“Betrayed.”
“Bull hockey.”
“Dipsh**s.”
This is a sample of the colorful language that marked the drama over who Ohio Republicans would elect as speaker of the state’s house of representatives. It all happened just as Republicans in D.C. were having a similar experience in the House, one that looks practically tame by comparison. In today’s Wall Street Journal, I have an account of what happened, and what it might mean for the state’s politics going forward:
As the national media focused on Kevin McCarthy’s contentious election as U.S. House speaker, a similar political drama was playing out in Columbus, Ohio—even though Republicans hold a 67-32 supermajority in Ohio’s House. At a party meeting shortly after November’s election, GOP state representatives chose Rep. Derek Merrin as their nominee for speaker. As the legislative session was set to begin earlier this month, however, a breakaway faction of 22 GOP lawmakers joined with the chamber’s Democrats to elect a different Republican, Rep. Jason Stephens, speaker.
Explanations of what happened and why differ. Rep. Allison Russo, the leader of the House’s Democratic minority, told the Columbus Dispatch that Democrats sensed division and wanted a speaker who “would work with us on the issues we could agree on.” But in an interview this week Mr. Merrin was decidedly less sanguine. “Every Republican voter in Ohio has been betrayed,” he said, accusing the dissidents of caring more about “power” than about conservative issues. “Tens of millions of dollars were invested in making Ohio a Republican state, a Republican-led state,” but thanks to Mr. Stephens and his faction, “now the Democrats are the ones who are really in control.”
Read the whole thing here. Whatever happens next, the story is a testament to how, in our federalist republic, Washington hardly has a monopoly in political intrigue. Maybe we would be better served by paying more attention to what happens outside the Beltway.