Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Redistricting should not be done by any elected officials...Ohio has some of the worst gerrymandering in the country...a non gerrymandered map would probably give the GOP 9 seats and the Dems 6...instead of it will likely be 11 GOP to 4 Dems...in a state that is only 52-48 to at worst 54-46 GOP lean.
There are only two safe seats for Democrats in the state - the 3rd district around Columbus, and the 11th around Cleveland. While a few of the others aren't completely safe for Republicans, there is a good chance they could break 13 R/2 D in the upcoming midterm.
I wouldn't be surprised if given the current Supreme Court, they remove any checks and balances on the legislature going forward so they can strengthen the gerrymander even more.
And it's outrageous that DeWine is not recusing himself.
Why? His father is one of 7 members on the commission. Assuming that the board votes along partisan lines, which I believe it has been, his father's vote is inconsequential as there are a majority of GOP members of the board even without his father's presence.
Much ado about nothing really, given that the difference between an Ohio Republican and a garden variety Democrat is like the difference between the colors "olive drab" and "army green." Basically the exact same thing with different names.
Much ado about nothing really, given that the difference between an Ohio Republican and a garden variety Democrat is like the difference between the colors "olive drab" and "army green." Basically the exact same thing with different names.
Lol...not even close...a garden variety Democrat isn't trying to ban abortion, or allow getting guns even easier...those are just a start.
Why? His father is one of 7 members on the commission. Assuming that the board votes along partisan lines, which I believe it has been, his father's vote is inconsequential as there are a majority of GOP members of the board even without his father's presence.
He can't remain impartial when his own father is on the commission. Doesn't matter how his dad votes on it. It's no different than if a Judge's own family member is accused of a crime...said judge cannot sit on the bench to conduct that trial...Pat DeWine should recuse himself in this matter for the same type of reason.
The excuse that does not absolve the root problem?
There is no "root problem." Again, his father's vote on anything has not been determinative. A federal judge married to a member of congress, likewise, wouldn't be expected to recuse because the judge's spouse was one of many votes in support of a piece of legislation now before the court, particularly if the spouse-member's vote wasn't determinative in the outcome of the legislation. While the numbers in this case with the Ohio redistricting committee compared to congressional numbers are far different, the bottom line about impact is the same. Again, the governor's vote is not needed to form a majority here on the commission. Now, Justice Dewine has stated that he'd recuse if the state supreme court moved forward with a contempt of court action against the members of the redistricting committee, to include his father. That would be a required form of recusal as the justice would literally be ruling on a matter of criminal or civil liability directly impacting his father. This is hardly what we are dealing with at a base level, though.
He can't remain impartial when his own father is on the commission. Doesn't matter how his dad votes on it. It's no different than if a Judge's own family member is accused of a crime...said judge cannot sit on the bench to conduct that trial...Pat DeWine should recuse himself in this matter for the same type of reason.
On the contrary, the hypothetical you mention is drastically different than what we are dealing with now and is exactly why Justice DeWine stated that he would recuse if the court moved forward with contempt action against members of the committee. In such a case, DeWine would be ruling on a criminal or civil matter directly affecting his father. That is not what we are dealing with here, though. Governor DeWine, as one of multiple members in the majority, is not directly impacted by any ruling of the court on the constitutionality of the maps.
And why can't DeWine be impartial with his father on the commission? What interest of his father would DeWine be looking out for? Again, DeWine's vote isn't even required for the actions that the commission has been taking. Fundamentally, DeWine is not the commission. The court ruling on actions of the commission rule on the commission as a body, of which DeWine is one of many members. Again, things would be different (and hence the stated different standards that Justice DeWine has for the matter) if the commission members were being heard at the court on a contempt matter as that is an action against individual members of the commission.
Next thing you know folks will be claiming that DeWine can't rule on any piece of legislation before the court that his father signed into law or vetoed, which would be ridiculous and not be the sort of action that judicial impropriety rules were meant to cover.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
