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Redfern: GOP Coingate Proposal Reeks of Arrogance

Redfern: GOP Coingate proposal reeks of the usual hypocrisy and arrogance House Democratic Leader Chris Redfern issued this statement today regarding a proposal “supported by the GOP House leadership” to rearrange the management chart at the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. We are seeing the usual arrogance and hypocrisy of one-party rule in the Statehouse. Just two weeks ago, GOP leaders lectured Democrats for having the audacity to put forward proposals to end the Statehouse pay-to-play culture before investigators had finished investigating corruption in state government. Now we are being told that new legislation to rearrange the management chart at the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation “is supported by the GOP House leadership.” So which is it? Is it too soon to be talking about reform? Or did I miss the string of indictments – and the part where Jim Petro successfully recovers the quarter of a billion dollars this administration lost in Bermuda? Democrats are putting forward meaty proposals to clean up the pay-to-play culture in Columbus only to see them gather dust in committee or blocked on the House floor. Meanwhile, Statehouse Republicans appear to be working from the same old playbook: Cobble something together behind closed doors that resembles reform, then arrogantly ram it through with little public input and over Democratic objections. We saw this last year, when, in a lame-duck session, Republicans quadrupled the amount of money special interests may give to elected officials and called it “reform.” And we are seeing it now, as Republicans arrogantly embrace an absentee voting proposal they ignored for years in a ploy to confuse voters about Issue 2. Ohioans deserve better than these partisan tactics when it comes to cleaning up the culture of corruption in Columbus – a culture perfected under 12 years of Republican rule. - 30 -