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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > June > 01 > Entry
Editorial: Lawmakers push buttons, get rewarded
Last week saw a flurry of bills coming up for action in Columbus because legislators wanted to adjourn for summer. A check on Friday to see what had happened on Thursday proved interesting. Specifically, it provided an insight into how certain issues become full-employment opportunities for politicians playing to interest groups.
On one day the Republican-controlled Senate acted on gun control, abortion and immigration. Old reliables, even if the politicians have to stretch a bit to find something to do with them, something that pleases contributors and activists.
In the category of issues that never go away, there was also campaign finance. But that one made some sense.
The U.S. Supreme Court has dramatically changed the rules about corporate contributions in political campaigns, allowing more leeway. That moved some legislators to enact rules in Ohio about what form of disclosure the corporations must do. Fine.
But look at the other efforts:
Gun control: Sen. Shannon Jones, R-Springboro led an effort to grant a new right to people who have permits to carry concealed weapons: she wants them to be allowed to carry them into bars and restaurants.
Perhaps it had not come to your attention that the people of Ohio were up in arms, so to speak, about the prevailing denial of the inalienable basic right to be armed while eating.
As for drinking, they still wouldn’t be allowed, not if they’re carrying a gun. Nor could they enter a restaurant that has one of those no-gun signs.
Given that the people who carry concealed weapons legally are a small minority, the number who are demanding this particular amendment must be tiny, indeed. But, hey, a constituency is a constituency. And there’s no law against micro-legislating.
(An intriguing response came from Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer. He favors the change but said, “I think it puts pressure on bar owners to raise their awareness to make sure people aren’t drinking alcohol,” meaning, presumably, the people who are packing. But the whole idea is that the weapon would be concealed. How would the bar owner know about it?)
Abortion: Sen. Tim Grendell, R-Chesterland, won Senate approval without debate for a measure about abortions done without parental consent. As things stand, a minor can go to court to ask for a waiver of the law requiring parental consent.
Sen. Grendell says some judges grant the waiver 90 percent of the time. Too high for him. His bill would require that the court inquire into how much the pregnant girl knows about the impact of abortion.
Immigration: Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, moved to prevent illegals from getting workers’ compensation benefits. There’s not much evidence illegal aliens are getting workers’ comp. The state doesn’t check on immigration status.
Of course, a case can be made for denying state aid to aliens, as they are denied Medicaid and unemployment benefits. But the measure ran into the complaint that there’s something a little sleazy about letting employers use illegal aliens until they get injured, then dump them, without responsibility.
Whatever one thinks about these pieces of micro-legislation, what’s striking is how determined the politicians are to make sure that a useful issue never goes away. If they lose, they can keep trying, which is fair enough. And if they win, they just keep asking for more.
At some stage, they get an award at a banquet, which follows awards in the form of campaign contributions, and promotes more.
The sad part is that, meanwhile, their salaries are being paid by everybody.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Editorials, Martin Gottlieb, Ohio government, Ohio politics
Comments
By mycroft6
June 1, 2010 3:41 PM | Link to this
They waste time on this stuff but can never find the time to fix school funding.
By davidss2
June 1, 2010 7:19 PM | Link to this
AT least it gives Martin a chance to lambast Republicans. Democrats have never done anything less than totally honorable. Grin. ————————Something new on the opinion page in the written DDN: “We promise to be honest brokers. We believe in listening to and considering all sides. We believe that party labels tell voters nothing about the compettence or integrity of public officials. We believe in pragmatic, compassionate government.” o————What a laugh. This town needs another, a real newspaper.
By Mike R
June 2, 2010 4:23 PM | Link to this
This is obviously news to the DDN, but those are 3 hot-button issues—Always have been and always will be. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise any politician, from either party, would want to “discuss” those issues with their supporters. Guns and alcohol don’t mix, but unlike the DDN I do support the 2nd Amendment and believe in the Constitution. You can see why the DDN brings up abortion. As noted in earlier writings—it is rumored Ellen was promiscuous in her earlier days. Maybe she didn’t, or still doesn’t, know the difference in birth control via abstinence, the pill, prophylactics, or partial birth abortion. I think what Sen. Tim Grendell has proposed is great! If more parents knew what their teenagers were up to then more than likely those kids would grow up to be responsible adults. Obviously, Marty and Ellen don’t believe parents should be parents once a child reaches the age of 12 or 13 or whatever age their child becomes pregnant. Those professed hands-off parenting skills may explain some of the failings of the Gottlieb family. Perhaps, the biggest red flag with this opinion piece is the immigration part. Now that a republican Senator (Bill Seitz) wants to be PRO-ACTIVE that’s not a good thing!! Hundreds and hundreds of editorials have been written by Marty and Ellen over the past several years how a certain party (Rep.) didn’t do enough to protect the American Voter and now, all of a sudden ‘cause it goes against Obama’s talking points, being proactive is a bad thing! Hmmm. Go Figure. Again, the DDN is going to miss the boat…over a 1/3 of U.S. states are now proposing immigration laws similar to Arizona’s with over 70% of registered voters approving of such measures. Any wonder the DDN is creeping up on the “media death watch list?”
By JohnS
June 3, 2010 12:52 AM | Link to this
Current gun laws in Ohio are apparently a strange patchwork pasted together by compromises between the pro/anti gun groups in the state government. For example, a loaded magazine carried in a vehicle without a gun that can use it is currently considered the same as a loaded gun. The laws dictating where you can or cannot carry a concealed handgun with a concealed handgun license are equally strange. Carrying a concealed handgun in a restaurant that happens to have a liquor license is no more or less unreasonable than carrying one anywhere else. If you asked any of the minority (56000+ licenses issued in 2009 alone) citizens with concealed handgun licenses if they were for concealed carry in restaurants with liquor licenses, I suspect almost all of them would be in favor. The fact that lawmakers listen to vocal minorities that take an interest in legislation that affects them is generally a good thing. On the other hand, when they do it for their own selfish reasons, this is not so good (which I suppose is your point). The comment: “The sad part is that, meanwhile, their salaries are being paid by everybody. ” I find very curious. Ignoring the fact that everyone who votes does not pay taxes, what has this got to do with anything?