OUR VIEW BIPARTISANSHIP
Ohio's divided government is working out
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Every once in a while, the situation calls for saying something nice about the politicians. The situation is now.
Unlike on the national scene, Ohio is experiencing serious and impressive bipartisanship. And what do you know, some good things, or potentially good things, are getting done. To wit:
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• Last year the state passed a budget with next to no rancor. Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland was happy to sign it, and Republicans in the legislature were happy to have voted for it.
• Republican lawmakers agreed to give the governor significant new power relating to how Ohio's public colleges are run, including letting him name a chancellor and downgrading the Ohio Board of Regents.
• Gov. Strickland and the legislature compromised about a $1.57 billion "jobs" initiative that would pay for new road, bridge and sewer projects, alternative energy production, brownfield cleanups, tax credits for historic preservation, and internship programs aimed at keeping college students in Ohio.
• They also came to terms about electricity deregulation, putting off total deregulation while still allowing for some competition.
• And — cross your fingers — there are signs that the governor and legislature both will take a firm stand against payday lenders.
It's been a long time since government has been divided between Republicans and Democrats in Columbus. But some people can still remember how Republican Gov. Jim Rhodes found ways to work with a Democratic legislature, partly because he had to, but occasionally because he agreed with lawmakers.
Personalities can matter a lot. Gov. Strickland, Speaker of the House Jon Husted and Senate President Bill Harris have been more focused on finding common ground than embarrassing each other.
Moreover, Republicans are in no position to be naysayers. They suffered a stunning election defeat in 2006 after years of dominance in Ohio. If, after that election, they generally opposed change proposed by a popular governor — who had a moderate image and a mandate for action — they'd be tempting political fate.
All that having been said, it's important to remember that bipartisanship is no cure-all. Indeed, it comes replete with its own set of dangers. One is that the politicians can become too cozy with one another. They can lose sight of all principles other than the need for compromise, and they can rest too easily in the knowledge that their actions will not be scrutinized by any important political force.
The Strickland budget, for example, included a property-tax cut for homeowners older than 65, to be funded by money out of the $10 billion windfall "tobacco fund." No provision has been made for when that money runs out. Few have raised that concern. The cut was popular, and that was that.
This year the politicians are making another bipartisan raid on the tobacco money, this time putting the state's anti-smoking foundation out of business. (More on that subject in this space tomorrow.)
All in all, though, the bipartisan mood has done more good than bad.
Each side has victories it can point to. There's no question, for instance, that Speaker Husted was instrumental in scaling back the borrowing that the governor wanted to do for the "jobs" program. At the same time, Gov. Strickland was perfectly clear to Republicans (and the utilities' lobbyists) that he wasn't going to allow the reins to totally come off of Ohio's electric utilities.
The past is not necessarily a predictor of the future. Things could get ugly, for instance, if the governor has to make more budget cuts down the road, and if lawmakers disagree with his priorities.
The governor also is working on how he wants to fund schools. Though many Republicans are as flummoxed as he is about how to take more of that burden off of property owners, they're not as convinced as Mr. Strickland that the state has not done enough to bring up the poorer school districts.
That's a big philosophical divide.
And don't even think of talking about charter schools, which the governor has no love for and many Republicans see as an important option for parents in urban districts.
One way of looking at things is that the "easy" disagreements have been resolved, and the hard stuff is yet to come. But, in truth, there was a time that no one would have said that compromising on utility deregulation was easy.
Put aside the Marc Dann embarrassments and Ohio is looking pretty good on how it's governing and making decisions that are grounded in reasonable, moderate and strategic thinking.
— Cox News Service
