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Confession Before Absolution
Submitted by chrisbaker on Thu, 05/08/2008 - 6:42am.
Politics is now about sex. Not just scandalous sex, not just who is having what kind of sex, but what we think about the sex each politician is having, or not having. Sex (sex, not gender) in politics is as significant a subtext as race.
- It’s the Adultery, Stupid; Michael Wolff
I've come to a shocking realization about myself. As improbable as it seems to me, the person who's sexuality was forged from the amalgamation of National Lampoon, Penthouse and Nichelle Nichols is in fact a prude. I really don't want to hear about Marc Dann's sex life. It creeps my out that the private, emotion filled emails of his staffer/mistress are now grist for the public mill. If a member of his staff has a problem with his conduct then file a complaint. Otherwise, it's none of our damn business. Marc Dann is a grown assed man, and Jessica Utovich is a grown assed woman. Nothing they did was against any law or rule that I've heard of. Maybe that should change, but that's a subject for future policy discussions. (Call me crazy but something tells me that politicians aren't going to outlaw sex with staffers any time soon.)
Here's who's business it is: Marc Dann, Jessica Utovich, and Marc Dann's family. Do you really think that you are doing any of them a favor by publicly tarring and feathering Dann? In my book just as an abortion is a private matter between a woman and her doctor, an affair is a private matter between a husband and wife. No one involved is helped by an orgy of mass media driven public humiliation; they need counseling.
As of yet nobody has been able to explain exactly what Marc Dann's crime was besides pissing off Ted Strickland. Last I checked being a stupid, sex crazed public official wasn't a crime. (Given the current climate it almost seems to be a prerequisite) And if foisting incompetent cronies upon the Ohio public is grounds for resignation, shouldn't Ted Strickland and Chris Redfern call on themselves to resign just as much as Marc Dann?
While the Ohio collective political consciousness may have risen in a glorious unified chorus of condemnations for Marc Dann and the evils of sexual harassment, that simply isn't the way you properly deal with things like this. Given how out of control it was it is my opinion that there is a good chance that law breaking was done in the Attorney General's office. I don't want resignations, I want an independent investigation. The worst possible method of investigating law breaking is to line up a bunch of politicians in front of a camera. (Note all the Iran Contra gang running around free and clear)
Looking at this from a strategic perspective there is a good chance that Strickland has overplayed his hand. At this point the Ohio Republicans could care less about Marc Dann resigning. Why would they want to replace a crippled ostracized Democratic AG with Ted Strickland's hand picked insider? Heck, the ODP has driven Dann so far into the corner that he's de facto switched parties. He's their boy now. Handled with care this could have been a simple crisis resolved through independent investigation and efforts to improve processes. Instead, Marc Dann will no longer the true subject of any impeachment hearing. The Republicans will do everything in their power to use an impeachment hearing to damage the Governor and the Democratic Party. Dann's done. He was handed to the ORP on a silver platter by the Democratic Party. A few weeks ago they would have been more than happy to simply feast upon his carcass. Who do you think they'll pick as their target now?
The real problem with Marc Dann isn't his zipper. It's the same problem that all political parties have: cronyism. Marc Dann was by any rational person's estimation unqualified to manage a high volume Denny's let alone an office as massive and complex as the Ohio Attorney General's.
Maybe it's the Christian in me, but in my book there is no absolution without confession. Ted Strickland and Chris Redfern and all the army of other Democrats that are lining up to condemn Marc Dann are the same people that vouched for his character 18 months ago. When I recommend someone for a job that turns out to be a total disaster I don't get to rescue my damaged reputation by withdrawing the nomination. Not one of them has apologized for the cronyistic ODP nominating group that repeatedly ignored warnings about Marc Dann's character and abilities as a manager. Dann was one of the boys. He was someone that Ted and Chris could trust. He knew how to play the game, just like Anthony Gutierrez and Leo Jennings III. Now were all supposed to just vomit out the last hand chosen crony and laud the new one? Excuse me if I sit this one out.
When analyzing a system failure your goal isn't to just correct the failure, but also to make sure that it doesn't happen again. In order to do this one has to be completely honest about why the problem happened and what was at fault. Bloviating, self riotous politicians are the last thing called for.
