Political donations stir controversy thoughts with reader

I can remember when I was growing up that something would happen in my neighborhood that was connected to one of my friends. We were a pretty tight group of five.

Anyways, one time I was still eating dinner, and the other four had been out drinking. When I joined up with them, I asked where Tom was. They had dumped him on his front lawn, rang the door bell, ran, explaining to me he was totally wiped out.

Needless to say, my dad noted I was viewed guilty because of my association. I think “birds of a feather flock together” has a play in that.

Fast forward. Epstein connected to Trump, connected to Wexner, donating money for political support to Republicans Lutnick (R), Portman (R), DeWine (R), Husted (R), Moreno (R), Jordan (R), Balderson (R), Garey (R), Yost (R), LaRose (R), Ginther (D), Klien (D), Stewart (R), McColley (R), Cirino (R), Huffman (R), Sprague (R), Farber (R), Reynolds (R), Brenner (R) and Hiner (R).

Brenner is our Coshocton state senator, and Hiner is our state house representative. Some of these folks received political donations as recently as the last election. Some of these people know Weiner is being named as a “co-conspirator,” and they have donated those monies to a variety of charities. This is where my dad would say a “day late and a dollar short,” along with “where there is smoke, there is fire.”

I suppose it is possible to receive a donation for your campaign and not necessarily know who made the donation. However, on the other hand, when a big name makes a donation, that is a form of “endorsement” that typically gets leveraged with others to match.

Here is where it gets interesting. I can only give $3,500 directly to a candidates campaign. But if I give money to their PAC, I can donate $10,000. If I give money to the campaign committee, party committee (state, district, local) or the national party committee, it can be an unlimited amount.

Now I am speculating here, but if I got a substantial amount of money toward my campaign, that individual would have my undivided attention. Let us say if they were involved in something shady, I would be inclined or pressured at the least to hamper any investigation by gaslighting or stonewalling while not directly being involved in whatever had transpired.

Now Ohio has tried to put some checks and balances in place with term limits. A state senator can only serve two terms of four years consecutively. A state house representative can only serve four two-year terms consecutively for a total of eight years. The governor can only do two four-year terms. The work-around is a senator or representative will run for the opposite house. Governors like Mike DeWine typically hold another office. In his case it was attorney general.

It should be easy to understand why the Republican Party has become entrenched through special favors, gerrymandering and big money. Sad at best, corrupt at worst.

Ed Gallagher

Coshocton