CLEVELAND - Aides to House Speaker Larry Householder secretly drafted a strategy in January to attack and possibly destroy the political career of Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, a fellow Republican, The Plain Dealer reported yesterday.
The key to the plan was an $8.5 million campaign, to be led by Householder, to defeat Blackwell's effort to repeal last year's temporary 1-cent state sales tax increase.
The strategy, detailed in a 109-page document obtained by the newspaper, also considered ways of enhancing a 2006 Householder campaign for state auditor and characterized Gov. Bob Taft as politically weak.
Householder, a Glenford Republican, declined to be interviewed for the newspaper's report, but issued a statement calling the plan staff-level thoughts and ideas. It contains material and commentary which are inappropriate and not reflective of my views.
The staff document details a strategy to dismantle Blackwell through the campaign.
Householder's aides said they have not executed the plan.
Blackwell, who learned of the report from The Plain Dealer, said he found it offensive and a threat to civil society and democracy in Ohio.
Householder's press secretary, Dwight Crum, confirmed being the document's main author. After initially discounting the Jan. 12 document, Crum called the plan a mistake.
I wrote some unfortunate things
Crum said yesterday. The tone and rhetoric were inappropriate.
On Friday, Crum apologized by phone to the governor's chief of staff for a chapter in the plan that portrays Taft as weak and ineffective. He sent a letter of apology to Blackwell.
Crum denied an accusation yesterday by Blackwell's spokesman, Carlo LoParo, that he had help from key figures in Householder's campaign office, calling the document my words.
Messages seeking comment were left yesterday at Householder's home and cell phone.
Blackwell, Attorney General Jim Petro and Auditor Betty Montgomery have announced plans to seek the GOP nomination for governor in 2006.
Householder backs Petro. While Householder claims he has not decided which statewide office he will seek, the plan anticipates a run for state auditor and speculates that the speaker's support for the sales tax increase will be used against him.
The plan clearly sets a goal to defeat the (tax) repeal and dismantle Blackwell. It describes Blackwell as the Enron of Ohio politics propped up and overvalued a fraud. It said the repeal effort and Blackwell's career must collapse.
The report stated Householder is the logical choice to lead an anti-repeal campaign. Taft's political stock has fallen severely. It stated Petro doesn't seem to have the political fire in the belly or instincts right now to lead this type of political campaign.
As chairman of the anti-repeal campaign, Householder would be able to seek not only corporate donations for that effort but also solicit personal or political action committee contributions for his campaign committee, Citizens for Householder, according to the document.
The anti-repeal effort could seek to line up support from key Democrats and traditionally Democratic groups, such as organized labor and human services advocates, so that we can divide the Democrats
according to the document.
It stated Householder should expect Blackwell to attack Householder strategists and fund-raisers, perhaps using subpoena power. The internal report stated journalists will eat it up ... The press loves a good 'Republicans eating their own' story.
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