- I did not sign up for five hour meetings.
Local wrangling over the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party’s selection of a new chief looks like tea and biscuits compared to the fracas unfurling in Toledo.
Last week’s meeting of the Lucas County Republican central committee to elect its chairman turned into a contentious five-hour session that had to be refereed by state GOP chair Kevin DeWine — who, The Toledo Blade reported, “came from Columbus in an effort to restore ‘civility’ to a county party that has been racked by internal disputes.”
Apparently, he’s not too optimistic: DeWine brought more than a dozen party lackeys with him to keep the peace. “It quickly became clear that almost every decision of Mr. DeWine was going to be challenged by one side or the other,” The Blade wrote.
That was more than the 280 precinct captains in attendance signed up for. As the festivities dragged on, they began trickling out before the final vote was taken. Among those who left early was Samuel “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher, who became a mascot for John McCain’s 2008 campaign. The newly elected captain from Springfield Township apparently thought politics was all about good times and friendly winks from Sarah Palin, not unending disputes over roll-taking procedure.
