FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017  
What a Difference a Year Makes

     Think of how much things have changed in Ohio Politics since the First Friday In January 2016. In our Just Another “Guest Column” E-dition, the Ohio Republican Party didn’t do their “Favorite Son” any favors when Cronies in Columbus stupidly “ENDORSED” Ohio Governor John Kasich for president 44-9  (while no other candidates were even considered), especially after Ohio TEA Party Rabble-Rouser Tom Zawistowski, President of the We the People Convention, predicted they be demonstrating why Republican Primary voters would vote to elect Donald Trump or Ted Cruz in the March Primary in then only 66 more days by proving there was no Republican Party in Ohio, there was only the Kasich Machine.

The next day, Ohio Senator Rob “Fighting for Same Sex Marriage”Portman gave Kasich the Kiss of Death when he endorsed Kasich for President.

That was really hard to figure out: Portman, who had one of the lowest name recognition and support levels among Ohioans (let alone Republicans) and had pissed off every Conservative, was endorsing a governor who embraced ObamaCare, has failed to defund Planned Parenthood, and has been completely AWOL on Common Core. That’s when we realized why Kasich said same-sex marriage was “the law of the land.” Maybe he was just making a public overture to Rob “Fighting for Faggots” Portman!

Google’s Blue Headline Mistake on Columbus Dispatch story was only icing on the cake.

Ohio TEA Party Rabble-Rouser Tom Zawistowski is probably having more fun on the First Friday in January 2017 congratulating Clifton native and Stark County resident Jane Timken for her dramatic upset victory over incumbent Matt Borges for the powerful position of Ohio Republican Party Chairperson.  The original vote was 33 for Timken and 32 for Borges with one State Central Committee member not in attendance. A total of 34 votes was required for either of the candidates to win outright. After a second vote, which again ended up 33-32 in favor of Timken, a recess was taken. Before a third vote could be taken, it was clear that Borges could not get the votes to win and a deal was made for Timken to be the new Ohio Republican Party Chairperson while Borges would step down and become “Chairman Emeritus.” 

Zawistowski said “This was a HUGE victory for those of us in Ohio who voted for Donald Trump in November and who are sick and tired of crony and corrupt politics. Jane Timken promises to end the mafia like tactics of Kasich and Borges and restore the integrity of the Ohio Republican Party by following its own by-laws, holding fair elections, using the Republican National Party Platform as measuring stick for anyone wanting to run as a Republican, and serving the needs of the County Republican Parties who have been mostly ignored in recent years. The bottom line was the Ohio Republican Party would now be acting as political party again instead of a tool to serve a few powerful elected officials. That is what American citizens wanted, a party that represents them and their needs and not just the needs of the rich and powerful.

This was a proxy battle between Republican President-Elect Donald Trump who supported Timken and Ohio Governor John Kasich who supported Borges. With the defeat, Kasich’s position in Ohio political circles is severely reduced as a lame duck Governor who has now lost control of the Ohio Republican Party.  Neither Kasich nor Borges supported Trump for President and they were accused of actually withholding ORP resources from the Trump campaign in Ohio in order to make him lose. Borges staffers even publicly embarrassed Trump Ohio Chairman Bob Paduchik weeks before the election causing Paduchik to remove Borges from having anything to do with the campaign. Paduchick has since become the Co-Chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) which further complicated the issue of Borges remaining ORP Chairman. Timken won in large part because Republican State Central Committee members could not see how the Ohio Republican Party could operate successfully going forward while being at odds not just with the Republican President but also with the Republican National Committee.

Phil Burr-ass was not sorry to see Borges go, either. “It will be nice not to have a pay-for-play lobbyist and former representative of the homosexual agenda as chair of the Ohio Republican Party,” the Former Citizens for Community Values Chairman said.

The Blower says not only was all of this a total rebuke for Borges, Kasich, and Portman, but it was also a total ass-kicking for The Fishwrap.