The Neys Have It

The Republican Culture of Corruption claims another victim:

Ney Forced Out: Handpicks Favorite of Ohio’s Most Corrupt Politicians and the Special Interests

Chooses Taft-appointed State Senator Joy Padgett (OH-20) to Run in His Place

Ney called Padgett on Saturday and asked the fellow Republican to run in his place, saying that defending himself has been a strain on his family, she said. [AP, 8/7/06]

This is a State Senator appointed by Ohio's corrupt and unpopular governor, chosen to replace Ohio's unpopular and corrupt Congressman on the ballot. Has she even won an election before or does she keep getting kicked upstairs?

Maybe her elusive electoral record is because of her actual record:

Terry Anderson is running for the Ohio Senate in the district encompassing my hometown of Athens, Ohio. His opponent, Joy Padgett, has resorted to a shameful attack on Anderson, who was held hostage for nearly seven years while he was a reporter for the Associated Press in the Middle East. Padgett, also a strong supporter of the defense of marriage amendment on the Nov. 2 Ohio ballot, misused a picture of Anderson confronting one of his Hezbollah captors, implying that Anderson is soft on terrorism.

Nice. Nothing like Swiftboating a hostage. I guess he must have been asking for it by going over to the Middle East in the first place. Terrorist lover.

So first it was Tom DeLay leaving Congress to get off the ballot (although he did it so dishonestly it looks like it won't even work), and now Ney, who's probably a week out from getting indicted in the Jack Abramoff scandal, jumps off the ballot.

Who are the cut-and-runners again?