If one is really interested in making sure that something like the Marc Dann system failure doesn't happen again here's what needs to be done:
- Everyone needs to step back and call for an independent investigation of the office.
- Official policies and procedures need to be drafted that spells out exactly what is appropriate and inappropriate.
- The ODP needs to review their candidate nominating process.
- If Dann does resign, we need to make sure that the candidate nominated answers to the people of Ohio, and not the Ohio Democratic Party.
We live in the age of instant reaction. America was founded on a principal of tempering such reactions. I for one am proud to be an American.
I'm going to need more convincing
I don't know any of these other allegations against Dann's character and ability that everyone is supposed to know about. Can you clarify? He did seem to have had his act together with Coingate. I'd like to have the some specific examples of previous misconduct before I place the blame on the people who endorsed him. Perhaps, he wasn't the best candidate but at the time he did not look horrendous.
Larry Craig did not commit a crime either, being a hypocrite is not a crime. In politics, you have to convince a skeptical public that you are working to their benefit. Blatant hypocrites undermine the system and damage others who may actually be doing some good. Dann is at the very least a hypocrite. He ran on bringing ethics back after the Taft admin drug OH down and then he created his own culture of unethical behavior. Democrats are just responding the way they demanded the Republicans respond. I don't see anything wrong with being consistent. Dann should resign, it's what he would have asked of his predessors.
As far as cronyism, Ohio Democratic Politics is not the Walmart. There is a limited number of people interested and qualified for the job, they all know each other. There is no getting around that. If you put your cronyism example in the private sector, and as a business owner you hired your brother in law and although nice, he turned out to be a screw up, your quickest path to regaining your employees confidence back would be to swiftly fire your family member. You might not get all of your reputation back but you certainly would save more of it than if you started paperwork on the matter. (And you might strike a little fear into any other employees drifting into incompetence.) I would not want to hear Gov. Strickland heming and hawing about process to the press. In the past, when I have heard politicians talk about "the process" and "getting the facts first" about political friends suspected of wrongdoings, it unfortunately, means they are buying time for a person they know is guilty. It may not be fair but it is the common perception.
I doubt if any of your recommendations (although good) would prevent another Mark Dann situation from happening again. Mark Dann is guilty of being a hypocrite, that is not criminal but poison politically. I don't want the ODP to become hypocrites covering for him while an "investigation" is done.
I am sure there are policies in place stating what is and isn't appropriate office policy. The trick is finding people that will follow them. I imagine they all went through sexual harrassment awareness training. It is fairly standard. Dann's office knew the behavior was wrong, an official ODP office policy would not have changed their behavior.
I am not sure what the candidate nominating process is know but I doubt any changes would prevent a Marc Dann from slipping through. And how exactly are we going to ensure that the candidate answers to the people of Ohio? Isn't that why we vote? I voted for Gov. Strickland because I still have a fair amount of trust in him. I think he is handling this bad situation pretty well.
Agree And Disagree
First, let me agree with these statements:
Check, check, damned straight, and check.
However, having said that, I fundamentally disagree with the overall theme that this is solely a private matter to be handled by counseling. (I apologize if I oversimplified your argument)
Political office is a public trust and it may be polyannish of me, but I believe that Dann has violated that public trust. If this had been only about a private extramarital affair between Dann and his employee, then I might have swallowed hard and accepted your premise (such as I felt in 1998 with Clinton) but so much more has happened in this case.
Running for office is hard work and thankless work and no one knows more than my family that the Democratic party is (let's be charitable in this) imperfect in how they screen and pick candidates for endorsement and support. Politics certainly is a messy process.
However, this IS a political process going on, not a legal one. Before Strickland et al, came out with their pronouncement early this week, many local candidates were grumbling about the damage Dann had done to the party.
And it's always a weighing of one choice of action against another, which is also a political decision.
I think you can agree that fundamentally it benefits Ohio if the Democrats win back the state house in this cycle and, by some miracle, actually pick up a state senate seat or two as we approach redistricting in 2011.
