Ohio Roundup for Friday

-Bob Bennett will try to stay on for one last term as Chairman of the Ohio GOP in order to groom a successor. Who that will be is only speculation at this point, but here is to hoping that he does a bit of house cleaning before he goes. All of the Republicans who are affiliated with the ORP and went to publicly support and even financially support Democrat candidates this election cycle should be at least censured, and at most booted out. This would include Brian Hicks, former Chief of Staff to Gov. Bob Taft, who I can remember seeing at one GOP fundraiser back in the spring leaving for the Democratic fundraiser across the hall. Integrity at its best there. All in all, Bennett has done well for the party, and staying on one last term will be a good thing, what with a Presidential Election coming up in 2008.

-US Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) will be the new minority ranking member on the House Small Business Committee. I, for one, am glad to see this move, as Chabot is one of my favorite Congressmen, especially in Ohio. He sticks to his guns, and is very good on fiscal and business matters. The man knows his stuff and will continue to represent his district, and Ohioans, very well.

-The Ohio Senate is gearing up for the override veto vote early next week on the updated Concealed Carry law, one that would strike all local gun laws on the books and implement a statewide standard. This is a great idea, but apparently Bob Taft enjoys living in assault weapons-free Columbus, as he vetoed the bill in one last inept act. The House has already bucked Taft, but the Senate will need to pick up a couple of votes to do the same, as they voted 19-10 to pass the measure originally.