Statehouse Rumors: Barrett incident not to be used in '08 no matter how much Kevin DeWine pouts about it

2010 Buckeye — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 12:08:30 -0700

My interest was piqued when I saw a story at RAB claiming that ODP's post with Chairman Redfern's statement blasting GOP Deputy Chair Kevin DeWine's sad attempt to use a 13 year old to the GOP's advantage was gone. So, I poked around a little and came up with the following rumor. I didn't run with it until I thought it was credible, so I do feel pretty confident posting it here.

Apparently private assurances have been passed from the Republican leadership in the Ohio House to the Democrats that this incident is off the table electorally in 2008. It is a private family affair that unfortunately was broadcast across the state. The House Republicans get it. Neither side of the aisle wants their kids to be dragged into the middle of a political mess. Too many good people already bypass public service due to the nasty state of politics. If suddenly everyone's kids are fair game, then no one with a family will want to run for office. Rep. Dolan, or whoever exactly initiated the Republican pledge, deserves a pat on the back for acting with a lot of class. I hope our leadership would extend the Republicans the same courtesy if the situation ever arose.

So now we roll around the Kevin DeWine. The Deputy Chairman of the Ohio GOP shot his mouth off pretty badly last week when he all but said that attacking a 13 year old was going to be page one of the Republican play book in 2008. This deal seems to signal that Kev really overstepped his bounds. Approaching the 2008 cycle, it also demonstrates that when Kevin DeWine opens his mouth, he isn't speaking for the entire Republican Party. He can't even speak for his colleagues in the Ohio House, and from what I gathered he was left out of the decision making regarding these assurances. That is a pretty damaging revelation for the man who aspires to be chairman in two years.

DeWine may have the do-anything-to-win faction of the GOP behind him, but it is nice to know that there are still some reasonable people who understand that standards of decency (i.e. not attacking minor children) should and do exist.

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Statehouse Rumors: Barrett incident not to be used in '08 no matter how much Kevin DeWine pouts about it