who is not a Republican, since Republicans control not only the governor's office, but also the Legislature, the attorney general's office, the Supreme Court and the state auditor's office.

"One-party rule has made the Republicans much more sloppy in their corruption," said State Senator Marc Dann, a Democrat.
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As a result, the lone Democrat on the court will preside over the cases and has selected five other judges to stand in for her Republican colleagues.
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"Of course this damages the party," Robert Bennett, the chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, said in an interview. "But we're going to be judged by how we respond to it. The people in Ohio understand that if you try to cover up, try to do the Watergate cover-up, it never will work in this day and age."
In the 1990's, Mr. Noe, 50, was chairman of the Republican Party in Lucas County, which includes Toledo. His wife held the same position until last year. He was a friend of Gov. George V. Voinovich, now a senator, whose administration first approved a $25 million investment in Mr. Noe's rare-coin funds in 1998.
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"Just about every person I meet wants to talk about this issue," Representative Ted Strickland, a Democrat who is also running for governor, said in an interview. "I've tried to talk for some time about the arrogance of single-party rule, but this scandal has struck like a bolt of lightning."

This is what one party rule leads to. Interesting that the GOP Party chair mentions Watergate...

Yesterday, the Dispatch ran a comical story of how the GOP intends to "clean up it's house"

Buffeted by scandals involving high-profile Republicans, Ohio GOP Chairman Robert T. Bennett plans to require any Ohio candidate seeking state party support to attend ethics training.
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The ethics training, to be conducted by the state party, will be aimed at helping Republicans avoid even an appearance of impropriety.
Problems develop, Bennett said, when party officeholders and officials "start thinking they are bulletproof."

"People must understand that if they are in public life they’re living in a fishbowl. They must approach everything they do as if God is looking over their shoulder, and standing next to God is a reporter."

Asked about Bennett’s ethics training plan, Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Dennis L. White said, "It’s too late, Bob. This is what happens under one-party control."

Ethic Training ! Heh. We don't know about our readers, but we believe that one hardly needs ethics training to know the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Last time we checked, stealing money and receiving stolen money was hardly a gray area. Covering up those crimes also hardly needs ethics training. The GOP in Ohio were hardly interested in coming clean when this story first broke.

The Toledo Blade reported on April 6, 2005 that the Ohio Workers Compensation Board attacked Democrats for asking for an investigation:

Yesterday, Jeremy Jackson, the bureau's press secretary, said it was "unfortunate that there is a group of legislators trying to use taxpayers dollars to investigate a profitable investment. In our opinion, that is the real waste of taxpayers' dollars."

The head of the Workers Compensation Bureau sent a letter to legislators telling them to back off:

James Conrad, administrator of the bureau, sent letters this week to several Ohio Democrats who were critical of the coin deal. In his letter, Mr. Conrad said the bureau made money on the investment and that it was properly vetted.

"The fact is both Capital Coin funds have performed well for the benefit of Ohio's employers and injured workers," Mr. Conrad wrote.

Conrad and his decision to invest $50 million in Noe's fund was supported by Ken Blackwell, the Secretary of State and a candidate for Governor (who oversaw the 2004 elections). Blackwell:

"would not criticize the bureau's investment in rare coin funds."

"I would never have any reason to question Jim Conrad's integrity. When you run a fund size of $18 billion and you're looking at $50 million, 'Beyond what one's disposition might be, is that an irresponsible amount of risk?' Most people would say no," he said."

Looks like a whole bunch of Ohio Republicans are going to need some ethics training. Though one must think simply replacing them is the best option.