EVERYONE IN OHIO WANTS TAFT TO RESIGN-- EXCEPT TAFT

Well, actually, that headline might not be entirely accurate; a lot of Democrats thinking of running for various offices in Ohio are perfectly happy with a convicted criminal heading the state Republican Party reminding voters day after day about the state government's culture of corruption. But most of the GOP county chairmen and most Republican office-holders would like to see Taft, the least popular governor in the history of Ohio, step down and disappear. According to yesterday's COLUMBUS DISPATCH die Partei Republikanische acknowledging "making calls to GOP county chairmen to gauge the level of backing for Taft and whether there is a growing sentiment for him to resign — even as the governor vowed to complete his term." Jason Mauk, a lowlife slime-bucket who has consistently lied about GOP deprecations and criminality in Ohio, is the state party’s director of political operations. After defending Taft's cover-ups for months, he has now turned on Taft and seems to be rounding up support to force a resignation. Many of the county GOP chairman are saying that getting Taft to resign is the ONLY chance they have to avert a complete electoral catastrophe.
"The people I have talked to in Williams County said they feel he should step down for the sake of the party," says Mary Trausch, Chairwoman of the GOP in Williams County, a right-wing hotbed. She is echoed by Sandra Barber, longtime chairwoman of the Fulton County GOP: "people have told me on the street that perhaps he should consider stepping down. I don’t think it’s just this issue dealing with ethics filings — it’s a series of things, and this is the straw that broke the camel’s back."

Even in DC, Republican strategists, who once toasted Taft for conspiring with Secretary of State Ken Blackwell for stealing Ohio's electoral votes (and thereby the 2004 presidential election) for Bush, now want him out. "I think it’s time for Bob to start thinking about exit strategies," said a senior Republican functionary with ties to Rove (on condition, of course, of anonymity). "It’s going to be very difficult to campaign (next year) with him sitting in the governor’s mansion." You might read that as "The Republicans know they are gonna get their asses kicked in Ohio in 2006 no matter what happens. If Taft resigns it might only be a disaster and not a total catastrophe."

Meanwhile, everyone is wondering, now that Taft has been convicted of the first of the countless criminal charges against him, if his 17% approval rating can fall any further. People are betting on what it will take to get his approval rating into single digits. And it looks like we'll actually be able to find out!