Dann's actions threatened that, frankly. We've already seen the results of change with a Democratic Governor. I really doubt that Chris Widener would have thrown the payday lending industry under the bus if Ken Blackwell had won that election in 2006 and if the Democrats hadn't picked up 7 out of the 11 needed seats.
The system isn't perfect and never will be. In 1947 Churchill said:
Thanks for the thoughtful post
When the Dem leaders launched their blitzkrieg on Monday I was caught up in irrational exuberance about it. I feel personally betrayed by Dann as well as horrified at the potential of Danngate to derail Democratic hopes in Ohio, so I was all in favor of an immediate impeachment resolution.
However, trying to take out the emotional component, it seems clear to me that there needs to be more of a basis than the affair and covering up the affair to proceed with this impeachment. There have been indications that there is more dirt out there than we yet know, and if so that may fill in the blanks in the impeachment resolution as currently envisioned. But if what we know now is the entirety, I can see why the process needs to move forward with caution. I still want it to move forward, however.
Excellent point about reviewing the ODP nominating process.
Interesting editorial in The Blade today, saying resignation is appropriate but impeachment is not.
All Deliberate Speed
While I think we have all we need to proceed with the political process that is impeachment, I also agree that this doesn't have to be concluded by the close of business Tuesday or anything like that.
That being said, Dann should resign immediately and spare us and the state this spectacle.
it's not about the affair
it never has been, at least for me. As I said at my place, that's b/n he and his wife. Unfortunately, too many focus on that and forget how poorly he managed his office.
The actions that deserve consideration for impeachment relate to how he discharged his duties as AG: hiring incompetent and unqualified Friends of Dann, encouraging their potentially illegal, at the very least piss-poor, behavior, and turning the other cheek as his knowledge of their behavior grew.
His employees are turning on him per reports. He's canceling public appearances so he can roll up his sleeves, yet he managed to make it to Akron Monday to plead his case to the Beacon.
He has become so nuclear he can't perform his duties, part of which is public appearances. How long until an important portion of the AG's office decides they can't abide his schtick? Then what?
What is the issue
I have to admit that the drama is really unclear. It seems that there are two things getting melted into one. Marc Dann had an affair with a staffer and Marc Dann hired some buddies that got freaky with some staffers and then fired them when it got ugly. Is that the just of it?
Now assuming the staffer who had the affair with Dann consented and she wasnt fired before they got caught....who the hell cares? Let his wife handle it. She can pull a Hillary and stand by her man or do a few years and bury his balls in a field. (Id go with the later but I'm a bitch like that.) Either way his affair has nada do with his job. Folks start losing their jobs for having affairs and the unemployment rate would make us a 4th world country.
Now, Dann hiring some frat buddies who decided to turn the office into a bad Howard Stern show is a completely different story. Anyone who listen to or checked out anything Chaundra said about Dann knew this would happen sooner than later. So why play all high and mighty and ignorant now? If you marry a man you know abused his last wife...you cant be shocked and outraged when he backhands you. I personally dont feel sorry for ya. You hoped for the best, gambled and lost, now live and learn. All there is to be done now is clean the mess up and know that people (me) will think you the sucker/fool your choices have made you.
There are a few issues getting mixed together
I hope you don't think I am playing high and mighty or ignorant. I just don't know what Chris is alluding to when he says "everyone knew". I would just like to know some specifics of what exactly everyone knew. I followed Subodh very closely, met him on several occasions, wrote about him and voted for him but I never heard anything specific about Dann, at least when it came down to sexual impropriety. I never heard any alarm bells, I just thought Subodh would be the better candidate not that Dann would utterly fail.
I think the issue isn't the adultery alone (although that is bad) it is appearance of a disregard for the law and a general lack of morality in the office, an office Dann headed. Which then comes down to what did Dann know and when, or even worse - how did he contribute to the environment.
I don't see how anyone can just hang all of this on the ODP. The primary was not even close, the endorsement was not the deciding factor in that race. Also, I believe, the ODP was ready to do a co-endorsement if both candidates agreed to endorse the other if they lost the primary, Subodh refused and the co-endorsement offer was withdrawn.
There is a lot of blame to go around but I don't see how we can pin this on any one party. Hindsight is 20/20, I believe the Gov and the OH Dems are doing a great job handling a bad situation. I just hope Mark Dann gets the picture and resigns. That would be the ideal end to this mess, impeachment is going to be ugly.
