Some will say Ohio went blue because of Barack Obama’s superior organization, and that may have helped. Others will say that previous Republican scandals in the Buckeye State ushered in Democratic control, and that made the difference. That’s closer to the truth, and in more ways than one (via William Amos):
Suspended agency director Helen Jones-Kelley isn’t the only Ohio government employee under investigation for allegedly dabbling in politics on state time.
Three employees of the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission are being investigated for possible violations of the federal law that prohibits engaging in political activity on government time or using official resources.
The employees work in the commission’s Bureau of Disability Determination, which rules on applications from Ohioans seeking Social Security disability benefits, said Steve Ostrander, a spokesman for the commission.
On whose behalf did they do this politicking? Investigators aren’t saying, but the Dispatch gives a big, fat, blue clue:
The union that represents the three, the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, is part of a coalition of unions that backed Obama, but spokeswoman Sally Meckling said the union hasn’t been informed of the nature of the alleged violations. …
“This highlights that there’s something wrong with the system when the free-speech rights of our members are being violated,” [union executive director Andy] Douglas said. “We believe the First Amendment applies to everyone, including our members.”
The Hatch Act has jurisdiction in this case. It’s not a First Amendment issue; the workers were free to pursue whatever political action they wanted to take, but not on the state’s time. The people of Ohio don’t pay public workers to conduct political activism.
The union’s objection speaks volumes here. I wonder if the union may have organized it themselves, in order to get Obama to flip a key Republican state. With the example of leadership given by Helen Jones-Kelley, perhaps these employees didn’t need any further motivation.
Final irony: it seems that a few public employees spent public funds in order to support the candidate who broke his promise to use the public financing system.
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