Ohio Republicans Still In Disarray!

'Sounds like the dipshits are running the asylum.'

Earlier this month in Ohio, the state House's Democratic minority and 22 Republicans allied to elect Jason Stephens (R) as speaker, smooshing the bid by rightwing Republican Derrick Merrin, whose name still sounds like he'd be a guest star on The Rural Juror. As Talking Points Memo reports, the end run around the Trumpy Merrin has led to great dissension and backbiting among the chamber's Republicans, with Merrin refusing to acknowledge that "speaker of the House" even means anything, because it's not him, and some of the craziest rightwing priorities now look unlikely to go anywhere. And that's just not acceptable, so Merrin has now declared himself the real actual Republican leader, or at least the head of what he's calling the "Republican Majority Caucus," so there.

It is at this point that we should note that "Trumpy Merrin" would be a good name for a goofy cartoon talking-animal sidekick, like Scrappy Doo.

Merrin may have "lost" his bid for the speakership, but that doesn't mean he's willing to accept defeat, because for one thing, the 22 Rs who voted for Stephens no longer count as part of the Republican majority. Real authentic Republicans would never vote with Democrats, for one thing.

PREVIOUSLY! In Fun Trendlet, Ohio Dems Help Elect 'Moderate' Speaker To Republican Supermajority House 

The week of the vote for speaker, the state GOP underlined its displeasure with that treasonous act of bipartisanship by voting to censure the 22 breakaway Republicans who had supported the wrong Republican candidate. After all, if they were willing to vote with Democrats for a candidate other than Merrin, there's no telling what those crazies might get up to, as the Columbus Distpatch reported:

The resolution states, in part, that the vote "dishonors" the party and empowers House Democrats. It also notes that House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, held the Bible for Stephens to swear upon.

Hang on. A Democrat held the Holy Bible? With a sacrilege like that, Stephens may as well have been sworn in on a copy of Gender Queer. It's like allowing a dirty Kom to say the E Plebnista.

Arthur McGuire, a Dayton-area pastor on the GOP committee, said that the heretics simply had to be shunned, explaining, "If we don’t make a statement right now, we’re really submitting the state of Ohio into the hands of a Democratic Party that wants to take the state back to blue."

In a gesture of mercy toward the apostates, the committee struck the initial draft's provisions that would have barred the state party from endorsing the sinners or providing them with campaign funds; we assume that instead the MAGA wing will settle for shaving the 22 defectors' heads and marching them naked through the streets of Toledo as loyal Republicans shout "SHAME! SHAME!"

One of the schismatics, state Rep. Jon Cross (R?), was a bit incredulous that he'd be censured just for voting his conscience, as if he hadn't seen what the GOP has become in the last few years:

"What you’re telling me is I’m a Republican that voted for a Republican speaker and the state Republican party is censuring me? Sounds like the dipshits are running the insane asylum."

The Columbus Dispatch didn't even use asterisks to cover up his consternation, we'll note.

For his part, the actual House Speaker Stephens issued a statement calling for party unity, with the sort of "big tent" rhetoric that leads to backsliding and failing to impose work requirements on hospitalized Medicaid patients. We did at least enjoy the reference to Kevin McCarthy's own midnight deal at the crossroads with the Freedom Caucus.

All over the country, there has been a debate between Republicans in legislatures on how best to decide their leadership, even at the national level. What makes the Republican Party strong is when we think about Ohio first. Putting Ohioans first and listening to others is my commitment and priority so we can all move Ohio forward

Merrin also barred the Shamed 22 from the meeting in which he ascended to command of the Real Not Fake Loyal Republican Majority Caucus, and has since been demanding that he and his minority of House members be granted the powers they deserve, like forcing a vote on that idiotic plan to make it harder for constitutional amendments to be passed by voters. The plan would require that amendments win 60 percent of the public vote in a referendum, instead of the current simple majority. After all, if a majority of voters could decide things, they might act like voters in other states and protect abortion rights, or even fix Ohio's horribly gerrymandered Legislature.

Having been denied the speakership by a majority of the Ohio House, Merrin clearly sees why democracy is a terrible idea, so he's refusing to play along with the dangerous idea that Stephens has any legitimacy simply because he was "elected." Merrin has taken to complaining about the "dictatorship" of the Speaker, and calling for more "decentralized" power in the House to make things fairer to losers.

House Minority Whip Jessica Miranda (D) didn't seem all that impressed by Merrin's stirring calls for minority rule, telling TPM, "You can say whatever you want to say. You don’t have the gavel." That's a pretty good warning, Ms. Miranda.

In conclusion, things are pretty interesting in Ohio these days. If Republicans aren't careful, democracy may even break out.

[ TPM / Columbus Dispatch / Photo: "Ɱ," Creative CommonsLicense 2.0 ]

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