Is Ohio the Nexus of GOP Corruption?

We've got another political scandal in the land of Tom Noe and Bob Ney. Alas, Mike Turner, US Representaive from Dayton, OH, appears to have steered some work to his wife's company. Tsk, tsk! Will the Republicans ever learn about ethics? Not a chance.

Abramoff gave us Bob Ney, and that was a sweet thing for Ohio electoral politics, as it led to several Democratic wins in 2006. Then there was coingate and that corrupt guy in Toledo, Thomas Noe. Heck, they had a controversy about the election in 2004, and the governor had severe ethics problems, too. Now we've got another ethical problem in Ohio with Representative Mike Turner. Turner's wifge is now being accused of getting sweetheart deals for her consulting firm. Oh, this is delicious! From the Dayton Daily News:

The Dayton Development Coalition, which lobbies the Miami Valley congressional delegation for federal funds for local projects, has paid a marketing firm owned by the wife of U.S. Rep. Mike Turner more than $300,000 so far for its work on a $1.5 million regional branding campaign that resulted in the slogan, "Get Midwest."

The coalition expects to pay an as-yet-undetermined additional sum to Lori Turner's company, the Turner Effect, as the campaign enters its second half.

Past and present coalition officials say the Turner Effect was hired in 2006 without competitive bidding simply because it was the best choice among local companies. But two congressional watchdog groups in Washington said the situation creates, at best, an appearance of conflict of interest. "There is an appearance of impropriety," said Naomi Seligman-Steiner, spokeswoman for the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "It's not illegal, but it is problematic."

Craig Holman, legislative representative for Public Citizen's Congress Watch, said, "That's something we've seen over and over again. If a lobbyist can find a way to funnel money to a member of Congress, they'll do it -- even if it means hiring the congressman's spouse."