Blackwell and Householder trade swipes

Democrats see an advantage in the dispute among Republicans.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell and Larry Householder, speaker of the Ohio House, are busy firing away at each other as the Republicans move to claim ground for the 2006 statewide election.
Have they forgotten about 2004, and Ohio's role as one of the prime battlegrounds in President Bush's campaign for a second term?
State GOP chief Bob Bennett doesn't think so, though he admits what he calls "inside baseball" is a distraction to campaign workers on the Bush Ohio team.
Last winter, Householder aides concocted a 109-page plan for a possible campaign against Blackwell's attempt to put a repeal on the penny-per-dollar sales tax increase, which the Legislature passed in June and Gov. Bob Taft signed into law.
The aides suggested that the campaign could be used to "dismantle" Blackwell and ruin his chances of winning statewide office in 2006, when Householder also plans a campaign.
Householder said he had dismissed the plan after reading part of it, and an aide acknowledged writing it with input from the House Republican campaign staff.
Last week, Blackwell teed off on Householder, Bennett, Gov. Bob Taft and other statewide officeholders who are not with him on the repeal issue.
A fund-raising letter written under a "Blackwell for Governor" logo and obtained by The Columbus Dispatch railed that GOP leaders are "espousing policies closer to [former Ohio Gov.] Dick Celeste, Teddy Kennedy and Bill and Hillary Clinton than Ronald Reagan."
Who's running
Blackwell, Attorney General Jim Petro and Auditor Betty Montgomery all say they are running for governor. Householder may seek the auditor's job after leaving the House next year because of term limits.
One potential problem for Householder is there will be only one nominee for governor and if a leader emerges early, candidates may drop out and seek another office.
Bennett said all the talk over 2006 hasn't detracted from this year's campaign for president. Ohio is considered one of the main battlegrounds. Bush is planning his third visit this year Tuesday, and Democrat John Kerry has been in the state five times, most recently last week.
"The real good news is every single one of our statewide officeholders has joined the Bush campaign team and joined the re-election team and is working toward that goal," Bennett said Friday. "We're really focused on one priority now."
Bennett, however, has taken steps to keep that focus sharp.
"The posturing over the 2006 election has to stop. I made that clear to our statewide officeholders," he said. "I haven't heard anything from the Bush folks. This has no effect on the presidential campaign. It's more of a distraction for us in Ohio."
Bush-Cheney Ohio Valley campaign chairwoman Jo Ann Davidson, a former speaker of the Ohio House, did not return a call seeking comment.
Joy for Democrats
The Democrats, still aching from Al Gore's decision to pull out of Ohio more than one month before the 2000 election, see the clashing Republicans as an advantage this year, Ohio Democratic Chairman Denny White said.
"Any time you've got people going in different directions in a political campaign, you've got a problem. It's got to affect the team spirit. Democrats are working together. We know what we need to do. That would give us an advantage," White said.
Gene Beaupre, a political analyst at Xavier University in Cincinnati, said local campaign staff, especially in GOP-rich southwest Ohio, won't do anything to upset the national campaign.
"The state party and the local party have a responsibility for execution and feeding the operation," Beaupre said. "That's what they're going to do."
Bennett is taking the squabbling in stride, though he took exception to Blackwell's comparison of himself and Reagan.
"I remind the candidates what Reagan really said: 'Anyone who agrees with me 80 percent of the time is my friend,'" Bennett said.