Kaptur alerts colleagues of unfolding scandal

Excerpt<(worth reading the rest)Democrats such as Miss Kaptur and U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown of Lorain say the latest scandals mirror problems in Washington and even call into question the results of the 2004 presidential election.

"Shame on the governor of Ohio," said Miss Kaptur, who put The Blade's Tuesday online story breaking the news of the $215 million loss into the Congressional record. "Shame on the state officials of the State of Ohio. What a tragedy they have perpetrated on the people of our state."

Mr. Brown said state government leaders have been "inept" and "incompetent" for a decade and the "depth of corruption in Ohio might set national records."

Mr. Brown called out Governor Taft, as well as GOP gubernatorial candidates Attorney General Jim Petro, State Auditor Betty Montgomery, and Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell.

"The governor's cronies have been losing money, and the attorney general, the auditor, and the secretary of state seem to hear no evil and see no evil," he said.

In this case, it appears "the people who are supposed to be the watchdog of state's government have all contributed to the corruption."

Mr. Brown, a former Ohio secretary of state, said the situation in Ohio mirrors problems in Washington.

"I've watched up close the arrogance of [Republican House Majority Leader] Tom DeLay," he said, "and I see the way Taft, and Blackwell, and Petro … and those folks run the state government."
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