GOP has no shame

A highly respected, politically prominent businessman in the Mahoning Valley sent along this doozy of a text message that is revealing on so many levels:

“I received this in the mail from Mark Munroe for the Mahoning County GOP. Troubling for me is he is using one of our Convicted Felon Deceased Congressman’s quotes to incite votes for Trump!

“Appalling!

“Hope all is well.”

This writer responded thusly:

“Good to hear from you. Munroe is a hypocrite.”

To which the Valley business leader replied:

“He is trying to ignite the Jimbo mentality to come out and support Trump! Trump already has that vote! One would think Munroe would take a higher road in his attempt to bring parity to Mahoning Valley Elected officials! Munroe Crying out that Democrats were corrupt and we need Republicans to clean up the Valley and then using the biggest corrupt elected official of all time as his role model! Hypocrite is being nice to him!”

So, what was it that raised the ire of the usually soft-spoken, major financial donor to Democratic and Republican party candidates?

It was a fundraising letter from Mark Munroe, chairman of the Mahoning County Republican Party, that was addressed to “Republicans, Democrats and Independents of the Mahoning Valley.”

Here’s what Munroe wrote, in part:

“The Mahoning County Republican Party stands with the people and workers of the Mahoning Valley. For most of us living in the Valley, our roots are in our industrial past. Our values are hard work and sacrifice. We will not accept this new and elitist view of America.

“In elitist America, competition is viewed as evil. It is a country filled with ‘safe spaces’; young people living (in) the basement of their parents, being entitled to things rather than achieving them. We have become a nation with no backbone or resolve.”

Conclusion

But it was the conclusion to his letter that triggered the self-made businessman’s anger. Here’s what Munroe wrote:

“This is not a new problem. In 1993, Jim Traficant said:

‘“America has become completely bankrupt in world leadership, financial credit and its reputation for courage, vision and human rights. This is an undeclared economic war, bankruptcy, and economic slavery of the most corrupt order. Wake Up America. Take back your country.”

Yes, the same James A. Traficant Jr. who spent almost eight years in federal prison after being convicted of 10 criminal charges of bribery, racketeering and tax evasion stemming from his 17-year tenure as the very popular congressman from this region.

And yes, the same Mr. Traficant who Republicans in the Mahoning Valley had demonized for years as the personification of corrupt Democratic Party politics.

Traficant, who died in 2014 of injuries suffered in an accident on his farm, became a darling of the tea-party movement after he was released from federal prison. However, mainstream Republicans kept their distance.

Now, with the Republican primary election in the Mahoning Valley showing Democrats crossing over to vote for New York business billionaire Donald Trump, whose populist message is as transparent as the one that made Traficant a national political figure, Munroe and the GOP are treating the late congressman as a political icon.

They have no shame.

Indeed, it should be pointed out that while Munroe criticizes young people living in their parents’ basements “being entitled to things rather than achieving them,” he is on the public payroll in not one but two government entities. He is a member of the county board of elections by virtue of his being chairman of the Republican Party. He receives a salary of $15,085 for part-time work and health insurance coverage. He also is a member of the Ohio Racing Commission by virtue of being appointed by Republican Gov. John R. Kasich. He is paid $35.17 an hour, according to the state website, OhioCheckbook.com.

There’s an old saying that Munroe would do well to remember: Political operatives slopping at the public trough shouldn’t demean young people who are struggling to earn a living.

His arrogance is palpable.

It’s little wonder that a self-made, successful businessman is so upset.

But there’s more to Munroe’s fund-raising letter.

His invoking Traficant’s name is a blatant attempt to lure the many supporters of the late congressman to Trump’s candidacy. These supporters stuck with Jimbo through thick and thin.

And yet, not too long ago, Munroe had this to say about the 83-count indictment against a slew of individuals in the Oakhill Renaissance Place criminal conspiracy:

“When will the voters of the Valley wake up, and when will our best and brightest step forward and offer to run for office? I realize an indictment is just a charge, and we are all innocent until proven guilty, but the growing list of indicted Democrats is a poison that is eating away at the Valley.”

In light of Munroe’s fund-raising letter and his invocation of Traficant’s name, it would appear that one man’s political poison is another GOP chairman’s political nectar.

As the prominent businessman said of Munroe, “Hypocrite is being nice to him!”