By John Mitchel, LtCol, USAF(Ret)
RE: “Martin banned at GOP outpost,” Dayton Daily News, September 29, 2011. How dare Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine act as judge, jury and executioner in ordering Mike Bir to ban my State Rep from exercising his political freedom? Although DeWine and other party operatives certainly have the right to express their opinions, they have taken it over the top when they take an official position that denies Mr. Martin’s right to peaceably assemble. You may agree that there’s more going on here than meets the eye.
To explain, why didn’t DeWine or Speaker Batchelder send out the attack dogs after two prior incidents that did not result in convictions as this incident hasn’t? My guess is that now that Jarrod has established himself as an outsider more interested in his constituents than towing the party line, he has outlived his usefulness to the GOP, but there’s more.
This investigative reporter personally handed over irrefutable evidence
(See http://www.reformcongress.com/2010/press/press03_15_10.htm ) that Congressman Steve Austria violated federal election laws, not to mention U.S. House Ethics Committee rules by not reporting his spouse’s employment with Nextedge in Springfield or his association with the Dayton Development Coalition on his personal Financial Disclosure Statement (Form B) filed on May 15, 2008.
Worse yet, Kevin DeWine was not the only one to receive that information. Add to the list Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, State Auditor (and now Lt. Governor) Mary Taylor, the Federal Election Commission, U.S. House Ethics Committee, and last but not least, Greene County Prosecutor Steve Haller. If you smell a cover-up, you’re probably on the right track.
If Republican leaders want to purge their party of misbehaving members, the least they can do is do it consistently, and not pick and choose their targets based on party insider status.