Thursday, September 22, 2005
Slime-o-the-day: Jeff Jacobson
Why do we need to Reform Ohio Now? One of persistent reasons that literally raises its ugly head is Dayton-area State Senator Jeff Jacobson.
With Ohioans demanding an end to corruption at the Statehouse, the differences in how the Democrats and Republicans are tackling the question of how to end the pay-to-play era are startling.
For example, a story in today's Blade, helps draw the distinction. On the one hand, we have Sen. Marc Dann, the Democrat who has been the most persistent and hard-edge voice for reform in the State:
And what's this bullshit about "the way an administration conducts itself"? Yeah, the Taft administration is corrupt, but it's not limited to Taft. The biggest cesspool is the Statehouse, itself, and it's slimey denizens like Jacobson.
Jacobson, we all must remember, was one of the first current-era politicians to get caught with his hands in the cookie jar. He was a master at utilizing county-level "party operating accounts." People like Jacobson who want to "game" the system absolutely love these operating funds because current campaign laws exempt them from disclosures. Payments to and from these accounts are not reported.
Jacobson got into hot water in 2003 and early 2004 when he controlled the Montgomery County GOP's operating account. Back then, he was one of the politicians vying to take over as the powerful President of the Senate. As is often the case, the difference between being Senate president and being an also-ran is who can raise the most cash - or promises of cash - to influence other GOP senators.
The fundraisers with the mostvicious aggressive reputation at the time were Kyle Sisk and Brett Buerck. These two knew who and how to put the squeeze on, and how to sling the mud. Well, maybe they were a little too vicious aggressive, because someone complained to the IRS, the FBI and the federal attorney. The feds opened an investigation and the matter is still under federal scrutiny.
But, despite the existence of a federal criminal investigation into the two, Jacobson felt that Sisk and Buerck were such valuable commodities that he sought a way to hire them - on the sly. He used the "operating funds" and a third-party conduit to launder payments to the duo.
Fortunately for Ohio, Jacobson's scheme and Senate President plans unraveled in July 2004 when details of the payments became public.
So Jacobson is far from being one of the "good guys" in the effort to end the corruption and the influence of big money on elections. When rotten, cynical pols like him say "the rules don't matter," it's a huge clue that they really do.
With Ohioans demanding an end to corruption at the Statehouse, the differences in how the Democrats and Republicans are tackling the question of how to end the pay-to-play era are startling.
For example, a story in today's Blade, helps draw the distinction. On the one hand, we have Sen. Marc Dann, the Democrat who has been the most persistent and hard-edge voice for reform in the State:
Dann of suburban Youngstown said he is working with fellow Democrats on a "government reform package" that would ban employees of firms with state contracts from contributing to the officeholder who awards those contracts.Then we have the response of GOP turd ball Jacobson:
"The problem is no matter how you write the rules, people find more tenuous ways to get around them," said [Jacobson] . . ."It's not only the tone, but the way an administration conducts itself that is more important than what the rules are."So there you have it. Democrat says we've got to outlaw this shit. The Repub says . . . well what does Jacobson actually say here? The essence of his comments are that GOP majority is going to keep the rules just like they are - where big money flows easily and secretively.
And what's this bullshit about "the way an administration conducts itself"? Yeah, the Taft administration is corrupt, but it's not limited to Taft. The biggest cesspool is the Statehouse, itself, and it's slimey denizens like Jacobson.
Jacobson, we all must remember, was one of the first current-era politicians to get caught with his hands in the cookie jar. He was a master at utilizing county-level "party operating accounts." People like Jacobson who want to "game" the system absolutely love these operating funds because current campaign laws exempt them from disclosures. Payments to and from these accounts are not reported.
Jacobson got into hot water in 2003 and early 2004 when he controlled the Montgomery County GOP's operating account. Back then, he was one of the politicians vying to take over as the powerful President of the Senate. As is often the case, the difference between being Senate president and being an also-ran is who can raise the most cash - or promises of cash - to influence other GOP senators.
The fundraisers with the most
But, despite the existence of a federal criminal investigation into the two, Jacobson felt that Sisk and Buerck were such valuable commodities that he sought a way to hire them - on the sly. He used the "operating funds" and a third-party conduit to launder payments to the duo.
Fortunately for Ohio, Jacobson's scheme and Senate President plans unraveled in July 2004 when details of the payments became public.
So Jacobson is far from being one of the "good guys" in the effort to end the corruption and the influence of big money on elections. When rotten, cynical pols like him say "the rules don't matter," it's a huge clue that they really do.
