Great Comment On "John Kasich's Black Heart"

Buster doesn't normally re-post comments (except to make fun of them).  Comments are always available to be read by anyone.  But this one deserves a little of its own time in the spotlight, not in the off-stage shadows of "comments".  The writer is responding to my 8/22/13 post  "Kasich's Black Heart" about the firing of George Elmaraghy.
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AnonymousAugust 23, 2013 at 7:32 AM

Over the years, I worked with George and his staff on numerous occasions. While I found 'some' members of his staff to be unreasonable obstructionists (others were doggone good people to work with), I found George to be a straight shooter, organized, willing to listen and generally good at interacting/working with others. I liked him and feared him at the same time 'cause his agency held the keys to the cars we needed to drive in order to achieve our mandate. Being a sister agency, it might be thought that our projects got off easy. That wasn't the case. We were held to the same standards. Of course, we always said, if we expected the public (industry or others) to do it right, we certainly needed to do it right! So we always tired to hit the bullseye, but sometimes we didn't and the OEPA would challenge us to do better.

It needs to be noted that OEPA Director Scott Nally didn't get fired. He kept his feet clean, and evidently wouldn't step in the mess. Obviously, he wasn't willing to stick his own neck in the guillotine. George could say, "Thanks for having my back, Scott."

Give Kasich kudos on a couple of items (I know, a stopped clock is right twice a day). He's right on medicaid expansion and oil & gas taxes.

You know who

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Great points!  Hatchet man EPA Director Scott Nally is an utterly political appointee on the job since just 2011.  Yes, that's baseball -- it happens, but it's still not right.  And although I wouldn't exactly give "kudos" to Kasich, he's on the right path with Medicaid and gas/oil severance tax.  Medicaid expansion is very low cost to Ohio, the right thing to do, and a net benefit to the state.  It should happen and is, I think, inevitable.  And damn right the frackers ought to pay a reasonable amount for extracting fossil fuels while turning us into a pin cushion.  Ohio's severance taxes are virtually nothing compared to other states.  Unfortunately, Kasich's proposal direct's just 25% of revenue toward frack-damaged eastern Ohio, with the rest going toward his Holy Grail an income tax cut.

But for now, it's all moot.  Both Medicaid expansion and sensible severance taxes have been scuttled by intransigent Republicans in the Ohio House.

But well said, Mr. "Anonymous".  And I do know who!  Thanks for reading.