Jim Dao from the NY Times has a good article on the Ohio GOP Coin-gate scandal. Pretty much captures all the main elements:
For nearly a decade, Thomas Noe has been the Republican Party's man to see in northwest Ohio, a confidant of governors and a prodigious fund-raiser for legislators, judges and just about every Republican statewide elected official.The article captures some of the political implications of the growing scandal:
He also happened to be a dealer in rare coins. And in 1998, the Ohio Workers' Compensation Bureau agreed to invest in a rare-coin fund that he controlled as a way to hedge its holdings in stocks and bonds, an investment that experts have called highly unorthodox.
But this week, Mr. Noe's lawyers said that as much as $13 million of the state's $50 million investment in his two funds could not be accounted for. Mr. Noe, meanwhile, has become the focus of at least six investigations or audits involving either his handling of the coin investments or his campaign fund-raising. Federal investigators are also looking into his contributions to President Bush's 2004 campaign as a "Pioneer," raising more than $100,000.
And suddenly, Republicans who once stood staunchly at Mr. Noe's side, and at his fund-raising parties, cannot seem to run from him fast enough.
Democrats have tried to turn the missing coins into a morality tale about the dangers of one-party government. Indeed, in Ohio it is hard to find anyone responsible for government problems who is not a Republican, since Republicans control not only the governor's office, but also the Legislature, the attorney general's office, the Supreme Court and the state auditor's office.If people in Ohio think the GOP is better for them now, they are beyond hope. And, the Democrats really need to drive this home. And is it me, or is it not a good thing when the GOP Party Chair starts comparing Coin-gate to Watergate?:
"One-party rule has made the Republicans much more sloppy in their corruption," said State Senator Marc Dann, a Democrat.
But the scandal has also jolted the Republican Party simply because Mr. Noe, thanks to his energy, charm and sheer fund-raising prowess, has helped or befriended just about every prominent Republican in the state. Mr. Taft, who cannot run for re-election because of term limits, received about $20,000 in donations from Mr. Noe and his wife over the past decade.
The three Republicans trying to replace Mr. Taft in next year's election - Auditor Betty Montgomery, Attorney General Jim Petro and Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell - have all received thousands of dollars from Mr. Noe and his wife, Bernadette, in recent years, according to state campaign records. All three have opened audits or investigations into Mr. Noe's coin funds or campaign contributions.
"Of course this damages the party," Robert Bennett, the chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, said in an interview. "But we're going to be judged by how we respond to it. The people in Ohio understand that if you try to cover up, try to do the Watergate cover-up, it never will work in this day and age."And, Mr. Bennett, if it weren't for the investigations of the Toledo Blade, you would be covering this up...and there were a lot of rumors flying around about how you were trying to do just that.
