Marc Dann: Providing Comedic Fodder Since Birth

During a recent search of editorial pieces from the past few weeks in Ohio newspapers, I came across a piece that the Warren Tribune-Chronicle published a week before Christmas on Ohio Attorney General-elect Marc Dann. The Tribune-Chronicle predicts that Dann, currently a State Senator from the 32nd District, will play politics during his term upcoming as Attorney General. Earlier in the week, we at Red State Rampage reported on the selection of Tom Winters, former attorney to Tom Noe, as Dann's right-hand man in the AG's office. Previously, Dann recommended Capri Cafaro, failed Congressional candidate and daughter of shady character J.J. Cafaro, as his replacement in the 32nd Senate District. Members of the Cafaro clan, Capri included, have been big patrons of Mr. Dann in the past, and this election cycle was no exception.
Anyhow, as if two major gaffes before even taking office were not enough, the editorial from the Tribune-Chronicle reports that the AG satellite office in Youngstown promised by Dann during the campaign will be located in a mall owned by the Cafaro family themselves! One could not make this up! The guy who made his name criticizing Republican corruption in Ohio, and won his campaign by tying his opponent to that corruption, is diving headlong into the game of pay-to-play? No. Never! Marc Dann is clearly not going to perform his duties based upon who gave him a campaign contribution, right? Well, given these three moves in the past month, before he has even taken office, Dann is on a fast track to becoming a cellmate of Jim Traficant and Tom Noe.

Marc Dann's upcoming term as Ohio's Attorney General should provide material for yours truly until at least 2010, and likely beyond, as we see how quickly Mr. Dann is able to screw up one of the top AG's offices in the nation. One piece of advice to anyone looking to do business with or stay on the good side of Marc Dann: Get those donations in early and often or be left out in the cold!

Photos below courtesy of the Lorain County Democratic Party, taken at the Marc Dann-Barbara Sykes "Harry Buffalo" fundraiser in October.
J.J. Cafaro, taking a rare break from buying his daughter a district and shopping for politicians to line his pockets, seen here with defeated Democratic Auditor of State nominee Barbara Sykes. Please note that they are wearing Dann for AG stickers, but that Dann and Cafaro are not seen together in any of the pictures, likely to avoid any suspicions.
Defeated 13th (and 14th) Congressional District candidate Capri Cafaro with the woman she lost the May 2006 Democrat Primary to, US Rep.-elect Betty Sutton.

Ohio Political Roundup

-My Congressman, Deborah Pryce, has (almost) officially won her bid for re-election, but due to the close margin of victory, another automatic recount will be taking place. Ever the optimist (or opportunist, you pick one), Mary Jo Kilroy is waiting to concede until after the recount is complete. I would post the still frame of her press conference in the Dispatch today, but it sent me in search of Pepto Bismol after a just a quick glance so I will spare you that misfortune. By the way, their 'recount strategy' is to make sure every vote counts, even the fraudulent ones. How dare Deb Pryce and the GOP disenfranchise fraudulent voters!

-Ohio Senate Democrats have filled two vacant seats left by Charlie Wilson's election to the US House and Marc Dann's election to Attorney General. It really showed that they searched high and low, near and far, for the best and brightest candidates to fill the posts; their commitment to cleaning up corruption and qualified politicians shines through brightly. Failed Congressional candidate Capri Cafaro is finishing up Dann's term, and Jason Wilson, who happens to be Charlie's son, will serve out his time. If Cafaro decides to become a media whore a la Marc Dann, at least she will look good on camera. Besides that, she will be a great fundraiser, and I will go ahead and guarantee that all of the cash will come on the up and up. I am sure that the donor gave it freely after being knee-capped and fitted for concrete shoes. The junior Wilson will also prove to be a great asset to petition drives taking place in neighboring districts; he did great work while coming up short on 50 valid signatures for his dad's last campaign (after which he was fired). He is a true scholar.

-The Ohio GOP Headquarters building on South Fifth Street in downtown Columbus has been vandalized no less than five times in the past month; it is clearly not politically motivated. Evidently, the latest in Democratic campaign strategy (or what qualifies for strategy) is to bankrupt the GOP by forcing them to make repeated costly repairs to their facilities. ORP spokesman, John McClelland, claims that they caught the culprit on video camera, which is not surprising because of the plethora of surveillance cameras on site there. My theory is that Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman is still perturbed at the GOP for running out of coffee at March's St. Patrick's Day Parade. He was told that there was Irish coffee available, but apparently his wife is the only one who likes it Irish.

-Look for a better sense of where the next General Assembly will be headed after session begins in January. The budget will be on the table (dripping with pork, to be sure), term limits will likely be addressed, and redistricting and campaign contribution reform will likely be broached by springtime as well. In order to get anything accomplished, there will have to be some cooperation due to the divided government coming into power.