Partisan divide on display

COLUMBUS

If you want to know just how politically tense the atmosphere at the Ohio Statehouse has become, look no further than the abbreviated House session that took place this week.

What Republicans had hoped would be an affirmative vote on their revamped congressional district maps dissolved into a debacle, complete with shouting matches and lawmakers leaving the chamber in protest over partisan floor speeches.

You can go back and watch the drama on the Ohio Channel (online at www.ohiochannel.org) for yourself, but the camera angles don’t do justice to the proceedings.

You’ll hear House Minority Leader Armond Budish, a Democrat from the Cleveland area, attempt to give a floor speech criticizing the GOP’s new maps.

“The Republicans unilaterally created the most egregious partisan map in Ohio political memory,” he began.

But you won’t see Rep. Lynn Wachtmann, a Republican from northwestern Ohio who isn’t afraid to share his opinion, call Budish out of order for launching into a debate on a bill that was not brought up for consideration.

“These lies shouldn’t be allowed from the floor, Mr. Speaker,” he shouted.

And you won’t see a dozen or so Republican lawmakers rise from their seats and leave the chamber in a silent protest over Budish’s continued assertions.

You will see Rep. Bob Hagan, a Democrat from Youngstown, stand up with a copy of The Vindicator and point out a headline about his district having the highest poverty rate in the country.

“I’m left wondering what the hell we’re doing down here,” Hagan said. “We’ve introduced legislation that brings us down here that does nothing to put people to work, to bring people out of poverty, to take care of health care.”

Shouting match

But you won’t see Rep. Mike Duffey, a Republican from the Columbus area, and others attempt to shout Hagan out of order for his comments, prompting an angry shouting match in reply from the Democratic representative.

“Don’t interrupt me,” Hagan said. “This is about the constitution and my ability and right to speak. So don’t you dare interrupt me.”

And you may not see Hagan’s press release following Thursday’s session, in which he urged the House’s GOP leaders to make charitable contributions of nearly $8,000 — the total reimbursement lawmakers will receive for their trip to the Statehouse that day.

“... The way I see it, House leadership can begin helping with real solutions by donating the cost of mileage reimbursements for legislators to the Youngstown Second Harvest Foodbank,” Hagan said. “It might be the greatest action they take to address poverty in Ohio.”

It was high political theater, but it appears to indicate that Republicans and Democrats are nowhere near a compromise on Ohio’s congressional district maps.

Which means Democrats will continue to collect signatures to place the maps approved in September on next year’s general election ballot.

Which means Ohio’s district boundaries could ultimately end up in the hands of a federal judge in some other state.

Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Statehouse correspondent. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.