Hmm. Interesting. 

It’s not every day you see an email from the 3rd most powerful Ohio Republican in your inbox.

But there it was.

From Bill Seitz. The very same fellow who had tweeted at me (late in the evening) “Too bad, so sad. We win again.” That was his childish response after a federal court ordered Ohio Republicans to pass a map that complies with the constitution … or the court would order us to use one of the maps our state supreme court has deemed unconstitutional.

With no intention of passing a constitutional map, and every intention of running out the clock, Seitz was clearly thrilled with the result.

But a late-night tweet must not have been enough.

Because at 2:52 pm on April 21, I got an email missive from him that began:

Pursuant to your challenge about whether I had anything to add, I do.

Oh? 

I made a cup of coffee.

First, your Twitter temper tantrums and unprofessional name calling (bozo, hacks) are unbefitting your upbringing and education.

Oh, my. I think we struck a nerve, don’t you?

These guys cringe when they’re called out on their misbehavior. If they’re not bozos and hacks (terms that suggest their lawlessness is unintentional and therefore are, frankly, the least objectionable descriptors I could muster) then what are they? 

Lawless charlatans? Crooks? Sell-outs? Authoritarian wanna-bes?

I’m not sure those are better, but I imagine we’ll hear from Bill soon regarding his preferences.

He continues:

Second, given the universally predicted shellacking that Ds will take in November at both federal and state levels, if I were in your shoes I would be thinking about how to hold on to what you have at the Statehouse in lieu of maps that place more of your members at risk of loss due to slimmer majorities in districts that are drawn to reflect 54-46 preferences.

By spreading the peanut butter so thinly over the bread in pursuit of your aspirational goal, the debacle will only deepen for Democrats. 

Ah. The old “be grateful we didn’t violate the state constitution even more than we have” argument.

The old “hush, now – don’t make it so hard on yourself, you’re gonna lose anyway” argument.

Guys like Seitz – and there are plenty of them in the statehouse – thrive on being bullies.

They thrive on being UNaccountable for their actions. (He did, after all, e-mail this truly mind-blowing message to me.) He’s used to behaving this way – pushing people around both openly and behind the scenes – and getting away with it.

But here’s my message back to you, Bill – since I know you read my emails: 

That’s not how this works, anymore.

Because you and I both know that Ohioans are sick and tired of your party’s shenanigans.

They’re sick and tired of being sold a bill of goods. Of watching corruption run rampant while their town struggles. Of seeing you crow at your party’s “wins” – which silence the voices of Ohioans.

You’re not mad at name-calling, Bill. You’re mad that you’re being called out at all. So stop violating the Ohio constitution. Stop muffling Ohioans voices.

And start doing your job.

And if your name is not Bill Seitz, I’ve got a message for you too. We don’t have to take this kind of mistreatment anymore. There’s a better way, and it starts with us working together.

We’re creating a community of people like you that is bent on holding Republicans accountable and not letting the Bills of the world have a free pass. 

Our community – Blue Ohio – solves the very “not enough peanut butter to spread across the bread” problem that Bill so sensibly identified for us. Ohio’s Democratic nominees in every corner of the state need support so they can fight against bullies like Bill. Blue Ohio members crowdsource that support by kicking in a few bucks a month, 100% of which goes to the Democratic nominees.

And if you join at $10 a month or more you’re automatically invited to our monthly virtual brown bag lunches, where we talk about Ohio politics, how you can get involved, and what needs doing right now.

Heck, we may even add an entertainment segment where we read nasty-grams like Bill’s for the group to enjoy. 

In Bill’s honor, it’s my goal to add 99 members to our community today.

I think it’s the least we can do to show him that we did, in fact, get his message.

I hope you’ll join today.

Onward,

David Pepper