The ODP
The ODP was stridently warned about Dann's failings as a lawyer and as a manager of lawyers. This is a very tight little group. They need to own their part in his downfall.
Are you talking about the Supreme Court Reprimand?
Yeah, that was reported on before the primary as was the Phillips case. Like I said, i did not vote for Dann in the primary, I have always felt Subodh was the better candidate. But - how can you pin this all on the ODP? What do you want them to own? Didn't people vote for Dann? Didn't the same newspapers that reported on the reprimand also endorse Dann? Isn't that how he got in office? I'd love to be with you on this but I don't see it. Lay it out for me. I need more than "they are a tight group" and they had strident warnings from Danns primary opponent.
Endorsement
Of course, it was ODP that gave Dann the endorsement and that is what drove at least 80% of Dann's vote in that primary. People didn't know him or Chandra. Most people if you had stopped them in the street would have said Dan who?
Disagree
People knew Marc Dann, he was in the paper every other day with some Coingate thingy. Now, if you can tie Marc Dann being the lead on Coingate to the ODP, then perhaps you can convince me. But, I don't think the ODP endorsement was the clincher here. That was a blowout primary, not even close. And, the article above states they offered the endorsement to both primary candidates but Chandra refused the grounds and therefore the endorsement. Is there more to that story? Because, the fact that the endorsement was offered to both candidates seems to undermine any endorsement conspiracies.
(Just to be clear, the ODP contributed, they could have not endorsed Dann at all, but I don't see anything exceptional that would have made that a good decision at the time either. Hindsight is 20/20. The bulk of the blame here should be on Marc Dann.)
However
The more I work in poltics the more I learn that vast majority of people really, really don't know what's going on in a great many races.
I submit it was a blow out primary *because* of the ODP endorsement and the literature that was sent around because of that endorsement.
For those who knew about "coingate" I would suspect that at least 80% only attached Tom Noe's name to it, not Marc Dann.
My comment wasnt aimed at
My comment wasnt aimed at you Cindy but the powers that be. My point is as you said...there is alot of blame to around and we cant pin this on any one party. The Gov and OH dem are doing a great job handling a bad situation.......they helped create.
Yeah
Well, then we can get back to that process thing Chris was talking about because the problem is much bigger than the ODP and Ohio. Sadly, I think it is just standard American politics. But, thoughtful analysis by everyone (especially the news!) is the only way to fix things - if you believe they can be fixed. Maybe, I've just given up some.
Anyways, it is so nice to see the two of you out and chatting up some great debate. Chris had me stumped on the Star Trek reference, I had to google Nichelle Nichols. I'll win trivial pursuit one day because of it :-)
Nichelle Is Very Nice
But put me down for Marina Sirtas instead.
Let your geek flags fly.
I had to google that one too. :-)
Here are photos for those of us who are not as Star trek literate.
thanks!
I was sitting here wondering just who in sam's hell they were talking about...LOL..shoulda known.
Pull Over For The Blogger Police
Blogging law clearly states that you cannot create, run or participate in blogging unless you know all about either:
1) Star Trek
2) Star Wars
3) Highlander
or
4) Stargate (SG1 and Atlantis)
Present your credentials!
Inadequacy of law in the face of human behavior
I've said for a long time that law - no matter what it governs - only enshrines what legislators end up approving it to enshrine and governors or presidents or mayors sign into enshrinement. The effort to criminalize or legalize certain behaviors is reactionary, rarely proactive: that is, something has to have happened to someone or some group must come forward to warn about a concern that is costing them something or may cost them something before it gets protected or prohibited by law.
The gap created is exactly the gap that exists between the overwhelming belief that Marc Dann should resign and the recognition of the inadequacies of the impeachment process as a way to remove an elected official.
Why does the gap exist? Because we actually trust each other more than we realize, more than I think I realized: we actually believe that people will do the right thing. Even though it's obvious that we have impeachment provisions, and other laws, because of our fear and knowledge that many times people do not do the right thing.
Dann is taking advantage of this gap. And that behavior alone speaks for itself.