Where do they find these people?

Ohio's 2nd District is having a special election right now. The race will end up being closer than it should be in this traditionally Republican stronghold. If you haven't heard, Ohio's Republican Party is having problems.

Governor Bob Taft's approval rating is hovering in the high teens and over 3 out of 4 say they disapprove, including 71% of Republicans. Things have gotten bad enough that the Toledo Blade has nearly daily stories on various scandals. The most humorous (and still deeply serious) scandal has to be Coingate, where the Republicans invested millions in rare coins. $12 million disappeared. The issue has since gone beyond pure stupidity and corruption, to likely violations of state and federal election law.

So, in the midst of this scandal-ridden state, who do the Republicans tap to win a House seat? Jean Schmidt, whose list of ethics problems would make Tom Delay blush. Stephen Yellin has the list.

We've got standard pay-to-play fare. Schmidt went to a Bengals game and a restaurant on a $5,000 trip paid for by Chiron, Inc. Weeks later, she co-sponsored legislation for them.

We've got the Karl Rove streak. In a primary for State Senate (which she lost), she smeared the Hell out of her opponent.

We've got Ohio's own K Street Project, where she worked with a disgraced House Speaker to threatening lobbyists with punitive bills if they failed to donate money.

Meanwhile, her allies in the Ohio Taxpayers Association brutalized one of her opponents for anti-taxpayer stances that included voting for many of the same bills that she supported, while lauding her for her pro-taxpayer status. Sounds like Club for Growth without the lunatic idealism (shudder).

Meanwhile, the Democratic candidate, Major Paul Hackett, was in Fallujah with the Marines while Schmidt was being wined-and-dined by Chiron. He's a fighter, militarily and politically. Keep an eye on this race, it'll be an indicator of where things are headed over the next year. If Hackett outperforms 40% in this district, he'll be beating the snot out of expectations and Schmidt's ethically-challenged colleagues in DC might want to get nervous.

--Matt Singer

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